It's one of the best things about hockey. You know what I mean. Nobody runs up the score, especially during a shutout. You celebrate the historic accomplishments of other players/teams, including the playoff series ending handshakes. The most important one is if you hit our guys hard, we hit you back.
In the last 30 years, the NHL (i.e., Gary Bettman) has tried to clamp down on the more physical aspects of the game. Long gone are the fabled days of the Broad Street Bullies. Even in the 1980s and 1990s, every team had an enforcer who was there to protect their best player. For example, Wayne Gretzky had Marty McSorley to watch his back. And if you were foolish enough to deliver a big hit on The Great One, you can be sure that McSorley would have something to say about that.
This brings us to the Flyers. Deslauriers hasn't played since November 9. He was out with an upper-body injury and on injured reserve. In that time, the Flyers have been hit rather hard with injuries. First, Ryan Poehling took a devastating hit that has sidelined him since January 15th. Owen Tippett recently missed time after a collision and is listed as day-to-day. Egor Zamula has also missed time due to an upper-body injury.
Deslauriers being back could be the spark this team needs
Deslauriers returned to the Flyers lineup on Tuesday against the Utah Hockey Club. He made his return well known. It wasn't that long into the first period and.....BOOM!
He laid out Liam O'Brien. This isn't the first time the two have tangled, but it was nice to see. The Flyers lost in OT (Again), but hey, at least they got a point.
With Deslauriers back in the lineup, the younger guys can feel more at ease. The next time someone gets a bit too rough, they will have him to answer to. Matvei Michkov and Rodrigo Abols could learn to enter the opposing zone with confidence and not have to worry about being banged around. Having Deslauriers on the ice with them by their side can offer some protection and give the guys an added fearless boost to try to take a shot or two.
Perhaps being a bit more physical could help the Flyers get some of their mojo back. Everyone gets pretty psyched up when someone levels a big hit or gets into a fight and knocks someone down. Either way, it's fun to have the big guy back on the ice.