The Flyers could use any kind of jolt after a long March in which they went 6-10-1 and allowed a staggering 75 goals.
Chuck Fletcher will look for that by first going to the farm. On Thursday, the Flyers' general manager called up forwards Tanner Laczynski and Linus Sandin from AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley to the taxi squad. In corresponding moves, the Flyers assigned forwards Connor Bunnaman and Carsen Twarynski from the taxi squad to the Phantoms.
Laczynski, a 23-year-old center who played four years at Ohio State, has been one of Lehigh Valley's best forwards. In his first year of pro hockey, Laczynski has six goals, four assists and a plus-6 rating over 14 games. Those six goals have come in his last five games. Laczynski has the makeup to offer positional versatility and secondary scoring.
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The 6-foot-1, 190-pounder was unable to compete in Flyers training camp as he was still recovering from offseason core muscle surgery. One would think Laczynski will make his NHL debut soon.
Sandin, a 24-year-old winger who was signed out of the Swedish Elite League last April, has put up five points (two goals, three assists) in 13 games with Lehigh Valley. Sandin is a complementary type of winger that plays hard and won't look out of place when he gets his NHL chance.
In 2019-20, Sandin finished tied for third among the SHL with 19 goals and scored 36 points through 51 games.
NHL
"He has a strong stick, great release on his shot, really good from the hash marks down in the offensive zone," Fletcher said in January. "The big thing for him is just adjusting to the pace and playing on the smaller ice surface, making quick decisions with the puck."
The Flyers entered Thursday three points behind the Bruins, who hold the fourth and final playoff spot in the East Division. After Boston plays the Penguins on Thursday night, it'll have two games in hand on the Flyers.
The Flyers have six games left before the April 12 trade deadline. They visit the Islanders on Saturday (7 p.m. ET/NBCSP).
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