Flyers Game 82, Season Finale; Lines, Notes, & How to Watch vs. Sabres

The Philadelphia Flyers wrap up their less-than-eventful 2024/25 season after they take on the Buffalo Sabres in the season finale.

Thursday’s game carries some heavy pre-draft lottery position implications. Flyers’ rookie Devin Kaplan is expected to make his NHL debut in Thursday night’s season finale.

Both teams are 5-4-1 in their previous 10 games and are coming off consecutive losses. The Flyers have won two of their last five games, including their shootout win over the Islanders. Buffalo has won just one game in its last five and picked up a point in a shootout loss to the Florida Panthers.

The puck drops at 7:0p p.m. at KeyBank Center in Buffalo.

Read More: Flyers Sign Devin Kaplan to ELC

Projected Lines

Forwards

Tyson Foerster – Noah Cates – Bobby Brink

Matvei Michkov – Sean Couturier – Travis Konecny

Owen Tippett – Ryan Poehling – Jakob Pelletier

Devin Kaplan – Karsen Dorwart – Garnet Hathaway

Defensemen

Nick Seeler – Travis Sanheim

Cam York – Jamie Drysdale

Egor Zamula – Emil Andrae

Goaltender

Ivan Fedotov

*UPDATE: Kolosov is starting*

Power Play Units

PP1: Sean Couturier – Matvei Michkov – Travis Konecny – Tyson Foerster – Bobby Brink

PP2:  Noah Cates – Jakob Pelletier – Ryan Poehling – Owen Tippett – Jamie Drysdale

Penalty Kill Units

PK1: Noah Cates – Travis Konecny – Cam York – Travis Sanheim

PK2:  Ryan Poehling – Garnet Hathaway – Nick Seeler – Egor Zamula

Flyers Pre-Lottery Implications

Thursday’s season finale carries some heavy pre-draft lottery position implications for the Flyers.

The Boston Bruins were able to pick up a point against the New Jersey Devils in their overtime loss on Tuesday, which tied the Bruins with the Flyers and Kraken at 76 points. That tie would work out in the Flyers’ favor since the first tiebreaker is regulation wins. Of the three teams, Philadelphia has the fewest.

That said, a regulation loss puts the Flyers at the No. 4 overall spot in the pre-draft lottery rankings. On the other hand, a regulation would put them at 78 points, which would put them at No. 7 overall in the pre-lottery standings.

If the game just makes it to overtime, the Flyers would be at No. 6 overall regardless. The Sabres are up a point on the Flyers, so at most, they can tie the Sabres in overtime. The Sabres have the tiebreaker, so the lower spot in the standings would belong to Philadelphia no matter what if there is overtime.

Simply put:

Lose in regulation–No. 4 pre-lottery, best odds at No. 4 overall pick, 9.5% chance at No. 1 overall.

Overtime in general–No. 6 pre-lottery, best odds at No. 6 overall pick, 7.5% chance at No. 1 overall.

Regulation win–No. 7 pre-lottery, best odds at No. 7 overall pick, 6.5% chance at No. 1 overall.

Read More: Flyers Sign Alex Bump to ELC Beginning in 2025/26

Previous Matchups

The Flyers are 5-5-0 against the Sabres in their last 10 matchups. This season, the two teams played twice, each time with Philly winning by three goals.

Travis Konecny leads the Flyers in points against the Sabres this season with five in two games. He has two goals and three assists. Matvei Michkov follows with four points, with two goals and two assists in two games.

Ryan McLeod has the most points against the Flyers for the Sabres this season with four. He has one goal and three assists against Philly this year.

How to Watch Flyers @ Sabres

TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia, ESPN+

Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic

The puck drops at 7:00 p.m. EST at KeyBank Center in Buffalo.

Read More: Three Out of the Box Candidates to be the Next Flyers Head Coach

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