Richard returns, upgrades Flyers’ quickness

Anthony Richard

NEW YORK – Chances are Anthony Richard would have returned from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms sooner if not for a foot injury suffered on Dec. 10 which ended up costing him 13 games.
Richard, who posted two goals/six points in a seven-game trial with the Flyers in November, impressed everyone with his speed and skill during that first tenure.
He returned to the Flyers lineup once again in Thursday night’s game against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.
Meanwhile, Olle Lycksell was returned to the Phantoms for the time being.
At the morning skate, Richard didn’t sound like he was going to let a month-long recovery step in the way of a quest to keep pushing for some steady work with Philadelphia.
“I was waiting for that call for a couple months,” the Quebec native said. “From the way I was playing (18 games, eight goals/19 points), it was exciting to get another chance.”
Before coming to the Flyers, the 28-year-old Richard had gained NHL experience with Nashville, Montreal and Boston. Originally he was a fourth-round draft pick of the Predators.
“Even if it’s only one game here, I’ll play my butt off,” Richard said. “I want to get back to where I was when I got sent down.”
The Flyers coaching staff saw what Richard could do with his quickness and agility. That’s part of the reason the callback came so fast after Richard was fully healed.
“Was a bit lucky, had the Christmas break,” he said. “That gave me a week of not playing but I wasn’t missing as many games as I was expecting. With a foot injury, you never know when you’re going to feel good again.”
Coach John Tortorella indicated that with center Ryan Poehling out of action, some help (with experience) was needed up front. Especially with a player like Richard who plays an uptempo style.
“He’s fast,” Tortorella said. “We’ve lost ‘Poehls’ and I can immediately see with our team when you lose that type of speed up the middle, it affects your group.”
Lycksell has shown potential but still commits the occasional error.
Conversely, Richard plays a pretty solid two-way game.
“He (Lycksell) did some good things,” the coach said. “I thought he was just inconsistent as far as some turnovers. I’m not upset with him. When ‘Richie’ was sent down, I forget what the circumstance was – he wasn’t playing poorly. He really didn’t deserve to be sent down.
“I think it came down to paperwork numbers, whatever it was. I’m glad he’s up here. He deserves to be up here. It’s another opportunity to bring us some offense.”
>Kolosov returned to Phantoms

With No. 1 goaltender Samuel Ersson and backup Ivan Fedotov both playing solid in net recently, it was only a matter of time that No. 3 Aleksei Kolosov was returned to the Phantoms. That happened on Thursday.
It’s important for a goalie not sit on the bench too long. This way, Kolosov can stay sharp in case one of the top two netminders get nicked up.

>Drysdale makes progress

The Flyers were somewhat heartened by the progress defenseman Jamie Drysdale has made after missing a month of action due to injury. He scored a goal in the Anaheim game and just looks more sure of himself since that game.
“I think Jamie has steadily gone about it,” Tortorella said. “Still has some inconsistencies, he’s going to have them throughout the year. But I think he’s improving.”
The coach said he showed a few video clips the other day and in all of them, Drysdale kept a proper gap between his defense pairing and the forward line.
“He made a decision right away,” Tortorella said. “Using his legs to make a decision to close the gap. There were some really good things. Getting the puck and getting it out of the end zone right away. Makes the decision and goes with it. I think that’s a priority for him.”

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About Wayne Fish 2701 Articles
Wayne Fish has been covering the Flyers since 1976, a stint which includes 18 Stanley Cup Finals, four Winter Olympics and numerous other international events.