Wrapping up their four-game preseason slate, Rick Tocchet's Philadelphia Flyers host Spencer Carbery's Washington Capitals on Saturday at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
Game time is 5:00 p.m. EDT. The match will be broadcast on NBCSP.
The Flyers are 1-2-0 in the preseason to date. On Thursday, however, Joseph Woll notched a 28-save shutout in a 2-0 home victory over the Boston Bruins. Matvei Michkov and Cole Knuble scored for the Flyers.
On Friday, the Flyers assigned Knuble to the AHL's Lehigh Valley Phantoms. They also sent Oliver Bonk, Jett Luchanko and Jacob Gaucher to the Phantoms. The roster stands at 26 players.
Here are the RAV4 Things to watch on Saturday.
1. Dress rehearsal
The Flyers open the regular season at home against the Pittsburgh Penguins on September 30. Saturday's game, for the most part, is a final dress rehearsal under game conditions.
Most of the Flyers' veterans will dress for the preseason finale.
2. Remaining roster battles
For the most part, the Flyers' opening night NHL roster is set. Goaltender Dan Vladar (upper body) remains officially day-to-day. With Woll having appeared in his allotted two preseason games, look for Aleksei Kolosov to start the preseason finale.
Denver Barkey and Nikita Grebenkin both dealt with minor injuries during camp. Grebenkin made his preseason debut on Friday. He briefly left the game during the third period but returned.
Young defenseman David Jiricek is still looking to nail down an opening night starting lineup spot. His competition, barring injury, is veteran Simon Benoit. With Bonk going down to the Phantoms, Jiricek seems to at least have an opening NHL roster spot secured. Playing time is still up for grabs.
3. Power play
The Flyers unveiled a new PP1 personnel arrangement at Wednesday's practice and Thursday's game: Defenseman Jamie Drysdale mans the point with Trevor Zegras, Matvei Michkov, Tyson Foerster, and Porter Martone up front.
Owen Tippett and Travis Konecny, who were PP1 staples most of last season, are probable to start out on the second power play unit.
4. Puck possession
More important than winning the preseason finale, the Flyers want to get their forecheck and breakout established heading into the regular season. The first period of Thursday's game is the only one of the nine periods played to date in which Philly had a marked advantage in puck possession.
Additionally, the Flyers want to establish their neutral zone forecheck and zone entry denials now that the NHL lineup is mostly together. They don't want to rely as much on containment as they did last year.
