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The Philadelphia Flyers (12-7-3) have reached American Thanksgiving and find themselves in the thick of an Eastern Conference playoff positioning battle.
Following a rolicking last minute 4-2 victory over the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers, it’s become pretty evident that the Flyers intend to stay in the fight for the foreseeable future. As the Flyers have passed the quarter pole of the season, there’s plenty of debate as to whether they will be able to get to April with a realistic chance of making the postseason. That said, there’s nothing wrong with taking stock of where the team currently stands with a bit of a Thanksgiving themed report card.
We’ll break things down by what aspects should have Flyers very thankful or perhaps pretty thankful for. In other areas, we’ll point out some things that need to cook a little more before we get into playoff prognostication.
What The Flyers Are Very Thankful For…
Daniel Vladar
Where would the Flyers be without Vladar’s work between the pipes in the early season? While the results aren’t always perfect, it’s plain to see the team plays with a measure of confidence and measured risk taking. Why? Because more often that not, the Czech goalie’s breakthrough performance as an NHL starter (2.42 goals against average, .912 save percentage) has put them in position to compete on a nightly basis. However, the main question is whether he can keep up this pace with a heavy workload, as he has never played more than 30 games in a season.
Trevor Zegras
The electric Zegras is in the midst of an offensive renaissance in his first season with the Flyers, emerging as a point per game player (21 points in 21 games). He has acted as a trigger man on the Flyers power-play, wheeling the puck creatively or flashing a quick one timer. He is also a one-man shootout cheat code.
That said, Zegras’ shift into a “hybrid” wing/center has seen him playing more the former role. Considering he was acquired to be a potential answer to their scoring line center issue, Tocchet doesn’t seem particularly enamored with him on that front.
Tyson Foerster (And Noah Cates)
Entering the first season of a two year bridge contract, Foerster leads in goal scoring with eight. He has played a more power centric game this season and is a willing intelligent forechecker. Foerster has also shown a willingness to fire at will. He shares a particular good connection with Cates, as was evidenced on his first goal in the Flyers’ 6-3 win over New Jersey Devils last Saturday night when he fired home a perfect one-timer. And his game-winning goal with 44 seconds to go against the Panthers.
Penalty Killing
One of the true revelations of the season, the Flyers penalty-killing units are currently ranked fourth in the NHL (85.5 percent heading into Wednesday). While you can certainly look at Vladar’s performance in net as a key component, the Flyers have strong personnel in front of him. Cates, Sean Couturier, Christian Dvorak, Cam York, Travis Sanheim, Nick Seeler, and Noah Juulsen have all been key contributors in stymying opposing power-plays.
What They’re Pretty Thankful For…
Christian Dvorak
One of the more questioned acquisitions from the summer due to his one year, $5.4 million contract, Dvorak has been an invaluable part of the team’s early season success. What was expected? Strong face-off work which he has delivered as the team’s leader in that area with a 55.8 percentage. However, Dvorak’s offensive game has been a pleasant surprise with six goals and 14 points in 21 games. His strong two way play acts as a counterbalance to scorer types like Matvei Michkov, Owen Tippett, and Zegras. If the Flyers remain in the thick of the playoff race, he’ll be a big part of it. If not, his performance could garner a good return at the trade deadline.
Jamie Drysdale-Emil Andrae pairing
It didn’t seem like a seamless match at first glance. But the Drysdale-Andrae pairing has been mutually beneficial for both players. While Andraw will make some mistakes, he is being given a bit of runway to show what he is capable of at the NHL level. After the pairs flashed against the New Jersey Devils, both players contributed offensively to the Flyers rally against Florida on Wednesday night. Andrae picked up a goal and an assist, while Drysdale notched two assists.
Bobby Brink & Travis Konecny
While his former linemates (Cates and Foerster) remain together, Brink has found himself playing alongside captain Sean Couturier and Michkov and has been a pretty natural fit. Despite his relatively small stature, his relentless forechecking work and willingness to battle in front of the net meshes well.
Konency has slide into Brink’s spot and given that line some threatening offensive looks. But there’s times when the Flyers assistant captain will miss golden opportunities to finish with an extra pass or a missed shot by scooping the puck. Is it possible that he’s pressing too hard to make the Canadian Olympic team? There’s times when it seems like it.
Cam York-Travis Sanheim pairing
The uptick in the Flyers defensive metrics can be directly attributed to the team’s improvement in the neutral- and defensive zones. And there is no defensive pairing that Tocchet trusts more in all situations than Cam York and Travis Sanheim. While the latter has proven himself a bellwether at the top of the Flyers blueline, York’s rebounded well from a rough 2024-25 season.
What Needs More Time To Cook?
Team-Wide Offense
As good as the Flyers defense has looked, their offense just hasn’t gotten going at this point of the season. Following the Panthers game, the Flyers are currently 27th in the NHL in goal scoring with 64 goals scored. Philadelphia has alot of offensive talent on the wing, but lack a dynamic offensive driver at center.
In addition, the team’s fourth line with Rodrigo Abols and Garnet Hathaway with a rotation of Nikita Grebenkin and Nic Deslauriers has provided precious little offense.
As a result, the Flyers find themselves in alot of close games with little margain for error. That kind of meager output will make their road to the postseason a difficult one.
Matvei Michkov
While his goal scoring is starting to heat up with five goals in the last nine games, it’s incumbent that the second year Russian star winger become an offensive force. Michkov’s creativity with the puck holds no bounds, but he remains very much a work in progress with his play away from it. He came into camp out of game shape due to a summer ankle injury.
It’s taken some time for Michkov to ramp things up. He also has to earn Tocchet’s trust late in games when the bench is shortened. In the end, his improvement is a necessity for the Flyers to be a playoff possibility.
Sam Ersson
It’s been a tough season so far for Sam Ersson. He’s been eclipsed by Vladar in the starter’s role, has a 3.13 goals against average and a .850 save percentage. His previous start against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday was solid, but the team in front of him seems to play differently when he is in net. Much more tightly as if to protect the proverbial house. They’ll need more from him as the season progresses because a distributed workload would be beneficial to both goaltenders. However, Ersson has to hold up his end. So far, it hasn’t happened.
Power Play
In late October and early November, the Flyers power-play had peaked around 15th in the league. It was a notable improvement from the past few seasons, where they hovered near the bottom of the league.
However, the man-advantage units have gone somewhat cold of late, as they’ve dropped to 21st in the league (17 percent). It’s a group that has talent (especially with Zegras acting as the trigger), but struggles to create those chaotic moments that opens up the opposing penalty killers. It’s great to have workman-like players like Cates and Couturier as part of the units, but there’s times where there’s just one pass too many in trying to thread a perfect play.
