Philadelphia Flyers News

With Carter Hart still out of the lineup and Cal Petersen having a poor performance in his Flyers debut on Saturday, Ersson will man the crease on Tuesday. Ersson's dreadful 3.90 GAA and .815 SV% don't inspire much confidence, but a matchup against the bottom-dwelling San Jose Sharks could be exactly what is needed to turn his season around. The Flyers, who will welcome Sean Couturier back into the lineup, are -186 road favourites against a Sharks team that has been outscored 20-3 in their past two contests.

Dvorak missed the Canadiens' first 10 games due to a knee injury but will make his debut Saturday vs. St. Louis. The 27-year-old will be welcomed back to Montreal's lineup as he enters his eighth NHL season after posting 10 goals, 18 assists, 88 SOG, six PIMs and a -12 plus/minus in 64 games in 2022-23.

The severity of Carter Hart's mid-body injury isn't fully known but he has officially been ruled out of Friday's matchup against the Buffalo Sabres, allowing Ersson to serve as the starting goalie. The Flyers have struggled when Hart has not been between the pipes, as is evident by Ersson's 4.91 GAA and .763 SV% in three games (0-3-0). To boot, the Flyers will be without Sean Couturier and are facing a Buffalo Sabres team that has outscored their opposition 19-11 in their last four games (3-1-0).

Couturier has played all 10 games for the Flyers this season, recording eight points (2G / 6A), but will not play on Friday due to a lower-body injury. Injuries are extra concerning when it comes to Couturier but, fortunately for the Flyers, this does not seem to be related to the back complications that forced him to miss the majority of the previous three seasons. Couturier missed the 2022-23 campaign in its entirety due to injuries and only played 74 combined games in the two seasons prior.

Ersson allowed five goals on 25 shots in the Flyers' loss in Dallas last Saturday. Carter Hart started the last two games, but Ersson will get another shot on Saturday afternoon. It will be his 14th career appearance, he's gone 6-3-1 with a 3.22 GAA, .892 SV% and one shutout in the first 13.

Andrae has been sent to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the AHL. The 54th overall pick of the Flyers in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft has zero points and a -1 plus/minus rating through four games this season. Louie Belpedio and Victor Mete have both been recalled by the Flyers.

Ristolainen has yet to appear in 2023-24 for the Flyers and will now be out indefinitely after he suffered a setback due to an undisclosed injury. The 28-year-old is in the second year of a five-year, $25.5 million contract ($5,100,000 AAV) and had three goals, 17 assists, 86 SOG, 32 PIMs and a -4 plus/minus through 74 games played in 2022-23.

Vladar will make his second start of the season on Sunday after surrendering three goals on 27 shots in Thursday's 4-3 victory over the Sabres. It's a somewhat surprise start for Vladar, given that starter Jacob Markstrom enjoyed his best start of the season on Friday in a losing effort against the Blue Jackets. It appears there could be an opportunity for Vladar to earn some extra starts this season, but he'll need to improve on his consistency from a year ago if that's going to be the case. The 26-year-old netminder finished the 2022-23 season with an .894 SV% and a 2.87 GAA in 27 appearances with the Flames.

Zamula will sit for the second time this season despite an impressive offensive output through his first two games. He has registered a goal and an assist to go along with four shots on goal despite the fact that he's been limited to an ATOI of 14:40. Emil Andrae will draw into the lineup in his place.

The 54th overall pick of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, Andrae will make his second start of the season and his career on Thursday against the Oilers. He was quiet in his debut, registering just one blocked shot and one hit in 16 minutes of ice time in Saturday's 5-2 loss to the Senators.

Juulsen had appeared in the Canucks first three games of the season prior to being scratched on Thursday. Ice-time will likely be harder to come by for Juulsen moving forward following Tuesday's addition of fellow blue-liner Mark Friedman from the Penguins. Juulsen has one assist on the season while playing less than 13 minutes a game.

Drysdale is day-to-day after missing the Ducks' morning skate due to a lower-body injury and will not play Thursday vs. Dallas. The 21-year-old was off to a great start through two games this season, with two assists, three SOG and a +3 plus/minus. Drysdale will hope this is only a minor injury after missing 74 games in 2022-23 due to a torn labrum.

Vladar will make his first start of the season Thursday at Buffalo after going 14-6-5 with a .895 SV% and 2.91 GAA in 2022-23. He will be looking to get Calgary back in the win column after their dropped their previous two matchups to Pittsburgh and Washington. He faces the Buffalo Sabres on the road Thursday, who won their last game vs. Tampa Bay 3-2 in overtime and are 25th in the NHL in goals for (2.0).

Andrea was a healthy scratch for the Flyers' previous game but will draw back into the lineup Thursday vs. Edmonton. The 21-year-old defensemen has only played in one game so far in 2023-24, playing 23 shifts for 16:27 TOI and a -1 plus/minus. He replaces Egor Zamula in the Flyers' third defensive unit.

Zamula scored the Flyers' game-winning goal in Tuesday's victory over Vancouver but will be the odd man out as he is a healthy scratch Thursday vs. Edmonton. The 23-year-old had a goal, an assist, four SOG, and a +3 plus/minus through two games so far in 2023-24. He will be replaced by Emil Andrea on the Flyers' third defensive pair.