Shayne Gostisbehere, Joel Farabee impressive in Flyers’ scrimmage; Oskar Lindblom still inspiring teammates

Rookie left winger Joel Farabee and defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere, two players battling for lineup spots, had strong showings Saturday in the Flyers’ first intrasquad scrimmage of their abbreviated training camp.

Gostisbehere scored a goal and Farabee was in the middle of several scoring chances as their Black team outlasted the Orange, 3-2, in Voorhees.

Since January, Gostisbehere has had arthroscopic surgeries on both knees.

“I’ve really liked Ghost on the ice,” coach Alain Vigneault said after the scrimmage. “He’s got more jump than I expected coming back from that second surgery” about seven weeks ago. “He’s got a lot of pop, a lot of jump on the ice. That’s very good for us as a team.”

At the moment, Gostisbehere is listed seventh on the defensive depth chart.

As for Farabee, the 20-year-old winger is getting a chance to play on the second line.

“He’s always in good position, even when he doesn’t have the puck,” Vigneault said.

Vigneault said he may make some subtle changes during Sunday’s camp session. Moving Scott Laughton from third-line center to second-line left winger could be one of them because Vigneault wants to explore all options before the Flyers head to their hub city, Toronto, on July 26.

“I think versatility for a player is a big bonus,” Vigneault said, “and Scott brings that.”

Laughton played mostly left wing this season but was also used at center, his natural position. He has played so much wing over the last few seasons that he feels equally comfortable at either position, he said.

Defenseman Robert Hagg said fellow Swede Oskar Lindblom, his closest friend on the team, is “absolutely” a rallying cry for the Flyers.

Lindblom recently finished chemotherapy treatments for a rare bone cancer.

“He brings [us] a lot of energy even though he’s not on the ice,” Hagg said.

Seeing Lindblom in the locker room helped the Flyers in the regular season, Hagg said, “and it’s going to help us in the playoffs, too, especially now that we know he’s cancer-free and everything is good. I think we are going to go on a deep run here and he’s going to be a part of it.”

Rookie right winger Nic Aube-Kubel said he was “super pumped” to play in the Stanley Cup playoffs. “I thought about it the whole quarantine,” he said. ... Camp, which is closed to the public because of coronavirus concerns, resumes Sunday morning and the Flyers will have off on Monday. They will have another intrasquad scrimmage Tuesday.