Flyers dedicate 4-1 victory to cancer-stricken teammate
Flyers salute cancer-stricken Lindblom, knock off Ducks
PHILADELPHIA >> There was an era when any suspension to any Flyer, for whatever reason, for however long, might have triggered organization-wide howls of protest. Different times.
Though Alain Vigneault Tuesday kept that tradition alive, general manager Chuck Fletcher was surprisingly calm in discussing the three-game suspension dropped upon heavy Flyers contributor Joel Farabee.
Caught delivering a hit deemed overly violent on Mathieu Perreault of the Winnipeg Jets Sunday, Farabee was given the three-game sitdown and fined just under $15,000 by NHL Director of Player Safety George Parros. Fletcher’s response?
Tame, actually.
“I’ve been in this game a long time,” the general manager said. “I’m not meaning this to sound flippant or anything, but I don’t have an opinion. I don’t know. George and his staff work hard and they look at these things and have the experience to know previous hits. And I don’t spend the time to the level he does to really comment.”
As for Farabee, he sent word from the Wells Fargo Center locker room after a morning practice Tuesday that he was in no mood, either, to join an open discussion.
Vigneault, though, did his best to uphold the franchise tradition of righteous protest.
“Yes,” the head coach said, when asked if he was surprised by the discipline. “Initially on that play, if you watch it and you listen to the explanation of the NHL, they say he was pushed from behind. He was cross-checked from behind. Should have been a penalty. We should have been going on the power play.
“Sometimes,” he added, “things are hard to figure out. You just have to roll with it and deal with it.”
That was sufficient for Fletcher. “Certainly, he might be as competitive a hockey player as we have in a 175-pound,
19-year-old kid,” he said. “That’s a blow for us to lose him for three games. So we’ll move on.”
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After missing three games, Travis Konecny participated in a Tuesday morning skate and activated before a night game against the visiting Anaheim Ducks. With Oskar Lindblom, Konecny was sharing the team lead in goals with 11.
“There’s no doubt that he’s been a real important player for us,” Vigneault said. “He’s our top scorer. He finds a way to contribute, not just on the scoresheet but by the way he plays. He plays hard. He goes to the tough areas. There’s no doubt that having him back in our lineup is going to be important.”
Although admitting that he was concerned about a more lengthy recovery, Konecny said he felt fine after practice. He even took his share of the blame for the trouble.
“I had the puck on my stick,” he said. “And he hit me. I wasn’t watching. I should know who’s on the ice at all times. You know he is definitely a player who is going to take advantage of guys who aren’t looking.
“It’s my fault. I didn’t have my head up.” Coincidentally or not, the Flyers lost all three games without Konecny.
“He brings energy and skill,” Claude Giroux said. “He’s one of our top players.”
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Recently diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma, a rare bone cancer, Lindblom delighted his teammates Tuesday with a locker room appearance.
“It was great to see him again,” said Giroux. “It was kind of emotional.”
Lindblom will begin treatment Thursday, according to the Flyers.
“I saw Oskar here today and I think for him it was great,” Vigneault said. “It probably cleared his mind. He was around his friends. He was almost tempted to skate this morning.
“Just to tell you the type of person Oskar is, when we got back here, with everything going on, he texted TK (Konecny) to find out how his head was going because of the concussion. That’s just the type of young man we have. Strong. He’s like the hockey community. He’s going to have a have a lot of support and he’s going to get through this.”
Before the game Tuesday, the Flyers placed “I Fight For Oskar” placards on each seat for fans to wave in support.
“It’s been rough,” Fletcher said. “A rough week. This transcends hockey. But he’s here. And he’s getting great care.”
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The Flyers recalled Andy Andreoff and dispatched Carsen Twarynski to the Phantoms.
Andreoff had been battling a high-ankle sprain. In six games with the Flyers, he’d had one assist.
“We’re trying to do the right thing by recalling the players who have played the best down there,” Fletcher said. “With Andreoff, with the injury, we just had to make sure we gave it a couple more days to make sure he’s OK.”
For the Phantoms, Andreoff had four goals and four assists in 14 games.
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Tyler Pitlick (sinus issues) and Michael Raffl (finger) remain unavailable. According to Fletcher, both are expected back sometime around Christmas.
Fletcher said Scott Laughton (groin) will be placed on the injured reserve list, meaning he will remain unavailable for at least seven days. The general manager had no update on Nolan Patrick, who has missed the entire season with a head injury.
With so many unavailable weapons, Vigneault planned to use Jake Voracek to help kill penalties.
• • •
David Kase was excited Tuesday to have a chance to face his brother, Ducks’ right-wing Ondrej Kase, in an NHL game.
“The last time we played each other was in a game back in our home town, “the Flyers’ Czech wing said, breaking into a smile. “We won.”
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The Flyers will entertain Buffalo Thursday night at 7.