Joel Farabee injured as Wade Allison makes his return to the Flyers

When it rains, it pours. The Flyers are in the midst of yet another 10-game losing streak. But that hasn’t been the only thing to hit them while they’re down. Kevin Hayes was moved to injured reserve, not a surprising move after his recent procedure. It was the following move, with Joel Farabee also landing on IR with an upper-body injury.

He’s expected to miss the next four weeks with said injury. After taking a hit from Noah Dobson on Tuesday evening, Farabee seemed to be favoring his left shoulder. He would return to play and also took part in the game against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

While Mike Yeo didn’t want to specify the nature of the injury, it sounds like something happening in the loss to Columbus that forced the team to shut him down for a few weeks. It was also possible the Dobson hit had an effect as well.

Farabee has been hot and cold this season. He had just two points in his last five games after a point-per-game stretch in the previous five games. He’s third in the team in goals (11) and fourth in points (18). He was getting the opportunity on the top line with Claude Giroux and Cam Atkinson, something they’ll obviously have to replace moving forward.

“Obviously Oskar’s played real well for us lately, that’s potential. JVR is obviously a real good candidate to move up there. One thing that a lot of coaches do and quite often there’s a lot of moving parts. But I really like the duo of G and Cam together right now. I think that can give us some flexibility as far as who we put in there.” Mike Yeo mentioned after Friday’s practice.

Farabee hasn’t been the only one to return from a specific injury and then be sidelined once again. So it’s possible that this could be somewhat related to the shoulder injury that previous knocked him out for a few weeks. However, he played in the team’s next 12 games before being sidelined again. While this may be in a similar area as before, it doesn’t necessarily seem like he wasn’t ready to come back.

It is a fair assessment, though, as the Flyers have seen this happen to numerous players. Kevin Hayes has dealt with many core muscle issues since his initial surgery last summer. He’s been limited to 20 games. Derick Brassard is dealing with a reoccurring hip issue that’s limited him to 19 games. The biggest one has been Ryan Ellis who has played in just four games after the trade this off-season.

Ellis was injured during the preseason, played in three games before missing almost a month. He returned for one game and has been out ever since. It’s just been one knock after another for a Flyers team that can’t seem to get out of their own way.

Wade Allison makes return to Flyers lineup

There is some excitement coming the team’s way as Wade Allison will make his long-awaited return to the NHL. Along with Jackson Cates, the team added both players to their Taxi Squad ahead of Saturday’s matchup with the Buffalo Sabres. Both are expected to be in the lineup.

While this won’t be Cates’ first time in the lineup this season, Allison will be playing for the Flyers for the first time since May 10th. He has been red-hot for the Phantoms, scoring goals in three straight games. Getting some games down at the AHL level was crucial for his development after he returned from a high ankle sprain suffered during rookie camp.

Missing the first 25 games, Allison was sent to the AHL to get back into game shape and get his feet wet with the Phantoms. He returned to game action on December 11th, played in three games, and then sustained another injury. Allison awkwardly collided with a member of the Hartford Wolf Pack along the bench.

He would go on to miss about the next month with an elbow injury. He’s been back in the Phantoms lineup for their most recent four games and looks to be playing with a ton of confidence. He’s scored in three straight games and should bring a ton of energy to the Flyers lineup.

“So I think his preparation as far as his play without the puck obviously is as important as his play with the puck. Crucial that he was able to get those games in. Obviously he’s not where he would be if he had been playing for a month, but that said, I think he’s gonna be really excited about this opportunity and bring some good energy tomorrow.”