Flyers are close to getting Travis Konecny and Nick Seeler back in the lineup
Flyers coach Rick Tocchet says that Konecny, who has been out since Feb. 28 with an upper-body injury, has "more of a possibility of playing" Monday night against the Rangers.
The Flyers may be getting some reinforcements on Monday.
According to coach Rick Tocchet, Travis Konecny and Nick Seeler are on the cusp of returning to the lineup to take on the New York Rangers at Xfinity Mobile Arena (7 p.m., NBCSP+).
“Game-time [decision], but close. I think TK is skating as we speak,” he said, also noting that Seeler had been out there. “Both have a possibility. I think TK is more of a possibility of playing, but both [are] close.”
Both players also practiced on Sunday in regular, contact jerseys.
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Seeler has been out since he suffered a lower-body injury on March 2 in Toronto, when he went into the corner to throw a hit on Maple Leafs forward Nicolas Roy, who has since been traded to the Colorado Avalanche. It’s hard to gauge what happened exactly, but the rugged blueliner went down hard in the second period, left the ice six seconds later, and did not return. He was seen limping after the game.
If Seeler can go, the expectation is that Emil Andrae will be a healthy scratch. The Swede played only 7 minutes, 36 seconds Saturday against the Pittsburgh Penguins and was on the ice late after morning skate Monday along with Garnet Hathaway and backup goalie Sam Ersson. Dan Vladař will start in goal for the sixth time in the seven games since the Olympic break.
Konecny has not played since a Feb. 28 win against the Boston Bruins. He was initially ruled a game-time decision by Tocchet after a morning skate in Toronto on March 2, which saw the forward not participate in power-play reps. Before puck drop, he was officially listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
“Yeah, he’s a huge part of our team, both on the ice and in the locker room,” forward Owen Tippett said recently. “Obviously, it’s a big, big role to fill. … We all have to step up collectively.”
Tippett had initially taken Konecny’s spot on the right wing of the top line with Christian Dvorak and Trevor Zegras. But with the call-up of Alex Bump for Saturday’s shootout win against the Penguins, there were some line changes.
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With Zegras moved to center, Bump played with Dvorak, to give him a veteran presence, and Nikita Grebenkin on the right wing. They played well together, with Grebenkin and Bump controlling the walls and attacking the net.
According to Natural Stat Trick, when they were on the ice at five-on-five, the Flyers had 12 shot attempts to four for the Penguins, outshot the opposition 4-1, had two scoring chances (three for Pittsburgh), and — most importantly — Bump scored his first NHL goal off a pass from Grebenkin.
If Konecny returns, it is expected that he’ll slot into Grebenkin’s spot, moving him down to the fourth line. Bump and Konecny got some ice time together during the preseason.