The Philadelphia Flyers return to home ice tonight with a mix of rest, recalibration, and a healthy dose of urgency as they prepare to host the St. Louis Blues—a rematch coming less than two weeks after their wild 6–5 shootout win in Missouri.
Four full days have passed since Philadelphia’s last game, a 5–1 loss in Dallas that exposed some structural slippage and left Rick Tocchet wanting more from his group.
A Practice Week With a Purpose
The Flyers haven’t exactly eased back into things since returning from the road. Every practice this week has carried a sharper edge—a clear response to the team’s uneven compete level in Dallas. Instead of flowing, low-contact sessions, players got physical reps, contested drills, and plenty of one-on-one battles.
Tocchet made that clear: the Flyers needed to reestablish some of their identity. Less backing off. More engagement. More collective pressure. More five-man commitment in every zone. And by all accounts, the players embraced it.
Line Evaluations Continue—With One Firm Exception
Tocchet’s line combinations have been a running storyline for a couple of weeks now as he continues to adjust to injuries, performance swings, and the need to get more chemistry out of certain groups.
This morning, he told media, “They’ve got to start playing better so I don’t always have to switch the lines.”
But there was one notable point of stability: the Tippett–Dvorak–Zegras trio.
By now, that line has worked itself into a kind of untouchable status. Tocchet said outright that he didn’t want to break them up, and he has every reason to stick with them. They’ve been consistent performers lately—balanced, creative, and dangerous in transition—and the chemistry between Tippett’s speed, Dvorak’s structure, and Zegras’s playmaking has given the Flyers a reliable source of offense when other combinations are still searching for their rhythm.
As for the rest of the lineup, the puzzle is still shifting. Tocchet has repeatedly talked about his desire to keep certain pairs together while seeing what combinations elevate the group as a whole. His patience with experimentation is notable, but so is his need for a spark. Tonight will be another test to see which direction this lineup ultimately settles into.
A Special Night With Real Meaning
Beyond the on-ice storyline, tonight is also Hockey Fights Cancer night—an incredibly special game, and one that will undoubtedly touch many people in the building whose lives have been affected by cancer.
For the Flyers, the meaning behind it feels especially present this year. Throughout the week, players have spent time with children battling cancer, doing crafts, showing them around the locker room, and having truly meaningful (and hilarious) interactions that undoubtedly created some special memories for all parties.
Two of those kids even collaborated with Sam Ersson and Dan Vladar to design custom goalie masks that the netminders will wear during warmups. For all the tactical talk and lineup scrutiny surrounding this game, that human component can’t be overstated.
Projected Lines
Philadelphia Flyers
Forwards:
Matvei Michkov – Sean Couturier – Bobby Brink
Tyson Foerster – Noah Cates – Travis Konecny
Trevor Zegras – Christian Dvorak – Owen Tippett
Nic Deslauriers – Rodrigo Abols – Garnet Hathaway
Defense:
Cam York – Travis Sanheim
Nick Seeler – Jamie Drysdale
Emil Andrae – Noah Juulsen
Goalies:
Dan Vladar
Sam Ersson
St. Louis Blues
Forwards:
Dylan Holloway – Robert Thomas – Jake Neighbours
Brayden Schenn – Dalibor Dvorsky – Jordan Kyrou
Pavel Buchnevich – Pius Suter – Jimmy Snuggerud
Alexey Toropchenko – Oskar Sundqvist – Nathan Walker
Defense:
Philip Broberg – Colton Parayko
Cam Fowler – Justin Faulk
Tyler Tucker – Matthew Kessel
Goalies:
Joel Hofer
Jordan Binnington
