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Quick Hits: Week Ahead, Phantoms, LV Winter Classic and More

January 20, 2020, 9:52 AM ET [26 Comments]
Bill Meltzer
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • RSSArchiveCONTACT
QUICK HITS: JANUARY 20, 2020

1) On Sunday, the Flyers held their "Meet the Team" event at the Wells Fargo Center for full season ticket holders. On Monday, the team will hold its final practice before the All-Star Break and the team's bye week, in advance of the the Pittsburgh Penguins coming to the Wells Fargo Center on Tuesday.

With the Flyers idle on Sunday, the team dropped back below the Eastern Conference playoff cutoff line. There was a worst-case scenario outcome in the Carolina vs. Islanders game: a three-point result, with Carolina winning in a shootout. Additionally, Columbus beat the Rangers in regulation.

As a result, the Flyers will go into Tuesday one point behind Carolina for the lower wildcard seed in the Eastern Conference, two points behind Columbus and three points behind the Islanders for third place in the Metro Division. The Penguins, in second place in the Metro, enjoy a nine-point cushion ahead of the Flyers.

2) The Flyers have recalled forward German Rubtsov from the AHL's Lehigh Valley Phantoms. After a brief NHL callup earlier this season, Rubtsov suffered a shoulder injury that kept him out for several weeks. He struggled upon his return and then had to a take a brief, family-related leave to Russia. Over the last several games, however, Rubtsov has played his best all-around hockey of the season.

3) Injury updates: Early indications are that Michael Raffl, who left Saturday's game in the third period after taking a hit behind the Flyers' net from LA's Dustin Brown, may be OK to play on Tuesday. He appeared at Sunday's Meet the Team event. Justin Braun returned to the lineup on Saturday. Carter Hart (lower abdominal strain) is back on the ice although he won't be ready to play until after the break. Shayne Gostisbehere underwent arthroscopic knee surgery on Jan. 14. He is still on the same return timetable as originally announced, and should be back in the lineup shortly after the break.

4) After sweeping their just-completed five-game homestand -- with three shutout victores, a 4-1 win and a 5-4 victory -- the Lehigh Valley Phantoms (18-19-5) have three road games this week. On both Wednesday and Friday, they will play the Providence Bruins (23-16-4). On Saturday, Scott Gordon's team pays a visit to the Eastern Conference leading Hartford Wolf Pack (23-10-5).

5) Including Saturday's 4-1 win against Los Angeles, Travis Konency has scored the game's first goal seven times this season. He ranks 2nd in the NHL in that category. Later today, we will look at that on the Flyers' official website.

6) Last Thursday, Chris Therien and I interviewed Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher as our guest on the "Bundy and Bill" podcast for Flyers Radio 24/7 and Flyers Podcast Central. Among the topics we addressed were the young defensemen on the team and the Flyers' power play structure, which has recently gone to a double-netfront look. While acknowledging that power play personnel and structure is fundamentally a coach-driven decision, Fletcher discussed his observations from last season and the present campaign.

7) During the Flyers' upcoming schedule break, we are playing a series of farm system updates on the Flyers' official website with input from Flyers assistant general manager Brent Flahr. The series will be divided by level of play: AHL/ECHL, junior/college, Europe.

8) Now in its seventh year, the 2020 edition of the annual Lehigh Valley Winter Classic will take place on January 25, 2020, at the Bethlehem Municipal Ice Rink (345 Illick's Mill Rd.) in Bethlehem, PA. Flyers Alumni Bill Clement and Todd Fedoruk will be part of the festivities along with longtime NHL referee Kerry Fraser. NBC Sports Philadelphia's Taryn Hatcher will also make an appearance.

One hundred percent of the proceeds will go to benefit the local Special Hockey of the Lehigh Valley Polar Bears team. The Polar Bears are a USA Hockey and American Special Hockey Association and USA Hockey affiliated organization that provides special needs athletes throughout the Lehigh Valley with the opportunity to play ice hockey, under the auspices of coaches trained to work with players' needs as well as to teach the game.

For more information, click here.

9) For those in South Jersey, the Flyers Youth Special Hockey team will play Woodbridge at the Skate Zone in Voorhees on Jan. 25. On Sat. Feb. 15, the Flyers Warriors team will play against the Flyers Youth Special Hockey team in Voorhees. One of the Flyers' Warriors players, Andrew Maenner, is a coach with Flyers Youth Special Hockey, where one of the players is his brother, Timmy. For more information, click here.

10) Recently, the Flyers Alumni Association made a $5,000 contribution toward the care of Annalise Schultz. Dave "the Hammer" Schultz's granddaughter is bravely battling a rare and aggressive form of pediatric brain cancer.

Annalise recently underwent a second brain surgery. The Schultz family is still a bit short of the fundraising goal they set for meeting the myriad of expenses that are associated with tending to the needs of a family member dealing with cancer.

Later this week, the Alumni will have a further announcement in regard to an initiative to help
assist Annalise and her parents, Chad (Dave's son) and Jen.

Learn more about Annalise's fight at AmazingAnnalise.com.
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