Oct 18, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Flyers left wing Noah Cates (27) celebrates his game winning goal during overtime with defenseman Noah Juulsen (47) against the Minnesota Wild at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

Ahead of tonight’s Game 2 matchup in Pittsburgh, the Philadelphia Flyers are making a change on the blueline, with defenseman Emil Andrae not appearing in the pre-game warmup skate. Officially, Andrae is day-to-day with an upper-body injury.

Injury update: Flyers defenseman Emil Andrae (upper-body) is day-to-day.

— x – Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) April 20, 2026

Earlier today Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet wouldn’t say what the lineup would be but said there could be a few changes with a few guys “banged up.” Andrae played 9:39 on Saturday night in Philadelphia’s 3-2 victory over Pittsburgh in Game 1, ending up with no points but did register a shot on goal. Andrae has essentially been a regular in the lineup since the Olympic break. In 61 regular season games, Andrae had a pair of goals to go with 11 assists for 13 points.

Noah Juulsen is set to slide into the lineup in his place.

Replacing Andrae with one of Juulsen probably isn’t ideal given the Swedish blueliner’s ability to make quick decisions and get the puck out quickly. However, the wear and tear of the playoffs, as well as taking some punishment during the last four to six weeks as Philadelphia sprinted down the stretch, probably suggests a lot of the lineup are not quite 100 per cent. It just appears now Andrae can’t go tonight at least. Juulsen has twice as much National Hockey League playoff experience as Andrae, meaning he’s played, er, two playoff games. Juulsen provides a bit more size although his decision-making sometimes pales compared to Andrae’s.

Whether the extra bit of size and physicality that Juulsen brings into the mix will be enough to move the needle — and to offset what the Flyers will lose in puck-moving ability with Andrae no longer in the mix — time will tell. All things considered, this will be a difficult task in front of him, as Juulsen will have to answer the call against a Penguins roster hoping to avenge Game 1’s loss and at least head to Philadelphia tied at a game apiece. Hopefully the lineup switch doesn’t put the Flyers at a distinct disadvantage. We’ll see how it plays out in the coming hours.