Flyers have good decisions to make after wrapping up preseason with win

The Flyers closed the door on their preseason with a 5-2 win Thursday night over the Islanders at the Wells Fargo Center.

Nicolas Deslauriers, Noah Cates, Owen Tippett, Travis Konecny and Cam Atkinson all scored goals for the Flyers.

Eleven different Flyers recorded a point. Konecny and Morgan Frost led the way with two-point nights.

The Flyers went 3-2-1 in the preseason, scoring 14 goals over the six games.

"We saw the people we needed to see, thought we were fair in the people that got the ice time and got the games," head coach John Tortorella said. "We have a really good assessment of most of the guys that came through camp. Now we'll see where we go and try to get our roster down to 23 [players] Monday."

• In a final showcase, prospect Tyson Foerster picked up his second assist of the preseason.

"I thought tonight was my best game so far," Foerster said. "It's up to them, but we'll see what happens."

The 21-year-old winger is battling Bobby Brink and Wade Allison for the final jobs up front. Brink and Allison did not play Thursday night.

The game was important for Foerster's case because he had not jumped out offensively in his three exhibition showings.

Foerster had a solid night Thursday. He started the game on Sean Couturier's top line. When he moved to a line with Tippett and Frost in the second period, he notched his helper with a nice pass to help the Flyers exit the defensive zone.

"He moved the puck well, I thought he was on the puck, protected the puck well," Tortorella said. "I thought he played really well. I know he doesn't have the points, but I thought he had a good camp and did a lot of the little things that I'm looking for, too.

"He had a good camp. I want him to score just to get a little pressure off himself. I think that's what he has done a little bit in this camp here after coming on with a little bit of flash last year. The game's hard. I think he has just put some pressure on. If he scores a goal or two, I think he'll feel much better about himself."

The Flyers have good decisions to make here at forward and on defense. They'll take it.

At this time last year, the Flyers weren't fortunate on the health front.

"Every coach in the league, that's all they want at the end of exhibition season," Tortorella said. "That's the No. 1 priority, is just get out healthy so you can make the proper decisions as far as what your lineup is."

• Rasmus Ristolainen was originally slated to play alongside Cam York on the Flyers' top defensive pair.

However, per a Flyers spokesperson, Ristolainen was a little nicked up and held out of the game for precautionary reasons. The injury is not serious.

Ristolainen's absence gave prospect Emil Andrae one more opportunity to make an impression on the Flyers' decision-makers.

"You know what I really like about him? I thought he made a bunch of mistakes, but right after he makes a mistake, he makes a good play," Tortorella said. "I don't think he's afraid of anything. I don't think he's afraid to make a mistake. I like a lot of things about him."

With eight defensemen still on the roster, the Flyers have to decide who will be their sixth on opening night. If the club carries eight to open the season, one would think either Egor Zamula or Andrae would crack the lineup. The Flyers don't want their prospects sitting too long as extras. The sixth and final spot could come down between Zamula, Andrae and Sean Walker.

• Couturier recorded two assists over four preseason games. He's coming back from two back surgeries, which sidelined him since December 2021.

Atkinson played the final three exhibition games and finished with two goals. He missed all of last season because of a neck injury that required surgery in December.

Both established forwards looked sharper with each game. They've said their bodies have responded well to the game action, which is the overwhelming positive for the Flyers.

"Physically, the body, I feel really good," Couturier said. "I was surprised, with all the skating and how hard this camp is, I don't really have any soreness or any tightness. That's good. Obviously my game I think still has some work to be done. But I think it's going in the right direction, it got better and better every game. I've just got to keep building on it."

• Carter Hart played the full game for his second and final tune-up. The 25-year-old recorded 14 saves.

In two starts this preseason, Hart stopped 33 of 38 shots.

Karson Kuhlman beat him on a breakaway in the first period. The second goal Hart allowed was on himself as he misplayed the puck behind the net during the third period, resulting in Brian Pinho's marker.

Samuel Ersson will open the season as Hart's backup.

"Being able to work alongside Carter and seeing him up close, how he prepares himself, how he takes his time off the ice, being the pro that he is, it's an eye-opener for me," Ersson said Thursday morning. "Knowing that, 'OK, this is what it takes to be an elite goalie in this league.' It's great for me to see that up close, get to know what it takes and for me to put that standard into myself, as well."

Islanders backup Semyon Varlamov stopped 26 of the Flyers' 31 shots.

• The Flyers' roster stands at 25 healthy players. It must be trimmed to a max of 23 players and submitted by 5 p.m. ET Monday.

Over the weekend, the Flyers are scheduled to practice Friday at noon ET and Saturday at 11 a.m. ET before having an off day Sunday.

They kick off the regular season next Thursday against the Blue Jackets in Columbus, Ohio (7 p.m. ET/NBCSP).

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