The Boston Bruins faced off against the Philadelphia Flyers Saturday afternoon at Xfinity Mobile Arena, seeking to build on a recent win and solidify their playoff positioning in the Eastern Conference. The Bruins defeated the Flyers 6-3 on January 29th in their previous meeting this season.
Head coach Marco Sturm emphasized the rivalry between the two teams, stating, “The Philly guys don’t like the Boston guys, let’s position it that way. They don’t like the Bruins. It’s always a physical game, it’s always a good game, I think, for the fans to watch.” Sturm added that the team’s focus would be on maintaining control and executing their game plan, mirroring their success in the previous encounter.
Boston entered the game following a 4-2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets at TD Garden on Thursday. The Bruins currently hold the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with 71 points.
Sturm announced that the forward and defensive lineups would remain unchanged from the previous game against Columbus, citing no need for adjustments. Jeremy Swayman started in net for Boston, marking his first game since February 1st against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Stadium Series. Swayman recently earned a gold medal with Team USA at the Olympics on Sunday, bringing a 2.92 goals-against average and a .903 save percentage to the crease through 38 games this season.
Forward Morgan Geekie entered Saturday’s game on a nine-game point streak, having accumulated eight goals and five assists during that span. He leads the Bruins with 33 goals in 57 games, also topping the team with 11 power-play goals. Geekie skated on the third line alongside Fraser Minten and Mikey Eyssimont.
On defense, Jonathan Aspirot continued to pair with Charlie McAvoy. Aspirot recorded an assist in Thursday’s win over Columbus, extending his point streak to five games with a total of eight points in 38 games this season. He signed a two-year contract extension with Boston in January and is currently averaging 16:41 of ice time per game.
The Flyers came into the game off a 3-2 overtime victory against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Thursday. Matvei Michkov scored both goals in that game, including the overtime winner, whereas Trevor Zegras also found the back of the net. Samuel Ersson made 22 saves on 24 shots in goal for Philadelphia.
Travis Konecny leads the Flyers in scoring with 55 points (22 goals, 33 assists) through 57 games. He centers the first line with Zegras and Christian Dvorak and is a key component of the first power-play unit. Zegras, a former Boston University Terrier, leads the team with eight power-play goals this season.
Garnet Hathaway, who played 25 games for the Bruins in the 2022-23 season before signing with Philadelphia, skated on the Flyers’ fourth line with Nikita Grebenkin and Carl Grundstrom. He has registered one goal and one assist in 49 games this season.
