Jordan Weal likely to make Flyers debut vs. Penguins

Jordan Weal is on the verge of playing his first game with the Flyers since they acquired him from Los Angeles on Jan. 6.

Flyers coach Dave Hakstol said there was a "decent chance" that the speedy center/winger will be in the lineup Thursday in Pittsburgh.

"Jordan needs to be ready and prepared to play," Hakstol said after Wednesday's practice in Voorhees.

Hakstol said Weal - who starred in the AHL last year and was scoreless in 10 games with the Kings this season - would bring good "pace" to the lineup.

"He did that consistently at the American League level," Hakstol said. "The unknown factor is that he hasn't been in the lineup for a little while. Normally, you get great energy  out of a player like that coming into the lineup. I know Jordan is confident ."

The Flyers acquired Weal, 23, and a third-round draft pick in 2016, from the Kings for Vinny Lecavalier and Luke Schenn. He hasn't played since Dec. 27, when he was with the Kings, and said he was "itching pretty good" to get into a game.

"I'm going to get ready like I'm playing, and If I get in, I'm just going to go out there and work hard," Weal said.

At Wednesday's practice, Weal replaced Sean Couturier and centered Michael Raffl and Brayden Schenn.

Weal said Couturier's availability for Thursday was "50/50," but Hakstol said the center was healthy and that he missed practice to give him a "maintenance  day."

That means Couturier is expected to play Thursday and that Weal will likely replace either center Scott Laughton (12 points in 44 games) or struggling right winger R.J. Umberger.

Umberger, a Pittsburgh native, is goal-less in his last 47 games over the last two seasons.

Laughton and Umberger did not play in the third period of Tuesday's 3-2 loss to Toronto. They were used sparingly and both were minus-2 in the game.

"I had to change something up," Hakstol said. "Part of that was looking at what we could do to get things going. Part of that was evaluating individual play."

Breakaways. The Flyers have won eight straight against the Penguins, outscoring them, 30-14, in that span...The Flyers have scored first in six of the last seven games