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MacDonald, Coburn now Flyers' top D line

When the Flyers open their preseason schedule with a split-squad game Monday night against Washington at the Wells Fargo Center, they will showcase what appears to be their new No. 1 defensive pairing: Braydon Coburn and Andrew MacDonald.

Flyers defenseman Andrew MacDonald. (Yong Kim/Staff Photographer)
Flyers defenseman Andrew MacDonald. (Yong Kim/Staff Photographer)Read more

When the Flyers open their preseason schedule with a split-squad game Monday night against Washington at the Wells Fargo Center, they will showcase what appears to be their new No. 1 defensive pairing: Braydon Coburn and Andrew MacDonald.

MacDonald, 28, is looking forward to getting more chances to shut down opponents' top lines this season.

"You want to be out there in all the high-level situations, the important ones, and help your team win," said MacDonald, who led the NHL with 242 blocked shots last season while playing for the Islanders and Flyers. "That's all any player can ask for."

A year ago, Coburn was mostly paired with Kimmo Timonen, whose career is in jeopardy because of blood clots, while MacDonald was primarily paired with Luke Schenn.

MacDonald, who signed a six-year, $30 million extension in April, and Coburn had some spot duty as a duo late last season. When Timonen was injured, MacDonald and Coburn played well together, especially in a win in Pittsburgh.

"We had a little bit of chemistry, and I think with camp, we can build on that," Coburn said. "The good thing is that Mac's not a totally new guy coming in. I got to see him a lot last year with other guys, and got to play with him a little. I got to know where he likes the puck and where he likes to be."

The other pairings this season will probably have Nick Grossmann with Mark Streit, and Schenn with Michael Del Zotto. Nick Schultz is penciled in as the seventh defenseman, and all signs point toward Mark Alt being the first call-up from AHL Lehigh Valley if there is an injury.

Lineups set

After the Flyers' third day of camp, coach Craig Berube announced that eight veterans will play at the Wells Fargo Center Monday: MacDonald, Coburn, Vinny Lecavalier, R.J. Umberger, Jake Voracek, Brayden Schenn, Streit, and Ray Emery.

The rest of the lineup will be filled with prospects.

The Flyers will also have a split-squad game Monday against the Maple Leafs in London, Ontario, with assistants Ian Laperriere and Gord Murphy coaching the team. The Flyers' top line will have Sean Couturier centering Matt Read and Wayne Simmonds.

It is Simmonds' first time back in London since a fan threw a banana peel toward him in a 2011 exhibition game.

Hextall and Hextall

Right winger Brett Hextall, who signed a one-year deal with the Phantoms last month, continued to work out with the Flyers' prospects at camp; he is the son of Flyers general manager Ron Hextall.

Hextall was asked if it was awkward signing his son.

"I put a lot of thought into it because Homer [former GM Paul Holmgren] had tried to trade for him the last couple years, on and off - long before I was here," Hextall said. He added that scouting director Chris Pryor "pushed me on him, too, so I had a lot of push, and our team started to fall into place and we needed a gritty player on the right side."

Last season, Hextall had 11 goals and 83 penalty minutes in 59 games with Portland, the Arizona Coyotes' AHL affiliate.

"Obviously I know Brett's character inside and out," the first-year general manager said. "He plays the game hard . . . and plays with a lot of sandpaper. Once we got some of the top guys signed there and some of our kids in place, that was the element we felt we needed - and Brett happened to be [available]. He's excited, and so is his mom."