PREGAME BY THE NUMBERS: Flyers host Wild at 7PM

The Philadelphia Flyers host the Minnesota Wild tonight with a 4-8-4 record and a six-point hole to climb.

Puck drop is at 7:00 p.m. EST at home, the second game of a two-game homestand for Philadelphia.

The Flyers have been shipping shots at one end and struggling to create them at the other. They average 23.3 shots per game and give up 29.6, which explains a goal differential of -19 better than any rotation of lines could.

Minnesota is the opposite. The Wild sit first in the Central and second in the West, and they outshoot opponents 30.8 to 25.3 per game.

Flyers and Wild sit at opposite ends of the standings

Philadelphia is 15th in the East and 9th in the wild card race, six points behind the last qualifying spot. Minnesota is eight points clear of the first team outside a playoff position.

Both clubs won last time out, and both have a day of rest. The Wild are finishing a two-game road trip after a 5-1 win in Washington on Sunday. The Flyers beat Utah 6-3 on the same day.

The Flyers have been playing close games and losing a lot of them. Over their last five, they dropped a 4-3 overtime decision to Columbus and a 5-4 game to Anaheim. Minnesota's only recent loss was a 4-3 overtime setback to the Islanders.

Power play gap could decide the special teams battle

This is where Philadelphia is hurting. The Flyers' power play ranks 27th in the league at 15.7%, while Minnesota's sits 8th at 26.3%.

The penalty kills are close. The Flyers are 14th at 80.0% and the Wild are 13th at 81.3%, so Philadelphia can't count on an edge there. Every minor penalty the Flyers take matters.

Goaltending is a question mark on both benches

Daniel Vladar has started eight games for Philadelphia, and Joseph Woll has started eight as well. Vladar has the better recent form, going 3-0-2 over his last five starts, while Woll is 1-4-0 over his.

Minnesota has leaned heavily on Jesper Wallstedt, who has started 14 of the Wild's 16 games. Calvin Pickard has made two starts, with his last one on Oct. 25 in Vancouver.

Vladar has a history with this opponent. He is 4-1-1 over his career against Minnesota, and he made 15 saves in an overtime win over the Wild last October.

Flyers own the recent edge against Minnesota

This is the first meeting of the season between the teams, and the second and last game comes Dec. 5 in Minnesota.

Philadelphia swept last season's series 2-0-0, with an overtime win on Oct. 18, 2025 and a shootout win on March 12. Both were one-goal games. Over the last five meetings the Flyers are 4-1-0 and have won two straight.

Injury report lists six players across both rosters

According to the latest injury report, updated Nov. 3, Philadelphia has Rasmus Ristolainen listed on injured reserve with a hand injury since Oct. 27, with an expected return of at least Nov. 11. Nikita Grebenkin is listed on IR with an upper body injury since Oct. 10.

For Minnesota, Jared Spurgeon is listed on IR with a lower body injury since Oct. 31. Marcus Foligno and Nick Foligno are both listed on IR since Oct. 29, and Filip Gustavsson is listed on IR since Oct. 18. Brock Faber is also listed on IR since Oct. 15.

Three things to watch

The power play: Philadelphia has scored on 8 of 51 chances this season, and Minnesota has scored on 15 of 57. That is a big gap on paper.

Shot volume: The Flyers averaged 21.0 shots per game in November, so far a small sample of one game. A 6-3 win over Utah came despite that.

Wallstedt against Philadelphia: Jesper Wallstedt is 0-0-2 in two career games against the Flyers, with a .915 save percentage. Both games went past regulation.

The Flyers have a chance to lift themselves back toward the wild card line with a second straight home win. Minnesota has dropped only three games in regulation all season, and that's a hard group to beat when you're chasing the game.

If Philadelphia can stay out of the box and find a few more shots than it has been getting, the building will have something to cheer about. The next chance to look at the standings comes Wednesday, when the gap to the wild card is recalculated.

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