Rick Tocchet's Philadelphia Flyers (26-21-11) are home on Saturday for a matinee match against Marco Sturm's Boston Bruins (33-20-5). It's the second of three meetings between the teams this season.
Game time at Xfinity Mobile Arena is 3:00 p.m. EST. The game will be nationally televised on ABC.
On Thursday in New York, the Flyers overcame a 2-0 deficit to earn a 3-2 overtime victory against the New York Rangers. Matvei Michkov paced the win with two goals (14th and 15th); a second period power play tally and the game winner after exiting the penalty box in overtime. Trevor Zegras (21st) netted the tying goal in the opening minute of the third period.
The Bruins enter this game coming off a 4-2 home win against the Columbus Blue Jackets, halting the Blue Jackets' seven-game winning streak. Joonas Korpisalo made 36 saves on 38 shots to earn the win, despite having temporarily left the game after a second period collision. Viktor Arvidsson scored twice for Boston. Morgan Geekie and Sean Kuraly notched one goal apiece.
Here are the RAV4 Things to follow in Saturday afternoon's game.
1. Followup game for Michkov
Having Michkov play consistently well over the remainder of the season is one of the most important big-picture keys for the Flyers. He worked hard over the Olympic break, and skated with good energy both in a 3-1 loss in Washington and Thursday's 3-2 win over the Rangers.
That's a positive for the team and the player. Now it needs to be followed up moving forward. It was a big moment for Michkov to redeem himself from a coverage mistake in Washington and a late regulation goaltender interference penalty against the Rangers. He ended up with positive building blocks to take away from the first two games after the Olympics.
2. The Cates Line
The trio with Michkov and Bobby Brink has been in the thick of multiple scoring chances over the last two games. Specific to Cates, the two-way center ended an 18-game scoring drought for Philly's lone goal against the Bruins. The following night in New York, Cates had a very strong performance: five shots on goal, an assist on Michkov's first tally, and his usual solid off-puck play.
It's no secret that the Flyers need more production from any and all of their centers. Cates has answered the bell so far after the break.
3. Attention to detail
Puck-watching and a coverage breakdown were important factors in the Flyers' 6-3 loss to the Bruins on January 29. First, the Bruins scored at 9:49 and 10:30 of the first period. In the second period, Boston scored three times on 10 shots.
These lapses forced the Flyers to chase the game unsuccessfully. To avoid a similar outcome on Saturday, the Flyers cannot afford such lapses.
4. The Pasta problem
Bruins sniper David Pastrnak remains one of the most explosive scorers in the NHL. Over the course of his career, Pastrnak has taken particular delight in punishing the Flyers (26 goals and 45 points in 35 games). He's scored more times against Philly than any other NHL opponent.
In his last game, Pastrnak notched his 50th assist (72nd point) of the 2025-26 season. The Czech superstar became the fourth different player in Boston franchise history to post four or more consecutive 50-assist campaigns. The others: Hockey Hall of Famers Phil Esposito, Bobby Orr and Ray Bourque.
Meanwhile, the 29-year-old Pastrnak also has five seasons in which he's notched 40 or more goals. He's done it in each of the last three years. He's well off the pace to do that again this season, but he remains deadly as a goal-scorer when he can fire off one-timers from the circle.
