Ersson will start for the eighth time in the last nine games on Thursday night in Toronto. The 24-year-old Errson is riding a three-game winning streak, allowing only five total goals in that span while posting a stellar .932 SV%. The Flyers, winners of four straight, are +139 road underdogs against a Maple Leafs club expected to welcome Mitch Marner and John Tavares back into the lineup from illness.
Couturier becomes the Flyers' 20th captain in franchise history and the first since Claude Giroux was traded in the 2021-22 season. The 12-year-veteran has spent his entire career in Philadelphia, amassing 191 goals and 302 assists in 771 regular season games, and has been an alternate captain for the team since the 2019-20 season. The team also announced Travis Konecny and Scott Laughton will be the team's full-time alternate captains moving forward.
Pelletier exited Tuesday's game against the New York Rangers early in the first period with an upper-body injury after playing only 54 seconds. Pelletier has been limited to only four games this season as he previously recovered from shoulder surgery. The Flames recalled Cole Schwindt from the Calgary Wranglers (AHL), indicating that Pelletier will likely be unavailable for the Flames' Thursday night matchup against the San Jose Sharks.
Deslauriers will be the odd-man out on Monday as the Flyers are opting to dress seven defensemen. Deslauriers has no goals and three assists in 46 games this season.
Zamula will re-enter the lineup after sitting out Saturday, and will presumably reclaim his role on the Flyers' first power-play unit. Zamula has five goals and ten assists in 42 games this season.
Ristolainen will sit for the second time in three games, this time due to an upper-body injury. Marc Staal will enter the lineup in his place.
Foerster is dealing with a lower-body injury and will sit out Monday's game against the Arizona Coyotes. He was spotted in a walking boot after Saturday's game against the Seattle Kraken. The 22-year-old Foerster has three goals and eight shots in his last four games while playing predominantly on a line with Ryan Poehling and Noah Cates.
Ersson had the night off on Saturday after starting six straight but will return to the crease on Monday night. The 24-year-old netminder has showcased a mixed bag this season but has played well lately, allowing only two combined goals in his last two games (2-0-0), posting a stellar .960 SV%. Ersson has quality starts in a respectable 64% of games and has a favourable matchup on Monday when his Flyers look to extend their three-game winning streak as -145 home favourites against an Arizona Coyotes club riding a five-game losing streak (0-4-1).
Foerster is dealing with a lower-body injury and his status is up in the air ahead of Monday's game against the Arizona Coyotes. He was spotted in a walking boot after Saturday's game against the Seattle Kraken. The 22-year-old Foerster has three goals and eight shots in his last four games while playing predominantly on a line with Ryan Poehling and Noah Cates.
Ristolainen missed Thursday's game vs. the Jets but is expected to replace Marc Staal in the lineup on Saturday. Ristolainen has picked up just one goal and three assists (four points) in 30 games this season.
Zamula was in the lineup for the last two games but will be scratched on Saturday vs. the Kraken. Zamula will be replaced by Nicolas Deslauriers, with the Flyers going back to 12 forwards and six defensemen.
Richard played 13 games with the Montreal Canadiens last season but has spent the majority of his career playing in the AHL. In 41 games with the Providence Bruins this season, the 27-year-old Richard has 37 points (18G / 19A).
Elliotte Friedman put any trade speculation to rest when he reported Ristolainen is in fact out with an illness, and is not a healthy scratch on Thursday. Marc Staal is expected to draw into the lineup in his place.
Richard played 13 games with the Montreal Canadiens last season but has spent the majority of his career playing in the AHL. In 41 games with the Providence Bruins this season, the 27-year-old Richard has 37 points (18G / 19A).
Erson was tremendous in the Flyers' first game back from the All-Star break and will return to the crease on Thursday. On Tuesday, Ersson saved 20 of 21 shots (.952 SV%) in an impressive 2-1 victory over the Florida Panthers, snapping a five-game losing streak for Ersson and the Flyers. That said, the Flyers are +120 home underdogs against a Winnipeg Jets team outscored 12-3 over their past four games (0-3-1).
Ersson will get the nod for the fifth consecutive game on Tuesday when the Flyers travel to Sunrise. The 24-year-old netminder has struggled of late, going winless in his last five appearances and posting an .826 SV% over that span. On the bright side, those struggles came on the heels of what had been the most successful stretch of Ersson's young career, as he posted an 11-2-2 record and a .931 SV% across his previous 15 games. The Flyers will need him to regain some of that form in Florida on Tuesday where they find themselves as +170 underdogs.
Tippett has been out since January 20th due to a lower-body injury but was activated off the Injured Reserve Tuesday and is expected to return to his top-six role. The 24-year-old is enjoying somewhat of a breakout season which led to a big contract extension this season with 18 goals, 30 points, 167 SOG, two PIMs, and a -3 plus/minus in 46 games played.
Johnson last played on January 18th and will return to the lineup on Tuesday against the Dallas Stars. Before his injury, Johnson was held off the scoresheet in seven straight games while tallying seven shots and 16 hits.
