Flyers have good decisions to make after wrapping up preseason with win originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The Flyers closed the door on their preseason with a 5-2 win Thursday night over the Islanders at the Wells Fargo Center.
Nicolas Deslauriers, Noah Cates, Owen Tippett, Travis Konecny and Cam Atkinson all scored goals for the Flyers.
Eleven different Flyers recorded a point. Konecny and Morgan Frost led the way with two-point nights.
The Flyers went 3-2-1 in the preseason, scoring 14 goals over the six games.
• In a final showcase, prospect Tyson Foerster picked up his second assist of the preseason.
The 21-year-old winger is battling Bobby Brink and Wade Allison for the final jobs up front. Brink and Allison did not play Thursday night.
The game was important for Foerster’s case because he had not jumped out offensively in his three exhibition showings.
Foerster had a solid night Thursday. He started the game on Sean Couturier’s top line. When he moved to a line with Tippett and Frost in the second period, he notched his helper with a nice pass to help the Flyers exit the defensive zone.
The Flyers have good decisions to make here at forward and on defense. They’ll take it.
• Rasmus Ristolainen was originally slated to play alongside Cam York on the Flyers’ top defensive pair.
However, per a Flyers spokesperson, Ristolainen was a little nicked up and held out of the game for precautionary reasons. The injury is not serious.
Ristolainen’s absence gave prospect Emil Andrae one more opportunity to make an impression on the Flyers’ decision-makers. With eight defensemen still on the roster, the Flyers have to decide who will be their sixth on opening night.
If the club carries eight to open the season, one would think either Egor Zamula or Andrae would crack the lineup. The Flyers don’t want their prospects sitting too long as extras. The sixth and final spot could come down between Zamula, Andrae and Sean Walker.
• Couturier recorded two assists over four preseason games. He’s coming back from two back surgeries, which sidelined him since December 2021.
Atkinson played the final three exhibition games and finished with two goals. He missed all of last season because of a neck injury that required surgery in December.
Both established forwards looked sharper with each game. They’ve said their bodies have responded well to the game action, which is the overwhelming positive for the Flyers.
• Carter Hart played the full game for his second and final tune-up. The 25-year-old recorded 14 saves.
In two starts this preseason, Hart stopped 33 of 38 shots.
Karson Kuhlman beat him on a breakaway in the first period. The second goal Hart allowed was on himself as he misplayed the puck behind the net during the third period, resulting in Brian Pinho’s marker.
Samuel Ersson will open the season as Hart’s backup.
“Being able to work alongside Carter and seeing him up close, how he prepares himself, how he takes his time off the ice, being the pro that he is, it’s an eye-opener for me,” Ersson said Thursday morning. “Knowing that, ‘OK, this is what it takes to be an elite goalie in this league.’ It’s great for me to see that up close, get to know what it takes and for me to put that standard into myself, as well.”
Islanders backup Semyon Varlamov stopped 26 of the Flyers’ 31 shots.
• The Flyers’ roster stands at 25 healthy players. It must be trimmed to a max of 23 players and submitted by 5 p.m. ET Monday.
Over the weekend, the Flyers are scheduled to practice Friday at noon ET and Saturday at 11 a.m. ET before having an off day Sunday.
They kick off the regular season next Thursday against the Blue Jackets in Columbus, Ohio (7 p.m. ET/NBCSP).
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