Bill Meltzer’s Flyers blog on Hockey Hot Stove is brought to you by Phans of Philly, by Lights On Electric, by New Balance of Mount Laurel, by Cover All Exteriors, and our newest sponsors, The Mens and Boys Store and Carl’s Cards and Collectibles.
Rick Tocchet’s Philadelphia Flyers (11-7-3) are in Sunrise on Wednesday to take on Paul Maurice’s two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers (12-9-1). This is the third and final meeting of the season series between the teams. The Flyers are 1-1-0 in head-to head meetings with Florida so far. They lost, 2-1, in Sunrise on opening night but captured a 5-2 win in the home opener. Dan Vladar was in goal for both games.
The Tampa Bay Lightning shut out the Flyers, 3-0, in a mostly low-event game. Philly had no answers for Tampa’s top line (Nikita Kucherov, Anthoy Cirelli, Brandon Hagel), which accounted for all three goals. The Flyers had little sustained attack and did not test Andrei Vasilevskiy (20 saves) with enough scoring chance difficulty.
The Panthers, meanwhile, crushed the Nashville Predators, 8-3, on their Bridgestone Arena home ice on Monday. A.J. Greer had two goals and an assist for the Panthers. Meanwhile, Sam Reinhart tallied his 13th goal of the season and added two assists. Carter Verhaeghe also enjoyed a three-point outburst (one goal, two helpers). Daniil Tarasov made 36 saves, facing 13 shots apiece in all three periods.
Where to watch
Time and broadcast: 7:00 p.m. ET on NBCSP
Listen online: FlyersRadio 24/7
Four keys to the game for Philadelphia: click here
In-game watch party (Maher Media): click here
Projected Flyers Lineup (updated 12:30 p.m. EST)
The projected lineup below reflects Monday’s lines in Tampa. The combinations carried over in their entirety from Saturday’s 6-3 win over the Devils. The only exception was in goal. Samuel Ersson started against the Lightning. He played fine. The lack of execution offensively and some outnumbered counters were the main problems in the Tampa game.
With three games in the next four nights, there could be some lineup personnel and/or line combination changes in Sunrise. The lineup below will be adjusted after the morning skate, if need be.
Updated lineup: Nikita Grebenkin and Noah Juulsen reenter the lineup. Nicolas Deslauriers and Egor Zamula exit. As expected, Dan Vladar is in net.
Trevor Zegras- Christian Dvorak – Owen Tippett
Tyson Foerster – Noah Cates – Travis Konecny
Matvei Michkov – Sean Couturier – Bobby Brink
Nikita Grebenkin – Rodrigo Abols – Garnet Hathaway
Cam York – Travis Sanheim
Emil Andrae – Jamie Drysdale
Nick Seeler – Noah Juulsen
Dan Vladar
[Samuel Ersson]
Projected Scratches: Nicolas Deslauriers (healthy), Egor Zamula (healthy).
Flyers Daily: Nov. 26 edition
Jason Myrtetus previews Wednesday’s game. The Panthers are riddled with key injuries but still have high-end talent, goaltending and grit. He also reviews the first quarter of the season. Also, assuming Ilya Sorokin is in goal for the Islanders on Friday, the Flyers will have run into three of the NHL’s top four Russian goalies (minus the Rangers’ Igor Sheshterkin) in a row. Vasilevskiy, Bobrovsky and Sorokin have different styles but all are very hard to beat when they’re on their A game.
Flyers Alumni : 12 Days of Christmas
As they do each year during Thanksgiving week, members of the Flyers Alumni Association paid a pre-holiday visit to to St. Francis Inn in Kensington. They delivered 100 turkeys with all the trimmings, which St. Francis Inn will serve to the local indigent population on Thanksgiving. The Alumni have done this every year for nearly a quarter century.
In more recent years, the annual holiday food delivery marks Day One of the Flyers “12 Days of Christmas” initiative. Each day, or at least 12 days (usually more), the Alumni donate money and/or time to the local community wherever they live. Recipients are small charities, community centers, and/or families in need. The 2025 holiday season marks year six of the 12 Days program.
Collectors Corner: Meet the Hound
Hockey Hot Stove is excited to welcome Carl’s Cards and Collectibles of Havertown (22 W. Eagle Rd.) to our growing family of Flyers and Phantoms content sponsors. Throughout each year, Carl’s hosts in-store appearances of local sports celebrities from every major sport. Owner Carl Henderson is a diehard Flyers fan in particular. He frequently sets up appearances for current or Alumni players.
Most recently, Carl’s brought in current Flyers goalie Dan Vladar. Coming next: Bob “the Hound” Kelly and longtime Philadelphia Inquirer beat writer Sam Carchidi. Sam will sign copies of his new book, “Bullies”.
Phantoms: What’s up next
John Snowden’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms (11-5-2) sit in third place in the American Hockey League’s Atlantic Division. They are two points behind the Providence Bruins and three points ahead of the Hershey Bears.
The Phantoms face back-to-back games this weekend. Up first, on Friday, Lehigh Valley is on the road to face the Atlantic Division leading Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (13-4-1). The Phantoms are winless against the Baby Pens so far this season, suffering 4-1 losses on Oct. 12 (home) and Oct. 22 (away).
On Saturday, the Phantoms return over to the PPL Center in Allentown. The opponent: the North Division leading Laval Rocket (12-6-0). The Phantoms sustained a road 3-0 shutout in Laval on Oct. 29.
Phantoms leading scorers to date (18 games played)
Alex Bump: 15 points (4g, 11a)
Carl Grundström: 14 points (5g. 9a)
Denver Barkey: 13 points (7g, 6a)
Lane Pederson: 13 points (6g, 7a)
Anthony Richard: 13 points (5g, 8a)
Christian Kyrou: 13 points (4g, 9a in 14 games since his trade acquisition)
Alexis Gendron: 10 points (4g, 6a in 14 games)
Autograph and holiday collection event (Dec. 10, 2025)
South Jersey Flyers fans: Come out to the New Balance Mt. Laurel store on Dec. 10 to meet various Flyers Alumni as well as 1990s Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Tommy Greene. The 2025 USA Hockey Warrior Classic top division champion Philadelphia Flyers Warriors will be on hand.
price of admission: one nonperishable food item (to be donated to Philabundance) and one unwrapped new toy or game (to be donated to Toys for Tots).
In return for the food and toy donation, attendees may have one or two items autographed for free. Additional signed items cost $10 per signature. Ten percent of all net proceeds will be donated to Snider Hockey. Additionally, Flyers Hall of Famer Dave Schultz will have copies of his new book, Hammered, for sale and autograph.
Expected Alumni attendees (subject to change): Mark Howe, Bill Barber, Joe Watson. Bob Kelly, Brad Marsh, and Frank “The Animal” Bialowas.
Let’s Go Flyers