As the Flyers get ready to take on the Blues, Travis Konecny took to the ice during morning skate. He was in a yellow no-contact jersey, and was ruled out for Monday night’s game. There was a small chance he would have returned, but Thursday remains the target date for his return.
The good sign is that he was on the ice with the team in any capacity. He did participate in some drills, signaling that he is feeling better from his upper body injury. It’s still uncertain exactly what the injury was and if the contact with Marc Staal during practice caused it or reaggravated it.
Konecny has been hanging around the bench a lot, definitely being very cautious during his first practice back from injury. They have him running some drills, so definitely a positive sign for that target to return by Thursday! pic.twitter.com/66mhvHkd06
— Siobhan Nolan (@SGNolan) March 4, 2024
This will be the sixth straight game he has missed. The Flyers have stayed afloat without their leading scorer. They’ve gone 2-3-0 in the games that Konecny has missed. They have gotten help from the teams behind them as none of the Penguins, Capitals, and Devils have taken charge in capitalizing on momentum. The Islanders are hanging around, but are still five points back. The Flyers will welcome Konecny’s return, but they haven’t fallen apart without him.
The Flyers have also gotten help with the return of Tyson Foerster, which coincided with Konecny’s absence. He has scored in all but one game since his return, scoring twice in the win against the Senators. Six of his seven points have been goals. He is closing in on the rookie scoring lead as well. His 16 goals are one behind Connor Bedard and Marco Rossi for the league-lead amongst rookies. His 28 points are eighth amongst all rookies.
Joel Farabee also broke a 14-game drought with a goal against the Senators. He is one of the players the Flyers need to step up. Before the game against Ottawa, Morgan Frost had back-to-back multi-point games, earning his 100th career point in the NHL.
Konecny remains the leading scorer on the Flyers by a wide margin. His 54 points are nine better than Joel Farabee. And his 27 goals are five better than Owen Tippett.