After a tough loss in Columbus last night, the Flyers don’t have much time to lick their wounds. They’re right back on the ice tonight, wrapping up a quick back-to-back with a visit to Boston to face the Bruins for the first time this season. And once again, they’ll be doing it short-handed.
Rasmus Ristolainen exited early in last night’s game after just two shifts due to a lower-body injury, and Travis Konecny’s status is very much up in the air after he took a shot off the foot late in the second period. If he can’t go, that’s a massive hole in the Flyers’ lineup, and one they’ll need to fill fast - not just in terms of production, but in energy and leadership.
Who’s going to step up?
Let’s be clear: Travis Konecny was the heartbeat of the Flyers in Columbus. All of their goals came off his stick, and he was relentless throughout.
It was the kind of performance that drags a team into the fight, even when the odds aren’t in their favor. But if he’s sidelined tonight, someone else has to take that mantle.
The Flyers can’t afford to be a one-man show, especially not against a Bruins team that’s still finding ways to generate offense despite their own injury issues. If Konecny’s out or even limited, this becomes a gut-check game for the rest of the roster - particularly guys like Owen Tippett, Sean Couturier, and Matvei Michkov, who’ll be leaned on to create chances and drive play.
Ersson gets the nod - and the challenge
After Dan Vladar made his return to the crease last night and gave the Flyers a solid performance, the expectation is that Sam Ersson will be back between the pipes tonight. Ersson’s been steady more often than not, but he’s walking into a tough assignment. The Bruins have scored three or more goals in eight of their last 10 games, and even with some key players out, they’ve been rolling offensively.
Ersson will need to be sharp early and often. Boston knows how to wear teams down, and if the Flyers can’t generate sustained pressure of their own, it could be a long night. That said, Ersson’s had some strong outings recently, and with a bit of rest under his belt, he’s got a shot to steal one - if the team in front of him can keep things tight.
Pressure mounting in the playoff race
The loss to Columbus didn’t just sting - it tightened the screws on an already tense playoff picture. The Flyers are now part of a five-team logjam at 57 points, and with several of those teams in action tonight - including the Maple Leafs, Capitals, and Devils - the standings could shift quickly. Another loss, and the Flyers could find themselves tumbling out of the mix.
And here’s the kicker: the Bruins currently hold the final Wild Card spot. A win for Boston tonight would give them a 10-point cushion over the Flyers - not an insurmountable gap, but certainly a significant one. The Flyers won’t be able to catch them tonight, but they can’t afford to let them pull further ahead either.
This is one of those games where the stakes don’t need to be explained in the locker room. The margin for error is razor-thin. If the Flyers want to keep their postseason hopes alive heading into the break, they need to dig deep - even with a battered lineup - and find a way to get something out of this one.
By the numbers
Flyers (24-19-9, 4th in Metro)
- Goals leader: Travis Konecny (20)
- Assists leader: Travis Konecny (28)
- Points leader: Travis Konecny (48)
Bruins (31-20-3, 5th in Atlantic)
- Goals leader: Morgan Geekie (30)
- Assists leader: David Pastrnak (47)
- Points leader: David Pastrnak (69)
Projected Lineups
Philadelphia Flyers
Trevor Zegras - Christian Dvorak - Nikita Grebenkin
Denver Barkey - Sean Couturier - Owen Tippett
Matvei Michkov - Noah Cates - Bobby Brink
Carl Grundstrom - Lane Pederson - Garnet Hathaway
Travis Sanheim - Cam York
Nick Seeler - Jamie Drysdale
Emil Andrae - Noah Juulsen
Sam Ersson
(Dan Vladar)
Boston Bruins
Morgan Geekie - Fraser Minten - David Pastrnak
Casey Mittelstadt - Pavel Zacha - Viktor Arvidsson
Michael Eyssimont - Matthew Poitras - Marat Khusnutdinov
Tanner Jeannot - Sean Kuraly - Mark Kastelic
Jonathan Aspirot - Charlie McAvoy
Nikita Zadorov - Andrew Peeke
Hampus Lindholm - Mason Lohrei
Jeremy Swayman
(Joonas Korpisalo)
There’s no sugarcoating it - this is a critical moment in the Flyers’ season. The injuries are piling up, the schedule isn’t doing them any favors, and the playoff race is heating up.
But this is also the kind of stretch that defines a team. We’ll see tonight in Boston what kind of response this group has in them.