Fielding a roster that’s nearly entirely different from the one they used against Washington on Sunday, the Philadelphia Flyers will play their second game of the 2024 preseason in as many days against the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre at 7 p.m. on Monday night.

Virtually all of the Flyers who played in Sunday’s game against the Capitals have returned to home base with their original training camp groups, with the exceptions of wingers Bobby Brink and Olle Lycksell, who will be getting a second exhibition game early on in camp.

For all intents and purposes, it appears that the Flyers and the coaching staff are pitting the two young wingers against each other in a battle for a roster spot, though it is possible, logistically, that both stick on the NHL roster to start the 2024-25 season.

Based on Monday night’s game roster, here’s how I’m expecting things to look:

Flyers Lines

Forwards (12)

Anthony Richard – Sean Couturier – Tyson Foerster

Elliot Desnoyers – Scott Laughton – Bobby Brink

Nicolas Deslauriers – Ryan Poehling – Olle Lycksell

Oscar Eklind – Massimo Rizzo – Jacob Gaucher (AHL)

Defense (6)

Egor Zamula – Rasmus Ristolainen

Hunter McDonald – Oliver Bonk

Ronnie Attard – Louie Belpedio

Goalies (2)

Eetu Makiniemi (PTO), Cal Petersen

Canadiens Lines

Forwards (12)

Patrik Laine – Kirby Dach – Alex Newhook

Joshua Roy – Christian Dvorak – Josh Anderson

Alex Barre-Boulet – Oliver Kapanen – Emil Heineman

Luke Tuch – Lucas Condotta – Jared Davidson

Defense (6)

Lane Hutson – David Savard

Arber Xhekaj – Justin Barron

Adam Engstrom – Logan Mailloux

Goalies (2)

Cayden Primeau, Jakub Dobes

What I’m Watching

Yes, the Flyers are again icing a fairly strong lineup decorated with NHL regulars and veterans, but the big story, understandably, is going to be Patrik Laine making his Montreal Canadiens debut. According to the morning skate lines, Laine will play as an inverted left winger alongside Kirby Dach, who is returning from a torn ACL, and former top Colorado Avalanche draft pick Alex Newhook.

Dach, 23, looked destined for a breakout 2023-24 campaign after a solid first year in Montreal, but the devastating season-ending knee injury obviously put an end to that before it truly got started. Playing alongside Laine, Dach will have a big opportunity to restore some confidence in his body and develop a rapport with one of the game’s best sharpshooters.

Similarly, Flyers captain Sean Couturier returns to game action after yet another surgery, having undergone a fairly minor offseason procedure to repair a sports hernia he suffered during the 2023-24 season. He’ll be playing alongside sophomore forward Tyson Foerster, who dominated advanced analytics categories last season when paired with Couturier.

There appears to be a three-horse race between Brink, Lycksell, and Elliot Desnoyers for a spot on the Flyers, but after Sunday’s performance, Brink is far and away the clubhouse leader. Flyers general manager Danny Briere said himself that he expects Brink to make the team, and through a few weeks of training camp, there is absolutely no reason to believe any other outcome is a possibility.

Lastly, it looks as though the Flyers will be platooning young defensemen Hunter McDonald and Oliver Bonk on a pairing together. Bonk, like Jett Luchanko, is going to get a real opportunity to make the team but is likely headed for one last year of junior hockey in the OHL with the London Knights.

In the same vein, Ronnie Attard getting bottom-pair minutes with Louie Belpedio probably doesn’t bode well for his prospects of making the Flyers to start the year. Attard will turn 26 in March, so time is ticking.

Monday night’s Flyers game against the Montreal Canadiens will be streamed on the Philadelphia Flyers official website.