Flyers acquire Dustin Tokarski in minor-league goalie swap; Simmonds honored

NASHVILLE – In an exchange of minor-league goalies Monday, the Flyers acquired Dustin Tokarski and sent him to the AHL's Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

Tokarski, 28, will serve as Alex Lyon's backup, and general manager Ron Hextall called him an "upgrade" over Leland Irving, the Phantoms' backup goalie who was dealt to Anaheim's AHL team, San Diego, in the trade.

"Dustin has (NHL) experience in the regular season and the playoffs and we felt like it was an upgrade," Hextall said after watching the Flyers' practice in Nashville.

Selected by Tampa Bay in the fifth round of the 2008 draft, Tokarski has played in 34 NHL games and went 10-12-5 with a 2.84 goals-against average and a .904 save percentage.

In the five playoff games with Montreal after the 2013-14 season, Tokarski was 2-3 with a 2.60 GAA and .916 save percentage.

"He's competitive and works hard," Hextall said. "He's a little bit of an undersized goalie, but he's quick and agile. He's done a good job and is going to be a good fit."

The 6-foot, 205-pound Tokarski had a 17-8-1 record with the San Diego Gulls last season, compiling a 2.93 GAA and .898 save percentage.

Irving, 29, has played in 13 NHL games in his career and had not played with the Phantoms this season. He was drafted in the first-round (26^th overall) by Calgary in 2006.

Anthony Stolarz, whom the Flyers protected in the expansion draft, would have been one of the Phantoms' goalies, but he is sidelined indefinitely with a knee injury.

Veteran right winger Wayne Simmonds, who scored a total of four goals as the Flyers won two of their first three games, was named the NHL's third star of the week Monday.

Washington's Alex Ovechkin was selected as the No, 1 star after scoring seven goals over two games, and Vegas goalie Marc-Andre Fleury was the second star as he steered the surprising Golden Knights to wins in their first two games. Fleury, the former Penguins star, had a 0.98 goals-against average and .973 save percentage in 2-1 wins over Dallas and Arizona (overtime),

Simmonds, 29, became the first player in Flyers history to register an opening-game hat trick, keying a 5-3 victory in San Jose. Later in the week, his overtime goal lifted the Flyers past Anaheim, 3-2.

Simmonds credited his teammates.

"Without them, I don't even have this opportunity to be named a star," he said. "I'm not the type of player who's going end to end, so I rely a lot on my teammates."

Travis Sanheim will be paired with Radko Gudas on Tuesday in Nashville, and Samuel Morin will be a healthy scratch for the fourth straight game. Morin is expected to be sent to the Phantoms on Wednesday…..The Flyers, who have been slow starters in recent years, are 2-1 as they sandwiched wins in San Jose and Anaheim around a hard-fought loss in Los Angeles. "It's been nice, and we're really trying to be a better team on the road this year," Simmonds said. "Last year, if we have even a .500 record on the road, we're in the playoffs, so I think it was good for us to start this year on the road." The Flyers were just 14-22-5 on the road last season.