Flyers primer-what you need to know about Philly

PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – No team may have benefitted more from NHL players participation in the Olympics than the Philadelphia Flyers. Their season turned after the break for the 2026 Games.

Since February 26, the Flyers are 18-7 and while the lower seed in the standings, have more overall wins than the Pens (43-41). Down the stretch Philadelphia was 6-1 in April and the shootout victory against Carolina Monday clinched the first playoff spot since before COVID.

Here is more on the Flyers.

Top 5 scorers

• Travis Konecny 27 goals, 41 assists, 68 points
• Trevor Zegras 26 goals, 41 assists, 67 points (team leading 5 game-winning goals)
• Owen Tippett 28 goals, 23 assists, 51 points
• Christian Dvorak 18 goals, 33 assists, 51 points
• Matvei Michkov 20 goals, 31 assists, 52 points

Top power play goals

• Zegras 10, Michkov 4

Owen Tippett has 3 short-handed goals

Penalty minutes

• Matvei Michkov 71
• Trevor Zegras 62
• Garnet Hathaway 59
• Travis Konecny 59

Goalie

28-year-old goalie Dan Vladar is having a career season with career-highs of 52 games (22 more), 51 starts (22 more), 29 wins (15 more), 14 losses (3 more) and his 2.42 GAA and .906 save percentage are the best of his career

He’s been especially good in April with the exception of the Red Wings loss

• W, at NYI, 22 shots, 1 goal, .955
• W, Boston, 19 shots, 1 goal, .947
• W, at NJ, 24 shots, 1 goal, .958
• L, at Detroit 8 shots, 4 goals, .500
• W, at Winnipeg, 28 shots, 1 goal, .964
• W, Carolina, 26 shots, 2 goals, .923

Vlader has never started a playoff game coming in relief in a game with Boston in 2020 and 2022 with Calgary. He was Team Czechia’s back-up goalie in the Olympics in February giving up three goals on 12 shots.

Taken in the third round 11 years ago by Boston, Vladar bounced around with Boston and then Calgary before signing a two-year, $6.7 million contract with Philly on July 1.

Familiar coach

Drafted by the Flyers in the sixth round in 1983, Rich Tocchet is in his first season as Philadelphia’s head coach. Tocchet played his first eight seasons with the Flyers including a number of physical matchups against the Pens. He would then join the Pens in 1991-92 with 19 points in 14 playoff games winning the Stanley Cup. He would stay in Pittsburgh for two more seasons before playing with the Kings, Bruins, Caps, Coyotes and back with the Flyers to finish his career.

Tocchett started his coaching career as an assistant with Colorado, then Phoenix, Tampa Bay, becoming head coach and back to Pittsburgh as an assistant coach from 2014-17 winning a pair of Stanley Cups. Tocchet was the head coach with Arizona, Vancouver and then the Flyers again this year.

He knows the emotions of this series from both benches and was always a physical player. He and his director of hockey operations, former NBC broadcaster and Flyers player Keith Jones, have multiple roughing penalties in their careers against the Pens. Another former Flyer, Daniel Briere is the general manager

An assistant coach is also a former Pens assistant (2010-14), Todd Reirden.

Pens v Flyers numbers

Here is a comparison in major team categories between the Pens and Flyers, with the Pens leading by a wide margin in goals scored and the Flyers biggest advantage is in goals against. (Each number is followed by the NHL ranking)

Goals

Pens 290 (3rd)

Flyers 240 (19th)

Goals against

Pens 258 (22nd)

Flyers 239 (11th)

Power Play

Pens 24.1% (7^th)

Flyers 15.7% (last)

Penalty Kill

Pens 81.4% (7^th)

Flyers 77.6 (22nd)

Faceoffs

Pens 48.2 (24^th)

Flyers 49.5 (18^th)

Hits

Pens 1,444 (30^th)

Flyers 1,862 (4^th)

Blocked Shots

Pens 1,204 (11^th)

Flyers 1,237 (7^th)

Giveaways

Pens 1,306 (last)

Flyers 1,191 (19^th

Takeaways

Pens 406 (7^th)

Flyers 349 (28^th)

Team save percentage

Pens .885 (23^rd)

Flyers .885 (23^rd

MISC

• Flyers have one regulation loss when leading after the first period, no regulation losses leading after the second
• Flyers have only five players over 30-years-old
• Flyers have zero shutouts this year
• Teams split the season series—Philly 3-2 shootout win October 28, Pens 5-1 win in Philadelphia on December 1, Pens 6-3 win on January 15, Flyers 4-3 shootout win in Pittsburgh on March 7