Despite a hat trick from Travis Konecny and Dan Vladar standing on his head in his first game back from injury, the Philadelphia Flyers lost 5-3 to the Columbus Blue Jackets last night. There's no time to mope about it, though, as the Flyers are bound for Beantown on the second half of their back to back.
The Boston Bruins have been a curious team this season. They have David Pastrnak putting together yet another excellent season (22 goals, 69 points in 49 games), Morgan Geekie has popped off as a 30-goal scorer, and Jeremy Swayman has bounced back after last year's disappointing play--but their true-talent level on paper isn't all that impressive. That's manifested itself in a streaky team, just as likely to rattle off eight wins in a row as they are to drop that many consecutively, ping ponging them up and down the Eastern Conference standings. For now, they have 65 standings points and are tied with the Montreal Canadiens for a wildcard spot.
Three Storylines
Konecny's availability
Travis Konecny put the entire team on his back last night, but it wasn't enough to get a win against the mediocre Blue Jackets. Worse, he blocked a shot early and was in noticeable pain for much of the contest--and now might he might miss tonight's game against the Bruins.
#Flyers coach Rick Tocchet, in part of his answer about Travis Konecny, said his status is uncertain for Thursday in Boston:
— Jackie Spiegel (@jackiespiegel93) January 29, 2026
"He took one off the foot. He's limping around. He might not play tomorrow. We don't know. So that's, he [had] a lot of guts tonight." https://t.co/B54axFtwbv
With last night's hat trick, Konecny surpassed Trevor Zegras for the team lead in goals (20) and points (48). Zegras has struggled of late, and Rick Tocchet has taken notice; if Konecny can't play, the Flyers are going to have to dig deep to find some sort of offense.
Rasmus Ristolainen, hurt again
The Flyers just got Ristolainen back a few days ago, and he's already injured again.
Per #Flyers PR, Ristolainen will not return with a lower-body injury. https://t.co/XZTAJ8W9XU
— Jackie Spiegel (@jackiespiegel93) January 29, 2026
Tocchet said during a bench interview mid-game that Ristolainen fell down, and was then ruled out for the remainder of the game. It's been a tough season for the Finnish defenseman, whose Olympic availability now may be in jeopardy. Most likely, we will see Emil Andrae draw back into the lineup after being a healthy scratch last night.
Can Sam Ersson bounce back?
Ersson will be between the pipes during the second game of a back-to-back as the Flyers aren't going to thrust too much on Vladar's shoulders after his return.
Ersson put together some strong games on the western road trip, especially against the Vegas Golden Knights and Colorado Avalanche, but then he laid an egg against the New York Islanders in the Flyers' first game back in Philadelphia. The Flyers could use one of Ersson's stellar road performances tonight against the Bruins, and it would give the netminder something to hang his hat on headed into the Olympic break next week.