After a discouraging loss to the Colorado Avalanche last night, the hope was that the Philadelphia Flyers would be getting reinforcements back soon, with both Evgeny Medvedev and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare close to a return to action.
Now, the impact of Medvedev and Bellemare’s imminent return could be counteracted by the loss of two other key players.
Michal Neuvirth was not at practice this morning in Voorhees. Per Ron Hextall, he is seeing a doctor today, and more information would be available later in the afternoon.
While no information was given regarding the nature of his injury, it seems possible that he was injured during the play where Cody McLeod scored the Avalanche’s first goal of the night. Neuvirth fell awkwardly in an attempt to cover the right post and stayed down on the ice for longer than usual.
After a relatively poor start by Neuvirth last night, it was likely that Steve Mason would be the starter for Thursday night’s game against Washington anyway. But Neuvirth’s strong play has been one of the few bright spots this season for the Flyers, and an extended absence would hurt.
The loss of Mark Streit would have a more immediate impact. Streit left practice early and did not return, which would be a big loss for an already-thin defense. Evgeny Medvedev seems close to a return, but he again wore a gray jersey at practice, meaning that his status for Thursday’s game is still in doubt.
Pierre-Edouard Bellemare also left practice early, but that may have simply been precautionary, since he is still recovering from a lower-body injury. Flyers coach Dave Hakstol pushed the team hard this morning, including full-contact two-on-two drills, so it’s possible that he didn’t feel comfortable subjecting a still-recovering Bellemare to the punishment. Medvedev did participate in the drills, however, so it’s certainly something to keep an eye on moving forward.
