March 2, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Philadelphia Flyers coach Rick Tosche speaks with forward Garnet Hathaway (19) during a break during the game against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Image In a chaotic schedule, the Philadelphia Flyers returned home Saturday to host the Columbus Blue Jackets in a matchup of two teams looking to advance to the postseason.
Philadelphia took a late-night flight to Minnesota after winning 4-1 at home against the Washington Capitals on Wednesday. The team arrived in town well after midnight, but still pushed through Thursday night and earned a 3-2 shootout victory over an experienced Wild team.
“There’s no negative comments from me tonight,” said Philadelphia coach Rick Tosche, who has won six of his last eight games (6-2-0). “They came in at 3am. Those guys were resilient, which was incredible. They are a tough team to get two points from.”
Owen Tippett’s short shot with 12:02 left in the third period put the Flyers up 2-2 before Travis Konecny scored the decisive penalty kick. Tippett has three short-handed goals this season and has scored in three of the last four games.
“It’s a big goal for us,” Philadelphia forward Noah Cates said. “I think he’s got a few shorter players now, but obviously his skill and speed are too dangerous. … He’s been a huge help to us all year.”
After the game, the Flyers will return to Philadelphia to face Columbus on Saturday before heading west for a three-game trip to California. Despite the travel disruption, the Flyers will need to be at their best as they sit five points behind the Boston Bruins for the second and final wild card spot.
“I thought we held on. I thought our energy was great.” Tippett said after the win over Minnesota. “Anytime you can get an extra point, two extra points, that’s huge right now.”
Columbus is four points ahead of Philadelphia and one point behind Boston. The Blue Jackets have scored at least one point in eight straight games, but are just 4-0-4 in that span.
Most recently, the Blue Jackets visited the Sunshine State for two games. They beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-2 before falling 2-1 to the Florida Panthers in overtime. Adam Fantilli scored the team’s only goal against Florida in a game in which Columbus players acknowledged that Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky was simply a one-man show, making 30 saves.
“I’m very pleased with the way we played,” said Columbus coach Rick Bowness, who took over for Dean Evason on Jan. 12 and went 14-2-4. “We gave up 16 shots on net in 60 minutes. We dominated the game. Credit to (Bobrovsky), he was the difference in the game. It was that simple. … But overall, I was very pleased with what we saw in 60 minutes. Sometimes the goalie is better than the shooter. That’s the case. That’s the case tonight.”
With 19 goals, Pantili is one shy of joining Kirill Marchenko (24) and Jack Berensky (20) as the Blue Jackets’ 20-goal scorers this season. Pantilli has four goals in seven games this month as Columbus advances to the playoffs.
“We dominated most of it,” Fantilli said. “It’s nice to get a point, but…it’s not enough in the end. We need two to get into the play-offs. We just have to take our chances.”
This is the second of three teams meeting this season. The Blue Jackets beat the visiting Flyers 5-3 on Jan. 28 despite a hat trick from Konecny.
–Field level media
