Flyers' Couturier likely out for Saturday's game
Second-line center Sean Couturier is expected to remain out of the lineup Saturday night when the Flyers face the speedy New York Rangers at the Wells Fargo Center.
Second-line center Sean Couturier is expected to remain out of the lineup Saturday night when the Flyers face the speedy New York Rangers at the Wells Fargo Center.
Couturier was injured when Boston's Zac Rinaldo, playing his first game against his ex-teammates, came in with a high check Wednesday, hit the 22-year-old center in the head, and caused him to crumble to the ice in pain.
A woozy Couturier went to the locker room and did not return. Couturier was at Friday's practice in Voorhees but did not take any line rushes, a strong indication he won't play Saturday.
"I thought it was an irresponsible hit," said general manager Ron Hextall, adding he was surprised Rinaldo was not suspended. "I thought there would be something, but that's not my job."
Hextall strongly suggested that Couturier, the team's best defensive forward, won't play Saturday.
"Any time you lose a key player like that, obviously you're going to be a little frustrated," captain Claude Giroux said.
At practice, Sam Gagner, who had been playing wing in most games, took Couturier's spot, centering Matt Read and Wayne Simmonds.
The line was together in the last two-plus periods of the Flyers' 5-4 overtime win in Boston, and they were a unit during some preseason games.
"He plays a little bit of a different style, obviously, than Coots," Simmonds said. "I played with Gaggy a little bit in the preseason and I thought we had a little bit of chemistry."
Gagner, who has two goals in his four games, played mostly center with Arizona last season but has been primarily a winger in his brief time with the Flyers.
"It's nothing I haven't handled before," he said of moving back to the middle.
Couturier "obviously is a guy you can't really replace," Gagner said. "He does a lot of little things really well. I think for me, I have to play my same game. I know what I can bring. I'm confident I can help the team in whatever role I'm thrown into. I'm excited about the challenge [Saturday]."
The Flyers (3-2-1), though upset Couturier was sidelined, didn't seem to have a lot of anger over the fact Rinaldo wasn't suspended.
"We've got bigger fish to fry here," Simmonds said. "We've got a game against the New York Rangers and we're not dwelling about what happened in Boston the other night. We won the game; we got the two points. We're just looking ahead."
The Rangers (5-2-1), who entered Friday tied for second in the NHL in goals allowed (two per game), have won four of their last five meetings against the Flyers.
"Well, we hadn't won in Boston since 2011, so I guess we're changing how we play," Giroux said. "Hopefully, we can keep changing things because we haven't been successful against the Rangers."
Breakaways. If backup goalie Michal Neuvirth (upper-body injury) can't dress Saturday, the Flyers would have to call up Jason LaBarbera from the Phantoms. . . . Defenseman Luke Schenn, who played well Wednesday after sitting out the previous three games as a healthy scratch, will remain in the lineup. . . . Diminutive Mats Zuccarello and Oscar Lindberg have four goals each to lead the Rangers. . . . Brayden Schenn will return to the lineup Saturday after missing one game with an apparent shoulder injury.
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