Wrapping up their seven-game 2024 preseason schedule, John Tortorella's Philadelphia Flyers (3-3-0) will host the New Jersey Devils at Wells Fargo Center on Thursday. Game time is 7:00 p.m. EDT.
If you cannot attend in person, the game will be televised locally on NBCSP and nationally on NHL Network. The radio broadcast is on 97.5 The Fanatic with an online simulcast on Flyers Radio 24/7.
The Flyers won three of the first four exhibition games but lost 4-3 to the New York Islanders in Elmont on Monday and 4-1 on the road to the Boston Bruins on Tuesday. Most of the Flyers NHL regulars played in the latter game.
Here are five things to watch in the preseason finale.
1. Tuneups and final auditions
Most of the Flyers' opening night roster is set, along with the majority of the roster for the American Hockey League's Lehigh Valley Phantoms. However, there is still at least one NHL roster slot to be earned, along with depth chart positioning for potential call-ups early in the season.
NHL roster players suiting up for Philly on Thursday include Noah Cates, Garnet Hathaway and Erik Johnson. Keep an eye, too, on roster bubble players Olle Lycksell and Anthony Richard.
2. Devil is in the details
New Jersey's NHL roster is unavailable to play in the finale, because the team has traveled to Prague to play the Buffalo in the Global Series that will officially kick off the 2024-25 regular season. As such, the Devils will ice a game roster in Philadelphia that consists of players from the AHL's Utica Comets (coached by Flyers alum Kevin Dineen and owned by alum goalie Robert Esche).
The Flyers will have a heavy continent of Phantoms players in their own lineup, according to Tortorella. Regardless of who is in the lineup, however, the focus will be on playing a responsible and competitive brand of hockey. That's more important than who wins or loses the exhibition game itself.
3. The Russian/Belarusian connection
Ivan Fedotov and Alexei Kolosov are the Flyers goalies on the game roster for the preseason finale. They split the game in Elmont on Monday. Entering the season, Fedotov is slated to back up Samuel Ersson (who has had an excellent training camp). But there's always pressure within the depth chart, and there could be an opportunity for Kolosov (and maybe even Eetu Makinemi or veteran Cal Petersen) to see some NHL games this season.
4. Can't play "bubble wrap hockey"
No team wants to incur injuries in the last game of the preseason. However, that's simply part of the inherent risk of the game. Sometimes, being overcautious about "playing safe" to avoid injuries can backfire. Even harmless-looking plays sometimes have unintended results.
The Flyers had a couple of players get banged up in the game in Boston on Tuesday within the normal course of play: Tyson Foerster took a maintenance day on Wednesday, while Nick Seeler practiced per normal.
There are also a couple of Phantoms players and prospects who've been dealing with injury (Samu Tuomaala, Cooper Marody) or illness (Denver Barkey) during training camp. Every team goes through similar issues, of course.
The key to mitigating the risk is not to avoid any contact or to play "summer hockey" with little to no competition for the puck. Rather, it's to play as normally as possible but not recklessly.
5. Last home game for two weeks
The preseason finale is Flyers fans' last chance to see the team at Wells Fargo Center for the next two-plus weeks.
After this game, the Flyers will open the regular season in Vancouver on October 11 and remain in western Canada (Calgary, Edmonton and the U.S. Pacific Northwest (Seattle) through October 17.
After playing the Kraken, the Flyers face a return flight to Philadelphia across three time zones and then the home opener against the Canucks on the 19th.
