Flyers’ Hart Starts vs. Ariz.; ‘Ghost’ Playing in 500th Game

Carter Hart will make his first start since Dec. 22 — and his first appearance since he suffered a concussion in a Dec. 23 relief role in Carolina — when the Philadelphia Flyers host the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday.

The team also announced that goalie Felix Sandstrom, who has been ill recently, will go on a conditioning stint with the AHL’s Phantoms. Flyers coach John Tortorella said it will help him regain his rhythm.

Sandstrom, 25, last played on Dec. 13, a 3-2 loss in Colorado.

Sam Ersson, 23, who won all three games on the just-completed California trip, will be Hart’s backup Thursday against the Coyotes.

“Erssy did a great job for us, stepping in on a pretty tough road trip,” center Scott Laughton said. “I thought he was pretty solid for us and he gave us a chance.”

Hart cleared concussion protocol before the Flyers’ last game, in Anaheim, but Tortorella wanted Ersson to get another appearance and thought the added rest would benefit the Flyers’ No. 1 goalie.

Ersson made 28 saves as the Flyers defeated the Ducks, 4-1.

Now Hart, 24, is back.

“He’s been our best player this year, and it’s good to have him back and feeling good,” Laughton said. “I’m excited to see him in action.”

Tortorella said he didn’t know how he would use Ersson.

“This works out really well. Sandy (Sandstrom) can get a ton of minutes down there,” Tortorella said of the two-week stint with the Phantoms. “… If I want to use Ers in some back-to-backs, I think he deserves to play.”

The Flyers. next set of back-to-back games is Sunday (vs. Toronto) and Monday (in Buffalo).

Ghost’s milestone

Former Flyers defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere, 29, now in his second season with Arizona, will play in his 500th career game tonight. He has 26 points (nine goals, 17 assists) in 36 games this season. A year ago, he had 51 points (14-37).

Laughton, who has a season-high four-game point streak, had “Ghost” at his home Wednesday and cooked him a rib eye.

“It was nice to see him and catch up,” he said. “Five-hundred games for him tonight, so it’s special for him” to do it at the Wells Fargo Center. “It’s kind of how things work out in life sometimes.”

Breakaways

The Flyers’ defensive pairings Thursday are expected to look like this: Ivan Provorov and Cam York; Travis Sanheim and Tony DeAngelo; and Nick Seeler and Rasmus Ristolainen. … The Flyers recalled Kieffer Bellows from the Phantoms, and he will be a healthy scratch Thursday, when the Flyers use the same lines as their last game. … The Flyers have a 50-30-6 lifetime record against Arizona, including a 29-12-2 home mark.

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