The Philadelphia Flyers (5-8-1) wrap up a three-game road trip against the Florida Panthers (10-3-1) at Amerant Bank Arena tonight at 6 pm EST. Philadelphia enters the contest following a gutsy 2-1 overtime win a short distance away in Tampa Bay two nights ago. Florida, the reigning Stanley Cup Champions of the world, has sauntered into the 2024 season like the Title-winning club they’ve become with wins in their last six straight games.
Flyers Preview (5-8-1, 8th in Metro)
On paper, it would appear this would be a sizable mismatch on the sports calendar. On Thursday night, the Flyers showed the battle they will need to dig themselves out of an early rut. They need points in a hurry but are moving in the right direction with a 4-6-0 record over their last ten outings.
Travis Konecny leads Philadelphia in goals (7) and assists (8) on the campaign. Owen Tippet is heating up offensively with goals in back-to-back games. John Tortorella will keep Matvei Michkov out for a second straight game choosing to go with the same lineup that earned a scrappy overtime win against Tampa Bay.
According to Charlie O’Connor, Sam Ersson returns to the net for Philadelphia tonight following a short break for an injury. The 25-year-old goaltender departed a game in the first period last week with a lower-body injury. Ersson had been practicing with the squad on the trip and will look to improve on his 4-2-1 records in 2024.
Most recent line combinations courtesy of Daily Faceoff:
Tippett – Couturier – Konecny
Richard – Frost – Brink
Farabee – Laughton – Foerster
Deslauriers – Cates – Hathaway
Sanheim – Drysdale
Seeler – Ristolainen
Andrae – Zamula
Ersson
Fedotov
Panthers Preview (10-3-1, 1st in Atlantic)
Life is pretty good for the reigning Cup Champion Florida Panthers with an 8-1-1 record in their last 10 games and a seat comfortably atop the Atlantic Division standings. Florida has won six straight games including a 3-1 win over the New York Rangers and a pair of wins in the NHL Global Series against the Dallas Stars.
Like last year, Sam Reinhart supercharges the Florida offense with 11 goals and 11 assists for 22 points on the season. Reinhart is tied for the NHL lead in goals with the Lightning’s Nikita Kucherov, and places 5th overall in the NHL in total scoring with that 20+ point total. Kucherov scored a wraparound goal against Philly on Thursday evening.
Former Flyers rookie turned Vezina-winning goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky will likely get the start for Florida. Bobrovsky is 7-2-1 allowing under three goals a game. If Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice decides to go with the backup goalie, Spencer Knight is 3-1 with a 90% save rate in 5 games this season.
Most recent line combinations courtesy of Daily Faceoff:
Rodrigues – Barkov – Reinhart
Verhaeghe – Bennett – Thachuk
Luostarinen – Lundell – Boqvist
Greer – Nosek – Gadjovich
Forsling – Ekblad
Mikkola – Kulikov
Schmidt – Balinskis
Bobrovsky
Knight
Betting Guide
*Bets courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook
Philadelphia Flyers money line (xxx)
Florida Panthers money line (+220)
Sam Reinhart anytime goalscorer (+130)
Travis Konecny anytime goalscorer (+200)
Owen Tippett anytime goalscorer (+270)
How to watch
NBC Sports Philadelphia provides the TV coverage tonight via cable and streaming platforms. Tim Saunders and Todd Fedoruk call the action on the radio on 97.5 The Fanatic and Flyers Radio 24/7.
Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
