Playing their penultimate game of the 2025-26 preseason, Rick Tocchet's Philadelphia Flyers host Patrick Roy's New York Islanders on Thursday evening. The Flyers are 2-3-0 in the preseason to date.
Game time is 7:00 p.m. EDT. The match will be broadcast on NBCSP and 97.5 The Fanatic. Here are five storylines to track on Thursday evening.
1. Remaining roster battles.
Tocchet and the Hockey Operations staff must decide whether to carry 13 or 14 forwards -- or seven or eight defensemen -- on the opening night roster. Excluding injured players, the Flyers have 14 forwards and eight defensemen remaining in camp.
Nothing is set in stone yet. Thursday's game is an important one in figuring out who plays on Saturday (the final dress rehearsal for opening night) before roster decisions have been made.
Among forwards, the primary decision is whether 19-year-old Jett Lunchanko makes the opening roster for the second straight year. Additionally, there is a decision to make about Latvian center/winger Rodrigo Abols (who has dressed in every game of the preseason).
If the Flyers ultimately go into the season with 13 forwards, veteran policeman Nick Deslauriers (entering the final season of his contract) may also be part of the numbers game juggling challenge. Likewise, rookie hopeful Nikita Grebenkin is working toward nailing down an opening night roster spot.
2. Blueline depth chart.
If the Flyers go into the season with eight defensemen, the personnel is set. Exactly eight healthy blueliners remain in camp. If the team opts for seven defensemen, one cut remains.
However, even if the Flyers choose the eight-D route, third pair starting jobs for opening night remain up for grabs. The field: Egor Zamula, Adam Ginning, Noah Juulsen and Dennis Gilbert. Ginning/Zamula and Gilbert/Juulsen skated as defense pairs in the last two practices. However, on Monday in Boston, Ginning was paired with Juulsen and Gilbert played alongside Zamula.
3. Finding balance on the Zegras line.
At least to start the season, Tocchet plans to use Trevor Zegras at center and Matvei Michkov on his right wing. The two highly skilled and creative forwards have started to develop chemistry during camp.
Tocchet said on Wednesday that he needs to find a two-way presence to play left wing on the line. However, it's unfair to ask one player to carry the entire off-puck load on any one line. Regardless of their other linemate, Zegras and Michkov also need to strike some balance in their decision making.
Meanwhile, Tocchet also wants someone skilled enough to take advantage of the offensive opportunities created by playing with Zegras and Michkov. Christian Dvorak, Grebenkin and Owen Tippett have all gotten looks on the line. Tocchet stated on Wednesday that he really liked Tippett's play in practice that day.
There's a good possibility that the staff will want to take a longer look at Tippett on that unit to see if the line: a) produces consistent offense together, and b) plays well enough together without the puck to hold their own when the opponent gains possession.
4. Goaltending performance.
Samuel Ersson and Dan Vladar will each get one more start apiece before the team starts to focus on its opening night preparations to play the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers.
Ersson went the distance in net at home against the Bruins last Saturday. Vladar got the nod in Monday's 3-2 (1-0) shootout win in Boston. Nothing is decided yet about which goalie will be in the net in the regular season opener. Comparative performances at practice and the last two preseason games will determine which one starts in Sunrise.
5. Flyers power play.
The team has done a lot of power play work at practice the past two days under the direction of assistant coaches Yogi Svejkovsky and Jay Varady. It's no secret that power play improvement is a major goal for the Flyers in 2025-26.
Early camp power play performance -- good, bad, or in between -- is an unreliable way to judge progress. There are too many players in camp (and divided practice sessions) to spend in-depth time on special teams. Now, however, the Flyers have increased the power play focus both in terms of tactics and PP1/PP2 personnel distribution.
