Coming off a 6-2 road win over the Washington Capitals on Sunday to open the preseason schedule, the Philadelphia Flyers are right back in action Monday. The club is in Quebec to take on the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre.
Game time is 7PM EDT. The game will be streamed on PhiladelphiaFlyers.com (in-network).
Here are five things to watch in Monday's match.
1. Back on the Brink
Most of Monday's game roster for the Flyers is different from the personnel that appeared in Washington. One of the two overlapping exceptions is right winger Bobby Brink. Fighting to stake down a spot on the NHL for the duration of the 2024-25 season, Brink had a strong offseason. He is coming off a two-goal game against the Capitals on Sunday.
So far in training camp and the early preseason, Brink has looked noticeably quicker on his skates as well as physically stronger. He had nice finishes on both of his goals in the opener, especially his tally that opened the scoring early in the first period.
2. Ol(l)e, Ol(l)e, Ol(l)e
Situated on the bubble of the Flyers' NHL roster entering training camp, Olle Lycksell is the other forward who will be in Monday's lineup again after playing and notching a goal in Sunday's exhibition opener.
Lycksell was already an AHL impact player offensively with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms entering last season. In 2023-24, he went on to show further improvement all-around, and earned a longer look in the NHL (18 games) than in his previous cup of coffee with the Flyers. He chipped in five points, including his first career NHL goal.
In Sunday's tilt against the Caps, Lycksell had a mixed showing. On the positive side, he scored a nice goal and was involved in a couple other prime chances. On the flip side, he took a delay of game penalty with a one-goal lead late in the second period and was the guilty party on a dangerous giveaway in the defensive zone. Thankfully, neither mistake proved costly.
Lycksell, who turned 25 on August 24, is no longer exempt from waivers. The Flyers want to take a long look at him in camp and exhibition games before rendering a decision on where he'll be slated to play at the start of the season.
3. Backhanded "Complement"
In Sunday's game, the Flyers extensively and effectively went to their backhands on shot attempts. They generated several goals that way including Brink's and Lycksell's tallies. There was also a clear focus on bearing down on plays down low and the goalmouth area.
With most of Monday's lineup having changed from the previous day (see below), it will be interesting to see if the Flyers can establish the same things against the Habs.
