Musings and Quick Hits: January 22, 2019
1) A 44-save gem by Anthony Stolarz stole a point for the injury-riddled Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Monday afternoon but the host Wilkes Barre/Scranton Penguins skated off with a 2-1 overtime win on a rebound goal by Ethan Prow. The Phantoms competed hard all game but were simply outmanned and outgunned.
Stolarz kept the game scoreless for two periods despite a 32-17 shot disadvantage. ECHL callup Mike Huntebrinker got the Phantoms on the board first early in the third period (assisted by Mike Vecchione and Reece Willcox) but Adam Johnson finally broke up Stolarz's shutout bid with 8:56 remaining in regulation.
The Phantoms lineup is currently decimated with absences. On Monday, the team had only 10 available forwards, including recent Reading Royals callups Huntebrinker and Josh MacDonald as well as Steven Swavely and Alex Krushelnyski who have been with the Phantoms for lengthier stints after spending time with Reading earlier this season. (Side note: If waiver-cleared Flyers right winger Dale Weise wasn't assigned to fill in for Lehigh Valley for one game even when were two forwards short of a full lineup and the NHL team is on its bye week, it seems unlikely to happen under any circumstances).
Unavailable on Monday: Greg Carey, Mikhail Vorobyev and Tyrell Goulbourne were out with day-to-day injuries. The long-term injured list included Nicolas Aube-Kubel, David Kase, Cole Bardreau, German Rubtsov (out for the season). Add in reigning AHL MVP Phil Varone, who has been on NHL recall with the Flyers since Dec. 7 (save for a one-day non-playing "return" to the Phantoms on Dec. 19) and the Phantoms had 2/3 of their top 12 forwards missing from the lineup.
Rookie Phantoms center Connor Bunnaman saw his four-game goal streak and six-game point streak come to an end in Monday's game. More important, he was able to return to the game after limping off up the tunnel late in the first period. The last thing the Phantoms needed was to be down to nine forwards for 40+ minutes.
The Phantoms were also without veteran offensive defenseman T.J. Brennan (illness) on Monday. Lehigh Valley called up Frank Hora from Reading to fill in on the blueline.
All things considered, the Phantoms put forth a gutsy performance on Monday. It was also an encouraging sign to see Stolarz at the top of his game in his second rehab start. The Phantoms remain busy the rest of this week. They have a Wednesday home game against Hershey, a Friday home game against Laval and a road game on Saturday in Bridgeport.
2) Camden Courier Post Flyers beat writer Dave Isaac noted on Monday that rookie goaltender Carter Hart's name
has been removed from the team's official roster filed with the league during the bye week. This is at least partially to keep the active roster at 22 players.
At least theoretically, it is possible that Hart could get into a game for the Phantoms after his trip back home to Alberta during the Flyers' bye week. Presumably, he'd need a day of practice after being off the ice for several days. So, if it works out that Hart makes an AHL appearance before the Flyers season resumes next Monday, Saturday's game in Bridgeport (exactly one week between game action for him) would be the most likely match to be targeted. Alternatively, the Flyers could simply tell him to enjoy some extra time off and to just be ready for practice with the big team on Sunday and Monday's home game against Winnipeg.
3) Two seasons ago, the Flyers reportedly had several offers near the trade deadline -- nothing overwhelming but at least assets in return -- for impending unrestricted free agent forward Pierre-Edouard Bellemare. Ultimately, Flyers then-GM Ron Hextall elected to hold onto the well-respected checking liner and re-signed him to a two-year deal at a $1.4 million cap hit. However, the Flyers ultimately lost Bellemare to the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft.
This year, new Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher could be in a somewhat similar position with 30-year-old left winger Michael Raffl. Raffl has been limited by injuries to 34 games this season. His forechecking prowess, heaviness on the puck and defensively responsible style of play are elements that teams in playoff contention tend to value when looking to add a role-playing rental for the stretch drive and postseason. Raffl is in the final year of his contract ($2.35 million cap hit) and is eligible for unrestricted free agency on July 1.
Raffl is in his sixth season as a Flyer after making the Austrian forward made the jump at age 24 from playing for Swedish minor league team Leksand and representing his country at the IIHF World Championships directly to the NHL (apart from a two-game stint with the Phantoms). To date, Raffl has dressed in 379 regular season games (67 goals, 122 points) and 19 playoff games for the Flyers.
The Flyers are presently 14 points plus a 25-17 ROW tiebreaker disadvantage below the lower wildcard cutoff. If they were in the thick of the playoff chase, they'd be more likely to hold onto Raffl for the rest of the season. Barring a huge winning streak after the All-Star break, however, the Flyers are more likely to accept a trade offer.
With Aube-Kubel sidelined for a potentially prolonged stretch of time, there is not a clear-cut internal candidate for callup if the Flyers trade Raffl prior to the NHL trade deadline on Feb. 25. In the longer term, with Raffl now in his 30s and roster likely to be reshaped for next year, chances are that he will be elsewhere.
No matter what happens moving forward, Raffl will go down as one of the more successful European free agent signings in recent Flyers history. Bellemare worked out decently, too, whereas Evgeny Medvedev nor Roman Lyubimov only lasted one season apiece in the NHL and never became every-game regulars.
Over the years, Raffl has been a versatile and generally effective player for the club, with solid underlying numbers at five-on-five. In past seasons, he was one of the Flyers' better penalty killers. He played on various different lines (sometimes even as a center, at least in his early days). Although never known as a scorer, he also produced some streaky offensive outbursts (including a 21-goal season in 67 games in 2014-15 when he played on a line with Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek) and a even a few highlight-reel individual effort tallies.
4) Flyers 2018 first-round pick Joel Farabee was credited with two assists (one primary, one secondary) in Boston University's 7-2 win over Merrimack on Monday afternoon. The 18-year-old freshman left winger is second on his team with 18 points (six goals, 12 assists) in 21 games played to date.
5) Condolences go out to the family and friends of George "Red" Sullivan, who passed away in his sleep on Jan. 19 at age 89. Best known as the inaugural coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins and his 556-game NHL playing career in the 1950s and 1960s, Mr. Sullivan later served as a Flyers scout from the 1985-86 to 1992-93 seasons. In recent years, Mr. Sullivan suffered severely from Alzheimer's disease. His wife of 67 years, Marion, was by his side throughout.
6) Congratulations go out to Flyers Hall of Fame left winger Brian Propp for being among the honorees at the 115th Philadelphia Sports Writers Awards Dinner. Other Flyers-related figures in attendance included Jim Jackson, Keith Jones and Zack Hill.
7) The All-Star Break edition of the Flyers Broadcasters' Roundtable podcast on Flyers Radio 24/7, featuring Tim Saunders, Jim Jackson, Chris Therien, Steve Coates, and yours truly, is now available for free download:
click here.
8) My friend Marc Brunengraber is one of the co-organizers of two "Hockey is Stronger than Hate" games in the Pittsburgh area featuring the Israel National Selects hockey team (Marc will serve as their goaltender). On Saturday, they will play the Duquesne University men's team. On Sunday, they will play the Pittsburgh Penguins Alumni Team. One hundred percent of the proceeds benefit the Jewish community of Pittsburgh Jewish community as well as the Israeli Hockey Federation. For more information,
click here.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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