Who: Philadelphia Flyers (28-22-11, 7867points, 6th place Metropolitan Division) @ Pittsburgh Penguins (31-17-13, 75 points, 2nd place Metropolitan Division)
When: 5:30 p.m. ET
How to Watch: Local broadcasts on SportsNet Pittsburgh and NBC Sports, streaming on ESPN+
Pens’ Path Ahead: The Pens have less than 24 hours between puck drops this weekend. They’re back in action Sunday afternoon against the Boston Bruins, before their busy March continues with a five-game road swing that involves a trip out
West bookended by road games against the Carolina Hurricanes.
Opponent Track: The Flyers had won three straight, including two overtime victories, before dropping a 3-0 shutout loss to the Utah Mammoth on Thursday. Philadelphia then made a few moves ahead of Friday’s trade deadline, most notably sending out Bobby Brink and Nicolas Deslauriers.
Season Series: The Pens are leading this series despite dropping the Oct. 28 opener in a 3-2 shootout loss, thanks to blowout wins in Philadelphia on Dec. 1 and at home on Jan. 15.
Getting to know the Flyers
Projected lines
FORWARDS
Trevor Zegras – Christian Dvorak – Owen Tippett
Matvei Michkov – Noah Cates – Travis Konecny (?)
Denver Barkey – Sean Couturier – Nikita Grebenkin
Luke Glendening – Carl Grunstrom – Garnet Hathaway
DEFENSEMEN
Travis Sanheim / Rasmus Ristolainen
Cam York / Jamie Drysdale
Emil Andrae / Noah Juulsen
Goalies: Dan Vladar, Samuel Ersson
Potential scratches: Travis Konecny, Nick Seeler, Adam Ginning
Injured Reserve: Tyson Foerster, Rodrigo Abols
- Second-line winger Travis Konecny, who is day-to-day with an upper-body injury, skated in a no-contact jersey during the Flyers’ Friday practice.
The Flyers made a few moves at the deadline. Here’s a run-down of the notable ones:
- The Flyers traded winger Nick Deslauriers to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for a conditional 2027 seventh-rounder. General manager Danny Briere said the trade was made in the hopes of giving Deslauriers, 35, a shot at a playoff run.
- Philadelphia traded winger Bobby Brink to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for defenseman David Jiricek, who will report to the AHL.
- They also claimed Luke Glendening (formerly a New Jersey Devils center) off waivers Friday. The Flyers have been in search of a fourth-line center since losing Rodrigo Abols to an ankle injury in January. Glendening will be available to play against the Pens.
- Rasmus Ristolainen, subject to trade rumors ahead of the deadline, stayed put in Philadelphia. Briere said the Flyers “went through all the teams that were serious” but couldn’t find the value they wanted.
- Holding onto Ristolainen could indicate the Flyers are hoping to take a step forward next season with players like Bump and Jiricek making the jump to the NHL in the near future. Philadelphia is currently in danger of landing in a middle ground the Penguins know well by finishing outside of both the playoffs and the draft lottery.
Season stats
via hockeydb
The Flyers could be adding a few names to this list after the trade deadline.
- The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz reported Friday that AHL winger Alex Bump could make his NHL debut on Friday as a replacement for Brink. Bump has 26 points (11 goals, 15 assists) in 36 games for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms this season.
- The Flyers also signed former Wilkes/Barre and Pittsburgh Penguins forward Garrett Wilson to a two-way contract on Thursday, so he could potentially get a call-up down the stretch.
And now for the Pens
Projected lines
FORWARDS
Egor Chinakhov – Tommy Novak – Evgeni Malkin
Rickard Rakell – Ben Kindel – Bryan Rust
Anthony Mantha – Kevin Hayes – Justin Brazeau
Avery Hayes – Connor Dewar – Noel Acciari
DEFENSEMEN
Parker Wotherspoon / Erik Karlsson
Sam Girard / Kris Letang
Ryan Shea / Connor Clifton
Goalies: Arturs Silovs (Stuart Skinner played last game)
Potential Scratches: Blake Lizotte (day-to-day injury), Ryan Graves, Ilya Solovyov
IR: Sidney Crosby, Filip Hallander, Jack St. Ivany
- Evgeni Malkin met virtually with the NHL Department of Player Safety on Friday and was suspended for five games, the maximum allowed in a virtual hearing, for slashing Rasmus Dahlin in Thursday’s loss to the Buffalo Sabres. That means the Pens could be without both Sidney Crosby and Malkin for this weekend’s back-to-back as well as three straight West Coast road games.
- The Penguins recalled Ville Koivunen from the AHL. Koivunen was recently named the AHL’s Player of the month after scoring 16 points (six goals, 10 assists) in 11 games during an 8-1-2 stretch for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. The Pens will need a breakout NHL stretch from him in order to help make up for the absence of their two top players.
- Sidney Crosby rejoined practice Friday. He was non-contact, and Muse told reporters nothing has in his return timeline. (The Pens said on Feb. 25 their captain would be out at least four weeks. If dating back to his injury, which he suffered on Feb. 18, that would put his reevaluation date around the back end of the team’s upcoming road trip).
- The Penguins made a deadline-day move of their own by sending out a 2026 third-rounder in exchange for 6-foot-8 forward Elmer Soderblom.
- MoneyPuck projects a major swing in the Penguins’ playoff odds based on the outcome of today’s home game.
