Flyers’ Shayne Gostisbehere will miss 3 weeks; David Kase promoted, Misha Vorobyev demoted to Phantoms
Shayne Gostisbehere will be out due to a knee injury, meaning rookie Mark Friedman will play an increased role with the Flyers.
Flyers defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere will have arthroscopic surgery on his left knee and be sidelined for three weeks, general manager Chuck Fletcher announced on Thursday.
Gostisbehere, whose defensive play has improved since a three-game benching in late November, suffered the injury late in Tuesday’s 5-4 overtime loss in Carolina.
That leaves the Flyers short two regular defensemen for the remainder of January. Justin Braun has a groin injury and is also expected to miss the rest of the month.
Mark Friedman was recalled from the Phantoms on Wednesday morning and played nearly 12 minutes in the Flyers’ 3-2 win that night over powerful Washington.
“It was fun. I was really excited and still kind of in shock and very, very thankful,” Friedman said after playing in his second NHL game (one last season) on Wednesday.
The Flyers, who host high-scoring Tampa Bay on Saturday night, now have two rookies -- Friedman and Phil Myers -- in their defensive rotation.
Robert Hagg had been in and out of the lineup, but because of the injuries he will be a regular defenseman for a while. Hagg had a key goal, three hits, and three blocked shots in the win over Washington.
Gostisbehere, 26, has 12 points (five goals, seven assists) in 40 games, and his production has dropped considerably from his 65-point season in 2017-18. He was demoted to the second power-play unit, with Ivan Provorov taking his spot on the top unit recently.
In 2014, Gostisbehere, then playing for the AHL’s Phantoms, tore the anterior cruciate ligament in the same left knee and underwent surgery.
Fletcher also announced that winger David Kase, 22, has been recalled from the Phantoms and that center Misha Vorobyev was demoted to Lehigh Valley.
In an earlier stint with the Flyers this season, the scrappy Kase played five games and had a goal and a plus-1 rating. A fifth-round draft selection in 2015, he had three goals and seven points in 29 games with the Phantoms
Vorobyev, 22, a fourth-round pick in 2015, has been back and forth between the Flyers and Phantoms all season. He had a goal and three points over 20 games with the Flyers. With the Phantoms this season, he has 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in 19 games.
Breakaways
Gostisbehere has 199 career points. ... The Flyers have outscored opponents, 56-39, in the third period. First periods have been their worst — a minus-12 goal differential (51-39). … Matt Niskanen leads the Flyers with 83 hits and Provorov paces the team in blocked shots (69).