PHILADELPHIA – Talk about a timely comeback.
Jamie Drysdale, the Flyers defenseman who was injured way back on Nov. 9 at Florida, made his return on Sunday night against the Utah Hockey Club.
Just getting Drysdale back in the lineup is a pretty big deal.
But the element that Drysdale really could bring to this lineup involves his mobility on the point and what it means to the Flyers’ slumping power play.
Coach John Tortorella has auditioned a cast of many at this position. But in Drysdale’s absence neither Travis Sanheim, Egor Zamula nor Emil Andrae has really made much of an impact to date.
Drysdale, who initially suffered a lower-body injury, has been practicing for a number of days but the Flyers wanted to make sure he was fully recovered before inserting him back in the lineup.
Before he was injured, Drysdale did see significant playing time on the power play but Tortorella wasn’t exactly bowled over by the performances.
Asked about that, Tortorella was pretty blunt with his assessment.
“I want to see Jamie play better on the power play,” Tortorella said in his pre-game media access session on Sunday afternoon. “That’s a thing for me that I just haven’t seen. He needs to be better on the power play.
“He’s going to get an opportunity on it, get some looks there and see where we go.”
Drysdale came over in a trade from the Anaheim Ducks last January. The Flyers sent disgruntled former first-round pick Cutter Gauthier to the Ducks in exchange for Drysdale and a second-round draft pick.
This latest injury absence might require some catching up in the strategy department but Tortorella stated the player has to pick up some of this information on his own.
“We’re not going to overcoach him,” Tortorella said. “He’s received so much information sitting out. (Associated coach Brad) Shaw has done his due diligence with (video) tape work. He’s been out for awhile. I think the last couple weeks ‘Shawsy’ has sat down with him but we’re not going to overcoach him.”
Drysdale in some respects reminds people of former Flyer defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere. He has some shifty moves, has quick acceleration and sees the ice well. The shot isn’t bad either. Maybe he can put some new ienergy back into Flyers’ man-advantage situations.
“We need to let him play, especially at that position,” Tortorella insisted. “Then we’ll see where it goes with his shift.”>Michkov miscellaneous
Jamie Drysdale, the Flyers defenseman who was injured way back on Nov. 9 at Florida, made his return on Sunday night against the Utah Hockey Club.
Just getting Drysdale back in the lineup is a pretty big deal.
But the element that Drysdale really could bring to this lineup involves his mobility on the point and what it means to the Flyers’ slumping power play.
Coach John Tortorella has auditioned a cast of many at this position. But in Drysdale’s absence neither Travis Sanheim, Egor Zamula nor Emil Andrae has really made much of an impact to date.
Drysdale, who initially suffered a lower-body injury, has been practicing for a number of days but the Flyers wanted to make sure he was fully recovered before inserting him back in the lineup.
Before he was injured, Drysdale did see significant playing time on the power play but Tortorella wasn’t exactly bowled over by the performances.
Asked about that, Tortorella was pretty blunt with his assessment.
“I want to see Jamie play better on the power play,” Tortorella said in his pre-game media access session on Sunday afternoon. “That’s a thing for me that I just haven’t seen. He needs to be better on the power play.
“He’s going to get an opportunity on it, get some looks there and see where we go.”
Drysdale came over in a trade from the Anaheim Ducks last January. The Flyers sent disgruntled former first-round pick Cutter Gauthier to the Ducks in exchange for Drysdale and a second-round draft pick.
This latest injury absence might require some catching up in the strategy department but Tortorella stated the player has to pick up some of this information on his own.
“We’re not going to overcoach him,” Tortorella said. “He’s received so much information sitting out. (Associated coach Brad) Shaw has done his due diligence with (video) tape work. He’s been out for awhile. I think the last couple weeks ‘Shawsy’ has sat down with him but we’re not going to overcoach him.”
Drysdale in some respects reminds people of former Flyer defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere. He has some shifty moves, has quick acceleration and sees the ice well. The shot isn’t bad either. Maybe he can put some new ienergy back into Flyers’ man-advantage situations.
“We need to let him play, especially at that position,” Tortorella insisted. “Then we’ll see where it goes with his shift.”>Michkov miscellaneous
According to NHL Stats, 19-year-old Matvei Michkov’s game-winning goal at Nashville last week made him only the fourth teenager in Flyers history to register at least three in a season. The others: Dainius Zubrus (five, in 1997-98); Sean Couturier (four, 2011-12) and Mike Ricci (four, 1990-91). In a related statistic, Michkov has scored two overtime goals this season, making him just the eighth teenager with at least two in a season. The others: Ilya Kovalchuk (3), Rick Nash (3), Sidney Crosby (3) Lucas Raymond (2), Clayton Keller (2), Cam Fowler (2) and Andrei Svechnikov (2).
