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Rick Tocchet’s Philadelphia Flyers find themselves in an 0-2 hole in their Easter Conference Semifinal series against the Carolina Hurricanes. The series resumes on Thursday with the venue shifting to Xfinity Mobile Arena. On Monday, Philly built an early two-goal lead. Unfortunately, they were unable to add to the lead and ultimately lost in overtime, 3-2.
The team had an off day on Tuesday. On Wednesday, the team practiced at the FTC in Voorhees. The blueline pairings seem likely to carry over from Game Two, including Emil Andrae on the right side of the third pair. Up front, things are much more uncertain.
Injury updates
Tocchet provided a couple of injury updates on two players missing from practice on Thursday. Unfortunately, it’s not good news.
- Noah Cates (lower body) has been ruled out for the remainder of the series. The two-way forward needed assistance to get back to the locker room in Monday’s game.
- Christian Dvorak (undisclosed) took a maintenance day on Wednesday, as he has often done recently between game nights.
- Owen Tippett (lower body) practiced on Wednesday but mostly on his own. He’s officially a game day decision for Thursday. Tippett’s speed and size has been sorely missed in this series. He missed Games One and Two.
Luchanko recalled
The Flyers have added 2024 first-round pick Jett Luchanko playoff roster. His Brantford Bulldogs team was knocked out of the Ontario Hockey League playoffs by the Barrie Colts after holding a three games to one lead in the series. The Bulldogs lost back-to-back overtime decisions and then got shut out, 5-0, at home on Monday in Game Seven.
Luchanko, who will turn 20 in late August, will play his first full pro season in 2026-27. Tocchet indicated after Wednesday’s practice that Luchanko is a depth option in case of additional injuries in the lineup.
Flyers Playoff Scoring
Rasmus Ristolainen — 5 points (1g, 4a)
Jamie Drysdale — 4 points (2g, 2a)
Travis Konecny — 4 points (1g, 3a)
Sean Couturier — 4 points (1g, 3a)
Trevor Zegras — 4 points (1g, 3a)
Noah Cates — 4 points (1g, 3a)
Porter Martone – 3 points (2g, 1a)
Travis Sanheim — 3 points (2g, 1a)
Christian Dvorak — 3 points (0g, 3a)
Owen Tippett — 2 points (1g, 1a) — 6 games
Garnet Hathaway — 2 points (1g, 1a) — 6 games
Cam York — 2 points (1g, 1a)
Denver Barkey — 2 points (1g, 1a)
Noah Juulsen — 2 points (0g, 2a) — 5 games
Alex Bump — 1 point (1g, 0a) — 4 games
Luke Glendening — 1 point (1g, 0a)
Matvei Michkov — 1 points (0g, 1a)
Carl Grundstrom — 1 point (0g,1 a) — 1 game
Tyson Foerster — 0 points (0g, 0a)
Emil Andrae — 0 points (0g, 0a) — 3 games
Flyers Playoff Goaltending
Dan Vladar — 8 GP, 4-4, 1.89 GAA, .928 SV%, 2 SO
Samuel Ersson — DNP
Flyers Lineup
Based on Wednesday’s practice, it appears that Trevor Zegras may center Alex Bump and Porter Martone in Game Three. Denver Barkey centered Matvei Michkov and Carl Grundstrom. It’s likely that Garnet Hathaway draw back into the lineup in Game Three.
Sean Couturier, having an excellent playoff run, could move up in the lineup with Luke Glendening centering the fourth line. Most likely, Dvorak centers Travis Konecny and Tyson Foerster. Jett Luchanko was with Foerster and Garret Wilson on Wednesday.
The Flyers will hold a 10:30 a.m. optional morning skate on Thursday at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Starting iine combos will not become evident until pregame warmups. For reference, below are Monday’s lines and scratches.
Trevor Zegras – Christian Dvorak – Travis Konecny
Tyson Foerster – Noah Cates – Matvei Michkov
Alex Bump – Denver Barkey – Porter Martone
Luke Glendening – Sean Couturier – Carl Grundstrom
Travis Sanheim – Rasmus Ristolainen
Cam York – Jamie Drysdale
Nick Seeler – Emil Andrae
Dan Vladar
[Samuel Ersson]
Scratches: Owen Tippett (lower body), Noah Juulsen (healthy), Garnet Hathaway (healthy), Nikita Grebenkin (upper body), Garrett Wilson (healthy).
Rick Tocchet: Post-Practice Press Conference
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