VOORHEES, N.J. — There's a big question heading into the Flyers' preseason finale Thursday night at the Wells Fargo Center.
How much of a dress rehearsal is it?
Three days ago, John Tortorella felt it would be "pretty close" to their lineup, with "maybe one or two spots" being different.
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The Flyers' head coach said something similar Thursday during morning skate.
"We've seen enough of everybody as far as how we're going to go about it," Tortorella said. "Now, if you're going down the line and you're thinking this is our starting lineup, I'm not sure ... I still don't know what it is."
Among the remaining prospects still vying to crack the Flyers' season-opening roster, Tyson Foerster will be the only one to suit up Thursday against the Islanders (7 p.m. ET/NBCSP).
It very well could be a showcase for the 21-year-old winger to win his job. From a production standpoint, Foerster has had a so-so camp and preseason. But in the final exhibition game, he's playing on the Flyers' top line with Sean Couturier and Joel Farabee.
NHL
The Flyers' decision-makers might be saying: Let's see if the kid takes it.
"I always want to try to put him into an offensive situation," Tortorella said. "That's the way we'll start the game, I'm not sure where it goes from there. But I want to get him with some offensive people and then see what happens."
The 2020 first-round pick opened Tortorella's eyes last season in an eight-game audition. This preseason, he has recorded one assist and two shots through three exhibition showings after going scoreless in the two rookie games.
"He has just got to keep playing," Tortorella said. "I think he'll get some luck, I think he'll find a way to score some goals along the way. It's not, 'OK, we're putting you there, if you don't do something tonight, you're gone.' That's not the way I think about it.
"We still have to, I think, move two people. I think we've got a pretty good idea of how we're going to settle as we go into Monday. This is the lineup we wanted to go with for our last exhibition game and see where we go from there."
Foerster is treating it like an opportunity to prove himself.
"I think every game for me I had that mindset going in," Foerster said. "I think I can create a little bit more offense, but I think I've been good in the D-zone and playing hard. It's up to them, but we'll see."
Bobby Brink is nipping at the roster after starting camp as a dark-horse candidate. The 2019 second-round pick has led the Flyers in preseason scoring with three points (one goal, two assists) over four games. He also scored a shootout marker in Boston and had a pair of goals in the scrimmage portion of camp.
At the end of the 2021-22 season, Brink played 10 games for the Flyers after winning a national championship with Denver and leading the country in scoring. In 2022-23, his season with AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley didn't start until January because of a lengthy recovery from surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left hip.
The 22-year-old winger won't play in the preseason finale. The Flyers feel they have gotten a good enough read on Brink, who played three games in four days from last Friday to this Monday.
"No matter who plays tonight in our last one, I think we've seen pretty much ... I think it has been a good camp for us that way, getting opportunities for people and seeing some minutes," Tortorella said. "I think we have a pretty good indication of what they are right now."
Carter Hart will play the full game in net against New York. Here's how the Flyers will look in front of him:
Forwards
Joel Farabee-Sean Couturier-Tyson Foerster
Scott Laughton-Noah Cates-Travis Konecny
Owen Tippett-Morgan Frost-Cam Atkinson
Nicolas Deslauriers-Ryan Poehling-Garnet Hathaway
Defensemen
Cam York-Rasmus Ristolainen
Marc Staal-Travis Sanheim
Nick Seeler-Sean Walker
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