With the Philadelphia Flyers heading out on a two-game road trip, the team announced they will be without two key players. Nolan Patrick has been placed on injured reserve and Shayne Gostisbehere will not travel with the team. Both players are dealing with upper-body injuries.
Nolan Patrick on IR, Shayne Gostisbehere not on Road Trip
Patrick suffered his injury during the teams 6-2 loss against the Anaheim Ducks. On a play in the corner, Patrick took a shoulder hit from Chris Wagner. The hit caused his head to whiplash against the glass. He had to be helped off the ice by trainers. However, he was spotted in the press box after the second period.
Nolan Patrick gets hit and his heads hits the glass. pic.twitter.com/RVz5L0VUpf
— Sons of Penn (@SonsofPenn) October 25, 2017
Gostisbehere suffered an injury during the Flyers 4-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs. He took a hit against the boards from Leo Komarov. He finished the shift, assisting on a powerplay goal by Valtteri Filppula. Gostisbehere would then leave the game for good after that.
Another look at the hit on Shayne Gostisbehere. pic.twitter.com/bzzpB8dJ3Z
— Sons of Penn (@SonsofPenn) October 29, 2017
The move to place Patrick on injured reserve was a formality as he had already been sidelined for a week. Patrick was on the ice the following practice after taking the hit, but was a late scratch against the Ottawa Senators. He hasn’t played since.
Despite not taking part in practice, Patrick was seen skating on the ice beforehand. He has one goal and two assists in nine games so far in his rookie season.
Gostisbehere’s injury was another blow to a defensive core that has been hit hard by injuries lately. MacDonald is still out for about three more weeks as he recovers from lower-body injury. Sam Morin, who was thought to be replacing Gostisbehere, was never actually recalled. He is out a couple of weeks as well.
Gostisbehere is off to an impressive start as he has collected one goal and 12 assists in 11 games. His 12 assists tied him with Mark Howe for the third best 10-game start by a Flyers defenseman.
Will O’Neill Recalled
With the injury to Gostisbehere, the Flyers came into Monday night’s game with only six defensemen. The team changed that earlier today as Will O’Neill was called up from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. He will likely be serving as the seventh defenseman, barring any further injuries.
In nine games this season, O’Neill has a goal and two assists with the Phantoms. He was signed as a free agent last season. He finished with three goals and 28 assists in 57 games last year.
The Flyers now have four rookies among their seven defensemen. Those rookies include Robert Hagg, Travis Sanheim, Mark Alt and now O’Neill. Alt was called up after Morin’s injury was discovered. He played in the 4-3 overtime loss against the Arizona Coyotes.
The Flyers will travel to play the Chicago Blackhawks and the St. Louis Blues on their two-game road trip.
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