The Philadelphia Flyers (20-12-7) kickoff the 2026 calendar year with a Saturday afternoon matchup against the Edmonton Oilers (20-15-6) at Rogers Place. The puck is scheduled to hit the ice for 3:30 p.m. ET.
This is the final outing of a current five-game road trip for the Flyers. Philadelphia is .500 with a 2-2-0 record during this stretch but have been outscored 13-11 and restricted to one goal twice. The Flyers come into the meeting with the Oilers after dropping the ball on New Year’s Eve to the Calgary Flames, 5-1. It wasn’t the prettiest of games as the Flyers trailed by a pair of goals then gave up two additional tallies while shorthanded. Sam Ersson had another rough showing letting five pucks passed him. Ersson’s performance in Calgary marked his sixth start out of 15 where he’s allowed four or more goals in a game. The Swedish netminder holds a .867 SV% and 3.09 GAA this season.
Dan Vladař will be between the pipes for Philadelphia. Vladař is having a 180° type of season compared to Ersson, but his workload is something the Flyers must continue to monitor. Vladař’s career high in games started is 30 during the 2024-25 season. He’s already suited up 23 times before the Flyers hit the 41-game halfway plateau and the Czech netminder is projected to tend the crease in 25 more appearances at this rate. Although Vladař’s number is called upon continuously, he remains the key reason the Flyers maintain the third spot in the Metropolitan Division. Vladař is 8-2-2 with a .910 SV% in his 12 previous starts.
“He’s really solidified himself in the sense that he gives us an effort every night to win the game. I know I’ve said this before but he’s a really good guy. He’s a good team guy… the guys want to play in front of him,” Rick Tocchet said on Vladař.
With the help of Vladař, the Flyers don’t lose consecutively displaying a 12-1-5 record in the game following a defeat. The Orange and Black dropped consecutive outings in regulation once all year (Nov 1-Nov 2). Philadelphia faces a difficult task since Edmonton’s seven losses at home are second fewest in the league, one of which came in a 6-2 beatdown to Boston in their most recent performance.
The Oilers’ power play contributes heavily to their success and ranks No. 1 at 33.3%. Remove Edmonton’s uncharacteristic 0-for-5 on the man advantage against the Bruins, and they’ve cashed in on 13 of their last 29 power play attempts. The elite duo of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl have combined for 58 power play points with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Evan Bouchard supplying support too. The lesson here: stay out of the box.
“They have one the best players in the league here [in Edmonton]. Their power play is really good. Every time there’s a power play, they really feed off it. The crowd really stands behind them,” Vladař said. “Our job, especially mine, is going to be to keep the pucks out of the net. Keep them quiet and focus on our game because I think if you bring it, we have a really good chance at success here.”
Philadelphia’s d-core did a compelling job limiting Edmonton’s two-headed monster to an assist and one shot on goal when the Oilers came to town back in October. The Flyers secured one point in that contest after Jack Roslovic scored the overtime winner as the Oilers triumphed to a 2-1 victory.
Emil Andrae returns on the blue line after being a healthy scratch in Calgary. Garnet Hathaway draws back into his fourth line role as well following six games spent watching from the press box. He continues to search for his first point of the season. Noah Juulsen and Nikita Grebenkin come out of the lineup.
The Flyers haven’t won in Edmonton since October 27, 2021. Nate Thompson scored and Justin Braun picked up two helpers that game.
Philadelphia’s Injury Report:
Edmonton’s Injury Report:
Philadelphia’s Player to Watch: Matvei Michkov
December was not kind to Michkov who found the back of the net once in 15 games, the one tally being an empty netter. He’s still contributing, recording seven assists during his previous nine contests. Michkov does have success against the Oilers, netting four goals and picking up two assists in his first three outings. Maybe January is Michkov’s month to climb the chart in the goals scored category.
“He looks like he’s playing faster which is good. There’s a couple of times he separated himself from some guys. He’s doing well,” Tocchet said.
Edmonton’s Player to Watch: Connor McDavid
Trying to find someone else to watch out for besides the league’s points leader is challenging. McDavid’s name was written on the scoresheet on 34 separate occasions over his last 14 games. He’s displayed three or more points nine times in a single contest and been kept scoreless across five occurrences all year. McDavid’s three Hart Memorial Trophy wins, and five Art Ross Trophy titles speak for itself.
Philadelphia Projected Lineup:
#46 Trevor Zegras – #22 Christian Dvorak – #11 Travis Konecny
#52 Denver Barkey – #14 Sean Couturier – #74 Owen Tippett
#39 Matvei Michkov – #27 Noah Cates – #10 Bobby Brink
#91 Carl Grundström – #18 Rodrigo Ābols – #19 Garnet Hathaway
#8 Cam York – #6 Travis Sanheim
#36 Emil Andrae – #9 Jamie Drysdale
#24 Nick Seeler – #55 Rasmus Ristolainen
#80 Dan Vladař
(#33 Sam Ersson)
Edmonton Projected Lineup:
#93 Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – #97 Connor McDavid – #18 Zach Hyman
#92 Vasily Podkolzin – #29 Leon Draisaitl – #28 Jack Roslovic
#13 Mattias Janmark – #19 Adam Henrique – #10 Trent Frederic
#53 Isaac Howard – #22 Matt Savoie – #23 Quinn Hutson
#14 Mattias Ekholm – #2 Evan Bouchard
#25 Darnell Nurse – #75 Alec Regula
#24 Spencer Stastney – #49 Ty Emberson
#30 Calvin Pickard
(#39 Connor Ingram)
