One day after the 2025 NHL trade deadline, John Tortorella's Philadelphia Flyers (27-28-8) are home to take on Dan Bylsma's Seattle Kraken (26-33-4) at Wells Fargo Center. Saturday's matinee at Wells Fargo starts at 12:30 p.m. EST.
The game will be nationally broadcasted on ABC/ESPN+. The radio broadcast is on 97.5 The Fanatic with an online simulcast on Flyers Radio 24/7.
This is the second and final meeting of the 2024-25 season series between the teams. At Climate Pledge Arena on October 17, the Kraken beat the Flyers by a 6-4 score. Jared McCann collected a goal and two assists for Seattle, while Scott Laughton had a pair of goals and an assist for the Flyers.
Saturday's game is the third match of a seven-game homestand for the Flyers. The Flyers are 0-2-0 thus far after going 4-0-1 over their five previous games. The Kraken, playing the second game of a five-game homestand, have also lost both of their last two games.
Here are the RAV4 Things to watch on Saturday plus an x-factor heading into the game.
1. Life after Laughts
The Flyers locker room atmosphere is going to be different for some time. Laughton, who was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday, was a galvanizing presence for his now-former team: universally respected by the other players and appreciated for how he went the extra mile (on or off the ice) for every one of his colleagues.
In addition to the Laughton trade, the Flyers dealt Andrei Kuzmenko (acquired in the January 31st exchange that sent Joel Farabee and Morgan Frost to the Calgary Flames) and veteran defenseman Erik Johnson at the deadline. Hockey is a business, but bonds run deep within the locker room, especially with homegrown players who had spent their entire careers with the Flyers.
There were emotional goodbyes after the well-liked Farabee and Frost were traded, and even more so when leadership group mainstay Laughton (a member of the organization since the 2012 Draft) goes to another team. The immediate challenge for the Flyers who remain is to focus on the game at hand on Saturday against Seattle.
2. Couturier and Sanheim
The two Flyers players with the most seniority in the organization are team captain Sean Couturier (2011 Draft) and veteran defenseman Travis Sanheim (2014 Draft). Both are already key players on the club on a day-in and day-out basis. Now, it is even more important that they lead by example as the club moves on following the Laughton trade.
Couturier's line with Owen Tippett and Matvei Michkov has played well since the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament break. Couturier (10 goals, 20 assists, 30 points) has five points in six games since the break, including a pair of goals.
Sanheim (27 points) has averaged a career-high 24:25 of ice time this season. Last Saturday, he logged 27:47 in the Flyers' upset road win against the Winnipeg Jets.
3. Opportunities for callup players
The Flyers made several recalls from the AHL's Lehigh Valley Phantoms after Friday's series of trades. Defenseman Emil Andrae (24 NHL games played this season), center Rodrigo Abols (nine games with the Flyes) and winger Olle Lycksell (six games) have all been called up with the intention of having them on the NHL roster for the rest of the season.
Abols will step into the lineup spot vacated by Laughton. Lycksell will take over Kuzmenko's role, including a projected opportunity to see power play time with the NHL club. Johnson's departure opened an NHL roster spot for Andrae to return. In terms of playing time, Andrae will compete with the likes of Egor Zamula for a spot in the starting lineup.
4. Between the pipes
With the Flyers playing three games in four days, including back-to-back matinees on Saturday against the Kraken and Sunday against New Jersey, the Flyers will split the goaltending duties. Samuel Ersson started on Thursday in a 4-1 loss to Winnipeg.
Over the weekend, Ivan Fedotov will get one game and Ersson will get the other. There is no morning skate on Saturday and, as of this writing, the starter against Seattle has not yet been confirmed. However, it is notable that Fedotov has played very well in each of his last two appearances.
X-Factor: New linemates for TK
Flyers leading scorer Travis Konecny (63 points in 63 games) had been playing on a line with Laughton and Kuzmenko on either side of the 4 Nations Face-Off. Theirs was the one line in the top nine of the rotation that was not fully in sync in terms of being a connected trio. The Couturier line and the combination of Noah Cates centering Tyson Foerster and Bobby Brink have had some very productive games.
With the trades that sent Laughton to Toronto and Kuzmenko to the LA Kings, Konecny will have two new linemates come gametime against Seattle. In terms of his individual play, Konecny has been enduring his first slump of the season. He had a tough evening against Winnipeg on Thursday, and has five points (1g, 4a) in his last 12 games.
