The Game: 7:00 p.m. EST on NBCSports Philadelphia, ESPN+/Hulu, and 93.3 WMMR
There’s a hockey game tonight? With the trade deadline tomorrow?? All right, fine.
The Flyers kick off the toughest stretch of their season against the rolling Florida Panthers with some new faces on both teams. Yesterday, the Flyers traded defenseman Sean Walker to the Colorado Avalanche in a move that makes the Ivan Provorov deal look better by the day. That trade–as well as injuries to Nick Seeler (four more years! four more years!), Rasmus Ristolainen, and Jamie Drysdale–means we should see some season debuts for a few prospects, namely Ronnie Attard and Adam Ginning. For Attard, this is make-or-break: much like Egor Zamula this year, Attard is not waiver exempt next season, so now is the time to for the Flyers to see what they’ve got. Reports are that Ginning will be returning to Sweden after this season, though maybe a strong finish could give everyone pause.
Over on the Panthers’ side, Florida rounded out their top-six forward group with Vladimir Tarasenko in a trade with Ottawa that looks like a steal for Florida and a disappointment for the Sens. The Panthers forwards have been crushing it this season, with Nick Cousins being the odd one out on the second line–adding Tarasenko shifts everyone into their proper role. Gustav Forsling, while not a new player, also inked a massive extension today ($5.75-million AAV over eight years) that may end up being one of the best contracts in the league.
The Panthers also signed pending RFA depth forward Jonah Gadjovich to a tidy 2-year extension at $775,000 AAV, so they’ve certainly had a case of the zoomies as the deadline draws nearer.
In good news for Flyers fans: it sounds like Travis Konecny will be back tonight! Okay, it’s not a lock, but he did practice in a regular contact jersey earlier this week, which is a solid sign he’s close to returning to the lineup. The Flyers have desperately missed his energy and goal scoring, as they’ve lost a few close (but winnable) games due to poor shooting luck; Tyson Foerster could’ve had a hat-trick against the Blues if he hadn’t hit the post so many times, for example.
Players to Watch
Ronnie Attard
It’s not confirmed that Attard will be in the lineup tonight, but the Flyers only have six rostered, healthy defensemen according to CapFriendly. It would be weird if he didn’t play. Attard was selected in the 3rd round of the 2019 draft, and had a cup of coffee with the Flyers at the end of the 2021-22 season where he played 15 games and registered two goals and four points. He’s more or less been in Lehigh since (except for two games at the start of last season, earning that roster spot after fighting Ross Johnston in the preseason), and this year he’s got 25 points in 46 games with the Phantoms. This is the final season Attard is waivers exempt, so the clock’s ticking on the Flyers deciding what to do with him: Is he a part of the next great Flyers team? Or is this perhaps a showcase for teams interested in Attard as part of an off season trade package?
Tyson Foerster
Man, has this kid been fun to watch! He was everywhere in the loss to the Blues, and rang a number of shots off the post. Expect him to come out hungry tonight and continue chasing the lead for goals by a rookie this season: Foerster has 16, which is tied for second with Dmitri Voronkov–one behind Connor Bedard and Marco Rossi, who both have 17.
Vladimir Tarasenko
Always fun to see a new guy in his first game with a new team. In 17 games against the Flyers, Tarasenko has six goals and 17 points, with one of those goals coming against the Flyers in Tarasenko’s last game as a Senator. The Panthers have a loaded top six, and Tarasenko should bring some lethal finishing talent to complement Matthew Tkachuk’s playmaking and Sam Bennet’s grit.
Projected Lineups
Philadelphia Flyers
Owen Tippett – Scott Laughton – Tyson Foerster
Joel Farabee – Morgan Frost – Travis Konecny
Noah Cates – Ryan Poehling – Garnet Hathaway
Nic Deslauriers – Sean Couturier – Cam Atkinson
Cam York – Travis Sanheim
Marc Staal – Egor Zamula
Ronnie Attard – Adam Ginning
Sam Ersson
(Felix Sandstrom)
Florida Panthers
Carter Verhaeghe – Aleksander Barkov – Sam Reinhart
Vladimir Tarasenko – Sam Bennett – Matthew Tkachuk
Eetu Luostarainen – Anton Lundell – Evan Rodrigues
Nick Cousins – Kevin Stenlund – Ryan Lomberg
Gustav Forsling – Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola – Brandon Montour
Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Dmitry Kulikov
Bob
(Stolarz the Goalarz)
Gameday Tunes
We’re nearing the one-year anniversary of Chuck Fletcher’s firing and Danny Briere’s promotion to interim GM and, eventually, full-fledged General Manager. He’s been doing solid work this deadline, and has shown the rebuild plan is still the plan–maybe our good times will come.
Stats via Hockey Reference
