Source: Flyers activate Denver Barkey and place Nikita Grebenkin on IR
Barkey, 21, had been on injured reserve after suffering a lower-body injury in the team's first preseason game against the New York Islanders.
TAMPA, Fla. ― The Flyers’ high-motor forward is back.
Denver Barkey has been activated from injured reserve. A team source confirmed to The Inquirer that in a corresponding move, forward Nikita Grebenkin has been placed on IR with an upper-body injury.
Grebenkin took a hard hit in his preseason debut, the Flyers’ third game. According to coach Rick Tocchet, the current injury is unrelated to the upper-body injury he suffered in March that caused the feisty winger to miss the rest of the regular season and the playoffs.
Barkey is expected to make his season debut Monday against the Tampa Bay Lightning (7 p.m., NBCSP), with coach Rick Tocchet saying that he will move him around, both at wing and center, but “probably play him on the wing tonight.”
It was a light optional skate at Benchmark International Arena; however, winger Alex Bump, who played the first three games of the season, stayed out on the ice for an extended period. That hints that he will be a healthy scratch to make room for Barkey, who did not participate in the morning skate.
Barkey, 21, suffered a lower-body injury in the first period of the Flyers’ preseason opener. The 5-foot-10, 171-pound forward was crunched along the boards by Washington Capitals defenseman Martin Fehérváry, who is 6-2, 215 pounds. He appeared to have trouble accelerating after the hit, and despite trying to battle through it, he ultimately left the game and did not return.
Rasmus Ristolainen’s status for Monday is less straightforward. The defenseman left Saturday’s overtime loss to the Carolina Hurricanes in the third period with an undisclosed injury. Ristolainen blocked a shot by Hurricanes defenseman K’Andre Miller late in the second, took a 37-second shift to start the third period, and did not return.
“Still game time,” Tocchet said Monday. “He’s going to try to figure out if he can play, but still got what, six hours.”
Ristolainen was on the ice for the optional skate but was working individually with assistant coach Jay Varady. He was doing skating drills without a stick. Travis Sanheim and Simon Benoit participated in the drills with the group of roughly five players and left early, and David Jiříček did not skate, hinting he may remain in the lineup after making his season debut against Carolina.
This is a developing story. Please check back for further updates.
