Philadelphia Flyers
Flyers recall Morgan Frost from Phantoms, make lost season a little more watchable
The Philadelphia Flyers became a little more watchable Monday as they recalled 22-year-old center Morgan Frost from the AHL’s Phantoms.
Frost will likely center the third line Tuesday in Pittsburgh, where Sidney Crosby will aim for his 500th career goal..
The Flyers’ season, of course, has become a lost cause. It’s all about playing the young kids, giving them some NHL experience, and finding out who is a part of their future.
Frost has divided time between the Flyers (seven points in 26 games) and the Phantoms (18 points in 20 games) this season. He was sent to Lehigh Valley during the All-Star break and, surprisingly, stayed there as the Flyers lost consecutive games to Detroit.
Gerry Mayhew, who was hit in the face with a puck during Saturday’s 4-2 loss in Detroit, did not practice Monday in Voorhees because of a swollen eye, but the Flyers are hopeful he can play Tuesday. If he can, he will be on a line with Max Willman and Frost.
That line was effective prior to the All-Star break.
“I like the way he was going before the break,” interim coach Mike Yeo said of Frost. “His competitive level was noticeably improved from a week or two before that.”
He said Frost was “more dynamic off the rush and creating scoring chances for us, so that’s what he has to do in order to stay at his level — show you can do that night after night, shift after shift.”
Derick Brassard also did not practice Monday. The center has missed 27 of 47 games this season because of a a bad hip, and on three different occasions, he returned for one game and then re-injured it.
“There’s reasons the soreness continues to be there, even though he took weeks off and took almost weeks of skating to try to get to that position,” Yeo said. “So he’ll be out tomorrow. I think the plan is that he’ll be out until we feel more confident that the strength can fully be there to keep him in the lineup.”
In other words, it sounds like Frost will be playing for a while.
Yeo said the Flyers could use Brassard because “we’re desperate for NHL players and bodies, especially at the center- ice position. … Obviously, we’re going to have to do some things a little bit different here while he’s out for this next period of time in order to get him in and keep him in.”
#Flyers interim coach Mike Yeo talks about Derick Brassard’s puzzling hip injury and it’s recurrence. pic.twitter.com/U5uM8kyDKv
— Sam Carchidi (@BroadStBull) February 14, 2022
Asked how puzzling it was for the medical staff to clear Brassard three times … only to see him re-injured upon his return.
“I definitely don’t want to throw the medical staff under the bus on that one,” Yeo said. “Obviously there’s a lot of things that go into play. When a player is hurt and has to come back in the lineup, there’s steps that have to be taken. — meeting with the doctors, coming up with the plans, the treatment. And then getting on the ice is the first step in sort of a rehab skate. Then you get on the ice with the team, and that’s the next step. So we’ve gone though all of those steps and it still hasn’t corrected itself.
“It is puzzling,” he said of the injury recurrence, “but that’s what we’re dealing with now.”
Yeo salutes Giroux
Captain Claude Giroux, who had been scheduled to address the media, received treatment in the trainer’s room and was not available to speak. He will talk to the media Tuesday, and whether he has decided to waive his no-movement clause will certainly be discussed.
Yeo said the trade talk surrounding Giroux is “difficult for him in so many different ways,” and saluted him for his work ethic and play. “He cares very much for this organization, and obviously the fact that we’re struggling right now, he takes that very personally. And then you add on the stress, the uncertainty of what’s to come … but in true G fashion, he continues to play hard for the group.”
Breakaways
Defenseman Cam York, who missed the last two games with the Phantoms because of an upper-body injury, isn’t expected to be sidelined long-term. … Carter Hart, who has a 2.89 GAA and .911 save percentage, will face the Penguins. … Forward Jackson Cates was loaned to the Phantoms. … Patrick Brown, Kevin Hayes, Joel Farabee, and Rasmus Ristolainen skated but aren’t ready to return from injuries. Brown is the closest to returning, but needs to get his conditioning up to speed. Yeo said the Flyers will determine on March 1 whether Hayes will return this season.