Flyers center depth takes another hit as Nate Thompson goes down
The hits just keep coming for the Flyers who are in the midst of a five-game losing streak. Injuries have hit them since the beginning of the season as they’ve lost both Ryan Ellis and Kevin Hayes on two separate occasions. Now the center depth has gotten even smaller. Nate Thompson is the fourth center to hit the injury list as he may have a dislocated shoulder.
He joins Hayes, Patrick Brown and Derick Brassard as centers who have been injured in recent weeks. Thompson suffered the shoulder injury near the end of the Flyers 6-3 loss to the Hurricanes on Friday. While Alain Vigneault didn’t have an immediate update after Saturday’s practice, he wasn’t too optimistic about the likely outcome.
"“Nate had an MRI this morning and I haven’t checked but from what I saw yesterday after the game, his shoulder was dislocated. So I’m not expecting positive news.”"
With the other injuries and recent call-ups the team has made, they did not have an extra forward. They were at the maximum 23 man-roster. In order to make a recall, they needed to make a corresponding move. That came this evening as Brown was moved to injured-reserve. He suffered a dislocated finger and has been week-to-week. Max Willman, who should know the journey from Lehigh Valley very well by now, was called up to take his place.
The Flyers AHL affiliate has had their fair share of injury problems as well. Wade Allison has since joined the Phantoms and begun practicing with them. He should return to games in the next two-to-three weeks. Tanner Laczynski and Ryan Fitzgerald began the season on the injured reserve list. German Rubtsov, Linus Sandin, and Tyson Foerster are dealing with injuries as well.
So the depth chart is stretched pretty thin no matter where you look. Morgan Frost and Connor Bunnaman are the other two players who had been called up during this stretch.
The Flyers will really need to buckle down to not let this losing streak spiral even more out of control. The Metropolitan Division has been a tough one to be a part of and all of these points are valuable. The team hasn’t hit the panic button yet, though.
"“There’s no need to panic because there’s a lot of hockey left. We definitely need to find some solutions to play some better hockey and get some wins.” Sean Couturier said after Saturday’s practice."
Sam Morin Begins Skating
Samuel Morin was projected to be the Flyers’ seventh defensemen coming into the season. However, he has been sidelined since he underwent a procedure on his knee on September 10th. The team listed him at six-to-eight weeks on September 21st. However, it has taken him a bit longer to get back on the ice.
He was spotted on the ice with skills coach Angelo Ricci before Saturday’s practice. But there doesn’t seem to be any indication that he’ll be back any time soon as Vigneault didn’t have much of an update.
"“Sam hasn’t played all year. He’s been skating, he’s been rehabbing. I know sometimes it’s going well. For him to be on the ice today, it has to be a positive step.”"
It’s been a trying few years for Morin so seeing him back on the ice is definitely a positive step in the right direction. The journey is probably still long for him, but this was a good day it seems.