Playing their final home game of the 2024-25 season, interim head coach Brad Shaw's Philadelphia Flyers (33-37-10) will host Dean Evason's Columbus Blue Jackets (38-33-9) on Tuesday evening at Wells Fargo Center. Game time is 7:00 p.m. EDT.
The game will be televised on NBCSP. The radio broadcast is on 97.5 The Fanatic with an online simulcast on Flyers Radio 24/7.
This is the fourth and final meeting of the season series between the teams. The Flyers are 2-0-1 this season against Columbus: a 5-3 road win on Dec. 10, a 5-4 home overtime win on Dec. 21, and a 3-2 (2-0) road shootout loss on Jan. 14.
Prior to Tuesday's game, the Flyers will announce the winners of their team awards for the 2024-25 campaign, including the Bobby Clarke Trophy (club MVP), Barry Ashbee Trophy (top defenseman), Pelle Lindbergh Memorial Award (most improved player as voted by his Flyers teammates), Gene Hart Memorial (work ethic and dedication as voted by the Flyers Fan Club), Yanick Dupre Memorial Award (Class Guy, as voted by the Philadelphia chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association). Flyers Alumni Community Leadership Award (off-ice service in the Delaware Valley as voted by the Flyers Alumni Association board of directors), and the Toyota Cup (most three-star selection points).
Here are the RAV4 Things to watch on Tuesday plus an x-factor heading into the game.
1. Desperate opponent
The Blue Jackets have won each of their last four games, keeping their playoff hopes alive heading into Tuesday. For the Blue Jackets to overtake the Montreal Canadiens for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, Columbus needs to win both of their final two games in regulation AND for the Canadiens to lose at home in regulation to the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday.
If all three things happen, the Blue Jackets and Canadiens will both finish the regular season with 89 points, but Columbus will prevail via the regulation wins tiebreaker (30-29).
Here's where things get complicated. There is no way for the Blue Jackets to win the ROW (regulation plus overtime wins tiebreaker). For this reason, if the Blue Jackets and Flyers are tied late in the third period, Columbus will have to pull their goalie for an extra attacker.
This very scenario played out to the Flyers' detriment in their final game of last season. The winning goal for the Washington Capitals was scored into an empty Flyers net.
In 2024-25, the Flyers have nothing but pride at stake in the home finale. The Flyers are 20-19-1 at Wells Fargo Center this season, compared with a 13-18-9 mark on the road.
2. Travis Sanheim aims for 82
A top candidate for his third career Barry Ashbee Trophy, Flyers defenseman Travis Sanheim has been an iron man for the Flyers this season. He's dressed in all 80 games played to date and is aiming to dress in every game for the second time in his career. Sanheim has only missed one game since the start of the 2023-24 campaign.
The 2024-25 season has been a solid one individually for the 29-year-old blueliner. He earned a spot on Team Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament. He's achieved 30-plus points (eight goals, 22 assists) for the fourth time in his NHL career. Most notably, Sanheim has once again led all Flyers players in ice time per game (24:33 on average).
His contributions this season also include periodically switching from right defense to the left side and continuing to emerge as a quiet leader in the dressing room.
3. Quest for 80 points: Travis Konecny
Flyers leading scorer Travis Konecny (24g, 51a, 75 points) has built a strong case this season to win the Bobby Clarke Trophy for the second straight season. As with Sanheim, Konency has dressed in all 80 games the Flyers have played to date. He also represented Team Canada at the 4 Nations.
Konecny has been held off the scoresheet in each of the last two games. He'll have to close out the season with five points over the final two games if he's to secure the first 80-point season of his NHL career.
That's a tough task but not impossible. Konecny has had four separate two-game spells this season in which he's compiled five-plus points:
1) Oct 23 at Washington (one goal) and Oct. 26 vs. Minnesota (one goal, four assists)
2) Nov. 5 at Carolina (2g, 2a) and Nov. 7 at Tampa Bay (1a)
3) Nov. 14 at Ottawa (1g, 1a) and Nov. 16 vs Buffalo (2g, 1a)
4) Jan. 9 vs Dallas (1a) and Jan. 11 vs. Anaheim (4a)
Head-to-head against the Blue Jackets this season, Konecny has posted five points (2g, 3a) in five meetings. For his career, Konecny has compiled more points against Columbus than any other team in the NHL: 17 goals, 18 assists, 35 points in 29 games played.
4. Brink's evolution
The Pelle Lindbergh Memorial Award voting is in the hands of the Flyers players themselves. The media does not get a say in this award category, but if it were a media-selected honor, my vote for the most improved Flyer this season would be winger Bobby Brink.
Last season, Brink's overall game displeased former head coach John Tortortella. "Torts" was critical of the player's checking game, saying publicly this season that Brink "didn't know how to spell 'checking' a year ago."
Brink took the challenge to heart, especially since he was put on a line with Tyson Foerster and Noah Cates. The trio has been nearly inseparable since November, demonstrating consistently strong forechecking pressure and puck support as a well-connected three-player unit. Offensively, Brink remains more playmaker than shooter but his chipped in 11 goals to go along with 28 assists.
Any of the three members of the Foerster, Cates and Brink line would be worthy winners of the Lindbergh this year. Cates has discovered more of his offensive game to go along with his already established defensive awareness. Foerster's all-around game has continued to evolve, and he's been scorching hot offensively down the stretch.
In the case of Brink, however, there's arguably been no Flyer who's advanced more since last season. A year ago, Brink was loaned back to the AHL's Lehigh Valley Phantoms at one juncture and was benched/scratched periodically at the NHL level. Over the course of 2024-25, he's become an integral part of the NHL lineup under Tortorella and interim successor Shaw.
X-Factor: Hathaway setting a tone
The Flyers sorely missed Garnet Hathaway during his 15-game absence from the lineup. His unavailability was felt on the penalty kill in particular. It was also felt in the physical department, the forecheck, in 50-50 puck battles, and the team's overall competitive energy from game to game.
Since his return, Hathaway has quietly helped re-stabilize some of the areas the team was struggling while he was out. The addition of Jakob Pelletier has also been an energy-creator for the Flyers as they've come down the stretch drive despite not being in playoff contention.
