On Thursday, Brad Shaw and the Philadelphia Flyers (29-36-9) began what’ll be a short-lived era. After being relieved of his head coaching duties, John Tortorella left a note for the coaches and players. The decision to fire Tortorella surprised most because of the timing, but Daniel Brière decided to pull the plug. With no light at the end of this season’s tunnel, Tortorella commented after a loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs and got into a heated confrontation with Cam York, to which each party crossed boundaries. Nonetheless, the turnaround from a loss against the Maple Leafs, firing Tortorella, disciplining York, and hosting the Montréal Canadiens resulted in a victory headed by Shaw in his interim head coaching debut with the Flyers.
York didn’t compete. He sat on the bench to fulfill his disciplinary action. Today, Shaw expects to play York.
At the Wells Fargo Center, the Buffalo Sabres (30-35-6) visit. Philadelphia experienced similar success when comparing records. Successful penalty kills will go a long way toward a winning recipe for the Flyers. They’re already a better faceoff team than the Sabres, and mitigating possessions with scoring chances is the thesis of top-notch defensive play.
This matchup doesn’t have a true favorite or underdog. Today’s clash between Philadelphia and Buffalo is a toss-up.
When: 3/29/2025; 1:00pm/ET
Where: Wells Fargo Center; Philadelphia, PA
Broadcast Info: NBC Sports Philadelphia; Flyers Radio 24/7
Last Game PHI: 3/27/2025; 6-4 W; vs. Montréal Canadiens
Last Game BUF: 3/27/2025; 7-3 W; vs. Pittsburgh Penguins
Philadelphia Flyers
Sam Ersson (20-15-5; 3.13GAA, 88.2%SV) will likely start. He secured his 20th win of 2024-2025 versus the Canadiens. However, Ersson allowed four goals. In his last ten starts (3-5-1), Ersson once finished with a save percentage higher than 90%SV. To the surprise of no one, that start wasn’t in March 2025. He could refresh that stat with a better performance versus the Sabres, but Buffalo has a misleading amount of firepower for a team ranked behind the Flyers in the NHL Standings.
Emil Andrae (55.1%FF; -3, 44BLK, 41HIT, 13TK:39GV) is another defenseman still under further evaluation throughout the rest of the season. He plays a physical game, and it’s evident without a player like Rasmus Ristolainen in the lineup. Shaw will let Andrae, and to a similar note, York, play their minutes to complete this season. Andrae cleaned up his game versus Montréal, and Philadelphia played with five defensemen.
Sean Couturier (52.8%CF; 14G, 26A) paces the Flyers in point production over the last five games. His line featuring Matvei Michkov and Travis Konecny is taking off; Couturier and Michkov each were on hat-trick alert on Thursday. A glance at his numbers this season indicates Couturier is now closer to his former self after injuries derailed him from 2021-2023.
Projected Lineup: Philadelphia Flyers
#71 Tyson Foerster – #27 Noah Cates – #10 Bobby Brink
#39 Matvei Michkov – #14 Sean Couturier – #11 Travis Konecny
#74 Owen Tippett – #25 Ryan Poehling – #22 Jakob Pelletier
#44 Nicolas Deslauriers – #18 Rodrigo Ābols – #15 Olle Lycksell
#8 Cam York – #6 Travis Sanheim
#24 Nick Seeler – #9 Jamie Drysdale
#5 Egor Zamula – #36 Emil Andrae
#33 Sam Ersson
(#82 Ivan Fedotov)
Projected Lineup: Buffalo Sabres
#9 Zach Benson – #20 Jiří Kulich – #72 Tage Thompson
#77 JJ Peterka – #71 Ryan McLeod – #22 Jack Quinn
#17 Jason Zucker – #19 Peyton Krebs – #89 Alex Tuch
#29 Beck Malenstyn – #48 Tyson Kozak – #81 Sam Lafferty
#25 Owen Power – #24 Jacob Bernard-Docker
#4 Bowen Byram – #75 Connor Clifton
#23 Mattias Samuelsson – #78 Jacob Bryson
#1 Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen
(#47 James Reimer)
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