When these two teams met on Tuesday, it was all Boston Bruins.
To give context, the Bruins dressed a much heavier NHL lineup against a Philadelphia Flyers squad that mostly featured prospects. This time, as the Flyers begin their home leg of the 2026 NHL Preseason, Rick Tocchet will dress a heavier NHL lineup to face Boston. Philadelphia has already made cuts to the 2026 Training Camp roster, forcing a more competitive matchup as the 2026 NHL Preseason nears its conclusion.
Dan Vladař (upper-body) is day-to-day. That’s the best news for the Flyers after their 5-1 loss to the Bruins on Tuesday. Vladař exited in the first period after Tanner Jeannot made contact before Michael Eyssimont scored. Philadelphia held its collective breath as their starting goaltender, who just inked a new extension, avoided a worse injury. When the result takes a backseat to the repetitions, a day-to-day diagnosis for Vladař is a win.
Joseph Woll (0-1-0; 84.2%SV; 3GA) and Aleksei Kolosov (0-1-0; 77.8%SV; 4GA) will enter the lineup. Woll competed through the second period against the Washington Capitals before Carson Bjarnason took over the scheduled change. Kolosov finished the game on Tuesday in Boston after Vladař exited. As soon as Vladař is cleared from the day-to-day diagnosis, Kolosov is next to be cut. Woll is expected to play the entire game tonight.
“Everything’s a little bit different, right,” said Woll on Wednesday about adjusting from Toronto to Philadelphia. “I’ve been in Toronto my entire career and, just, things are run a little differently. You know, all those little details. But I think learning to get acclimated and get comfortable within a new environment and, of course, coming to a team not knowing many guys, it’s really important to start to get close to the team and build that on-off-ice kind of chemistry. But it’s all fun challenges I think. It’s exciting to do something different and exciting to do something new.”
Tonight, the Bruins will feature Michael DiPietro (1-0-0; 93.8%SV; 2GA) and Jiří Patera as their goaltending duo. DiPietro was great against the Capitals on Sunday.
When: 7pm/ET
Where: Xfinity Mobile Arena; Philadelphia, PA
Watch: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Philadelphia Flyers
The head-to-head battle between Woll and DiPietro should be a good watch. Both are projected backup goaltenders this season, and could be a matchup we see in the 2026-2027 NHL Regular Season.
Cole Knuble (1G, 1A) and Jett Luchanko (2A) continue to receive an extended look. They’ve been solid against all competition, dating back to the 2026 NHL Rookie Series against the New York Rangers. Since then, Knuble and Luchanko haven’t shut off their high motor on the ice. During the 2026 NHL Preseason, they’ve had their fingerprints on 66.6% of all scoring plays by the Flyers. If you narrow that scope, Knuble and Luchanko had the assists on the only power play goal scored by Philadelphia in the 2026 NHL Preseason.
“They’ve kind of like… you can tell they’ve built their game over the summer and last year, and if you look at their last two games – noticeable,” said head coach Rick Tocchet. “Also because of the rules, because we played Catesy and Tipp, you can only play two games, so there’s a factor there because you need bodies, but they deserve [it]. You know, if there’s two extra bodies they deserve to play.”
Travis Sanheim, Cam York, Jame Drysdale, and Rasmus Ristolainen each make their 2026 NHL Preseason debut. The key here is for them to finish the 2026 NHL Preseason in good health. Being available for the start of the 2026-2027 NHL Regular Season, as I mentioned earlier when discussing Vladař, is a priority over the final score.
Boston Bruins: Game Roster
Forwards: Alex Steeves, Brendan Gaunce, James Hagens, Brian Halonen, Ivan Ivan, Sean Kuraly, Joey Abate, Dans Ločmelis, Riley Duran, Attilio Biasca, Lukas Reichel, Michael Eyssimont, Jake Schmaltz
Defensemen: Henri Jokiharju, Frederic Brunet, Jordan Harris, Jonathan Aspirot, Billy Sweezey, Ty Gallagher, Charlie McAvoy
Goaltenders: Michael DiPietro, Jiří Patera
Philadelphia Flyers: Game Roster
Forwards: Travis Konecny, Sean Couturier, Nikita Grebenkin, Christian Dvorak, Matvei Michkov, Trevor Zegras, Noel Acciari, Cole Knuble, Tyson Foerster, Jett Luchanko, Jacob Gaucher, Porter Martone
Defensemen: Helge Grans, Travis Sanheim, Cam York, Jamie Drysdale, Simon Benoit, Rasmus Ristolainen
Goaltenders: Joseph Woll, Aleksei Kolosov
