UPDATE: Andreas Lilja was scratched tonight against the Syracuse Crunch after blocking a shot with his hand in the game against Binghamton. No word yet on the severity of injury.
The Flyers finally received some good news yesterday regarding their injured defensemen, as Andreas Lilja has recovered from his high ankle sprain about three weeks earlier than expected. Lilja suffered the injury following the win against the Montreal Canadiens on “black Friday.”
Lilja was loaned to the Adirondack Phantoms on a conditioning assignment that will continue through the weekend. The Phantoms fell 3-1 last night to the Binghamton Senators and play the Syracuse Crunch tonight.
It is unknown whether Lilja will be ready for Monday’s game against the Colorado Avalanche, but he should be available by Wednesday to face the Dallas Stars.
Defensive depth aside, this raises the next question- who should the 5th and 6th defensemen be from here on out? Paul Holmgren indicated on Friday that after he received the news from Chris Pronger’s doctors about the severity of the concussion, “he made 29 phone calls.” He suggested that the Flyers will not look to make any immediate move on defense, meaning that Marc-Andre Bourdon, Kevin Marshall, Erik Gustafsson, Matt Walker and Lilja will all have an opportunity to prove their worth.
Bourdon has appeared to earn Peter Laviolette’s trust, averaging 13:33 of ice time per game, compared to Marshall’s 8:47 and Lilja’s 12:47. I would be surprised if he is returned to the Phantoms when Lilja returns, as he carries a very good shot from the blue line and adds a physical presence to the bottom pairing. Marshall may be sent down as a result of being waiver exempt, even if there’s no expectation that Walker is going to play any time soon (or be claimed by any team, ever).
Gustafsson, meanwhile, could return in the next ten days. I have to imagine that the organization is keen on seeing where his maturity is at for a longer period than just the 9-2 drubbing of the Columbus Blue Jackets that earned him a +6 rating before he injured his wrist.
Gustafsson’s average time on ice through five games with the Flyers this season was 18:29.
The Flyers may end up carrying eight defensemen for the rest of the season as a result. Whoever ends up in the bottom pairing will hopefully be able to eat up 15:00+ per night, reducing the minutes that are currently being eaten up by Kimmo Timonen and Matt Carle. Any chance for this team to succeed needs those two healthy and energized by April.
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