Philly Leader

The Flyers reach the midpoint of their 2024 exhibition schedule with a game against the New York Islanders at Wells Fargo Center on Thursday evening. The game starts at 7:00 p.m. EDT and will be broadcast on NBCSP.

Here are five key points to watch in this game:

1. Michkov's home debut: Nineteen-year-old prospect Matvei Michkov will make his Wells Fargo Center debut. During most of camp, he has skated with Morgan Frost and Owen Tippett. On Wednesday, a different combination was tested with Michkov alongside Sean Couturier and Tyson Foerster. However, in Thursday's morning skate, Michkov returned to skating with Frost and Tippett.

2. Flyers' top defensive pair reunites: Travis Sanheim and Cam York, who formed a successful pairing last year, will dress for the Islanders game after not playing in previous games against the Washington Capitals and Montreal Canadiens.

3. Ersson gets the start: Samuel Ersson will play his first preseason game on Thursday. Cal Petersen will serve as the backup goalie against the Islanders.

4. The "F Troop": Joel Farabee, Morgan Frost, and Tyson Foerster make up what is dubbed as the Flyers' "F Troop." Farabee is coming off a four-point game while Frost had three points in Sunday's win against the Capitals. Although Farabee practiced on Wednesday, he will not play tonight; however, Frost and Foerster are both in Thursday's lineup.

5. Rocky behind the bench: Head coach John Tortorella delegates the first three preseason games to his assistant coaches or Phantoms head coach Ian Laperriere to manage from behind the bench while he watches from the executive box with general manager Daniel Briere and Hockey Ops personnel. On Thursday, assistant coach Rocky Thompson will run the bench during the game.