Scott Laughton promoted in Flyers’ lineup; Jordan Weal benched

OTTAWA – Jordan Weal's presence in the Flyers' lineup was short-lived.

Along with many of his teammates, Weal was ineffective in Tuesday's 8-2 loss to San Jose in the Flyers' home opener. It was his first game of the season, and he was back in the press box when the Flyers played Wednesday in Ottawa.

Hard-nosed left winger Scott Laughton was promoted from the fourth to third line, taking Weal's spot.

Laughton made the most of the opportunity, scoring a pair of goals, including a empty-netter, as the Flyers whipped the Senators, 7-4.

Weal, who sat out the first two games, had zero shots in 9 minutes, 45 seconds of action Tuesday; he had replaced injured left winger James van Riemsdyk.

"It's a little bit of an imperfect situation for Jordan," coach Dave Hakstol said before the Flyers defeated the Senators.  "He did a decent job. The fact is, Scott Laughton will bring a straight-line presence on the left side. Scotty's coming off a really good game. It was a disastrous outing [for the team], and lost in there were some really good individual performances, and Scotty is one of those guys who played well. Raff [Michael Raffl] is another one, and one of the other positives was the [Nolan] Patrick line."

Dale Weise was in the lineup for the first time this season, playing mostly on a line with Jori Lehtera and Raffl. Weise contributed a pair of assists and three hits.

Laughton played on a line with Mikhail "Misha" Vorobyev and Wayne Simmonds.

The Flyers activated Alex Lyon from the injured non-roster status and sent him to the AHL's Phantoms, which also has Carter Hart and Anthony Stolarz as goaltenders.

General manager Ron Hextall said it will be up to Lehigh Valley coach Scott Gordon as to how he uses the three goalies.

"When you get in, there's a lot of pressure, but that's competition," Hextall said.

Hextall said injured goalie Michal Neuvirth was "coming along" and should be ready to play in the "not too distant future." When he is ready, the Flyers might carry three goalies.

"We'll gather all the information and make decisions then," Hextall said.

Jake Voracek had three assists Wednesday and now needs two more to pass John LeClair for 12^th on the Flyers' all-time list….Cal Pickard became the 44th goalie in Flyers history to earn a win…..The Flyers took 12 minor penalties Wednesday, equaling the most they have had in a game since 2013…..Radko Gudas had a career-high three assists…..Wayne Simmonds, coming off abdominal surgery, began Wednesday leading or tied for the top spot in six team categories: goals (three), points (four), game-winning goals (one), shots (12), shooting percentage (25 percent), and hits (10). … The Flyers will also play the Senators on Nov. 27 and March 11, with both games at the Wells Fargo Center.