Scott Laughton returns, Carter Hart could start for Flyers against Anaheim

At the tail end of their West Coast road trip, the Flyers are poised to get a few players back in their lineup. Scott Laughton and Carter Hart joined the team in Anaheim on Sunday and stepped onto the ice for the first time for Monday’s practice.

Laughton and Hart were placed in COVID protocol on December 27th, shortly after the Flyers returned from their extended Christmas break. But thanks to the NHL adopting the CDC’s new guidelines on quarantine times, players are now able to test out of protocol as early as five days instead of having to wait for the full 10 days.

For Laughton, he is no stranger to this process. He was placed in COVID protocol last season during the time in which the Flyers were hit hard. During that time, Laughton had mentioned that he lost both his sense of smell and taste. That made it hard on his weight especially. This time around, he had no symptoms, adding to the frustration of something that they are unable to control.

"“This year, had no symptoms, was really surprised that I tested postive. You just try and follow the league protcols and go through it. But yeah, it’s frustrating. It’s a tough situation in the world right now and nothing you can do about it.”"

Laughton will be in the Flyers lineup when they take on the Ducks, who had to cancel their own practice on Monday. They placed two more players, Nic Deslauriers and Derek Grant, in the protocol. They join Trevor Zegras, who has been in protocol since the 28th, and Ryan Getzlaf, who was just placed there on Sunday. They are expected to get Zegras back ahead of tomorrow’s game, however.

The Flyers did place Nick Seeler and Jackson Cates into protocol shortly after Monday’s practice. If those end up as the only entries and no one else goes in tomorrow, it will simply be Laughton checking in for Cates.

With all of that being said, as of right now, the game is still on. It is one in which Hart could be the starter for the Flyers. Mike Yeo wasn’t able to commit fully to his young goaltender starting said game, citing that he needed to have a conversation with him after practice. Hart hadn’t been able to step on the ice for a while and said it felt good to be back out there with the guys.

It’s been a tough few weeks for Hart as he was recently sidelined with a non-COVID-related illness prior to this. It turns out he was hit hard by the flu before testing positive about a week later.

There was some frustration on his part as well with everything that is going on. Especially with the NHL no longer going to the Olympics. It’s a dream for players to represent their country, as Hart mentioned. But the state of things right now is hard for them as well.

"“The situation we’re in right now with the world…it sucks, it’s tough. Hopefully they get this here figured out soon because we can’t keep living like this.”"

Derick Brassard stays back, no timetable on Ryan Ellis

Brassard, who also entered protocol with Laughton and Hart, did not make the trip out to Anaheim. Instead, he remained in the city and continues to work his way back from a hip injury that had originally sidelined him for three weeks before a re-injury has cost him almost a month. Even if Brassard had made the trip out, he would not have been an option for Tuesday.

"“There was a change of plans and he didn’t end up flying out. He wouldn’t have been an option for tomorrow. So we felt it was best for him, he’s out of COVID protocol. Felt it was just best for him to stay behind, get a skate there. Definitely want to see him in a practice before we throw him into a game.”"

Before the holiday break, Yeo had mentioned that Brassard had a chance to return to the lineup once the team returned after Christmas. Obviously, being placed in protocol took away some valuable recovery time. Whenever he does come back into the lineup, though, he will likely have an elevated role with Sean Couturier sidelined for the time being.

Ryan Ellis, who has been sidelined for most of the season, also came out of COVID protocol. However, there has been no change in his status as of right now. Ellis has only played in four games this season, his last coming back on November 13th before he re-aggravated the injury.

Ellis had been given a week-to-week status since then as it’s been over a month since his last game. There seemed to be some optimism on his recovery originally, but it seems like something has stalled in that regard. He was expected to be a big piece of this team and his absence has been extremely noticeable.

"“When you don’t have a guy like that in your lineup, you feel it defensively, and you also see it in the execution part of our game. Like the game we want to play, we want to play a fast game. We want to get on the attack. We want to get to the offensive zone. He’s a guy that helps you do those things. So, it’s tough not having him. And I know it’s been a real frustrating time for him. He’s just not making a lot of progress right now. So hopefully something changes there very soon.”"