With a berth in the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs on the line, the Philadelphia Flyers are reintroducing another star defenseman into the lineup.
The Flyers announced Monday morning that star rearguard Jamie Drysdale
would return to the lineup against the New York Islanders on Monday night, and he was activated from injured reserve shortly after.
Drysdale, 21, has missed the last 16 games due to an upper-body injury sustained during a Feb. 25 game against Pittsburgh. Since Drysdale’s absence, the Flyers have gone just 6-7-3. The Flyers are also 27th in the NHL in goals scored since February 26, making Drysdale’s extended absence even more noticeable.
Fellow defenseman Nick Seeler returned over the weekend after a lengthy rehabilitation, bringing the Flyers’ roster to nine defensemen.
Adam Ginning and Ronnie Attard did not participate in line rushes at Monday’s morning skate, thus neither is likely to play against New York on Monday night. If they remain out, the Flyers may reassign both players to the AHL, where they will join the Lehigh Valley Phantoms for their own playoff drive.
It’s worth remembering that the Flyers have already used all four of their post-NHL trade deadline call-ups, meaning Ginning and Attard can only be recalled in an emergency from now on.
Rasmus Ristolainen is the only other Flyers defenseman on the injured list who could return this season, but his chances of doing so are decreasing by the day.
Drysdale, on the other hand, will make his comeback to the defense alongside Seeler. From a stylistic standpoint, this makes the most sense, especially given Sean Walker was traded to Colorado in early March.
Seeler and Walker were one of the league’s most successful and efficient pairs, and Drysdale will get a chance to recreate that success now that he’s healthy again.
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