Flyers vs. Panthers Preview: Facing the Gauntlet

Wednesday was an already eventful day for the Flyers. They traded Sean Walker to the Colorado Avalanche and placed Nick Seeler on IR before signing him to a four-year contract extension.

With most of their trade deadline business handled, the focus shifts to the start of a 10-game stretch that will define the Flyers status as a potential playoff team. It starts with the NHL's league leader, the Florida Panthers.

Game time is at 7 p.m.

Team Leaders

Philadelphia Flyers	GP	G	A	P	Florida Panthers	GP	G	A	P
Travis Konecny	57	27	27	54	Sam Reinhart	63	45	30	75
Joel Farabee	63	18	27	45	Matthew Tkachuk	62	21	50	71
Owen Tippett	59	22	16	38	Carter Verhaeghe	63	30	34	64
Travis Sanheim	62	8	29	37	Aleksander Barkov	57	15	47	62
Sean Couturier	59	11	24	35	Evan Rodrigues	63	10	26	36

Joel Farabee has struggled to produce points of late, but will be needed to help power the offense during this challenging run. Farabee has just one goal in the last 16 games. He also has five assists in that time.

Sam Reinhart has been leading the way for the Panthers offense. In the last four games, Reinhart has six goals, including a pair of multi-goal games, following up a seven-game goalless drought.

Sam Ersson gets the start for the Flyers. Ersson made 24 saves on 25 shots in a shootout loss to the Blues on Monday. Ersson also made 20 saves on 21 shots in a win over the Panthers on Feb. 6.

Sergei Bobrovsky is expected to start for the Panthers. Bobrovsky made 26 saves on 28 shots in a win over the Rangers on Monday night in his last start. That marked three straight wins for Bobrovsky. He has allowed two goals or fewer in 11 straight starts.

Projected Lineups

Flyers Scratches: Jamie Drysdale (injury), Rasmus Ristolainen (injury), Travis Konecny (injury), Nick Seeler (injury), Olle Lycksell (healthy)

Panthers Scratches: Josh Mahura (healthy), Steven Lorentz (healthy), William Lockwood (healthy), Jonah Gadkovich (healthy)

Lineup Notes

Flyers: With Sean Walker traded and Nick Seeler out with injury, Ronnie Attard and Adam Ginning will make their season debuts. Travis Konecny is on the trip and participated in Wednesday's practice in a regular jersey, so there's a chance he could return.
Panthers: Vladimir Tarasenko makes his debut with the Panthers after being acquired on Wednesday.

Game Notes

Power Play: Flyers (12.9% - 32nd), Panthers (26.5% - 5th)
Penalty Kill: Flyers (86.5% - 1st), Panthers (81.9% - 7th)
Recent History vs. Panthers
- Feb. 6, 2024 - Flyers 2, Panthers 1 (at FLA)
Flyers Leaders vs. Panthers
- Cam Atkinson: 31 GP, 11 G, 10 A, 21 P
- Travis Konecny: 17 GP, 4 G, 9 A, 13 P
- Sean Couturier: 30 GP, 5 G, 7 A, 12 P
- Sam Ersson: 1 GP, 1-0-0, 1.00 GAA, .952 SV%
- Felix Sandstrom: 1 GP, 0-1-0, 4.32 GAA, .889 SV%
Milestone Watch
- Joel Farabee needs one assist to reach 100 for his career.
- Sean Couturier needs five points to reach 500 for his career.