Philadelphia Flyers

The Philadelphia Flyers are more than ready for their Stadium Series matchup against the New Jersey Devils on Saturday night at MetLife Stadium.

The team pulled up to the matchup wearing "Rocky" sweatsuits, sending a clear message that they're ready to go to battle:

Saturday's tilt marks the sixth outdoor game for the Flyers and the first since they played the Boston Bruins in the 2021 NHL Outdoors at Lake Tahoe. They also played in the 2017 and 2019 Stadium Series matchups and the 2010 and 2012 Winter Classics.

The Flyers have been one of the NHL's biggest surprises this season following a disappointing 2022-23 campaign. They sit third in the Metropolitan Division with a 29-19-7 record.

The team has seemingly embraced the "Rocky" mindset under head coach John Tortorella, so their arrival for Saturday's matchup couldn't have been any more perfect.

As for the Devils, they arrived to the Stadium Series dressed in Sopranos-inspired outfits:

This is New Jersey's first outdoor game since the 2014 Stadium Series and second overall. The Devils sit fourth in the Metropolitan Division with a 27-22-4 record.

On October 21, 2015, Cam Atkinson received a phone call from his summer workout partner and close friend, Martin St. Louis. St. Louis wanted to warn—no, more like prepare—Atkinson for the new coach his Blue Jackets had hired: John Tortorella.

Tortorella coached St. Louis in Tampa Bay a decade prior and led the Lightning to the 2004 Cup and St. Louis to a legendary career path.

"He told me, 'If you're not going to put the effort in with Torts, you're not going to play,'" Atkinson told Bleacher Report on Thursday. "Marty said, 'He's the person who made my career for me. You're going to have ups and downs, but he's going to push you to be the best you can be.'"

Going into this season, not many expected the Flyers to even sniff a playoff spot in the bustling Metropolitan Division. But Atkinson knew a Tortorella-coached team meant a certain level of internal expectation no matter what, and now they're 29-19-7 with 65 points, tied with the Hurricanes for the No. 2 spot in the Metro.

This is a team built in Torts' image: hard working every shift and relentless to play against. This was a team expected to be battling for the top of the NHL lottery; now, Philly is two months away from playoff hockey.

And by the way, this isn't a mirage. The Flyers haven't just had good luck fall into their laps as they climbed the standings. According to Natural Stat Trick, Philadelphia ranks ninth in the league in expected goal percentage (51.93) heading into Friday. Five players have 30 points or more already this season, including All-Star Travis Konecny with 51 in 55 games.

And despite Carter Hart's absence amid the ongoing Hockey Canada investigation, backup goalie Samuel Ersson has stepped up with a respectable 15-9-4 record and a 2.55 goals-against average.

Atkinson and Tortorella spent six seasons together with the Blue Jackets before the team let go of Tortorella and traded Atkinson to the Flyers. When Philadelphia hired Tortorella ahead of this season, it was Atkinson making the calls to a team with a healthy mix of young, emerging NHLers and veterans like himself.

"I just think, everyone has bought into the ultimate goal and what we set out to do at the start of training camp. Torts expects us all to play a certain way, and if you're not gonna put the work in and give an effort day in and day out—that's one of Torts' non-negotiables—you're just not going to play," Atkinson said.

At 34 years old, 5'8" and having been selected in the sixth round of the 2008 NHL draft, Atkinson knows a thing or two at this point about proving people wrong. He epitomizes the tenacity Tortorella demands from his team.

"Listen, I think being the underdog, there's nothing wrong with being that. You control what you can control, you worry about yourselves, you don't allow the outside noise to have any effect on your play," he said.

"For the most part, any time you play for Torts, the opposing team knows it's going to be a hard night, that's just how Torts' teams play. You don't necessarily need to have all the high skill amongst each player, but we have a lot of really good players that are skilled and can make a difference.

"I think we've really bought into that—that it could be any guy on any given night that is going for us. But yeah, I've always personally liked being the underdog."

Sean Couturier, who was named captain earlier this week, admits he had the wrong impression of what it would be like playing for Tortorella.

"It's been different from what I personally thought. He's obviously a passionate coach with a lot of emotions, but he's all about team success. He does whatever he has to do to make the team win," Couturier told Bleacher Report. "That being said, he will be hard on you. But he's fair towards everyone. He's an honest coach; you'll always hear the truth out of him whether you like it or not."

You can't necessarily blame Couturier for having a certain impression of Tortorella, when the coach with 1,500-plus NHL games under his belt is notorious for his blunt soundbites, willingness to bench whomever whenever and his reputation for being a hard ass.

"Everyone always sees those little snippets of him going after people, right?" Atkinson said. "People might think he's a bad coach or a bad person. It's the complete opposite. I've known him for eight years as a coach. I've gotten to know him on a way more personal level, outside of hockey with his philanthropy work, his advocacy. I owe a lot of success to Torts."

It extends to players not currently with the Flyers as well. Who could forget Tortorella's passionate defense of Kevin Hayes last month at a press conference?

Couturier was pleasantly surprised with how involved Tortorella was in offseason moves to improve the locker room, such as the signings of Ryan Poehling and Garnet Hathaway. Atkinson said this is par for the Torts course and mentioned Tortorella has been involved in several of his contract negotiations and fought for him.

"He wants us to be a tight group," Couturier told Bleacher Report on Friday. "You can tell with the offseason we had, he made sure we made some changes with our lineup and in the locker room. I don't think our locker room was a problem in the past, but it was just a matter of finding the right group to jell and grow together. Credit to him for figuring that part out."

The Flyers first felt this vibe shift after their early-season loss to the Sharks. Instead of throwing in the towel and resigning themselves to another year of rebuilding, Couturier remembers some tough conversations, some looking in the mirror and those internal Tortorella expectations.

They all decided the emerging stars were too talented, the veterans were too hungry and the group simply liked each other too much to give up. They went on a five-game win streak featuring some of the league's best opponents in Vegas, Carolina and Los Angeles, and they knew they were onto something.

Besides, can you imagine a season full of letting Tortorella down?

"You ask any player, for the most part, 95 percent of players that have played for Torts, they wish he was their coach from start to finish," Atkinson said. "During the thick of things, he might go after you as a player, but it's one of those things where you don't really know what you have till it's gone, and he just prepares us the right way, day in and day out."

As the Flyers prepare to take the national stage Saturday night in the 2024 Stadium Series against the rival Devils, one thing is certain: They'll be prepared, and they'll bring it.

The Philadelphia Flyers and winger Owen Tippett agreed to an eight-year, $49.6 million contract extension Friday.

Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet first reported the deal.

The 24-year-old Tippett is in the midst of his fifth NHL season, and he is trending toward a career year with 18 goals and 12 assists for 30 points through 46 games.

Originally the 10th-overall pick by the Florida Panthers in the 2017 NHL draft, Tippett was traded to the Flyers in 2022 as part of the deal that sent Flyers legend Claude Giroux to Florida.

Tippett had just 33 points in 94 games with the Panthers, but he was blossomed since going to Philadelphia.

Last season marked Tippett's breakout campaign, as he finished with a career-high 27 goals and 22 assists for 49 points, making him one of the few bright spots on a Flyers team that had the third-fewest points in the Eastern Conference.

The Flyers have been one of the NHL's most pleasant surprises so far this season, as their 56 points are good for third in the Metropolitan Division, meaning they currently occupy a playoff spot.

Tippett has been a major contributing factor to the Flyers' success, as the 6'1", 210-pound forward is trending toward his first 30-goal season.

He may fall short of that milestone, though, since he suffered a lower-body injury last week and was placed on injured reserve, meaning he is not eligible to return until Feb. 6.

Still, Tippett has earned a new contract, and he will receive a significant pay bump from the $1.5 million he is making this season.

Tippett would have become a restricted free agent at the end of the season, but by signing him to an extension now, the Flyers avoided having to negotiate during the offseason and can focus on other players and potential free-agent signings.

With young players like Tippett, Joel Farabee, Morgan Frost, Jamie Drysdale and Samuel Ersson now signed for multiple seasons, the Flyers have a chance to be competitive for a long time to come.

The Philadelphia Flyers will be without goalie Carter Hart for the immediate future.

"Carter Hart has requested and been granted an indefinite leave of absence citing personal reasons," general manager Daniel Briere said in a statement. "The club will have no further comment at this time."

Philadelphia recalled goalie Cal Petersen from Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League on Tuesday, per NHL.com.

Hart and Samuel Ersson have started the majority of the games in net for the Flyers this season.

This is Hart's sixth season with the team. He last played during a Jan. 20 loss to the Colorado Avalanche when he allowed five goals on 15 shots before he was pulled for Ersson.

It was a poor performance in what has otherwise largely been an impressive season for the 25-year-old. He is averaging 2.80 goals allowed per game with a .906 save percentage, which matches his career average.

The Flyers have also played well and are in second place in the Metropolitan Division with 56 points and a 25-16-6 overall record.

Philadelphia hosts the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday.

The Philadelphia Flyers have traded top prospect Cutter Gauthier for Anaheim Ducks defenseman Jamie Drysdale and a second-round pick in the 2025 NHL draft, the team announced Monday.

According to the Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli, Gauthier, a 19-year old forward, informed the Flyers that he did not want to play in Philadelphia. Gauthier is in his second season at Boston College, where he has 13 goals and 10 assists in 17 games. He helped America win gold just a few days ago at the World Junior Hockey Championship, scoring two goals and picking up 10 assists in seven games.

Drysdale, who is in his fourth season with the Ducks, has scored one goal and has four assists this season. He was drafted by Anaheim with the sixth pick in 2020.

The Flyers sit in third in the Metropolitan Division at 20-13-6. The Ducks have struggled this season, sitting in seventh place in the Pacific Division at 13-25-1.

By trading for the fifth pick in the 2022 draft, the Ducks are planning for the future by picking up a piece that could aid their offense for years to come. That plan was made easier by Gauthier telling the front office he didn't want to play for the Flyers.

The move to trade one young star in Drysdale for a promising prospect in Gauthier could be one that will have a huge impact for years to come.