The Philadelphia Flyers host the New Jersey Devils this evening at Wells Fargo Center for their final preseason contest of the 2024 schedule. In an NHL scheduling oddity, the New Jersey Devils is in Prague, Czechia to open the NHL season tomorrow afternoon against the Buffalo Sabres. Therefore, tonight’s matchup with Philadelphia will feature more AHL and fringe NHL roster players than would normally be seen in the final contest of the preseason slate.
Flyers present a limited lineup
Given the state of the NJ Devils bringing a minor league contingent to play tonight’s game in Philly, John Tortorella will counter with a lineup that features several call-ups from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms training camp. Bob Rotruck, the radio broadcaster for the Phantoms, tweeted the additions earlier today for Philadelphia. Forwards Garrett Wilson, Elliot Desnoyers, Jacob Gauthier, J.R. Avon, Brendan Furry, and Sawyer Boulton will rejoin the Flyers tonight.
On the defensive side of the puck, Emil Andrae, Helge Grans, Adam Ginning, and Hunter McDonald will get the opportunity to skate on the NHL ice surface. Andrae has made a case for one of the final spots on the Flyers opening night roster, but it is still being determined if he had done enough to avoid starting the season in Allentown, PA.
Flyers assistant coach Darryl Williams indicated Ivan Fedotov will get the start tonight and will be relieved approximately halfway through the game by youngster Alexei Kolosov.
Grounding the Jett
A notable omission from tonight’s scheduled lineup created some waves on social media this morning as rookie Jett Luchanko is not listed in the lineup. A spicy topic since his draft selection in June, Luchanko has showcased a speedy, two-way game that has caught the attention of the Flyers coaching staff.
In the event, the coaching staff was not impressed with his performance during the 2024 Training Camp, tonight’s game would’ve represented a great chance for Jett to test his skills against primarily AHL-level competition. The fact that the 18-year-old rookie is not playing in the preseason finale is a positive development for his chances at making the opening season West Coast road trip to Western Canada next week.
Jett Luchanko can play in nine NHL games before his NHL rookie contract starts under the NHL slide rule. If Daniel Briere and Co. return the speedy center to the Guelph Storm before his 10th NHL game, the Flyers will still retain 3 years of club control on Jett’s rookie contract.
How To Watch
The Flyers’ home preseason final will be available on local television NBC Sports Philadelphia presented by the returning broadcast tandem of Jim Jackson and Brian Boucher in the local viewing area. As with all Flyers broadcasts, the radio feed featuring Tim Saunders and Todd Fedoruk can be listened to via the Flyers website. The puck meets the ice tonight at 7 pm at Wells Fargo Center in South Philadelphia.
The Philadelphia Flyers open the 2024 NHL regular season in eight days in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada for the first “Flyers After Dark” in 2024. Game time for the season opener is after most East Coasters bedtime at 10 pm on 10/13/2024.
Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
