Rick Tocchet’s Philadelphia Flyers are set to face the Boston Bruins on Thursday at TD Garden. The Flyers, with a record of 24-19-9, will meet the Bruins (31-20-3) for the first time this season in what is expected to be a competitive matchup between two longtime rivals. The game will begin at 7:00 p.m. EST and will be broadcast on NBCSP+.
This contest marks the second half of back-to-back games for the Flyers and is part of a stretch where they play three games in four nights. On Wednesday, Philadelphia lost to the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-3 after rallying from a two-goal deficit in the third period but conceding two late goals.
The Bruins have recently recovered from a six-game winless streak and have posted an 11-2-1 record over their last 14 games, including an 8-1-1 run in their most recent ten outings. On Tuesday, Boston secured a 3-2 overtime victory against the Nashville Predators.
Goaltending decisions are expected to factor into Thursday’s game. Dan Vladar returned from injury for Philadelphia on Wednesday and made 26 saves, but was not able to prevent all four goals due to defensive breakdowns and screens. Samuel Ersson is likely to start against Boston as part of managing goalie workloads during consecutive games. For Boston, Jeremy Swayman has been the primary goaltender this season, supported by Jonas Korpisalo.
The Flyers have faced issues with turnovers and defensive coverage in recent losses following improvements seen during their western road trip. They will need strong goaltending and disciplined play against a Bruins team that has capitalized on opponents’ mistakes.
Travis Konecny leads Philadelphia in scoring after recording a hat trick in Wednesday’s loss and overtaking Trevor Zegras for the team lead this season. Konecny blocked a shot off his foot late in that game but returned for the third period; his status for Thursday remains uncertain according to coach Rick Tocchet: “it’s not a certainty Konecny will be able to play in Boston.” Tocchet added that Konecny “will suit up if he possibly can.” The team will not hold a morning skate before facing Boston.
Other contributors for Philadelphia include Owen Tippett, rookie Denver Barkey, Matvei Michkov, and Bobby Brink. Coach Tocchet emphasized that consistent effort across the roster is needed as the team looks to improve its playoff position after the Olympic break: “the bottom line…is the Flyers can’t just have a few players going or segments of strong team play.”
Boston’s David Pastrnak continues his productive season with 69 points so far and has historically performed well against Philadelphia with 26 goals in 34 games against them. Morgan Geekie has reached 30 goals this year for Boston, while Charlie McAvoy leads their defensemen offensively despite missing several games.
The Flyers aim to rebound from recent setbacks as they continue their push toward postseason contention.
