Heading to the Sunshine State for the second stop of a three-game road trip, John Tortorella’s Philadelphia Flyers (4-8-1) will take on Jon Cooper’s Tampa Bay Lightning (7-6-0) on Thursday night. Game time at Amalie Arena is 7:30 PM EST.

The game will stream on ESPN+ and Hulu. The radio broadcast is on 97.5 The Fanatic with an online simulcast on Flyers Radio 24/7.

Thursday’s game is the first of three meetings this season between the Flyers and Lightning. The teams meet March 13 at the Wells Fargo Center and March 17 in Tampa.

The Flyers come into this game coming off a 6-4 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh on Tuesday. Despite a sharp disadvantage in territorial play, the Flyers played a resilient game falling 31 seconds short of reaching overtime. On a losing cause, Travis Konecny ​​scored a four-point game (5-on-3 power play goal, 5-on-5 goal, two assists).

Here are five things to watch in Thursday’s tilt.

1. Opportunity for Richard

With center Ryan Poehling on Injured Reserve, the Flyers recalled 27-year-old winger Anthony Richard on Wednesday. In Poehling’s absence, Noah Cates has shifted from left to center.

Richard signed a two-year, two-way contract on July 2 and was one of the final roster cuts during training camp after a solid showing in practices, scrimmages and preseason games. An offensive standout in the American Hockey League in recent seasons, Richard opened the 2024-25 AHL regular season with nine points (4g, 5a) in his first seven games.

Richard is undersized (listed at 6-foot-1, 185 pounds) but is a fast and smooth skater with good puck skills. Since the start of the 2022/2023 season, he has averaged more than one point per game in the American Hockey League (126 games, 131 points).

The player was a part of four NHL organizations – Nashville, Montreal, Boston and now Philly – while playing a total of 24 National Hockey League games (4g, 4a) with the Predators, Canadiens and Bruins before signing with the Flyers.

Richard has a solid work ethic to match his speed and skill. He is average without the puck, but has worked hard to hold his own. Point production was a challenge at the NHL level during the former fourth round (2015), but he scored 25-30 goals twice at the AHL level. As an offensive-minded player, Richard needs the production to sustain an NHL lineup.

2. Tipping point

Owen Tippett had a rough start to the regular season, but looked close to a real breakthrough as he collected five points (1g, 4a) over a three-game span against Washington, Minnesota and Montreal.

Tippett’s only score in the first 12 games was a Washington blind shot that found the net off a heavy screen from Sean Couturier. However, the four assists were evidence that Tippett found other ways to get involved in positive play.

With almost the entire Flyers team struggling to score but playing much better from a defensive standpoint, Tippett didn’t record a single point in the home-and-home set with Boston (2-0 road win, 3-0 home loss) sandwiched. a 2-1 home victory on Halloween against the St. Louis Blues.

Tippett had some bad luck in the last game against Boston. Goalkeeper Joonas Korpisalo made perhaps his two best saves of the match on an apparently fined Tippett wrister from deep and a straight Morgan Frost chance set up by Tippett. Both actions took place during the second period.

On Tuesday in Raleigh, Tippett could no longer be stopped. He generated his best full-game performance of the season so far: a top-shelf goal with a perfect shot, a power-play assist, six shots on goal (Philly generated just 16 shots). as a team), and good chemistry with Konecny ​​​​and Sean Couturier.

Overall, Tippett’s seven points over the last seven games (2g, 5a) and level of involvement in chances that didn’t result in goals is a positive sign for a team that desperately needs positives to build on offensively build.

3. The puck possession game

This topic was the biggest concern in the Carolina game. After giving up 87 shot attempts and generating just 36 against the Hurricanes (the NHL’s top-ranked puck possession club for several years in a row), the need to attack more and defend less remains a critical concern.

Statistics can be deceiving, but in this case the raw numbers match the eye test: the Flyers come to Tampa ranked 29th in shot attempts (Corsi) at 5-on-5, as well as the quality of scoring chances (43.87 percent expected). share goals).

Last season, despite the club’s swoon over the last 11 games, the Flyers ranked seventh in Corsi and eighth in expected goals at five-on-five. This is key: if you want to compare last season’s progress to the decline the Flyers have shown, start with the underlying process.

The Flyers MUST get back to at least the middle of the pack in puck possession and chance-generating team stats if the team wants to pull away from early season struggles to win. Shot blocking and D-zone structure only go far when the team is boxed into its own goal so often.

4. Building blocks for power play

The Flyers’ power play was a bright spot through the first eight games of the regular season, but then went cold for the next four games.

In Carolina, the Flyers capitalized on a first period 5-on-3, but were unable to score another goal in the remaining 5-on-4 time. A 5-on-4 third period lasted just 17 seconds before being wiped out by an Emil Andrae penalty.

For the season, the Flyers’ power play is tied for 14th in the league at 20 percent efficiency. If this continues throughout the season, it would be a huge improvement over recent seasons.

If the Flyers want to beat Tampa on their home ice, special teams may have to get the win. The Lightning rank in the bottom third of the NHL in penalty avoidance (42 times shorthanded) and have allowed 11 opponent power play games, which ranks them fourth in the league so far.

On the other end of special teams, the Flyers themselves have had trouble staying out of the penalty box (coming up short 45 times, fifth-most penalties in that area). However, the penalty kill itself remains very strong again this season (88.9 percent, third in the league).

The Lightning power play (18.6 percent) is still adjusting to the departure of franchise icon Steven Stamkos after last season. For years, Stamkos was Tampa’s top scoring threat on power plays. However, there is still a range of firepower available. The Fyers would do well not to tempt fate with a high number of kill penalties.

5. Behind enemy lines; Lightning in Tampa Bay

The Lightning may no longer be the NHL’s gold standard club that won back-to-back Stanley Cup championships amid three straight Eastern Conference championships. That mantle now belongs to the Florida Panthers.

Nevertheless, the Bolts remain quite dangerous with big-name players like superstar Nikita Kucherov (10g, 12a, 22 points in 13 games), Brayden Point (8g, 5a) and blueline leader Victor Hedman (3g, 10a). Former Penguins star Jake Guentzel (5g, 8a) has collected 13 points to start the season with his new club.

How deep is the Tama grid? So much so that 26-year-old winger Brandon Hagel (7g, 7a), two-way center Anthony Cirelli (2g, 11a and Nick Paul (4g, 7a) are supporting offensive sources and not the lead dogs on the Tampa offense.

Despite all the offensive talent and the presence of former Vezina Trophy goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy (6-5-0, 2.59 GAA, .903 SV%, one shutout), the Lightning have started November with three straight regulation losses and have dropped four traps. their last six games.

Why? The answer is that Tampa has at times relied too much on outscoring errors caused by turnovers that have led to counterattacks and some costly coverage blows. Five of the Lightning’s six losses this season came in games in which the club scored at least four goals, including four games with five or more goals.

Backup goaltender Jonas Johansson (4.51 GAA, .866 SV%) has made two starts and one relief appearance so far. After Thursday’s game, the Lightning will have a weeklong break until they host the Winnipeg Jets on Nov. 14.