The Philadelphia Flyers have nearly completed the first month of the 2025-26 season. They currently have a record of 5-3-1 through nine games with one game remaining. That remaining game is tonight against the Nashville Predators. A win tonight would put the orange and black three games over .500, and I’m sure no fan would complain about that.
Head coach Rick Tocchet announced lineup changes for tonight’s game, and the Flyers released a statement that Samuel Ersson has been placed on IR.
Let’s dive into these lineup changes and the Ersson injury, shall we?
Lineup Changes
Tocchet announced earlier today that Dan Vladar will get the start in net tonight. With Ersson injured, this seemed obvious. Vladar, in my opinion, has played a huge role in the Flyers’ early success. In the five games he has started, he has a record of 3-2-0, a 1.81 goals-against average (GAA), and a .932 save percentage. The goals against average and save percentage both rank second amongst goaltenders in the entire league.
Flyers fans must be relieved that the team finally has a goaltender who uses his size to his advantage. As Vladar stands at 6’5″ and weighs 209 pounds, he covers a majority of the net and doesn’t play small. Fans saw way too much of this with former Flyers goaltender Ivan Fedotov. He stands two inches taller than Vladar at 6’7″, played like he was much smaller, and allowed goals that should never have gone in.
The last lineup change that was announced is that Emil Andrae will jump in on defense, and Egor Zamula will come out. Andrae was recently recalled by the Flyers from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms when they sent Jett Luchanko back to the Guelph Storm of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL).
This will be Andrae’s second game with the Flyers this season. He played in the home-opener against the Florida Panthers back on Oct. 13 and didn’t record any points. The 23-year-old defenseman has played 47 games in his career and has tallied one goal and six assists for seven points. He also holds a plus/minus rating of -6.
Ersson Injury
Ersson has been placed on the Injured Reserve list once again. The Flyers put out an announcement earlier today on social media.
It was reported that Ersson “tweaked” something before practice on Wednesday and is considered day-to-day. With him now being placed on IR, this means he’ll be out for at least a week. As you can see above, the Flyers have recalled Aleksei Kolosov to back up Vladar. He’ll most likely start a game or two until Ersson returns.
While this is his first IR stint this season, he had three of them last season. He sustained an injury after losing a skate blade against the Boston Bruins back on November 2, 2024. He was then involved in a collision with Luke Kunen of the San Jose Sharks on December 31, 2024, that gave him a lower-body injury. Finally, a nagging lower-body injury caused him to miss some time in both November and December.
Ersson will be eligible to come off the IR when the Flyers take on the Nashville Predators in Nashville on Nov. 6.
Flyers make a trade
Earlier today, the Flyers completed a trade with the Dallas Stars. The Flyers sent forward Samu Tuomaala to Dallas in exchange for defenseman Christian Kyrou.
Want details on this trade? Flyers Nitty Gritty’s own Jamey Baskow broke it down in full detail. Check out his article here.
Flyers Next Game
The Flyers next game is tonight at 7 pm in Philadelphia against the Nashville Predators.
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