If the Philadelphia Flyers fail to make the playoffs, they can place much of the blame on their home-ice performance.
The Flyers hope to post a much-needed home victory Thursday when they take on the Chicago Blackhawks.
Philadelphia (34-24-12, 80 points) enters Wednesday’s action five points behind the Ottawa Senators for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. The Flyers also have a pair of teams in front of them and only 12 games remaining, putting additional emphasis on earning two points Thursday.
The Flyers swept their recent three-game trip to California before returning home to absorb a 3-2 defeat to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday.
“You have to get the crowd on your side,” Philadelphia coach Rick Tocchet said after the loss dropped his team to 15-12-8 at home, compared to 19-12-4 on the road. “Don’t be nervous. Especially the first period, I thought they were cheering for us. We were getting pucks on net, we were getting breakaways. That’s the stuff you get fans excited about.”
The Flyers, who had won five of their previous six games, now begin a stretch of three games in four nights, starting with the matchup against Chicago.
“Just remember what it took on that road trip to win those games,” Tocchet said. “And the style of play that is needed every shift. You can’t take one shift off at this time of year. It’s playoff hockey for us. We have to treat it like it is.”
Sean Couturier and Jamie Drysdale scored for the Flyers, while Dan Vladar made 16 saves. Philadelphia controlled play in the first period before allowing two goals early in the second and was never able to fully recover from that sequence.
“I think we didn’t execute for about five minutes in there in the second and it cost us the game,” Couturier said. “Other than that, I thought we played a good game.”
Chicago (27-31-13, 67 points) is far removed from the playoff picture in the Western Conference, but the team’s four-game road trip got off to a positive start Tuesday. The Blackhawks posted a 4-3 win over the New York Islanders — a much-needed victory after losing four of their previous five contests.
Nick Lardis had a goal and two assists for Chicago, which is looking to climb out of last place in the Central Division over the final three weeks of the season.
“You want to learn lessons and grow, and you’d rather do it with a win,” said Chicago coach Jeff Blashill, while Lardis added that “it’s good for our group to learn how to win in those situations.”
Tuesday’s win marked the NHL debut for Anton Frandell, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2025 draft. The 18-year-old Swede notched an assist in 15:43 of ice time.
“Where should I start?” Frondell said when asked about his debut. “It was going fast. It was just cool. It still feels like a dream. It feels good to win, too.”
Blashill was pleased to welcome Frondell into a young nucleus that already includes Connor Bedard and Lardis.
“He’s earned the opportunity to be up there and capitalize on the confidence he’s gained coming into the league,” Blashill said. “It’s a good chance for him.”
This is the second and final meeting between the teams this season. The Flyers posted a 3-1 win in Chicago on Dec. 23 as Travis Konecny registered a goal and an assist.
–Field Level Media
