Flyers Notes: Gustafsson happy with latest callup to Flyers

Defenseman Erik Gustafsson had a car waiting for him after the Adirondack Phantoms' 1-0 win at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Friday night.

The ride to Philadelphia is a familiar one for the 23-year-old defenseman, who was recalled to the Flyers before Saturday's game at the Wells Fargo Center against the Montreal Canadiens.

Earlier this season, Gustafsson missed a little more than two months after undergoing wrist surgery. Since then he has been recalled three times by the Flyers, and the drill never gets old.

"You get happy every time you get the call coming up and it is a confidence booster every time," Gustafsson said before the game. "You want to get as many games as possible and as much experience as you can."

The Flyers needed Gustafsson because general manager Paul Holmgren said that defenseman Andreas Lilja was out and listed as day to day with an upper-body injury.

The Flyers entered Saturday having lost 374 man-games to injury/illness this season. Several players, such as Gustafsson and Eric Wellwood, have made multiple trips from Adirondack to Philadelphia.

"The young players have done a nice job when they have been called up," Flyers coach Peter Laviolette said. "We have been able to win hockey games and it has been a positive environment."

Entering Saturday, Gustafsson had played in 27 games and had a plus-minus rating of plus-10. Like anybody else, he hopes to stay with the team, but for now Gustafsson is looking to make the most of his latest chance.

"It's something you have to go through as a young player and I am happy to do it again," he said. "Hopefully down the road I will one day be a full-time player here."

The Flyers were 9-2-1 in their first 12 games in March, entering Saturday's matchup with Montreal. That comes on the heels of a 5-7-1 February.

"The month of February, we weren't giving up too much defensively, but lost our attack offensively, and we were dealing with a lot of things, a lot of injuries," Laviolette said.

He said the team's overall health has improved, which was a major reason for the change. But there have been other factors.

"Defensively we have been tighter, our goaltending has been excellent, and offensively we are generating chances. But there is tight checking out there so we need to continue to improve."

With just seven regular-season games remaining after Saturday, Laviolette admitted that he and the team pay closer attention to the standings, but keep a singular focus.

"You look at the standings and guys know who is playing," Laviolette said. "But the only conversation we ever talk about is winning two points because the only thing we can control is who we are playing against."