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Quick Hits: Practice, Flahr, Phantoms, and More |
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Quick Hits: Feb. 24, 2022
1) After an off-day on Wednesday, the Flyers (15-26-10) return to practice at 11:00 a.m. at the FTC in Voorhees. The team will host the Washington Capitals (28-15-9) at the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday afternoon. Saturday's game will be Flyers Charities Day, with proceeds supporting Flyers Charities initiatives.
2) On Wednesday, the Flyers reassigned goaltender Kirill Ustimenko and center Connor Bunnaman to the AHL's Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Ustimenko backed up Martin Jones on Monday against Carolina and Tuesday against St. Louis while Carter Hart was unavailable due to an eye infection. Ustimenko returning to the Phantoms is an indicator that Hart should be ready to return to play by Saturday and is likely to practice on Thursday and Friday.
Bunnaman was an emergency callup for Tuesday's game. Flyers interim head coach Mike Yeo indicated prior to the game that Bunnaman's recall was strictly precautionary (due to an unidentified starter being not quite 100 percent certain to play) but that he was unlikely to be in the lineup. Bunnaman, who passed through waivers last week, was scratched for Tuesday's game and then reassigned to the Phantoms yesterday along with Ustimenko.
3) Phantoms update: Ustimenko was the winning goaltender in the Phantoms' 3-2 (1-0) shootout victory on Wednesday evening on the road against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. The Phantoms were massively outplayed early in the game, but Ustimenko kept the damage to two goals. Lehigh Valley then chipped away and eventually took over territorial control. The Phantoms had a 31-18 shot on goal edge over the rest of regulation and overtime after spending most of the first period defending.
A slam-dunk goal by Maksim Sushko (7th) off a great setup from defenseman Adam Clendening cut the gap to 2-1 midway through the second period. In the third period, the Phantoms had three straight power play chances and finally cashed in on the third to draw even at 2-2. A hard-working goal by Hayden Hodgson (15th) knotted the score at 11:29.
The Phantoms peppered Pens goalie Alex D'Orio with seven shots in overtime, while Ustimenko stopped three to finish with 30 saves on the night. In the skills competition, Clendening converted his opportunity in the bottom of the first round. Ustimenko denied Alexander Nylander, Valtteri Puustinen and Drew O'Connor to earn the bonus point for the Phantoms (18-19-9).
Playing his third game since returning from preseason hip surgery, Tanner Laczynski seemed a bit fatigued after outstanding performances in the back-to-back games last weekend. However, he settled in as Wednesday's game moved along, including an assist on Hodgson's game-tying power play tally and, later, a good scoring chance for himself. Laczynski finished the game with four shots on goal.
The Phantoms did not get through the game unscathed, as the injury bug bit them again. Most notably, forward German Rubtsov had to leave the game with what appeared to be a hand injury. Struggling most of the season, and in and out of the lineup due to injuries, Rubtsov was quietly in the midst of one of his more solid all-around games in recent months when he had to leave Wednesday's game.
Speaking of injuries, there are no updates on the Phantoms' injured goalie front. Both Felix Sandström and rookie Samuel Ersson (after two recurrences) remain sidelined indefinitely with lower-body injuries.
4) Later this morning, Jason Myretetus and I will be jointly interviewing Flyers assistant general manager Brent Flahr for an episode of Flyers Daily and an accompanying article on PhiladelphiaFlyers.com. The focus will be prospects in the Flyers' system and an overview of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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