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Philthy In Philly

Why the Flyers Are Shaking Up Their Lineup, Scratching Matvei Michkov for Game 5

We are going to see a different lineup Monday night when the Philadelphia Flyers take the ice for Game 5 against the Penguins in Pittsburgh and it’s After suffering a disheartening loss in Game 4 on Saturday night, Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet has decided to shake something up voluntarily for the first time in this series. Aside from needing to put in defenseman Noah Juulsen on the bottom pairing because Emil Andrae suffered a minor injury — and kept him there even after Andrae recovered because why change what’s working? — Tocchet has not had to touch the lineup at all, whether it is a different combination of lines or bringing in some new players who have been sitting up in the press box. At Sunday’s practice, Tocchet revealed a new Flyers lineup as he searches for something to work and kill off the Penguins in Game 5. Flyers new lineup gives them something else for Game 5 It will not shock anyone a whole lot to look at what the Flyers’ lineup looks like as they prepare to try and knockout the Penguins in Pittsburgh on Monday. According to NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Jordan Hall, the Flyers lineup will have a number of changes compared to what they have put on the ice in this series so far: Denver Barkey — Trevor Zegras — Owen Tippett Travis Konecny — Christian Dvorak — Porter Martone Alex Bump — Noah Cates — Tyson Foerster Luke Glendening — Sean Couturier — Garnet Hathawa Travis Sanheim — Rasmus Ristolainen Cam York — Jamie Drysdale Nick Seeler — Emil Andrae The headliner of this change is obviously who is not included rather than who is. Matvei Michkov is projected to be a healthy scratch for Game 5 after having a not-so-good series so far and really not being as big of a difference as everyone hoped in his first playoff experience. In the four games, he’s earned zero points and has just four shots on goal, but also to go along with it, has taken three minor penalties and has not really looked like someone who is going to contribute to winning games a whole lot. The 21-year-old Russian winger has been next to Noah Cates, as he has for the majority of the season, and with Denver Barkey on the other wing. Now he is going to be sitting up in the press box and it won’t make a massive impact on the overall deployment since Michkov has been averaging just 10:06 time-on-ice through his four appearances. Now, next to Cates it will be Tyson Foerster — who also did not have a fantastic game on Saturday night, and sees himself demoted from the first line. But while it is technically a demotion, Foerster has found immense success next to Cates in the past so it could be a way to re-find his game. And alongside them, rookie Alex Bump will be coming in to make his series (and NHL playoffs) debut. Bump should provide a very interesting dynamic to the lineup as a shooter that likes to get inside, and is not afraid to take on defenders 1-on-1 and knowing just how inept and slow some Penguins defenders are, it could lead to some success. Taking Foerster’s spot on the first line is Game 4 standout Denver Barkey. After scoring his first goal and really taking the first playoff experience in-stride to bring out his game, the 20-year-old is getting a massive opportunity to shine next to Trevor Zegras and Owen Tippett. Watch for Barkey to lead the forecheck and be a general disruptor all night long as Zegras and Tippett look to grab any loose puck that Barkey wiggles free from the Penguins’ possession and get some pucks in the back of the net. Emil Andrae draws back in on the blue line The only change on the blue line sees Emil Andrae come back in on the bottom pairing. He played Game 1 but suffered a minor injury and, as we mentioned, had to be replaced by Noah Juulsen for the following three games. Now back to relatively full health, the 24-year-old is going to get back in there next to Nick Seeler. Andrae did play just 9:39 time-on-ice during Game 1, so it’s not like he was a massive factor, but he was certainly able to move the puck up the ice and contributed heavily to that first game’s immense shutdown game and didn’t let the Penguins get anything of value all game long. It’s certainly going to be interesting to see if the Flyers can use this lineup to finish the series Monday night.

April 26, 2026
Flyers' Dan Vladar to Take the Ice in Game 4 Following Injury Scare: Casual Sports Blog Ranks Him as Starter

The Philadelphia Flyers have given their entire fan base great news ahead of Game 4 against the Pittsburgh Penguins and we no longer have to be worried. Dan Vladar will be in the crease for his fourth consecutive start despite suffering a minor injury in the middle of Game 3 and sticking it out to finish the game and give the Flyers a 3-0 series lead. Now, they have a big opportunity to complete the S-word that we don’t really want to say just in case anyone believes in jinxes. Lineup update: Dan Vladar will start between the pipes for Game Four tonight. pic.twitter.com/Wh5OKllqpG — x – Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) April 25, 2026 Dan Vladar thankfully starting Game 4 after injury scare Vladar looked to be hurt — or at least not quite 100 per cent — the last half of the third period in Game 3 when Penguins forward Bryan Rust’s knee landed on Vladar’s right arm. The video replay appeared to show Vladar hyperextending his elbow on the play, leading him to roll over to his right and the officials to stop play. Play resumed a few minutes later, but not before Vladar spoke to the team’s trainers to make sure he could finish the game. Vladar allowed one goal after that but the Flyers won 5-2, taking a 3-0 lead in the series. The Flyers didn’t practice on Friday, and on Thursday Vladar took a maintenance day as did a few other players to recover. There was no indication either way whether Vladar (who was also on the ice with Sam Ersson and Aleksei Kolosov) could play tonight in Game 4, but seeing the team’s number one goaltender participating in practice was a good indication he’s a definite possibility tonight. A subsequent tweet also leaned towards Vladar being good to go as he was in the net traditionally occupied by the starter. And he was also the first to leave the ice. Vladar is first off the ice. Strongly implies he'll be the starter tonight. — Charlie O'Connor (@charlieo_conn) April 25, 2026 After the morning skate the Flyers confirmed that Vladar will be starting tonight and looking to finish off the Penguins in round one. Tocchet confirmed the news also after practice, apparently adding that he was quite confident he wouldn’t be able to go tonight. Heading into Saturday’s schedule of playoff games, Vladar is fourth among goaltenders with a 1.33 goals-against average in the playoffs, and fourth overall with a .946 save percentage. He’s also one of two keepers to register a shutout in round one, with Carolina’s Frederik Andersen being the other. Essentially, he has been a major reason as to why the Flyers currently have the sizeable series lead that they do. Lines remain the same With Owen Tippett and Cam York both having maintenance days after Game 3, the two Flyers also took Saturday’s game-day skate. And it looks like head coach Rick Tocchet is not making any changes to the lineup. After all, if it’s not broke, why fix it? Noah Juulsen will remain on the third pairing on defense along with Nick Seeler, indicating that Emil Andrae will be out again after suffering an injury earlier in the series. But the young Swedish blueliner appears to be in full health after taking part of the full morning skate. Regardless, Tocchet keeps everything the same. Lines and pairs at morning skate: Konecny – Dvorak – Martone Foerster – Zegras – Tippett Barkey – Cates – Michkov Glendening – Couturier – Hathaway Sanheim – Ristolainen York – Drysdale Seeler – Juulsen Vladar in starter's net. — Charlie O'Connor (@charlieo_conn) April 25, 2026 There was some speculation that the third line could be altered somewhat, particularly with Denver Barkey being replaced by either Alex Bump or Carl Grundstrom. However, Tocchet has decided to keep that line in-tact and the rest of the lineup will go completely unchanged. Puck drop will be at 8:00 p.m. for the Flyers’ massive opportunity to kill off the Penguins in four straight games.

April 25, 2026
Flyers Bring Up Aleksei Kolosov in Place of Vladar and Dvorak for Game vs. Rangers

The Philadelphia Flyers have called up goaltender Aleksei Kolosov from Lehigh Valley today while also announcing that center Christian Dvorak and goaltender Dan Vladar won’t be dressed for this afternoon’s game against the host New York Rangers. Transaction: We have recalled goaltender Aleksei Kolosov from the @LVPhantoms (AHL) under emergency conditions. Additionally, goaltender Dan Vladar (upper-body injury) and forward Christian Dvorak (lower-body injury) are day-to-day and will not play today. — Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) December 20, 2025 Kolsov, who was playing for the Phantoms, will be dressed for the game today but it’s unclear if he’ll start. Most likely head coach Rick Tocchet will go with Sam Ersson today as the Flyers don’t have a game tomorrow. Depending on how long Vladar is out, it’s possible Kolosov will see action in one of the two back-to-back games the Flyers play this coming week. Philadelphia hosts Vancouver on Monday night before flying to Chicago to play the following evening against the Blackhawks. Kolosov is 6-8-1 with the Phantoms while sporting a 2.77 goals-against average and a .900 save percentage. Kolosov has played in two games for the Flyers this year. He played 15:41 in what was essentially mop up time on Nov. 1 when Philadelphia lost to Toronto 5-2. But he played the full contest the next night against visiting Calgary, a game the Flyers lost 2-1. He’s given up 2 goals on 28 shots for a .929 save percentage. Meanwhile, the bigger news might be the status of Vladar. Vladar played Tuesday night against Montreal in Philadelphia’s 4-1 win but obviously isn’t 100 per cent to go today. The injury hasn’t been revealed outside of being an upper-body injury. Hopefully it has nothing to do with the contact a Carolina player made to Vladar’s head last Sunday during a shootout. Vladar remained in the game and didn’t look any worse for wear. Nor did he look to be suffering any effects of the collision on Tuesday night. Elsewhere, it’s possible that the calling up of winger Denver Barkey Friday night might have been a preemptive move with the status of Dvorak. Dvorak played over 18 minutes (18:37) Thursday night in the Flyers’ 5-3 loss to the Sabres. The center has seven goals and 16 assists for 23 points this season and has been part of the Flyers best offensive line alongside Trevor Zegras and Travis Konecny. The loss of Dvorak for Saturday game leaves a bigger hole down the middle for a team already thin at center. With Dvorak’s absence, the Flyers will definitely be juggling some lines Saturday afternoon. The injury to Dvorak should almost guarantee the NHL debut of Barkey today. The game is the first of the season against the Rangers who have been a hair shy of utterly dreadful at home. New York is 4-10-3 and have been shut out six times at Madison Square Garden so far this year.

December 20, 2025
Flyers' Emil Andrae Back in Action against Predators with Kolosov's Return

The Philadelphia Flyers are riding high after their shootout win against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night, and they’ll look to keep that going against the Nashville Predators. There will be a few changes to the roster, though, as Rick Tocchet realigns things on defense for Thursday night’s showdown with the Predators. Emil Andrae gets his second NHL game of the season Emil Andrae will return to the lineup after being recalled from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Tuesday. He’ll take the place of Egor Zamula on the third pair with Noah Juulsen. Andrae has played in just one game this season, the Flyers’ 5-2 win over the Florida Panthers in the home opener. He got just 10:22 of ice time across 16 shifts in the game, logging one shot on goal, one takeaway, and one giveaway. Since then, Andrae has been tasked with playing a big role on the Phantoms, and he defied the Flyers’ concerns in a shorthanded role, as Maddie Campbell wrote last week. Andrae always seems to be the odd man out in the Flyers’ defensive depth chart, possibly due to his size at 5’9″, but he’ll get another chance on Thursday night. He played in 42 games last season, averaging 17:21 per game for the Flyers. Dan Vladar starts, Sam Ersson injured Dan Vladar is getting the start against the Predators, but it won’t be Sam Ersson backing him up. Ersson is day-to-day after tweaking something in practice, so it will be Aleksei Kolosov on the bench as the backup on Thursday night. There is always cause for concern when Ersson is unable to suit up, but Rick Tocchet described the ailment as “not serious” ahead of the Flyers’ first back-to-back of the season this weekend. The Flyers’ plan will be to split the starts between whichever two goalies are healthy for the home matchups against the Maple Leafs on Saturday and Flames on Sunday. It could be a revenge game for Vladar, who wasn’t exactly given the easiest starts last season in Calgary, backing up rookie Dustin Wolf. If Ersson isn’t ready for the weekend, we’ll see our old friend Kolosov between the pipes for the Flyers. He played well during the preseason for the Flyers and is off to a strong start in the AHL. Through five games, Kolosov is 3-2-0-1 with 13 goals allowed on 145 shots for a .918 save percentage and 2.60 goals-against average. For now, though, hopes are that Ersson will be good to go for the weekend. The Leafs will be a tough test on Saturday night as their up-and-down start has been overshadowed by the Blue Jays’ World Series run. The Flames on Sunday should be an easier matchup, as Calgary sits in the basement of the entire league with a 2-8-1 record in its first 11 games, getting outscored 39-24.

October 30, 2025