Jordan Weal makes Flyers debut

For Jordan Weal, the wait finally ended.

The rookie forward, acquired from Los Angeles on Jan. 6, made his Flyers debut against visiting Boston on Monday.

Sam Gagner, who played one game after being recalled from Lehigh Valley, was a healthy scratch.

Weal was part of the deal that sent Vinny Lecavalier (four goals in nine games with the Kings) and Luke Schenn (minus-1 in nine games) to Los Angeles.

"Jordan has worked for that opportunity," coach Dave Hakstol said before the game. "We need him to go in and help our lineup tonight."

R.J. Umberger, who has not scored in his last 48 games, remained in the lineup and played on a line with Weal at right wing and Scott Laughton at center.

The 23-year-old Weal, a natural center, had not played since a Dec. 27 game with Los Angeles. He was a healthy scratch for seven games with the Flyers.

"It's tough," he said before the game, referring to being benched for almost a month. "It's been a while, but I've been getting ready in practices. We had a lot of game situations in drills at practice and that definitely helps get you comfortable with the guys."

Weal said he tried to do too much in his 10 games with the Kings.

"That's not really my game, running around like crazy and just kind of going kamikaze," he said. "My game is [playing] smart, controlling the play and controlling the puck. If I can do that, I'm going to be fine."

Based on what he has observed at practices, Hakstol called Weal a "tenacious player, a skilled player. He has some quickness and pace to his game."

To truly evaluate him, "we need to see him in a game," Hakstol said.

Weal was also on the second power-play unit Monday.

Defenseman Brandon Manning, a healthy scratch the previous four games, replaced Evgeny Medvedev and was paired with Shayne Gostisbehere. Manning plays a more physical style, which Hakstol wanted against the Bruins. He last played Jan. 13, a 3-2 win over Boston.

Flyers goalie Michal Neuvirth, who took the league's second-best save percentage (.936), into the game, got the start. Steve Mason lost the previous two games. . . . In another change, Michael Raffl centered Matt Read and Brayden Schenn . . .. Entering Monday, the Flyers had been outscored, 38-22, in the first period this season, and they had taken a lead into the second period in just five of their 45 games. . . . Gostisbehere took a team-best 12.9 shooting percentage into the game - eight goals on 62 shots.