Flyers roster competition: Tyson Foerster returns, Rodrigo Ābols scores in preseason win

BOSTON ― Even though they rested most of their regulars, including Matvei Michkov, Travis Konecny, Travis Sanheim, and Trevor Zegras, the Flyers defeated the Boston Bruins, 3-2, in a shootout Monday night to snap a three-game losing streak in the preseason.

“I thought the concepts that we worked on the last couple of weeks started to come into play,” coach Rick Tocchet said. “So I thought a lot of guys played well tonight. It was a nice effort from everybody. [Dan] Vladař was good in net, solid, and I think the energy of the players was good.”

Here are five takeaways from the team’s fifth of seven preseason games.

» READ MORE: Flyers must make a decision about their forwards soon. Nikita Grebenkin made it a bit easier on Saturday.

The Flyers’ lineup 10 days from now in Sunrise, Fla., will look a lot different from the one the team iced in Boston, but it’s fair to wonder if one line will remain intact for the season opener.

Of course, that line would be the trio of Noah Cates, Tyson Foerster, and Bobby Brink, which continued its momentum from last season in its first action of the preseason.

Foerster, making his preseason debut since he suffered an injury and a subsequent elbow infection this summer after playing for Canada at Worlds, wasted no time mixing back in with his mates, assisting Cates for the Flyers’ first goal of the night.

The winger, whom Tocchet called a “really good hockey player” afterward, absorbed his first significant body contact from Andrew Peeke on his second shift without any visible effect. Foerster went on to lead all Flyers forwards in ice time, logging 20 minutes, 59 seconds, and tallying a shot, a hit, a blocked shot, and the primary assist to Cates across 28 shifts. He featured on the team’s top penalty kill and power play.

Cates’ goal, which came at 13:38 of the second period, was a trademark effort play by the trio. Brink pressured Bruins netminder Jeremy Swayman into a puck-handling gaffe before winning a board battle to get the puck to Foerster behind the Bruins’ cage. Foerster, not showing any rust, then wrapped a nifty feed around a Boston defender to a wide-open Cates in the slot to finish.

It’s hard to imagine Tocchet not keeping these three together once the games start for real next week.

“A lot of chemistry. You can tell the way they play,” Tocchet said of the line. “They’re connected, right? When you’re connected as a group, as a line, they kind of feed off each other, like that goal … That’s a good line for us.”

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With Sanheim, Cam York, Jamie Drysdale, and Nick Seeler entrenched as four of the Flyers’ top six defensemen, and Rasmus Ristolainen injured, Monday provided another opportunity for the blueliners competing for the final three spots on the back end.

The Flyers dressed six players, none of whom are roster locks, against the Bruins to mixed results. The biggest loser was probably Egor Zamula, who, despite playing a team-high 24:38, looked shaky throughout, particularly with the puck on his stick. The Russian got away with multiple turnovers in his own zone and was late to pick up Sean Kuraly on the Bruins’ first goal. His roster spot seems more uncertain than ever.

It was a better night for Adam Ginning, who played an unspectacular but steady game. The 25-year-old Swede was paired with Tocchet favorite Noah Juulsen and played 22:58, including 2:03 while shorthanded. Ginning blocked four shots, dished out two hits, and was a plus-1.

“It was a low-volume shot game, so you’ve got to give the D-core [credit],” Tocchet said. “A guy like Juulsen, I thought he had a good game. Ginning, I thought all of them did, but those two guys stood out.”

The other Swede, Emil Andrae, was his usual busy self, for better and for worse. He filled the slot for a good chance in the first, took a retaliation penalty in the same stanza, and had some nice moments in the offensive zone both at five-on-five and on the power play. Hunter McDonald threw his weight around a bit, but he still looks rather green for the NHL.

While Andrae has the most flash and upside, he also has the most risk in his game among the roster contenders, and it will be interesting to see if Tocchet opts for the more predictable Juulsen and Ginning, the latter of whom is striving to be “a steady defensive defenseman who can make hard plays and be a guy you can trust.”

Jett Luchanko hasn’t consistently popped the way many hoped so far this preseason, but Monday’s game represented a positive step for the 19-year-old.

From his opening shift, Luchanko was one of the more noticeable Flyers, showing off his world-class speed, including on one occasion when he blew by Hampus Lindholm driving to the net.

While it didn’t lead to offensive production, Tocchet agreed that Monday was Luchanko’s best showing of the preseason.

“He was very assertive. Great speed through the neutral zone. Made some good puck decisions. So that was a really good game for him. He needed one,” the coach said.

Over the next week, the Flyers will need to decide whether Luchanko is best served playing in the NHL or returning to the Ontario Hockey League.

“He’s got elite speed. The puck handling and the scoring will come,” Tocchet said. “Just want to get him a little more aggressive when he has the puck to shoot the puck. I think he passes too much. But overall, I think when you’ve got the tools that he has, there’s a lot to work with.”

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Rodrigo Ābols waited a long time to put on an NHL sweater, making his debut last season with the Flyers at the ripe old age of 29, a full nine years after being drafted by Vancouver. But the Latvia native looks determined to stay.

Ābols, who has played in all five preseason games, scored his second goal Monday, beating Swayman off the rush with a bad-angle snipe. The low shot pinged in off the left post to give the Flyers a 2-1 lead in the final minute of the second period.

The rugged centerman continues to impress and hopes he’s done enough to be among the 23 names on the roster once the Flyers trim down by the league’s Oct. 6 deadline.

“It’s nice to come back today, and not just because of the goal. I think we made a couple of plays, held on to pucks. And it’s kind of what I think I have to do to make the team,” Ābols said. “I obviously don’t want to speak or put words into other people’s mouths, just trying to come to work every day, put my best foot forward, and try to present the best I can.”

Tocchet wouldn’t commit to Ābols being on the opening-night roster yet, but he seems all but a lock now.

In a game that saw the teams combine for 36 shots on goal, Dan Vladař was sharp despite making just 13 saves.

In his first extended action as a Flyer, the Czechia goalie battled between the pipes, thwarting countryman David Pastrňák on a wraparound attempt in the first period, and later Casey Mittelstadt twice in quick succession on a Boston power play in the second period.

After Brink scored the opener in the shootout, Vladař stopped Mittelstadt, Pastrňák, and Pavel Zacha to seal the victory. The Flyers believe goaltending can be one of their most improved areas, and this outing from their new backup was encouraging.

The Flyers are back in action Thursday at Xfinity Mobile Arena against the New York Islanders (7 p.m., NBCSP).