MELTZER'S MUSINGS: DECEMBER 14, 2015
1) When the Flyers take the ice on Tuesday to host the Carolina Hurricanes at the Wells Fargo Center, it is likely that Jakub Voracek will have different linemates and a different position at even strength, at least for the time being: left wing on the second line, along with Sean Couturier and Wayne Simmonds.
"A new experience, a new try, I’ve never played left wing before,’’ Voracek said to the Bucks County Courier Times after Sunday's practice at the Skate Zone in Voorhees, NJ. “Hopefully, it’s going to work out.’’
Voracek actually has played left wing before as a Flyer, but it has been a long time. Former Flyers coach Peter Laviolette had an early season line during the 2011-12 campaign -- Voracek's first year in Philadelphia -- with Voracek on the left side of a line with Danny Briere at center and Wayne Simmonds at right wing. However, the arrangement only last for a few games in October, and Voracek has almost exclusively played right wing ever since that time.
Playing the left wing takes away two of Voracek's signature plays; circling out from behind the net to make a powerful move to his left in front of net and using his speed and strength to protect the puck, cut in from the circle or boards and shoot from the bottom of the right circle or from the slot inside the hash marks.
Those plays are easier to make from his off-wing than the left side, because the latter would put him on his backhand to make the equivalent play. Also, a left handed shooter on his off-wing tends to better see his passing and shooting options with a more optimal forehand shooting angle. On the flip side, it can be easier to receive passes and make certain plays along the walls on one's "natural" side.
With just one goal through the first 30 games of the season, Voracek is willing to try anything. In the meantime, Hakstol told the newspaper that, since there is a lot of motion in the offensive zone in his system, Voracek could still end up with scoring opportunites from his more accustomed side of the ice.
2) With defenseman Andrew MacDonald having been returned to the AHL's Lehigh Valley Phantoms after a brief recall to the Flyers -- one start, two healthy scratchings -- the club is able to activate forward Sam Gagner (concussion, laceration) from injured reserve.
Gagner, who has five points (two goals, three assists) in 18 games played this season, garnered all of his points in eight October games. He did not record a point in 10 November appearances. While every player is ultimately responsible for his own productivity and ice time, it should be noted that Gagner has largely been confined to the fourth line at even strength (average 10:20 of ice time) and to the secondary power play one (average 1:37 of ice time, one power play goal to date, zero assists).
The last time Gagner played was the Nov. 23 game against Carolina in which he sustained the early game injury on a Brad Malone check that has sidelined him ever since. On the play, apart from the nasty cut he sustained near his left eye, Gagner was concussed because his head hit the ice. The hit itself was a slew foot: Malone's right leg knocked Gagner's left skate out from underneath him, causing the recipient to flip and face-plant on the ice.
In response to the hit, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare fought Malone. Gagner said last week that he later texted a thank you to his teammate for sticking up for him. Coincidentally, just one game earlier, it was Gagner -- who is by no means a frequent fighter -- who immediately stepped up to fight Ottawa's Alex Chiasson for boarding Scott Laughton. Over the games that followed, the Flyers started to make a concerted effort to stand up for their teammates.
Hakstol will have to make a decision about how and when to integrate Gagner back into the linep. Will he go back to playing mostly on the fourth line? Will he play wing or center? If Gagner re-enters the lineup, who exits?
3) Laughton has hit a wall of late. He has not played very effectively in seven or eight of the 10 games dating back to the Chiasson hit that forced him to leave the Dec. 1 game in Ottawa after one shift. He has not been nearly as physical or aggressive in most of his games since then.
In late November, Laughton was briefly moved from center to wing during Nick Cousins' recall to the big club. Along with the rest of the team, their line had a strong performance as the team's Nov. 28 matinee 3-0 victory over the New York Rangers progressed. There were also some encouraging signs in Laughton's play in last Tuesday's shootout loss to the New York Islanders. Most of the other games in that span have not been very good.
Laughton has shown flashes of NHL-level potential, showing off a dangerous shot from the circle and above-average speed. He's had three-game and two-game point streaks, which isn't too bad for a 21-year-old second-year pro still feeling his way in the NHL and playing limited minutes.
However, Laughton has also had his share of struggles on both sides of the puck.
For a player who was widely touted as a future shutdown-caliber center in the NHL, Laughton has gotten an eye-opening experience that making correct defensive reads and plays against NHL-callber opponents and systems involves a much steeper learning curve than playing without the puck in junior hockey or even the AHL. Likewise, there's much less time on the attacking with the puck on your stick to make plays. Laughton, who is 84 for 197 (42.6 percent) on faceoffs, has also found that he's got much to learn about winning draws at the top level if he is to remain as a center.
Over his last 13 games, Laughton has seen his ice time reduced drastically by Hakstol. Laughton's ice times have dipped below double-digits in 11 of the 13 games (including the Ottawa game where he got hurt early in the first period). In October, Laughton averaged 12:54 of ice time per game. In November, it dropped to a 10:22 average. His December average is 8:39. After skating 20-plus shifts in eight of the season's first 13 games -- including six games in a row at one point -- Laughton has only reached the 20-shift usage mark once in the last 17 games.
Given the fact that, for salary cap reasons, the Flyers could face an either/or choice of keeping Shayne Gostisbehere or Laughton at the NHL level when Mark Streit is ready to be activated from the long-term injured reserve list, the roster spot that Laughton won out of training camp is in jeopardy unless the Flyers make a trade or waiver move (or a separate long-term injury arises) to free up cap space after Streit is eventually cleared to return. Laughton is still waiver exempt.
If Laughton were to be sent back to the Phantoms, it would be a good test for him to overcome the sting of a demotion, rebuild his confidence while working his way back to the level that won him an NHL job and regular early season use and then to progress from there. Gagner would be the most obvious candidate to center Laughton's current line.
4) Luke Schenn skated at the Flyers' practice on Sunday. He told attending reporters that, while he is not ready to play yet after sustaining a lower-body (left foot or ankle) injury in the third period of the Dec. 5th game against Columbus, he is getting close. The initial timetable for a return was approximately two weeks, so Schenn appears to be on track.
At the time the injury first happened, it looked pretty bad. Schenn tried to hobble off on his own power after his left foot awkwardly buckled underneath him on a hit by Columbus' Michael Chaput, but could not make it and had to be helped off the rest of the way off the ice and up the tunnel.
5) The seventh annual Jeff Burd Memorial Game fundraising benefit between the Flyers Alumni and Cherokee Chiefs Alumni teams will take place at the Skate Zone in Voorhees on Dec. 27 from 4:05 p.m to 5:35 p.m. ET.
Last year, the younger legs of the Chiefs Alumni players carried them to a surprise comeback win over the Flyers Alumni team. More important, the 2014 game and after-party grossed $37,263. After direct expenses were paid, every penny of the proceeds went to the Jeff Burd Memorial Scholarship Fund, the National Meningitis Association, USA Wounded Warriors and Wings of Steel Sled Hockey.
The Jeff Burd Memorial Scholarship Fund is an educational fund co-created by the Burd family in remembrance of the 16-year-old standout student and Chorokee Chiefs player who passed seven years ago after a bout with meningitis. Each year, donations and matching funds for college are awarded to the Cherokee Chiefs player with the highest academic performance in school.
This year, in honor of the recovery of Flyers Hall of Fame left winger Brian Propp, the Neuro-Rehabilitation Center for stroke patients at Magee Hospital has been added as a fifth beneficiary of proceeds from the game.
Apart from Propp, who is a longtime close friend of Chief's coach and event organizer Scott McKay, a host of Flyers, Phantoms and Hershey Bears Alumni will be participating in the event, including Flyers Hall of Fame defenseman Joe Watson, Bob "the Hound" Kelly, Brad Marsh, Ray Allison, Frank "the Animal" Bialowas and Mitch Lamoureaux.
The after-party with the Flyers Alumni will be held at the Victory Lane Bar and Grill in West Berlin, NJ (795 Route 73) from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m. with food and drink. Tickets to the game are $20, and admission to both the game and the after-party is a $45 donation.
For more details on tickets, sponsorships or making donations in lieu of attending the event, please contact Scott McKay by phone at (609) 377-6866 or via email at RowdyMAX@aol.com.
6) In Toronto on Sunday, Team Canada blanked the CIS All-Stars, 5-0, in the second exhibition game of Hockey Canada's national junior team selection camp for the World Junior Championships. Flyers 2015 first-round pick Travis Konecny had a goal and an assist for the Canadian side. Konecny's tally, a one-timer from below the left circle, came just 11 seconds after Anthony Beauvillier completed a hat trick for Canada's fourth goal.
Along with Konecny, Flyers 2014 first-round pick Travis Sanheim also had a hand in the second of Beauvillier's three goals, although Sanheim was not credited with an assist on the play. Sanheim had a primary assist in the first game -- a 5-4 shootout loss for Team Canada -- as Julien Gauthier tipped home Sanheim's point shot. Later in the first game, Sanheim missed a few shifts after slamming into the end boards but later returned to finish that match and play in the second. Sanheim played the first game on left defense and played the right side on Sunday.
7) Longtime Flyers defenseman and current between-the-benches TV broadcast analyst Chris Therien celebrates his 44th birthday on Dec. 14.