Flyers defenseman Ryan Ellis out, winger Cam Atkinson in against the Panthers

Going into the final game of their season-opening homestand against the sizzling Florida Panthers, the Flyers will be without top-pairing defenseman Ryan Ellis.

Ellis, who is considered “day-to-day” with an undisclosed injury by head coach Alain Vigneault, will miss his first game of the regular season. The Flyers’ offseason addition sat out for several practices leading up to the Flyers’ home opener against the Vancouver Canucks with a lower-body injury, however, Vigneault said he did not know if Ellis’ current injury is related to the previous one.

Without Ellis, who has four points in the last three games (one goal, three assists), the Flyers will likely pair Ivan Provorov with Justin Braun. Braun and Provorov played together for 34 games last season. The Flyers called up defenseman Nick Seeler from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms to fill in as the sixth defenseman. He will likely skate alongside Keith Yandle as the third pairing.

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Per Vigneault, Ellis is expected to be healthy enough to participate in the first road trip of the season next week in western Canada.

Meanwhile, winger Cam Atkinson, who missed practice on Friday for a maintenance day, was present at optional morning skate and will be in the lineup against the Panthers. As a result, the Flyers are expected to roll out the same forward lines as they did against the Boston Bruins on Wednesday.

Atkinson will look to build upon his success on the second line alongside center Derick Brassard and winger Joel Farabee. A member of the Columbus Blue Jackets for 10 seasons, Atkinson has registered four points (three goals, one assist) through three games to start the year. When Atkinson attacks the net against the Panthers, he’ll be greeted by a familiar face — former Blue Jackets and Flyers goaltender, Sergei Bobrovsky.

“He’s obviously a world-class goalie,” Atkinson said. “It’s one of those things where no matter where you think you know where to shoot, he knows where I like to shoot, too. But it’s always fun to go to battle against a guy you played with.”

When Yandle squares up on the blue line in the Flyers’ final match of their four-game homestand, he’ll do so against his former NHL team.

Yandle, 35, spent the last five seasons with the Panthers until the team bought out the remaining two years of his contract in July. The veteran defenseman knows how it feels to play against his former team, having also suited up for the Arizona Coyotes (2007-2015) and New York Rangers (2015-2016) throughout his 16-year, 1,035-game career.

“Every game in this league, you gotta get up for,” Yandle said. “Be ready for your opponent. They’ve been playing well, so it’s another one of those things where it’s a good test for us. Yeah, obviously a little added motivation for myself, but I wouldn’t say anything too much more than any regular game.”

After signing a one-year deal with the Flyers, Yandle has registered five assists through the first three games of the season. Going into the game against the undefeated Panthers, Yandle can provide another assist to the Flyers — a scouting report on his former teammates, who the Flyers did not play against due to the NHL’s COVID-19-related realignment in 2020-21.

“Our coaches do a great job of giving us a scouting report and telling us about guys and about players, their tendencies, stuff like that,” Yandle said. “But it’s I guess good for me to be able to help out and help guys ... tell guys about tendencies and what they like to do.”

Yandle will look to keep his three-game point streak alive against his former team. Between the Coyotes and the Rangers, Yandle has played 12 career games against Florida. In those games, Yandle has registered eight points, all assists, averaging .67 points per game.