Flyers Notebook: Mental Exercise, Trade Deadline Approach (+)

Ahead of the Philadelphia Flyers’ game against the Chicago Blackhawks, John Tortorella and the rest of the coaching staff aren’t taking any chances.

That includes on-ice practices and off-ice practices.

Tyson Foerster (lower-body) made a cameo at practice on Monday afternoon, skating and shooting around for roughly 20 minutes before heading off for the day. Tortorella said that Foerster “will play when he’s ready to play,” and that he’s “day-to-day”.

The 22-year-old has missed each of the Flyers‘ last three games after blocking a shot against the Seattle Kraken on Feb. 10, but his return to the ice might indicate that his injury truly isn’t as severe as some might have thought.

The Flyers expected him back by the weekend for the Stadium Series game against the New Jersey Devils on Saturday, but that, obviously, did not happen. In fact, I ran into him in the press box at MetLife Stadium and he was still donning a small walking boot. This leads me to believe his absences from practices and games were likely a swelling, pain management, or comfort issue, or some combination of the three.

We’ll say that Foerster has an outside chance to return for the game against the Blackhawks on Wednesday, one Tortorella and Co. are making extra sure the team isn’t taking lightly.