Flyers Must Be Resilient Through Latest Wave Of Injuries

The Philadelphia Flyers will have to adapt through another wave of injuries.

Welp, our old friend, the injury bug has struck the Philadelphia Flyers yet again. After announcing defenseman Justin Braun would be out until after the All-Star break with a groin injury on Monday, the team also confirmed on their Twitter account that fellow blueliner Shayne Gostisbehere would have arthroscopic surgery on his left knee on Tuesday, January 14th and is expected to be sidelined for about three weeks. While Ghost hasn’t had the season that was expected of him coming into the year, he’s still a valuable part to the Flyers d-core as a puck-moving, chance-creating defenseman and will be missed as he recovers from this injury.

Philadelphia’s been here before, and the message will always remain the same. They have to be resilient through this round of injuries and continue to focus on the task at hand of making the postseason. There’s no denying that filling the voids left by Gostisbehere and Braun will be tough to replace, but the Flyers have to move on without them until they’re ready to return and adopt a next-man-up attitude while they work their way through the month of January.

If there are any positives to take away from these injuries, it’s that we get to view what Mark Friedman can do with more time at the NHL level. I thought he had a solid showing in his season debut with the team against the Washington Capitals on Wednesday, as he held his own against one of the top squads in the league. I’ve always been interested in Friedman as a prospect since the team drafted him in 2014, and while it’s unfortunate that he got a look on the roster because of injury, I hope he takes the opportunity and runs with it.

The good news is Ghost and Braun won’t be out for more than a month or so and should be back to help the Flyers through the final and most important months of the year.