The Flyers are still making calls at the edges of their lineup, but one big piece of the opening-night picture is finally clear: Dan Vladar is good to go.
Philadelphia wrapped up practice on Tuesday with a forward group that still has some moving parts, while the blue line stayed intact and the goalie situation got a welcome update ahead of Wednesday night’s season opener against the Pittsburgh Penguins. With a shortened camp, only four preseason games and injuries to Denver Barkey and a banged-up Nikita Grebenkin, the Flyers are leaving a few doors open.
At the top of the lineup, the look has settled in a bit. Owen Tippett, Trevor Zegras and Porter Martone skated together again, continuing a combination that has already been used in several practices and in Saturday night’s final preseason game.
Zegras is getting the first crack at the top-line center role after showing late last season that he could handle it, and he’s already built plenty of familiarity with Tippett. Martone adds another layer to that pairing, giving the Flyers a trio that could create a lot of offense if everything clicks.
The second line brings a different kind of shuffle. Tyson Foerster, Christian Dvorak and Travis Konecny were together at Tuesday’s practice, with Konecny once again moving into a new spot after bouncing around earlier in camp.
Dvorak appears set as the middle-six center and likely has the inside track on the second-line job over Noah Cates, while Konecny remains the kind of winger who can slide almost anywhere. Foerster, meanwhile, brings the kind of all-around game that makes him easy to plug into almost any combination in the top nine.
Another winger still searching for a permanent fit is Alex Bump, and he was on the third line with Noah Cates and Matvei Michkov. That’s a group worth watching, especially with Michkov coming off a strong preseason in which he looked like the best player on the ice in both of his games. Cates and Michkov showed some chemistry late last season, and the Flyers are clearly testing whether that connection can carry into the regular season.
The fourth line looks like it may belong to Carl Grundstrom, Sean Couturier and Noel Acciari. Grundstrom appears to be the main beneficiary of the injuries to Barkey and Grebenkin, though Barkey would have been the more likely option if healthy. Couturier and Acciari both handled their preseason fourth-line work well, no matter who lined up beside them, and that gives Philadelphia what should be one of its stronger bottom units in recent years.
On defense, there was no change from Sunday to Tuesday. Travis Sanheim and Rasmus Ristolainen remain together on the top pair, Cam York and Jamie Drysdale are set as the second duo, and Nick Seeler and Simon Benoit are holding down the third pair. That alignment means David Jiricek has apparently slipped out of the starting mix for now, with Benoit taking that third-pair spot.
There were no surprises up top, but the Flyers do seem to like what they have in the middle. Sanheim and Ristolainen anchor the group, while York and Drysdale give Philadelphia an underrated second pair that could quietly matter a lot.
The biggest update came from Vladar, who said after practice that he is ready for opening night. After a few encouraging injury notes over the weekend, the Flyers got the confirmation they wanted before the season starts.
“It was close, but nothing too crazy. I’m glad I can be here,” Vladar said after practice, per The Hockey News’ Siobhan Nolan.
“I don’t mind playing through pain. It wasn’t up to me [to not play in the preseason games]; it was more the medical staff, but if it was up to me, I would have come back in the Boston game.”
That matters for a Flyers team that opens with four games in six nights, including a back-to-back against the Penguins and Devils right out of the gate.
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Matvei Michkov and David Jiricek sit near the center of that plan, even if their assignments are being handled with care. Michkov is part of the young core the Flyers want to keep moving forward, while Jiricek enters the season with the usual questions that come with a player still trying to earn full confidence at the NHL level. Around them, Travis Konecny and Sean Couturier are being leaned on for leadership and stability, and how well that balance holds could go a long way toward telling the Flyers how much trust they can build this fall. [Read more 🡒]