**Flyers Face the Challenge of Filling the Void Left by Tyson Foerster**
PHILADELPHIA — No one player can fully replace a leading performer such as Tyson Foerster, so the Flyers are turning to a group effort. With Foerster sidelined for at least a couple of months due to an upper-body injury suffered in Monday night’s loss to Pittsburgh, Philadelphia is hoping that other players will step up both offensively and defensively.
Rookie Nikita Grebenkin is expected to fill in for Foerster on a line with Noah Cates and Bobby Brink in Wednesday night’s game against Buffalo. The Flyers are optimistic that he can elevate his game and contribute to the team’s success.
“What I hope to see from Nikita is just good decisions,” said coach Rick Tocchet following the morning skate at Xfinity Mobile Arena. “Sometimes when he gets the puck, he doesn’t move his feet. For him, I just want him to play mind-free. But he’s got to skate and hold onto pucks.”
Grebenkin played in Russia last year, and the Flyers recognize there is a transition period. “It doesn’t happen overnight,” Tocchet explained. “In practice, there’s day-to-day progress that we see. The solution is to let him play and see if he makes mistakes. There’s a process to it. Do I feel like he’s ready? Yeah. It’s about the way you practice, the way you take in information.”
One specific area Tocchet pointed out that Grebenkin needs to improve is handling two-on-one situations, especially in practice. Sometimes he tends to hesitate when trying to pass the puck. “Against Pittsburgh, he had all day to go in and fire the puck, but he waited and tried to make a pass, and their guy picked it off,” the coach said. “Today we talked about it during morning drills, and his two-on-ones were outstanding. Hopefully, he can apply that in a real game. To be an NHL player, you have to take that information.”
Noah Cates praised Grebenkin’s skill and work ethic: “He’s got a ton of skill. He’s been working on his game and getting a lot of good looks. I know he’s excited to play. He brings that energy. We just have to work with him and develop chemistry. He can do a lot of good things on the ice; we just have to help him out.”
In addition to Grebenkin, Tocchet emphasized that the entire team must contribute during Foerster’s absence. “I don’t think it’s just one guy. I think everybody can give themselves five percent better,” he said. “You add all those up, and it helps. We have a few guys who can play 5 to 10 percent better.”
Foerster is not only a key offensive player—leading the team with 10 goals—but also an important piece of the Flyers’ power play and penalty kill units. The impact of his loss will be felt beyond just the scoresheet.
Tocchet stressed the importance of leadership at this critical time. “It’s a dressing room thing,” he said. “It’s ‘next man up.’ It’s not about making excuses when the coaches leave the room. It’s more like, ‘Hey, we got this.’ We really rely on a core group of leaders to send the message that we can still be a good hockey team. The ‘poor me’ stuff can’t linger in the room.”
Heading into Wednesday night’s contest, the Flyers held the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference standings, with games in hand on several teams.
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**Rasmus Ristolainen Progressing in Rehab**
Defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen, recovering from offseason surgery on a torn triceps, has begun skating and could return in a few weeks if his rehab continues smoothly.
“We’re not quite there with contact yet,” Tocchet noted. “I’m not sure when the contact stuff will begin, but it’s coming.” He added that Ristolainen’s return is expected to be in less than a month.
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**Power Play Struggles Highlight Need for Adjustments**
The Flyers’ power play started the season strong but has cooled off significantly. Going into the Buffalo game, Philadelphia had converted on only three of their last 27 power-play opportunities, dropping from 14th to 20th in NHL rankings.
Losing Foerster will undoubtedly make things more challenging. Tocchet pointed out that the power play has been vulnerable to giving up too many two-on-one chances with the man advantage.
“A player like Trevor Zegras is important on the first unit but can also be a defensive liability,” the coach said. “We have to get more shots through the middle. We need to start hammering the puck and also get more down-low plays.”
Tocchet hopes that Zegras and Matvei Michkov will create more motion and offensive opportunities. “Hopefully, Trevor and Mich can show some movement for us, handle the puck, and then start hammering the puck from that side of the ice to get more shots from prime areas.”
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The Flyers face a challenging stretch without Tyson Foerster, but with a collective effort and strong leadership, the team aims to maintain its playoff position and continue building momentum.
https://www.standardspeaker.com/2025/12/03/flyers-notebook-nikita-grebenkin-gets-first-chance-at-filling-tyson-foerster-void/
