Flyers Game

Flyers Game 44: Lines, Notes, & How to Watch vs. Lightning

Published

4 weeks ago

January 12, 2026

The Philadelphia Flyers (22-13-8) and Tampa Bay Lighting (27-13-3) play round two of their back-to-back in Philadelphia on Monday night at Xfinity Mobile Arena.

Last time out, the Flyers played about 30 minutes of close hockey against a very good team. Still chasing two as the third period opened, however, the Flyers got desperate, which led to many mistakes. Those mistakes led to better than grade-A chances for Tampa. Against a team like that, you can’t allow those types of looks because they just won’t miss.

The Lightning dominated the third period, leading to the 7-2 final score.

On Monday, Tampa will look to extend its winning streak to 10 games, while the Flyers look to avoid consecutive regulation losses.

Puck drop is at 7:00 p.m. EST at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Here is how the Flyers are expected to line up.

Flyers lines & pairs vs. Lightning

Forwards

Trevor Zegras–Christian Dvorak–Travis Konecny (game-time decision)
Denver Barkey–Sean Couturier–Owen Tippett
Matvei Michkov–Noah Cates–Nikita Grebenkin
Carl Grundstrom–Rodrigo Abols–Garnet Hathaway

Defensemen

Cam York–Travis Sanheim
Emil Andrae-Noah Juulsen
Nick Seeler-Ramsus Ristolainen

Goaltenders

Dan Vladar
Sam Ersson

Special Teams
PP1: York, Dvorak, Michkov, Tippett, Zegras
PP2: Ristolainen, Sanheim, Cates, Barkey, Grebenkin

PK1: Couturier, Dvorak, York, Sanheim
PK 2: Abols, Grundstrom, Seeler, Ristolainen

Things to watch

The back-to-back setup for these two games, the same arena and same matchup, creates an almost playoff-like experience. You see how one game goes, then you have a day to adjust before the next. This will be a good test to see how the Flyers respond against a team like the Lightning – a true playoff team.

That said, there are some lineup changes to keep an eye on as well. Travis Konecny is a game-time decision after taking a shot off the knee in practice on Sunday. He did have a long skate on Monday morning, where he looked healthy and good to go. Getting him back in the lineup will be a big boost to the lineup offensively.

Speaking of big boosts, Dan Vladar is back in goal after Sam Ersson got the first start of the back-to-back. While Ersson was entirely at fault on Saturday, he certainly did not play his best hockey either. Getting Vladar back between the pipes should be a big boost for Philadelphia.

Finally, the Flyers have lost consecutive games in regulation just once this season. Tampa Bay will provide quite a challenge for Philadelphia as it looks to keep that impressive record. Can they keep the record alive?