TAMPA, Fla. — Twenty-one games into this season, Scott Laughton finally played in an NHL game for the Flyers on Wednesday, a 4-2 loss to the Lightning (see story).
“Getting hurt and the start, going down and finding my game again, I thought I played well,” said Laughton, who was recalled Tuesday to replace Sean Couturier (MCL tear, left knee). “I’m just excited to get the opportunity to prove I can play in this league.”
Laughton was the first of five Flyers to suffer a left knee injury that caused him to miss the start of the season and to lose ground in a competition for a spot in the lineup with Nick Cousins and Roman Lyubimov.
He was assigned to the Phantoms earlier this month when he came off long-term injured reserve and played eight games at the AHL level at center, where coach Dave Hakstol used him Wednesday between Chris VandeVelde and Dale Weise.
No one knows if Laughton would have retained his roster spot had he not sprained his left knee.
“Tough when you are injured all that time and can’t show what you can do in games,” he said. “At the same time, I went down there and took it like I did two years and played at a high level and got called back up.
“Definitely, unfortunate for Coots but it opens the door for me to come in a prove I can play in this league.”
NHL
Hakstol said he didn’t see using Laughton in just spot duty. The Flyers host the Rangers on Friday afternoon and Calgary on Sunday night.
“I don’t inject him into our lineup thinking it’s a one-game thing,” Hakstol said. “We’ve got opportunity going forward here.”
Laughton had a good preseason even though Cousins and Lyubimov matched that, as well.
“Scotty has a new opportunity now and has to make the best of it,” Hakstol said. “We need those guys to step in and step up.
“With all the negatives of an injury to a player, in Coots, these are some of the positives that can come out of it. Injuries are part of the game. Guys step up and step forward.”
General manager Ron Hextall said Laughton can embrace his opportunity here, much like Cousins, who is playing on the line Couturier usually centers. He said Laughton's stint with the Phantoms was needed.
“Going down there and having a chance just to play hockey and hopefully, it was what Scotty needed,” Hextall said. “When we sent him down, our attitude was, it’s not going to hurt him. Go down and play.
“He hadn’t played in a long time. Go down, get your game back … We know he can play and he’s a good player and he’ll probably get the opportunity to play the middle.”
Laughton played 8:31 and won 50 percent of his faceoffs (5 of 10) Wednesday in Tampa. He said he didn’t see this as make or break, and added he hasn’t lost confidence in himself, in terms of knowing he belongs here.
He had a prime scoring chance in the slot late in the second period but Andrei Vasilevskiy made the save. Ditto early in the third period, but the net was off its moorings when Dale scored for a no-goal.
Laughton said he felt he improved defensively during his eight games with the Phantoms and focused on faceoffs. He didn’t play on the power play at Lehigh Valley.
“I missed these guys up here,” he said. “I’m pretty close to them. I’ll take it one game at a time.”
Hextall said he is not looking to make a trade, and that the club should be able to survive with the players it currently has on its roster.
No Stolarz
Given the way Steve Mason played against Florida, you knew he would start against Tampa Bay. The lone goal by the Panthers on Tuesday came off an icing that was not whistled.
“This could have been a good opportunity for Stolie,” Hakstol said. “Certainly, we had confidence to go with him. But in feeling how strong Mase’s game was, he had to be rewarded with a start again tonight. He was excellent [on Tuesday].”
No Coots
Hakstol reiterated this is an “opportunity” for players to seize the moment with Couturier sidelined at least one month and likely longer.
Cousins took shifts with Travis Konecny and Wayne Simmonds on Tuesday and started this game between them. Konecny played in Couturier’s spot on the second unit power play on the half-wall.
Five left knees
With all these left knee injuries, the Flyers are keeping the medical equipment profession in business with the number of knee braces in the dressing room.
“We’re doing our best,” Hakstol laughed.
Hextall said, “We try to figure it out. What was it last year? All foot [injuries]?”
Snider Hockey
The Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation will go head-to-head against Ice Hockey in Harlem in a Face-Off Fundraiser. The competition will commence as the puck drops at 1 p.m. on Friday with the Flyers vs. the New York Rangers game. The competition will conclude on "Giving Tuesday," Nov. 29 at 11:59 p.m. The organization that raises the most money will be crowned Face-Off champs.