Gostisbehere returns, but knows ‘changes are going to come’

Shayne Gostisbehere was back in the lineup Saturday night as the woeful Flyers attempted to get a split out of a four-game series with the even more woeful Devils.

Gostisbehere was back after missing three games with a sprained medial collateral ligament, the kind of injury that for some reason ended goalie Carter Hart’s terrible season.

The Flyers’ goaltending was only one facet of their game that took a huge step back this year. When post-mortums are written, there will be alibis added blaming the defense as the primary cause of the goaltending failures, especially that of the 22-year-old Hart.

Then there’s the scoring, and the special teams, and ...

“I’m not going to get into specifics,” Flyers coach Alain Vigneault said, “but some guys for different reasons haven’t been able to get their game to where it needs to be. I have an idea of the reason(s) behind it, but I’m not willing to share that at this time. Like I said at the end of the year, we’ll talk and I’ll answer your questions but I want this group to be focused on what’s coming up here.”

What was coming up Saturday was a fourth consecutive game with the Devils, with again the Flyers falling behind early. This a day after Vigneault complained quickly about his club’s lousy starts.

What’s one more coaching complaint in what should have been a season of them?

As for Gostisbehere, he might have been wondering if these last six season games might be his last for the team that drafted him.

Downplaying his injury, saying it “wasn’t anything serious,” he was back in the lineup eager to make partial amends for a season he knows will have offseason consequences in some way, shape or form.

“Tough for sure,” said Gostisbehere, who has two years remaining on his contract that carries a $4.5 million cap hit. “We’ve taken a step back from the season we had last year. We know we’re a playoff team with the guys we have. It’s tough; you can’t put your finger on one thing.”

One thing Gostisbehere did put his finger on is what is likely to happen in the offseason. He might be a prime trade target. Then again, that’s only be said at several different junctures during his Philadelphia tenure.

“For sure you look back and say what if, what we could have done here, what could we have done there,” Gostisbehere said of the Flyers’ fifth non-playoff finish over the last nine years. “But we still have a job to do. We want to win games. We don’t want to go out like (this). And we realize some changes are going to come. We’re not stupid in that sense. It’s our lives, too. We know something’s going to happen.”

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NOTES » With Gostisbehere back in action, Egor Zamula was sent back to the Phantoms . ... After a one-game healthy benching, Kevin Hayes was back in the lineup against the Devils ... Vigneault on what he’ll look for over the season’s last 10 days: “You’re looking for chemistry. You’re looking for a couple of guys to make plays and get that swagger and confidence back.”