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Rick Tocchet’s Philadelphia Flyers (17-9-6) are in New York State on Thursday to take on Lindy Ruff’s Buffalo Sabres (14-14-4). The Flyers bring a five-game point streak (2-0-3) into the match and are coming off a solid 4-1 win in Montreal on Tuesday.
Although the Sabres enter the game at hockey .500 and have won each of their last three games, the club remains stuck in last place in the highly competitive Eastern Conference. Apart from the Conference-leading Carolina Hurricanes (46 points), no other team has more than 41 points (New York Islanders) or fewer than 34 except Buffalo (32).
The Sabres recently fired Kevyn Adams as general manager. They hired former Columbus Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen for the role.In the meantime, 65-year-old head coach Ruff is on the hot seat. So is much of the roster.
Philadelphia has been a resilient team all season. Two areas they want to address, however: giving up the first goal and a struggling power play.
The Flyers have given up the game’s first goal in 22 of their 32 matches to date. Yes, Philly somehow has a 12-6-4 record when trailing first. However, that pace is not sustainable for a full season. Philly needs to get the first goal more often and play better after they take the first lead (5-3-2).
As for the power play, the Flyers have winning games in recent weeks despite too often losing — or holding even at best — in the special teams battle. Dating back to November. 15, a 15-game sample size, the Flyers are dead last in the NHL with a miserable 10.5 percent (4-for-38) success rate on the power play. The penalty kill has been more of a roller coaster ride in that span : 73.3 percent (33-for-45). Philly’s overall special teams index score (83.8) over the last 15 games is alarming. Without Tyson Foerster (3 PPG in just 21 games) and without a clear power play presence at the point, it’s once again a sore spot. This is an area where more is needed from Matvei Michkov (one power play goal for the season) in particular.
Carl Grundstrom has scored three goals and four points in the five games since his recall from the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Meanwhile, goaltender Samuel Ersson has excellent career stats against Buffalo: 4-1-0 record, 1.87 GAA, .917 save percentage in five games.
Where to watch
Time and broadcast: 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+/Hulu
Listen online: FlyersRadio 24/7
RAV4 keys to the game for Philadelphia: click here
In-game watch party (Maher Media): click here
Leading scorers: Flyers (through 32 games)
Trevor Zegras — 33 points (14g, 19a)
Travis Konecny — 29 points (9g, 20a)
Christian Dvorak — 23 points (7g, 16a)
Owen Tippett — 20 points (9g, 11a)
Sean Couturier — 19 points (5g, 14a)
Matvei Michkov — 18 points (8g, 10a)
Noah Cates — 16 points (7g, 9a)
Bobby Brink — 15 points (9g, 6a)
Top goal scorers —Zegras (13g, 32 points), Tyson Foerster (10g, 13 points)
Goaltender stats
Dan Vladar — 20 GP, 12-5-3, 2.41 GAA, .910 SV%
Samuel Ersson — 10 GP, 11-5-3, 2.96 GAA, .870 SV%
Injury report: Flyers
- Foerster (right arm surgery) is likely out for the rest of the season. He has a five-month timetable from December.
- Rasmus Ristolainen (off-season triceps surgery) made his season debut on Tuesday in Montreal.
Projected Flyers Lineup
Given the Flyers’ outstanding overall performance (minus the power play) on Tuesday, Tocchet may choose to roll with the same lineup again. However, with Dan Vladar having started each of the last two games in goal, Ersson might get the nod in Buffalo. Again, note his strong career numbers against the Sabres. Ersson has played well in each of his last four starts this season.
Will there be any other lineup changes? Barring injury or illness before game time, there’s only one potential change. Ex-Sabre Nicolas Deslauriers made his 14th appearance of the season in Tuesday’s match. It remains to be seen if “DLo” goes again or if Nikita Grebenkin gets back in the lineup. The Russian rookie had a particularly rough game in Sunday’s penalty-filled shootout loss to the Hurricanes. Additionally, he didn’t do much with his audition to play in the top-nine of the forward rotation at 5-on-5.
If Grebenkin returns on Thursday (or a subsequent game), he’ll likely move back to the fourth line. Moreover, this reflects Grundstrom making the most so far of his return to the NHL roster.
Trevor Zegras- Christian Dvorak – Travis Konecny
Carl Grundstrom – Sean Couturier – Owen Tippett
Matvei Michkov – Noah Cates – Bobby Brink
Nicolas Deslauriers – Rodrigo Abols – Garnet Hathaway
Cam York – Travis Sanheim
Emil Andrae – Jamie Drysdale
Nick Seeler – Rasmus Ristolainen
Samuel Ersson
[Dan Vladar]
PP1: York, Michkov, Couturier, Konecny, Sanheim
PP2: Drysdale, Brink, Cates, Tippett, Zegras
Scratches: Egor Zamula (healthy), Nikita Grebenkin (healthy).
Flyers Daily: December 18, 2025
Jason Myrtetus is back with the latest edition of Flyers Daily. Jason previews Thursday’s game in Buffalo. He talks about how the Flyers can work around Tyson Foerster’s absence for the rest of the season (in lieu of a trade for a veteran power winger). Meanwhile, Jason continues to be inundated with audience emails and Twitter/X comments about Matvei Michkov.
On Wednesday’s episode, Jason stated that he believes fan debate is ultimately a positive sign for the organization. It means people are still emotionally plugged in with the team, one way or another. He also believes (as do I) that Michkov will ultimate come through his sophomore adversity as a better overall player. On Thursday’s episode, he gives fans their say. Watch the 25-minute episode below.
Lehigh Valley Phantoms Report
A horrific night on special teams proved costly for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms (13-10-3) on Wednesday night. So did a slew of unfinished scoring chances. Consequently, John Snowden’s club dropped a 3-1 decision to the last-place Springfield Thunderbirds.
After scoreless first period, the Phantoms coughed up a shorthanded goal to Chris Wagner (7th) en route to an 0-for-5 power play night. In the third period, Alex Bump (7th) briefly knotted the score after taking an excellent lead pass from fellow rookie Denver Barkey; With a head of steam, Bump fired a shot past goaltender Vadim Zherenko (23 saves).
Unfortunately, the reprieve was short-lived. Phantoms captain Garrett Wilson took a delay-of-game penalty less than a minute after Bump’s goal. Springfield’s Aleksanteri Kaskimaki (PPG, 5th) turned the ensuing 5-on-4 into the game-winning goal. Michael Buchinger tacked on an empty net goal for insurance in the game’s final minute. In a losing cause, Aleksei Kolosov made 15 saves on 17 shots.
For more from Wednesday’s game, see Mike Fink’s report from the PPL Center pressbox and Snowden’s post game press conference.
