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Flyers’ Michael Raffl To Miss Four Weeks With Broken Finger

By Benjamin Gabrych

MONTREAL, QC - NOVEMBER 30: Michael Raffl (12) of the Philadelphia Flyers looks on during the first period of the NHL game between the Philadelphia Flyers and the Montreal Canadiens on November 30, 2019, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, QC (Photo by Vincent Ethier/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
MONTREAL, QC - NOVEMBER 30: Michael Raffl (12) of the Philadelphia Flyers looks on during the first period of the NHL game between the Philadelphia Flyers and the Montreal Canadiens on November 30, 2019, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, QC (Photo by Vincent Ethier/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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The Philadelphia Flyers forward will be out for about a month with a broken finger.

Well, as is customary with the Philadelphia Flyers, even if things seem perfect, they rarely are. After defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs by a score of 6-1 Tuesday night and scoring five goals in the span of about ten minutes in the third period, Head Coach Alain Vigneault announced last night that forward Michael Raffl will miss about four weeks of action after suffering a broken finger. Raffl exited the game during the second period after checking a Maple Leaf into the boards and did not return.

While Raffl may seem like a replaceable piece since he’s been a mainstay on the Flyers fourth line this season, the veteran forward brings more value to the team than one would think. Raffl was on pace for his best season since his 21 goal, 28 point 2014-15 campaign, posting nine points (3 Goals, 6 Assists) in 28 games which would’ve evened out to 26 points in an 82-game season. That’s a fairly solid scoring rate for somebody who’s been averaging 12 minutes a night. Raffl also brought a good two-way game to the Bottom-6, as he had a relatively low threat level in terms of unblocked shot rates at 5-on-5, per Hockey Viz. This injury is undoubtedly a blow to the Flyers team, and they’ll now have to find a replacement for the time being while the 31-year-old Austrian recovers.

The most obvious choice to fill Raffl’s void would be Chris Stewart, who’s been a healthy scratch more often than not for the team this season. Unless AV is content with moving Scott Laughton down a line or sliding Tyler Pitlick over to center, I doubt he’d be willing to insert Stewie, especially with how well Laughton and Kevin Hayes have looked together on the third combo. Vigneault did have Laughts centering the fourth line in the third period against Toronto, so I wouldn’t completely rule that out. If I had to guess, Mikhail Vorobyev might receive a recall sometime soon and get yet another shot to prove his worth at the NHL level. I could be wrong, though, as I’m just a simple hockey blogger.

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The Flyers’ next game is Thursday against the Arizona Coyotes, so we’ll soon find out what Chuck Fletcher and AV will do to replace the injured Raffl.

Update: The Flyers have officially called up Vorobyev and placed Raffl on Long Term Injured Reserve.

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