Philadelphia Flyers Will Benefit From League Hiatus

It is hard to take away many positives from the league’s break. But like most other teams, the Flyers will benefit from the chance to become fully healthy.

Right now, the Flyers have three injured players. Philippe Myers blocked a shot against the Buffalo Sabres which led to a fractured patella. His timetable was at least four weeks. James van Riemsdyk injured his finger after blocking a shot against the Washington Capitals. His timetable was set between four and six weeks. Nate Thompson got tangled up against the Boston Bruins and landed himself on the injured list with a sprained knee. He would be out at least two weeks.

For Myers, four weeks would’ve put him out until the end of the regular season. His return would’ve been three days after the team’s final game. Van Riemsdyk’s timetable is a bit more spread out. If he ended up on the four-week side, that would’ve possibly given him two games before the regular season ended. The Flyers likely would sit him out those final two games, however. A six-week frame puts him around April 16th.

And lastly for Thompson, if he missed just two weeks, that would put him on March 25th. There would be six games remaining in the regular season. So he would likely get some reps in before the playoffs began.

This is all speculation of course as it’s hard to predict how each of their injuries will heal. But with the extra time off, it’s very likely the Flyers would get all three back whenever the season resumes. This isn’t just a good break for the injured players, however.

With 13 games remaining, the Flyers had two sets of back to backs and no more than two days off between any game. In fact, most of their games were separated by one day. There would’ve been only two instances where the Flyers had more than one day off. They were not alone in this as many teams seemed to have a condensed March schedule.

Carter Hart and Brian Elliott likely would’ve split starts for the most part. With the amount of back to backs and short rests, it would’ve been key to split their workload to keep them both fresh. This break will give both Flyers’ goaltenders a chance to rest, especially as the team was poised to make a big run.

And for everyone else, this is a moment to gather themselves. With nine wins in their last ten games, it was clear the Flyers meant business. And while this break might hurt that momentum a big, their recent play has put them in a great position going forward. They’re three points up on the third-place Pittsburgh Penguins. The gap between them and the wild card teams is even greater. They have an eight-point lead on both the Carolina Hurricanes and Columbus Blue Jackets.

While it is still uncertain how long the break may last, it does give the Flyers a chance to recover and rest up for the final push.