Fresh off a victory over the New Jersey Devils their last time out, the Philadelphia Flyers (40-26-12) will be looking to make serious inroads towards clinching a playoff spot with a crucial matchup against the Detroit Red Wings (40-29-9).
Where: Little Caesars Arena; Detroit, MI
When: 04/09/2026; 7pm/ET
Last Game PHI: 04/07/2026; 5-1 W; vs. New Jersey Devils
Last Game DET: 04/07/2026; 4-3 SOL; vs. Columbus Blue Jackets
Where They Stand
The Flyers picked up two crucial points on Tuesday night, considering the fact that the Red Wings blew a 3-2 lead against the Columbus Blue Jackets with 16 seconds left, before falling in a shootout.
Had the Wings held on for the win, they would be sitting with 90 points, Columbus would have 88 points, and they’d be two back of Ottawa (92). A regulation loss would have also had Columbus 4 behind the Flyers for the third spot in the Metropolitan Division.
However, with the late comeback and eventual shootout victory, Columbus now trails the Flyers and the Senators by 2 points for either playoff spot, while the Wings are 3 back with 4 games to go.
Therefore, tonight’s game is another crucial matchup. For the Flyers they will look to further solidify their spot in the Metropolitan Division and try to book a first round matchup with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Whereas the Red Wings look to keep tabs with Ottawa and Columbus before it’s too late.
The second wild card spot is also a possibility for the Flyers, but it’s important to remember that they don’t hold any tiebreakers against Ottawa, Detroit, Columbus, or even the New York Islanders.
Keys to the Game
As for the game itself, it will be the third meeting since the 28th of March, with tonight’s game representing the rubber match. Philadelphia won 5-3 on the road before losing on home ice a few days later.
The Flyers are expected to roll out with the same lineup from Tuesday night, meaning Denver Barkey will remain on the fourth line over Carl Grundström and Garnet Hathaway.
Dan Vladař will patrol the blue paint for the 50th time this season (49th start) as he looks to improve on his 27-13-7 record, .907 SV%, and 2.40 GAA. He was in goal when they played one another in March, stopping 32 of 35 shots for the win.
As for the Red Wings, they will be making one change with Michael Rasmussen coming out of the lineup due to a lower-body injury he suffered against Columbus. Dominik Shine is expected to replace him, while Mason Appleton will also remain out for tonight’s game.
John Gibson will be manning the crease for the 55th time this season. He enters this matchup with a 28-20-4 record, a .904 SV% and a 2.63 GAA. It’s been a bit of struggle since mid-March with Gibson posting a 4-7-2 record, a .894 SV%, and a 2.80 GAA over his last 13 games.
He was an instrumental part of the Wings’ winning ways earlier in the season as he posted a 19-6-1 in his previous 26 games with a .930 SV% and a 1.8 GAA. Considering this is just the 2nd time he’s reached the 55-game milestone since 2019-20, Gibson could be running out of gas with the season coming to a close.
Projected Lineup: Philadelphia Flyers
#71 Tyson Foerster – #46 Trevor Zegras – #74 Owen Tippett
#11 Travis Konecny – #22 Christian Dvorak – #94 Porter Martone
#20 Alex Bump – #27 Noah Cates – #39 Matvei Michkov
#52 Denver Barkey – #41 Luke Glendening – #14 Sean Couturier
#6 Travis Sanheim – #55 Rasmus Ristolainen
#8 Cam York – #9 Jamie Drysdale
#24 Nick Seeler – #36 Emil Andrae
#80 Dan Vladař
(#33 Sam Ersson)
Projected Lineup: Detroit Red Wings
#58 Emmitt Finnie – #71 Dylan Larkin – #23 Lucas Raymond
#93 Alex DeBrincat – #18 Andrew Copp – #88 Patrick Kane
#92 Marco Kasper – #37 J.T. Compher – #57 David Perron
#21 James van Riemsdyk – #65 Dominik Shine – #43 Carter Mazur
#77 Simon Edvinsson – #53 Moritz Seider
#8 Ben Chiarot – #72 Justin Faulk
#20 Albert Johansson – #44 Axel Sandin-Pellikka
#36 John Gibson
(#39 Cam Talbot)
