The Philadelphia Flyers (34-24-12) are back in action on Thursday as they look to bounce back from a tough loss vs. the Blue Jackets on Tuesday when they take on the Chicago Blackhawks (27-31-13) at Xfinity Mobile Arena.

Philadelphia enters Thursday’s matchup after a crushing loss on Tuesday. The Flyers are not yet out of the postseason chase, but the loss to the Blue Jackets felt pretty damaging. Thursday provides a chance for the team to clean the slate and move forward. They enter the game with a 3-1-1 record over the last five games, and 6-3-1 over the last 10.

Chicago has picked up points in four of their last five games, but has only managed wins in two of them. The Blackhawks are 2-1-2 over the last five games, and 4-3-3 over the last 10. Chicago’s youth movement is in full swing.

While the Blackhawks are 15 points away from the best odds at the top pick in the draft, they are currently separated by two points for the second-best odds with the New York Rangers. Thursday night features two teams on opposite ends of the fight.

Puck drop is at 7:00 p.m. EST at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Here is how the Flyers are expected to line up.

Flyers lines & pairs vs. Blue Jackets

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Flyers lines & pairs vs. Blackhawks

Forwards

Alex Bump–Christian Dvorak–Travis Konecny
Denver Barkey–Trevor Zegras–Owen Tippett
Carl Grundstrom–Noah Cates–Matvei Michkov
Sean Couturier–Luke Glendening–Garnet Hathaway

Defensemen

Travis Sanheim–Rasmus Ristolainen
Cam York–Jamie Drysdale
Nick Seeler–Noah Juulsen

Goaltenders

Sam Ersson
Dan Vladar

Special Teams
PP1: Ristolainen, Cates, Zegras, Konecny, Michkov
PP2: Drysdale, Sanheim, Dvorak, Barkey, Tippett

PK1: Cates, Couturier, York, Sanheim
PK 2: Dvorak, Tippett, Seeler, Ristolainen

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Game Notes

Let’s start on the injury front. Following Wednesday’s practice, Nikita Grebenkin is expected to remain out of the lineup due to an upper-body injury. Yesterday, head coach Rick Tocchet told the media that the young winger has been dealing with some things and likely will not be available on Thursday.

Since the team practiced in full on Wednesday, there is no morning skate on Thursday. That means the starting goalie likely won’t be known until closer to 5 p.m. EST. That said, taking an educated guess based on the strength of opponent, the road ahead, and the recent stretch, I would say Sam Ersson should get the start on Thursday. Then again, the Flyers have a weekend back-to-back against two tough opponents. So, who knows?

Chicago recently inked one of my favorite prospects from the 2025 NHL draft class to an ELC, No. 3 overall pick, Anton Frondell. Frondell made his NHL debut on Long Island and will play his second career game in Philly. He’s going to be a fun player to watch for a long time.

The one thing the Blackhawks have going for them this year? Their penalty kill ranks atop the league. That is a pretty rough matchup for the Flyers, whose power play is once again in the basement.

How to Watch Flyers vs. Blackhawks

TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia, ESPN+
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic

Puck drop is at 7:00 p.m. EST at Xfinity Mobile Arena.

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