The Philadelphia Flyers will enter the final game of the regular season against the Montréal Canadiens without any concern regarding their playoff chances after taking matters into their own hand and defeating the Carolina Hurricanes in a shootout last night.
The easiest path to the playoffs required the Flyers to gain 2 points in their final 2 games. Now that that’s out of the way, they can end the season on a looser note and give some guys an extra bit of rest, while giving other players extra minutes/opportunities.
Earlier in the day, the Flyers recalled forwards Anthony Richard and Jacob Gaucher, defensemen Hunter McDonald and Oliver Bonk, and goaltender Aleksei Kolosov. McDonald and Bonk will be making their NHL debuts tonight, and David Jiříček, who was recalled on Sunday, should feature as well.
Additionally, expect the healthy scratches from last night in Alex Bump, Noah Juulsen, Carl Grundström, and Garrett Wilson to get into the lineup as well.
With everything wrapped up, and being the second leg of their back-to-back, Samuel Ersson could be in between the pipes for a final tuneup. The Swedish netminder would look to end his season on a high note after having posted a 13-11-5 record, 3.15 GAA, and a .867 SV% in 32 games this year.
After the Olympic break, Ersson played a key role down stretch when called upon, where he went 5-1-0 with a .913 SV% and a 1.70 GAA in 7 games, which allowed Dan Vladař to rest a little bit after a heavy workload.
As for Montréal, this game means something, as they are still trying to earn home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs. They’re currently tied with Tampa Bay at 106 points through 81 games with the Lightning owning the tiebreaker.
The Lightning play the New York Rangers on Wednesday, making this a must-win for the Canadiens.
Look for them to be led offensively by 101-point pivot Nick Suzuki, 51-goal scorer Cole Caufield, and elite offensive defenseman Lane Hutson. The trio have combined for 92 goals and 277 points and that’s not even including Juraj Slafkovský and Ivan Demidov.
Jakub Dobeš will be in goal tonight as he looks to end his rookie season on a high note, having already posted a 29-9-4 record with a 2.75 GAA and a .903 SV%. This will be his first career start against the Flyers.
When: 7pm/ET
Where: Xfinity Mobile Arena; Philadelphia, PA
Watch: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Last Game PHI: 4/13/2026; 3-2 SO W; vs. Carolina Hurricanes
Last Game MTL: 4/12/2026; 4-1 W; at New York Islanders
Projected Lineup: Montreal Canadiens
#13 Cole Caufield – #14 Nick Suzuki – #20 Juraj Slafkovský
#85 Alexandre Texier – #15 Alex Newhook – #93 Ivan Demidov
#76 Zack Bolduc – #91 Oliver Kapanen – #77 Kirby Dach
#90 Joe Veleno – #71 Jake Evans – #11 Brendan Gallagher
#21 Kaiden Guhle – #42 Adam Engström
#48 Lane Hutson – #64 David Reinbacher
#72 Arber Xhekaj – #47 Jayden Struble
#75 Jakub Dobeš
(#32 Jacob Fowler)
Projected Lineup: Philadelphia Flyers
#71 Tyson Foerster – #27 Noah Cates – #39 Matvei Michkov
#20 Alex Bump – #52 Denver Barkey – #94 Porter Martone
#10 Garrett Wilson – #41 Luke Glendening – #19 Garnet Hathaway
#91 Carl Grundström – #78 Jacob Gaucher – #90 Anthony Richard
#24 Nick Seeler – #5 David Jiříček
#36 Emil Andrae – #47 Noah Juulsen
#75 Hunter McDonald – #59 Oliver Bonk
#33 Samuel Ersson
(#35 Aleksei Kolosov)
