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Flyers go for 10th straight win and get Gostisbehere back

The Flyers' quest for their 10th straight win will be aided by the return of Shayne Gostisbehere. The young defenseman practiced Tuesday morning and said he was "ready to go" for Wednesday's game at Colorado.

The Flyers' quest for their 10th straight win will be aided by the return of Shayne Gostisbehere. The young defenseman practiced Tuesday morning and said he was "ready to go" for Wednesday's game at Colorado.

Gostisbehere missed the 1-0 win in Detroit on Sunday with a hand injury. His return to practice came a day after the team announced that fellow defenseman Mark Streit would miss two weeks with a left shoulder injury. Gostisbehere said his hand "is good right now."

"It just made more sense for the team," Gostisbehere said about missing Sunday's game. "I think a guy that is 100 percent is going to be more effective than me out there. You have to put the team first, and it worked out for us."

Gostisbehere said it did not feel as if the team is riding a nine-game winning streak. Another victory, and it will be the longest since the team won 11 straight in 1985. Just four players - Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, Boyd Gordon, Nick Schultz, and Streit - were born before the team's last 10-game winning streak.

"I think it's definitely pretty cool for us," Gostisbehere said. "But right now the coolest thing is to look at the standings. We're sitting pretty good. It's a good thing for our team, and it's a good thing for us to not get complacent. Just because you rattle off some wins in a row doesn't mean you can't lose that many, too. It's important for us to stick with it, stick with our process, and take it game by game."

If the winning streak is placing any pressure on the team, it was hard to tell Tuesday. Radko Gudas unwrapped the tape that held up his socks, rolled it into a ball and flung it across the dressing room. "Right in the face," Jake Voracek said as he removed his skates.

Nick Cousins yanked off his practice jersey and acted as if he was shooting a jump shot when he tossed it into the the hamper. The team is certainly loose as the wins continue to pile up.

"It's more about the two points," coach Dave Hakstol said. "I don't think anyone in here is distracted by anything. We're trying to build. We're trying to do anything we can every night to get points with a goal in mind. That's what it's all about."

Notes

Left winger Michael Raffl was held out of practice Tuesday for a maintenance day, general manager Ron Hextall said. Raffl skated before practice with Matt Read and Sean Couturier, both of whom are injured. Hakstol declined to comment when asked if Raffl would play Wednesday. . . . Voracek, who was named the league's first star of the week Monday, said he "doesn't have to prove anything" as he rebounds from last season's struggles. "I've been here six seasons. Five years, I've been great," he said. "Last season was a fluke. I look at it that way."

mbreen@phillynews.com

@matt_breen