The Flyers have a more condensed roster as training camp is nearing the end. Philadelphia hosted the Boston Bruins for their second meeting. When the two teams previously met, the Bruins defeated the Flyers in overtime. Although preseason doesn't "count," it matters to the players who will make the final roster. Samuel Ersson was between the pipes tonight, playing his first preseason game. Players like Wade Allison, Ronnie Attard, Cam York, Bobby Brink, Adam Ginning, and Tyson Foerster hope to make the final roster.

With the Bruins having a roster of mainly AHL players on the ice, the Flyers had a lineup that looked almost regular season-ready. The two Eastern teams have entirely different expectations for the season, which should be noted. The first period was underwhelming for Philadelphia as they had three power play opportunities that went scoreless.

Unfortunately, the sloppiness of the power play is concerning, as the Flyers spend too much time trying to set up the "perfect" shot. The hesitation of taking the one-timers is what's holding the power play unit back, which could give them more opportunities to score. It could be a lack of confidence or an underlying problem since this has been an issue for years. Oddly enough, the penalty kill unit looks strong. On the penalty kill, the Flyers are aggressive and can clear the puck with pressing defensive coverage. Although the Flyers' penalty kill is strong, Morgan Geekie got the Bruins a 1-0 lead while on the power play.

Luckily, the second period was a different story for Philadelphia as they took the ice with enormous energy. With a minute into the second frame, Cam Atkinson equalized the game at one. This was Atkinson's first preseason goal, which fired up the orange and black. Not even two minutes after Atkinson's goal, Travis Konecny gave the Flyers a 2-1 lead. Both back-to-back goals were assisted by Morgan Frost, who made an impact the past couple of preseason games. The Flyers became the more dominant team on the ice, as the first 20 minutes were all Boston. Philadelphia still needed to be done scoring as Ronnie Attard had an excellent slapshot that was deflected by Joel Farabee, increasing the Flyers' lead 3-1.

Additionally, Atkinson commented on the momentum shift between the first and second periods. "We had a lot of powerplays in the first, which threw the rhyme off. Torts talked about just playing fast and being assertive, and I think we did that, it showed," the forward said. Notably, with Tortorella back behind the bench, it is no surprise that the team is playing with more enthusiasm as he is one to hold players accountable.

The third period was mainly within Phialdelphia's control. Although there was no scoring, it was important for the Flyers to have another dominant period of play. With one more game on Thursday, head coach John Tortorella commented on the potential lineup before the regular season kicks off in Columbus. "Danny (Briere) and I will talk tomorrow. and see what he needs and what guys he wants to see," Tortorella said. With more tough discussions to come this week with the team's final roster, Thursday's roster will indicate a lot. The Flyers have a more condensed roster in the making from the one seen in training camp up until now.

The puck drop will be at 7 p.m., with the Flyers hosting the Islanders for their last preseason game.

https://975thefanatic.com/2023/10/01/cam-atkinson-makes-his-return/

Next Flyers season will not be fun. They are finally rebuilding. That is a good thing. They are in the midst of trading a lot of their players to gear up for a long rebuild. Eventually it should pay off with a better product. But that wont make the product on the ice next season any better. They are going to be bad next year, by design. We will not get to see many wins. To be fair, we don't want to see many of them. So when the Flyers released their schedule for next season, it was not met with the same zeal.

That schedule is out now though, and there are some interesting games within it.

Just because it may be a bad season, doesn't mean there are no games worth looking forward to. Yes, it will be a tough season, but there are some games worth putting on the calendar to check out, even if it is because you want to see the other team. There will be good hockey players from other teams worth going out to see. Connor Bedard will be playing in Philly at some point. There will be games for the Flyers that could still be a fun time. Even if it is only to root for the other team because the Flyers are competing with them for the top pick.

The team record is going to be bad. But we should still try to enjoy hockey in this town as much as possible.

The season opener is obviously always worth looking forward to. It is the return of hockey. It may end up being not so great hockey. But it is still hockey. Though the opponent may drum up some not-so-great memories of our former GM. Columbus is where Johnny Gaudreau wound up after Chuck Fletcher couldn’t bring him to Philly. Plus, it will be the first time they see Provorov after trading him.

Likewise, the Home Opener is another game always worth looking forward to. They will face the Canucks this year when they play their first game at the Wells Fargo Center.  Even if the product isn't great, the home opener is always a good time. it will be a packed house, and even if the game doesn't go our way, it should still be a fun time just by virtue of being opening day. Losing may make it even better actually, since it is what we want them to do. 

Want to see what a good hockey team looks like? They will get that chance when they travel to Vegas to play the reigning champions. A team that in just several years of existence have done what the Flyers haven't been able to do in 50. Hell, they have played in two Stanley Cups in that time. As far as road trips worth taking to see the Flyers, this is probably top of the list. You likely wont get to the see a win, but you will see one really good team at least. And going to Vegas is never a bad time either. 

As mentioned, they will play Ivan Provorov for the first time to open the season. But the first time he returns to the Flyers will be November 19th. Ivan was supposed to be the next great defender for the Flyers. Instead he kind of fizzled out here. Was it that he was just not that good? Or did the Flyers fail to make use of his talents. Either way, it should make for a decent storyline when he returns to Philly. 

The goal of the season is to get the best draft pick possible. One of their greatest competitors for the best odds in the lottery will be the Coyotes. A franchise so in the dumps they don’t even have a real building to play in. This may be a game you want to tune into, just to see how it impacts the Flyers chances in the lottery.  

Keith Jones told us that the Lightning are one of the teams you should try to emulate when building a team. They didn’t make much noise this year, going out early in the playoffs. But before that they were in the last 3 Stanley Cups, and won two of them. Not a bad team to try in follow the footsteps of. So it may be worth paying attention to them when they come to town.  Becaus what the Lighniting have turned into as a franchise is how Keith Jones is modelling this team's rebuild. 

Despite the meager expectations for the Flyers this season, they are in one of the Stadium Series games this year. They will take on the Devils at Met Life Stadium in February. Weather can sometimes ruin these games. But it is a cool sight to see when mother nature cooperates. If you haven't been before, Met Life Stadium is not that difficult to get to via train. Even if the game doesn't go the Flyers way, it could still be a fun night at Met Life. 

The Flyers did not win the Connor Bedard sweepstakes. They weren't bad enough this past year, and he is going to the Blackhawks instead. But we will at least get a chance to watch him play in person. The Blackhawks, along with Connor Bedard, are playing in Philly at the end of March. When your team is as bad as the Flyers will be this season, you plan what games you go to more around who the other team is. And with how special Connor Bedard could be, that is the type of game worth going to.