It's no secret that the Philadelphia Flyers have a difficult week ahead of them. It's also no secret that they've lost six straight games--five of them in regulation--and have been outscored 31-12 in the process. They've tumbled down the standings and out of a playoff spot, and will likely continue to struggle until they get healthy.
Tonight, the Flyers are up against the Vegas Golden Knights, who just completed a major trade for Rasmus Andersson ahead of the Olympic trade deadline and have won seven straight. This is a team firing on all cylinders and just upgraded their blue line, so the Flyers will have their work cut out for them.
Three Storylines
The atrocious goaltending
Aleksei Kolosov did something I've never seen before: he finished the game with a 0.00 save percentage against the New York Rangers, as he allowed three goals on three shots and was given the hook. Sam Ersson also allowed three goals to the Rangers, but he did end up with an .880 SV%, which is above his season average of .855. Until Dan Vladar is healthy again, the Flyers' goaltending is a serious pain point.
Replacing the injured Abols and Ristolainen
Rodrigo Abols went down with a gruesome-looking injury in Saturday's game against the Rangers, and it sounds like he'll be out a while. This is a great opportunity to try Trevor Zegras down the middle, but the Flyers recalled Lane Pederson from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. We'll see if Pederson is just an insurance forward being brought on the road trip or will get to play.
Rasmus Ristolainen has been placed on injured reserve once again, and Hunter McDonald has also been recalled from the Phantoms. Again, we'll see if he plays over Noah Juulsen, but he'll be on the road trip.
The return of Bobby Brink
Everything's pointing to Brink rejoining the lineup in Vegas.
Just to recap the lineup stuff from Flyers practice today:
— Charlie O'Connor (@charlieo_conn) January 19, 2026
- Brink looks like he'll be back
- McDonald here, but prob not playing tomorrow
- Andrae with Sanheim tomorrow?
- Grundstrom was 4C, but would make sense if he's a placeholder for Pederson (called up but not in VGK yet)
The Flyers have been 0-5-1 since Brink left the lineup after taking a high hit on his first shift of the Anaheim Ducks game. We're not ones for superstition, but Brink could be this team's good luck charm and might be just the thing they need to get back in the win column.