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Rick Tocchet’s Philadelphia Flyers (28-21-11) have a home game on Thursday against Andre Tourigny’s Utah Mammoth (32-25-4). The Flyers have won each of their last three games. Philadelphia has very little margin for error if the team is to make a serious push at an Eastern Conference playoff spot,
This is the second and final meeting of the season series between the interconference teams. On January 21, the Flyers suffered a painful 5-4 overtime loss in a game that once seemed under control. Phllly led by scores of 3-0 and 4-2. Finally, late regulation and overtime goals from Clayton Keller won the game for the Mammoth.
The Flyers enter Thursday’s game coming off a 3-2 (2-1) shootout road win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday. Meanwhile, the Mammoth bounced back from a 4-0 home shutout loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday with a 3-2 road victory over the Washington Capitals on Tuesday.
Coming into play against Utah on Thursday, the Flyers are seven points (six standings points plus a tiebreaker disadvantage) behind the Boston Bruins for the lower wildcard seed in the East. Philly is nine points (eight standings points plus tiebreaker disadvantages) behind both the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Islanders for top three spots in the Metropolitan Division.
Utah currently holds the upper wildcard playoff spot in the Western Conference. The lower wilcard team, the Seattle Kraken, trail the Mammoth by a single point. Just below the cutoff line for the Western Conference playoffs, the San Jose Sharks are five points (four standings points, tiebreaker disadvantage) behind the Mammoth but have played two fewer games.
Where to watch
Time and broadcast: 7:00 p.m. ET on NBCSP
Listen online: FlyersRadio 24/7
RAV4 keys to the game for Philadelphia: click here
In-game watch party (Maher Media): click here
Flyers: Trade deadline countdown
The National Hockey League trade deadline — actually, it’s a playoff rosters eligibility deadline, not a trade deadline per Se — is on Friday at 3:00 p.m. EST. The Flyers are unlikely to make any notable roster additions. They are more likely to be sellers. Players said to be available.
- Rasmus Ristolainen: The team’s most desired trade candidate. The price tag is said to be a first-round pick plus a close-to-NHL-ready prospect or a young roster player. Philly is willing to retain salary on Ristolainen, accept a salary a trade partner needs to shed, and/or add a “sweetener” component (most like a winger) to maximize the return if they traded the defenseman.
- Bobby Brink: The Flyers still like the young winger but they want to make room for top prospect Porter Martone and/or Lehigh Valley Phantoms rookie Alex Bump in the NHL lineup.
- Noah Juulsen: The Flyers’ 7th defenseman could be a veteran depth piece for another team. The likely return is a late-round Draft pick asset. Juulsen is an unrestricted free agent this summer.
- Nicolas Deslauriers: The veteran tough guy is an unrestricted free agent this summer. He expressed a desire to continue his NHL career beyond 2025-26 if there is interest. The Flyers may want to thank him for his service to the organization by finding a team that would like him as a depth piece on the wing. It wouldn’t be for the minimal return (possibly even a future considerations move) that comes back. It’d be for the player’s benefit.
Flyers Daily: March 5 edition
Subbing for Jason Myretetus this week, Brian Smith previews Thursday’s game against the Mammoth. Uthah jumped into the trade waters on Wednesday by acquiring Mackenzie Weegar from the Calgary Flames. In this episode, we also meet Philadelphia area native Daniel Bove, the Flyers’ new Vice President of Athlete Performance and Wellness. Bove is returning home by coming to the Flyers after more than a decade working in the NBA.
Flyers Stat Leaders (through 60 games)
Travis Konecny — 57 points (23g, 34a)
Trevor Zegras — 50 points (21g, 29a)
Christian Dvorak — 37 points (13g, 24a)
Owen Tippett — 36 points (19g, 17a)
Matvei Michkov — 31 points (15g, 16a)
Noah Cates — 31 points (12g, 19a)
Sean Couturier — 28 points (6g, 22a)
Bobby Brink — 26 points (13g, 13a) in 54 games
Travis Sanheim — 26 points (6g, 20a)
Jamie Drysdale — 25 points (6g, 19a)
Cam York — 22 points (4g, 18a) in 53 games
Goaltender stats
Dan Vladar — 36 GP, 19-9-6, 2.40 GAA, .908 SV%
Samuel Ersson — 25 GP, 9-10-5, 3.44 GAA, .859 SV%
Aleksei Kolosov — 4 GP, 0-2-0, 4.00 GAA, .830 SV%
Projected lineup (subject to change)
The Flyers do not intend to hold out any players from the lineup in the event of a trade. That will change if they have a pending deal in principle that still has secondary details to workout. Injured players Travis Konecny and Nick Seeler did not participate in the morning skate. The rest of the team was on the ice with a similar (not identical) lineup to Monday’s game.
Trevor Zegras — Christian Dvorak — Owen Tippett
Matvei Michkov — Noah Cates — Bobby Brink
Denver Barkey — Sean Couturier — Nikita Grebenkin
Nicolas Deslauriers — Carl Grundstrom — Garnet Hathaway
Travis Sanheim — Rasmus Ristolainen
Cam York — Jamie Drydale
Emil Andrae — Noah Juulsen
Dan Vladar
[Samuel Ersson]
Scratches: Travis Konecny (upper body), Nick Seeler (lower body), Adam Ginning (healthy).
