Flyers winger Carl Grundström brings ‘a lot of energy’ to the ice, and it’s paying off

There’s been a lot of talk recently about the fourth line’s struggles and lack of contributions in the goal column on the scoresheet.

Enter Carl Grundström.

Recalled on Dec. 2, after Tyson Foerster went down with an upper-body injury the night before against the Pittsburgh Penguins — he will be out for 2-3 months — the Swede sat patiently waiting for his turn to enter the lineup. It came on Dec. 9, and he made his case known with a sweet deflection goal — the game-winner — against the team the Flyers acquired him from, the San Jose Sharks.

Two nights later, against the visiting Vegas Golden Knights, he put pressure on defenseman Brayden McNabb, creating a turnover along the boards in the offensive zone. Seconds later, the puck was in the back of the net off a one-timer by defenseman Noah Juulsen to tie the game, 2-2, in the Flyers’ 3-2 overtime loss.

“I bring a lot of energy,” Grundström said on Saturday morning after the Flyers’ morning skate. “Feel like, try to play hard. Be direct.

“I think I’m bringing the game I want to bring. Obviously, I can probably do better, but it’s getting better and better, I feel like.”

In Voorhees, Grundström was back on the fourth line with Garnet Hathaway and Rodrigo Ābols. He’s started every game that way, but on Thursday, he was moved up to the third line with Noah Cates and Bobby Brink.

And his minutes have been inching up. He played 10 minutes, 17 seconds in his Flyers debut against the Ottawa Senators on Nov. 8. That climbed to 12:41 on Thursday.

» READ MORE: Flyers coach Rick Tocchet was frustrated after an OT loss to Vegas. Was it warranted?

“Well, I think he’s an NHL player, so, honestly, a lot of credit to Danny getting him here, because he’s a guy that’s a depth guy,” coach Rick Tocchet said of the forward who was acquired in the deal that sent the Ryan Ellis contract west. “I think there’s some stuff he does that I really like, and you can tell he wants more. I like that. So, how we use him, there’s a lot of options for me.”

And how will Tocchet use the forward he saw play a bunch when the former was the head coach of the Vancouver Canucks and the latter was a member of the Los Angeles Kings across six seasons and the Sharks?

“He’s a smart guy. He’s reliable. He can penalty kill,” said Tocchet of Grundström, who played on the penalty kill for 39 seconds against the Sharks and has 56 total seconds this season.

“When you have a guy, whether he plays fourth line or third line, whatever he plays, it’s good to have that guy who can penalty kill. You can get some minutes out of him. It’s not just top-heavy penalty killers and stuff. So I think we’re giving him a little bit more and more PK.”

At even strength, Grundström brings a similar element to the fourth line as Nikita Grebenkin, 22, who was elevated to the third line when Foerster went down, but flip-flopped with him on Thursday. They both play tough on the wall and like to put pressure on the defense, although the 28-year-old Grundström has more NHL experience.

While it’s only been 9:24 of ice time, according to Natural Stat Trick, when the fourth line is on the ice with him, the Flyers have 54.55% of the Corsi For — with either Nic Deslauriers or Grebenkin it is below 50%. They also have 50% of the shots, 100% of the scoring chances (1-0) and, of course, the goal.

“Intangibles, a little confidence, too. Scoring, getting a goal, and then bringing the other attributes,” Hathaway said when asked about adding Grundström to the left wing.

“He’s relentless. I think you’ve seen on every shift. He helped create Jules’ goal the other night, with just battling inside the blue line, making a 50-50 puck ours, and staying on and holding on to pucks longer. I think that’s attributed to more [offensive]-zone time for us and getting chances after that.”

Defensemen Rasmus Ristolainen and Cam York will be on the four-game road trip that begins Sunday against the Hurricanes in Carolina (5 p.m., NBCSP). According to Tocchet, Ristolainen “is close to playing” and York is ready, adding, “whether he plays tomorrow or the next game, he’s close.” … Goalie Sam Ersson will start on Saturday in the first game of a home-and-home with the Hurricanes. Therefore, it is expected that Dan Vladař will play on Sunday. … The Flyers will have the same lineup, which means defenseman Ty Murchison will play his third NHL game.

» READ MORE: Flyers defensemen Cam York and Rasmus Ristolainen inching closer to returning from injury