April 09, 2026
Kyle Ross/Imagn Images
Jamie Drysdale and the Flyers have another big game against the Red Wings Thursday night.
The Flyers flew over to Detroit, heading toward another "must win" against the Red Wings Thursday night in a stretch where all four remaining games on the schedule are probably going to be.
But then again, there's probably no better situation for this team to be in, because they're rolling right now.
The Flyers have won three straight after putting away the New Jersey Devils on the road Tuesday, 5-1, and with 92 points in the standings at third in the Metropolitan Division, they're in the driver's seat of their playoff destiny so long as they can keep stacking up wins.
But two hurdles do stand in front of them as they approach Thursday night.
Matchup-wise, they'll be facing a Red Wings team that beat them last week in Philly, 4-2, and for the last time this season in what will be the last direct four-point swing game in the playoff chase, specifically in the Eastern Conference Wild Card picture.
Trend-wise, the Flyers will have another chance at pulling off a four-game win streak, which they haven't been able to do all season.
But there's no better time to break through with one than now. It just might propel them straight to the finish line and into the postseason if they can, and with all eyes watching.
A few other quick thoughts on the Flyers before a big Thursday night...
The Flyers were clicking before star rookie Porter Martone signed to come over from Michigan State, but his jumping straight into the lineup has been an undeniable spark for both morale and offensive firepower.
All season, the Flyers have had issues working the puck inside and to the front of the opposing net, along with just shooting it outright.
But since Martone has gotten here, he's been parking himself straight in front of the net, fighting for space and looking for rebounds or quick passes inside.
You don't have to look any further for proof than Martone's big OT winner against the Bruins last Sunday:
PORTER MARTONE WITH HIS FIRST NHL GOAL AND IT'S A BIG ONE TO WIN IT IN OVERTIME!!!! 🔥😅 pic.twitter.com/xLA8qostIM
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) April 5, 2026
Or Martone's game-by-game shot counts since he debuted:
| Game | Shots on Goal |
| 3/31 @WSHÂ | 5Â |
| 4/2 DETÂ | 9Â |
| 4/3 @NYIÂ | 1Â |
| 4/5 BOSÂ | 5Â |
| 4/7 @NJDÂ | 2Â |
| TOTAL (5 gms)Â | 22Â |
The bolded dates denote that Martone had the game-high for shots on goal, between both teams, for that respective night.Â
That's three games out of five so far where the 19-year-old winger has led in shots taken, and where he's been skating with an intention to shoot the puck in general.
Having a shoot-first presence like that, along with Tyson Foerster in his return from injury, has been a game-changer for a Flyers roster that has had a longstanding tendency to get a little too pass-happy among its forward corps.
Now the team, and the increasing number of fans who have been tuning in, are hoping it's the difference that ends up putting them over the edge.
"For a young guy, he plays a very mature game," center Trevor Zegras said of Martone after Monday's practice at Xfinity Mobile Arena. "He's really smart with the puck and without the puck. It seems like he's already got a ton of goals even though [Sunday] was his first one."
But at the rate he's been playing, the goals should start to pile up for Martone quick.
Sean Couturier has been playing with much more noticeable aggression in his game of late, evidenced by him increasingly throwing the body around, especially with some big hits seen in last Thursday's loss to Detroit.Â
He's a fourth-liner now, which he probably didn't have in mind as the team captain and with Rick Tocchet's hiring as the head coach back in the summer, but even so, he's been thriving within the role.
He's skating with more energy, his on-ice responsibilities have him specifically focused on keeping the opponent shut down, and he's controlling the faceoff circle, taking a 90.9 percent win rate on his draws in Tuesday night's win over the Devils.
At this point, for what he brings and what he's doing, that $7.75 million cap hit is always going to induce a wince.Â
But Couturier not only accepting fourth-line duty but running with it has been one of the more underrated keys to the Flyers' success of late, along with having veteran Luke Glendening next to him as a veteran checker who can move in and out of the faceoff circle, too.Â
Glendening has won 54.3 percent of his faceoffs through the last four games.
Matvei Michkov had a hand in both of Tyson Foerster's goals Tuesday night against the Devils.
Michkov racing to a loose puck along the defensive zone wall to chip it forward sprung Foerster and Tippett on to an odd-man rush where Foerster was able to keep the puck himself and score.
TYSON FOERSTER MAKES IT 3-1!!! WHAT A PLAY BY MATVEI MICHKOV OUT OF THE BOX SERVING THE TOO MANY MEN TO GET THAT PUCK TO FOERSTER. LET'S GO!!#LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/Ex8EQeDmWk
— Flyers Clips (@Flyers_Clips) April 8, 2026
Then on another odd-man rush from a misplaced New Jersey pass, Michkov tailed Foerster carrying the puck, and upon the offensive zone entry, he was ready to take in a drop pass that caught Devils checkers flat-footed and with his head up and already set to feed the puck to an open Trevor Zegras drifting wide to the right side of the goal line.Â
Zegras took the puck in and sailed his own pass back to Foerster at the other side, who fired a shot into an open net before the Devils could even register what happened.
TYSON FOERSTER AGAIN!!! WHAT A PLAY FROM ZEGRAS AND MICHKOV. 2ND ASSIST IN 2 SHIFTS FOR MATVEI. 4-1!!!!#LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/SjqYoOaz3L
— Flyers Clips (@Flyers_Clips) April 8, 2026
Michkov notched an assist on both sequences, and quietly, he's been a pretty productive playmaker for the Flyers throughout their climb back into a playoff spot.
In fact, ever since their trip out West beginning with Anaheim back on March 18, Michkov has 12 points (a goal and 11 assists) and a plus-6 rating through 12 games.
It's been a disappointing second season for Michkov, and that's been said and written about time and time again.
His struggles got to a point where it was going to be too late to salvage the year numbers-wise, but since coming back from the Olympic break, like the rest of the team, he's finding his ways to push the momentum forward, even if it's not necessarily through highlight-reel goals or passes.
Those little chip plays and quick heads-up passes, though, can count for just as much sometimes, and right now they are adding up for the Flyers as they try to punch their postseason ticket.
I took a walk through Center City after Monday's practice at the arena wrapped, and I saw people in Flyers gear as I made my way down Market and into Old City, more than I can honestly say that I've seen on an April Monday in a long time.
It wasn't overwhelming, but I saw Flyers hats and hoodies on walking by, and what seemed to be an old Claude Giroux jersey dug out of the closet.
The point is to say that Philadelphia is seeing the Flyers trying to break through.Â
People are seeing Martone and the immediate and exciting signs he's showing as a future NHL star; they're seeing this team figure out how to win and have fun doing it; and they're seeing Trevor Zegras, Jamie Drysdale, Travis Konecny, Dan Vladar, and so on – who were all once afterthoughts either by the NHL as a whole or even the Philly sports scene right here – trying to push this team to a place it hasn't been since the pandemic.Â
There's excitement in the Flyers again, there's building hope and belief, and like the Phillies in 2022 or even the Sixers way back in 2018, what that does for the city and the way fans rally behind that wave when it happens, whether old, new, lapsed, or there through all the pain, that's huge.
A good Flyers team is good for Philadelphia, and the city is showing, in greater signs, that it is ready to get behind one again.
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