Strap in. Things probably will get worse before the regular season concludes.
The Philadelphia Flyers (27-31-8) will host the Tampa Bay Lightning (37-23-4) at 7:00pm/ET.
Tonight is game six of a seven-game homestand. During the homestand, the Flyers are 0-5-0. Two games were dropped before the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline to the Calgary Flames and the Winnipeg Jets, then since sending Andrei Kuzmenko, Scott Laughton, and Erik Johnson to new destinations, more regulation losses piled on from the Seattle Kraken, the New Jersey Devils, and the Ottawa Senators.
“You know what’s challenging for me? I feel bad for those guys [the Philadelphia Flyers]. I feel for my team; especially the guys that have been here for the three years, I’m speaking for my years being here, the guys that have gone through this for three years. They’ve done their work. They pushed; guys have developed, they’ve hung together, they’ve stuck together. This is the first time in the last two years that it’s a tough hill to climb. So, I feel for them and I feel for my coaching staff, Danny Brière, [and] the whole organization. We want to get where we want to be. What happened at the deadline, [and] all the players going prior; Beezer [Joel Farabee] and [Morgan] Frost. It was the right thing. The deadline was a seller’s market; Danny did some great things, but then we’re here. It sucks, but we just have to keep our eye on the ball, I have to stay patient as far as some of the things that we are going to probably go through here in the last quarter of the year. Evaluate, but also, try to win. I’m still going to teach. There’s going to be certain situations that there’s going to be accountability brought in. Every day there’s accountability. I’m still going to go about it that way. It’s hard, though. Those are the guys it’s hard for. They’re seeing teams ramping up, and that’s the greatest time of the year. It’s difficult for them to watch, so I really feel for them.” – John Tortorella; 3/13/2025
Per DraftKings Sportsbook, the Lightning (-185) are the favorites. They have the advantage on special teams, score at a higher rate, defend and stop pucks more efficiently, and win a higher percentage of faceoffs. Tampa Bay is a team primed for the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. Everything about them is the antithesis of Philadelphia.
When: 3/13/2025; 7:00pm/ET
Where: Wells Fargo Center; Philadelphia, PA
Broadcast Info: NBC Sports Philadelphia; Flyers Radio 24/7
Last Game PHI: 3/11/2025; 5-2 L; vs. Ottawa Senators
Last Game TBL: 3/11/2025; 4-1 L; at Carolina Hurricanes
Philadelphia Flyers
Sam Ersson (18-12-4, 2.97GAA, 88.9%SV) is back between the pipes. He received a rest from John Tortorella. The last two starts went to Ivan Fedotov. It’s paramount for Ersson to regain composure and finish the season strong. If not, evaluating an unstable goaltending position offers more questions than answers in the Flyers’ rebuild.
“As I always do, I’m going to take it each game at a time. I thought Feds [Fedotov] deserved another game [vs. Ottawa Senators] after his prior game [vs. New Jersey Devils]. Ers [Ersson] goes tonight. We’ll see where we go from there.” – John Tortorella; 3/13/2025
Sean Couturier (10G, 21A; 51.4%CF) notched a hit and went 5/11 at the faceoff dot. Stifled on the attack on Tuesday, Couturier found himself involved in other scoring plays during the losing streak. Another misleading note is the -5 rating Couturier is responsible for over the last two games. He defended and maintained structure much better than the rating suggests.
Nick Seeler (+5, 152BLK, 79HIT, 14TK:60GV; 44.3%FF) is doing okay this season. He’s contributed the most offense of his career while leading the team in blocked shots. Seeler and the rest of the defensive unit face a tall task while Rasmus Ristolainen steps out of the lineup.
Projected Lineup: Philadelphia Flyers
#71 Tyson Foerster – #27 Noah Cates – #11 Travis Konecny
#74 Owen Tippett – #14 Sean Couturier – #39 Matvei Michkov
#15 Olle Lycksell – #25 Ryan Poehling – #10 Bobby Brink
#44 Nicolas Deslauriers – #18 Rodrigo Ābols – #22 Jakob Pelletier
#8 Cam York – #6 Travis Sanheim
#24 Nick Seeler – #9 Jamie Drysdale
#36 Emil Andrae – #5 Egor Zamula
#33 Sam Ersson
(#82 Ivan Fedotov)
Projected Lineup: Tampa Bay Lightning
#59 Jake Guentzel – #21 Brayden Point – #86 Nikita Kucherov
#38 Brandon Hagel – #71 Anthony Cirelli – #20 Nick Paul
#93 Gage Goncalves – #37 Yanni Gourde – #22 Oliver Bjorkstrand
#28 Zemgus Girgensons – #11 Luke Glendening – #41 Mitchell Chaffee
#77 Victor Hedman – #90 JJ Moser
#27 Ryan McDonagh – #81 Erik Černák
#78 Emil Lilleberg – #48 Nick Perbix
#31 Jonas Johansson
(#88 Andrei Vasilevskiy)
