Flyers-Blue Jackets Preview: Must Win

Friday was another night of points going by the wayside before fruitful scoreboard watching. That has been the Flyers saving grace in the playoff picture of late.

By the slimmest of margins, the Flyers managed to retain a playoff spot into Saturday's action despite losses in six straight games. Now they are in the territory where, for their playoff lives at least, every game is essentially a must-win. That starts on Saturday night, as they take on the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Game time is at 7 p.m.

Team Leaders

Philadelphia Flyers	GP	G	A	P	Columbus Blue Jackets	GP	G	A	P
Travis Konecny	71	31	34	65	Johnny Gaudreau	75	11	45	56
Owen Tippett	73	28	23	51	Zach Werenski	64	7	42	49
Joel Farabee	77	21	28	49	Kirill Marchenko	72	21	18	39
Travis Sanheim	76	10	33	43	Boone Jenner	58	22	13	35
Morgan Frost	66	13	28	41	Dmitri Voronkov	70	18	15	33

Owen Tippett set a new career-high with his 28th goal of the season on Friday night. He has goals in three of his last four games.

Kirill Marchenko is starting to heat up with goals in three straight games and five points in that time. He has two assists, both in the season opener between the two teams, against the Flyers in three games this season.

Sam Ersson gets the start for the Flyers. Ersson exited after the first period of Monday's game against the Islanders, allowing two goals on six shots. Ersson took the loss in two games prior as well. He has two starts against Columbus this season, making 20 saves on 22 shots in a win on Nov. 19 and making 26 saves on 28 shots in a shootout loss on Jan. 4.

Jet Greaves is expected to get the start for Columbus. Greaves entered in the second period of Thursday's game against the Islanders and made 24 saves on 25 shots in the loss. This would be Greaves' fifth appearance and fourth start of the season.

Projected Lineups

Flyers Scratches: Rasmus Ristolainen (injury), Sean Couturier (injury), Nick Deslauriers (healthy), Denis Gurianov (healthy), Egor Zamula (healthy), Ronnie Attard (healthy), Adam Ginning (healthy)

Blue Jackets Scratches: Adam Fantilli (injury), Sean Kuraly (injury), Yegor Chinakhov (injury), Adam Boqvist (injury), Elvis Merzlikins (injury), Jake Bean (injury), Daniil Tarasov (injury), Boone Jenner (personal)

Lineup Notes

Flyers: The Flyers did not have a morning skate following Friday's game. Any lineup changes will be known closer to game time.
Blue Jackets: Johnny Gaudreau returns to the lineup after missing Thursday's game due to illness. Jake Bean joins a crowded injured list and will not play. Nick Blankenburg slots in for him. Malcolm Subban was called up as the backup goalie with Daniil Tarasov suffering an injury in Thursday's game.

Game Notes

Power Play: Flyers (12.8% - 32nd), Blue Jackets (14.9% - 30th)
Penalty Kill: Flyers (83.7% - 3rd), Blue Jackets (76.6% - 25th)
Recent History vs. Blue Jackets
- Jan. 4, 2024 - Blue Jackets 3, Flyers 2 (F/SO) (at PHI)
- Nov. 19, 2023 - Flyers 5, Blue Jackets 2 (at PHI)
- Oct. 12, 2023 - Flyers 4, Blue Jackets 2 (at CBJ)
Flyers Leaders vs. Blue Jackets
- Travis Konecny: 25 GP, 15 G, 15 A, 30 P
- Sean Couturier: 33 GP, 9 G, 13 A, 22 P
- Erik Johnson: 38 GP, 4 G, 18 A, 22 P
- Sam Ersson: 2 GP, 1-0-1, 1.92 GAA, .920 SV%
Milestone Watch
- Travis Konecny needs three points to reach 400 for his career.