After grueling recovery, Flyers’ Oskar Lindblom ‘needs a reset’ and is among several lineup changes
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With his team starting a five-games-in-seven-days stretch, Flyers coach Alain Vigneault made several lineup changes Wednesday against the New York Rangers.
Some changes were made to get a player like Oskar Lindblom a much-needed rest. Some were made because Vigneault didn’t like the recent play of right winger Nic Aube-Kubel and defensemen Shayne Gostisbehere and Nate Prosser. The latter two players were each minus-3 in the Flyers’ 5-4 overtime win Monday against the Rangers.
Center Connor Bunnaman, left winger Andy Andreoff, and defensemen Robert Hagg and Erik Gustafsson entered the lineup.
In other moves, Nolan Patrick went from third-line center to fourth-line right winger, and Michael Raffl moved from fourth-line center to third-line left winger. Claude Giroux shifted from left wing to center on the third unit.
Lindblom, 24, has two goals and seven points in 23 games and has struggled to regain his form after missing most of last season as he battled a rare bone cancer. He scored a goal in each of his first two games this season, and is goal-less in his last 21 games.
The Sweden native was tied for the Flyers’ lead in goals last season — 11 tallies in 30 games — when he was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma.
He has also gone through what Vigneault has called a “mild” battle with COVID-19 this year.
“I had a good conversation with Oskar this morning, and I believe he needs a reset,” Vigneault said before Wednesday’s game. “I love the young man, but right now his game and his energy level is not where it needs to be. So we’re going to do a small little reset here with him. It’s obviously challenging for him right now; it’s challenging for Patty.”
He was referring to Patrick, who missed all of last season because of a migraine disorder.
“Usually, a player that misses training camp, for whatever reason, a lot of those guys have a tough time coming back in and finding their game. It takes them a while,” Vigneault said. “Let’s just imagine with guys like Oskar and Patty and how difficult it must be for them, and in Patty’s case, missing more than a year. And in Oskar’s case, going what he went through and missing almost a full year.
“We definitely believe in Oskar. We definitely believe in Patty,” Vigneault said. “Sometimes, you have to reset, physically and mentally, and that’s what we’re doing at this time with Oskar.”
The Flyers haven’t used the same 18 skaters in consecutive contests since Games 1 and 2 of the season.
Goalie Brian Elliott started Wednesday, and Carter Hart will get the call Thursday against the host Islanders.
The Flyers are in a stretch in which they play eight straight games against the three New York-area teams: four against the Rangers, three against the Islanders, and one against the Devils. They entered Wednesday with a 6-0-1 record against those teams this season.
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Entering Wednesday, Sean Couturier had six goals and 18 points in his last 14 games since returning Feb. 7 from a rib injury. He had at least a point in 13 of those 14 games, including the last five contests.
Breakaways
The entire Rangers coaching staff was unavailable for Wednesday’s game because of the COVID-19 protocol, but two of their top players — winger Pavel Buchnevich and defenseman Adam Fox — came off the COVID list. Kris Knoblauch, the coach of the Rangers’ AHL affiliate in Hartford and a former Flyers assistant, served as the Rangers’ head coach Wednesday. Gord Murphy, another ex-Flyers assistant, was one of his assistants. … James van Riemsdyk began the night leading the team with 13 goals and 29 points in 26 games. His 1.12 point-per-game average is a career-best pace. … Joel Farabee’s 11 even-strength goals were tied for third in the NHL heading into Wednesday. … The Phantoms’ home game Wednesday with Binghamton was postponed because of the league’s COVID-19 protocol. No makeup date was set yet.
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