Ryan Ellis returns to practice, could play against Edmonton

Ryan Ellis missed Friday’s practice and was later ruled out for the Flyers matchup with the Panthers on Saturday. He was day to day with what was simply described as an upper-body injury. It was unknown at the time if the injury was similar to the one that previously held him out of a few practices early on.

After an off day on Sunday, the Flyers returned to the ice ahead of their road trip to Canada. Ellis joined them for the first portion of practice. He took part in power play drills and was in his usual spot alongside Ivan Provorov. He did leave practice early at one point once the team did more vigorous work. It was later confirmed that the exit has been pre-planned.

The plan will be for Ellis to skate in Edmonton when the team practices there tomorrow. It’ll be after that in which Alain Vigneault will know for sure whether or not he will he available to them against the Oilers. Nick Seeler was still with the team and will certainly be on the road trip as an extra defensemen if needed.

“Again he’s day to day. Skated this morning and felt good as far as the feedback that I got coming off the ice. So he’ll come with us to Edmonton and skate tomorrow. And I’ll have a decision for you for Wednesday.”

Getting Ellis back at all will be great for the Flyers, but especially as they open up this road trip against Edmonton. The Oilers have not yet lost a game as Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl have a combined 24 points in just five games. And their power play has been clicking as well, leading the league at 47.1%. The Flyers penalty kill sits tied for 14th at 81.2% so keeping them off the man advantage will be a big key for Wednesday’s game.

As Vigneault mentioned before the team took on Boston, you’re never going to completely shut down elite players. You just have to maintain possession and eliminate unnecessary turnovers. With a guy like McDavid who can burn you quickly with his speed, that will be even more paramount in this matchup.

Patrick Brown to debut for Flyers

Brown has practiced with the team for the last few days after his 10-day quarantine ended. And while he’s joined his new teammates in that capacity, he will have to wait a bit longer to travel with them. With the 14-day quarantine in Canada, Brown will have to take his own flight and meet the team in Edmonton.

And with no flights going directly from the United States to there, he will have to find a way to connect to a place such as Toronto and then make his way to Edmonton. Even with all of that travel, it is expected that Brown will make his long-awaited Flyers debut during the road trip. And depending on the travel, he could play as early as the opening game.

“He wants to play. He told me ‘if I could get in there on Wednesday, I’d like to play.’ We’ll see what happens. We’ll see what the traveling arrangements are. We’re gonna get him for sure. We’ve got three games in four nights. For sure he’s gonna play.”

As for where he might end up slotting in the lineup, that likely won’t be decided until Wednesday. He will most likely be inserted on the fourth line and it’s possible someone like Nicolas Aube-Kubel could check out. He has had his fair share of penalty trouble early on and could potentially use a quick breather. Zack MacEwen, another new addition, could also sit out in favor of Brown.