Flyers Notes: Michael Del Zotto determined to stay in lineup after benching

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Michael Del Zotto returned to the Flyers' lineup Sunday against the Calgary Flames with a personal mantra: He swears he’ll become a better player because of his recent benching.
 
The 26-year-old defenseman had an assist, his first point in two weeks, during the Flyers' 5-3 victory over the Flames at the Wells Fargo Center.
 
“I got a couple hits and felt into it,” Del Zotto said of his return. “I made some good plays with the puck, good outlets. For me, I have to build off that.”
 
He had been a healthy scratch the last three games.
 
“Any time you’re not playing, you are not feeling the best about yourself,” he said. “But I’ve been in this situation before a number times. I look at it as another obstacle, another piece of adversity to overcome. I’ll deal with it head-on and be stronger because of it.”
 
Even though Brandon Manning (concussion symptoms) didn’t play Sunday, Del Zotto was penciled to be back in the lineup anyway. Del Zotto has played just eight games this season because the three-game benching and an MCL sprain to his left knee he suffered during the preseason that forced him to miss the first month of the season.
 
That injury was compounded by last year’s broken left wrist, which saw him miss the final 28 games of the regular season plus the playoffs.
 
These past seven days, Andrew MacDonald has been Del Zotto’s replacement in the lineup, much to the displeasure of fans who voiced nothing short of outrage via social media.
 
Flyers coach Dave Hakstol didn’t hide why he benched Del Zotto.
 
“He’s a good hockey player,” Hakstol said. “There were a couple things in his own over the past few games before he came out that we’d like to see him clean up.”
 
Del Zotto saw the video of those mistakes. Things like getting caught flat-footed for a goal during a loss in Toronto, followed by having Mikko Koivu put a fancy move on him that resulted in a goal in the next game against Minnesota .
 
“It’s no secret why I am out of the lineup,” he said Saturday at practice. “I got beat on a couple goals and wrong reads. Mistakes are going to happen. It’s part of the game. For me, it’s coming back and being that two-way, solid reliable defenseman I was last year.”
 
The amount of time he has been away from the ice – his rehab on his wrist took longer than expected – has obviously dulled his reflexes on the ice in terms of reaction time and reads. And no matter how much you practice, there is no substitute for real game-time experience.
 
“Yeah, it’s tough,” he said. “You don’t want to make excuses, but when you are out nine months and have back-to-back injuries, it’s a long time.”
 
“I have had injuries before, but not been out that long. I came back and played seven games. I thought, overall, I had some good minutes, good games, but I see some mistakes.
 
“Those are timing issues as you get back into it. For me, I know I can be better and will be better. It’s just a matter of doing that and get back to where I was last year before my injury.”
 
Lines and defense

Hakstol wasn’t kidding about changing things up. Brayden Schenn fell all the way from the top line to the fourth line with Chris VandeVelde and Roman Lyubimov. Pierre-Edouard Bellemare centered Matt Read and Dale Weise on the third line.
 
Big difference
VandeVelde has doubled his offensive production from a year ago in just 23 games. His goal in the second period – a Lyubimov pass off his skate, deflecting into the Calgary net – was his fourth this season. A year ago, VandeVelde scored two goals in 79 games. VandeVelde has the same number of goals as Claude Giroux.
 
Loose pucks

Giroux picked up an assist for his 536th point, moving him past Simon Gagne for 10th place on the Flyers' all-time points list. … Anthony Stolarz was the first Flyers goaltender to win his NHL debut since Rob Zepp did it in Winnipeg on Dec. 21, 2014.

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