Flyers’ Couturier out for four weeks
The Flyers' playoff hopes were severely damaged Friday when the club announced that second-line center Sean Couturier would miss about four weeks with an undisclosed lower-body injury.
The Flyers' playoff hopes were severely damaged Friday when the club announced that second-line center Sean Couturier would miss about four weeks with an undisclosed lower-body injury.
"It's a big loss for us, but we have other guys who will fill in and need to pick up the slack," general manger Ron Hextall said. "No one will replace Coots; it's got to be a group effort. I like the resiliency of our team, and we have to continue with it."
Couturier, 23, who has blossomed into a dual threat, has 16 points in his last 16 games and is also regarded as the team's best penalty killer. He missed three games before the all-star break, then aggravated the injury in Thursday's 6-3 win in Nashville.
Doctors cleared him to play for Tuesday, and he helped the Flyers defeat Montreal, 4-2.
Hextall, whose team will host the Rangers in a key matinee Saturday, said there was no particular play in Thursday's game in which Couturier was reinjured.
"It just got to a point that he couldn't play," he said.
With Couturier, the Flyers are 21-12-7. Without him, they are 2-6-1. If he misses four weeks, he would not play in the next 14 games.
R.J. Umberger or rookie Jordan Weal figure to replace Couturier, and Hextall plans to recall a player from the Phantoms.
Brayden Schenn or Sam Gagner, players who have been used at wing, could could slide into the center spot.
Hextall seemed to downplay a trade, but added that he was "looking at all options."
Entering Friday, the Flyers were four points out of a playoff spot. They have won three straight and just started to get good balance on their four lines.
"We're going to be keep doing what we've been doing," coach Dave Hakstol told reporters in Voorhees after an optional practice Friday. "Keep fighting and scratching and clawing and playing well."
Hextall said "it's not the news we wanted, but that's the way life goes. Again, we have a resilient group and will have to continue on. Coots is a big part, but others will have a chance to step up and get more minutes."
Umberger is goal-less in his last 50 games and has been a healthy scratch the last two games. The Flyers like the experience and defense he brings to the lineup.
They also believe in the speedy Weal, who was acquired from Los Angeles on Jan. 6.
"I like Jordan. He comes in a tough spot; we're battling for every point and on the [playoff] bubble," Hextall said, adding he thought Weal played "extremely well" in his only game with the team.
Added Hextall: "At some point, Jordan is going to get a shot. I think he'll surprise everybody. He's a good player."
Hextall added a silver lining about Couturier's injury: "There is nothing serious and is nothing that will affect Coots down the road."
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