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Lecavalier to make season debut Thursday

Eight games into the Flyers' 2015-16 regular season have gone by without Vincent Lecavalier seeing ice time. He has been a healthy scratch every night thus far.

Eight games into the Flyers' 2015-16 regular season have gone by without Vincent Lecavalier seeing ice time. He has been a healthy scratch every night thus far.

Thanks to a few injuries, that will likely change Thursday when the Flyers host the New Jersey Devils.

Sean Couturier remains day-to-day while recovering from a concussion and skated for just a few minutes Wednesday before leaving the ice before the rest of the team.

In Tuesday's 4-3 overtime loss to Buffalo, fourth-liner Pierre-Edouard Bellemare went down with a lower-body injury and did not return. The Flyers announced Wednesday afternoon that Bellemare would be out for at least two weeks with a "lower-body injury."

Enter Lecavalier.

Lecavalier, who accounts for $4.5 million per year against the Flyers' cap, took line rushes with Bellemare's linemates, Ryan White and Chris VandeVelde.

But Lecavalier, 35, wasn't so sure he's getting into the lineup tomorrow.

"I haven't been told anything," Lecavalier said. "I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow. I haven't formally been told. We'll see what happens tomorrow.

"It was nice to actually practice with a line and not kind of jump in here and there. You kind of lose the flow. Today was kind of good to get that flow."

His coach, however, all but confirmed Lecavalier's entrance into the lineup.

"I think he'll go in tomorrow," coach Dave Hakstol said.

It's a situation Lecavalier dealt with last year. He was a healthy scratch for 17 games last season, the first 17 of his career. So the frustration thing is nothing new.

"It's not about that," he said of his frustration level. "I'm working hard in practice and I'm just getting ready for anything.

"It's more about me being ready for the next game, if I'm out there."

It's more like, when he's out there.

"We're excited to have Vinny," White said. "He's been champing at the bit to get going here.

"We talked to Vinny today. He knows how we play -- he played with those guys (VandeVelde and Bellemare) last year for quite a bit of the season so he's pretty familiar with them. We're just going to try to make sure we're getting the puck out of our zone, getting it into their zone, and Vinny is a big body. So we get that puck down low with him and that's where he can make some hay."

Lecavalier - who has accumulated 931 career points - and former coach Craig Berube didn't necessarily see eye-to-eye, and a new coach figured to alleviate the situation for him a bit. Perhaps Hakstol would benefit Lecavalier - who scored 20 goals in 2013-14 - the common thought was.

But he found himself in the same situation and still has two more years after this season left on his contract.

"He's been a good teammate," Hakstol said. "He's worked very hard, doing as much extra as he can to stay ready and to stay sharp. That's what you would ask of a teammate."

"When you don't play, yeah it's tough," Lecavalier said. "You got to be ready in your mind. I'm here for that. Every player that's here, they have to be focused and ready to play. I'm doing the same thing."