PHILADELPHIA – Whether the presence of Garnet Hathaway would have made a difference when the Flyers were still somewhat in a playoff chase a month ago probably would be considered doubtful at best.
But just having the tough guy back in the lineup for Monday night’s game against Nashville must have added some good feeling to the Flyers locker room as the season draws to a close.
Hathaway suffered an upper-body injury in a game at Pittsburgh back on Feb. 27 and his physical style of play undoubtedly was missed.
At Monday morning’s pre-game skate at the Flyers Training Center in Voorhees, N.J., interim head coach Brad Shaw confirmed having Hathaway back can be productive.
“It’s great, it’s always tough with that type of injury,” Shaw said. “He plays a very physical style. When you put him in, you know there’s going to be a lot of contact. He’s comfortable with it. We’re happy to see him back.”
Hathaway, 33, missed 15 games but he’s still second on the team in penalty minutes with 48.
He’s the type of player who can swing the momentum of a game with a big hit or fight.
“His aggressiveness, I think we missed him and ‘Risto’ (Rasmus Ristolainen),” Shaw said. “Physicality can change a game, can change how players play. You miss those types of guys.”
Hathaway said it was particularly disappointing to miss so many games when they seemed to matter the most.
“There were a lot of moments that I wish I were a part of,” Hathaway said. “The losses, the trades, the coaching change (dismissal of John Tortorella). It was something I wasn’t in the room for. I didn’t really see stuff first-hand. But glad to be back.”
>New Flyer to see action
On Saturday the Flyers signed free-agent center Karsen Dorwart to a new contract and Shaw said he expects the player from Michigan State to make his debut either Saturday at Montreal or Wednesday, April 9 at the New York Rangers.
“I watched some of his clips,” Shaw said. “It looks like he gets around the ice well.”
The Oregon native posted 38 goals/93 points in three seasons with the Spartans.
Shaw wants to see what the 22-year-old can do in these last couple of weeks of the Flyers’ season.
“I’m kind of anxious to get him on the ice Wednesday (at practice),” Shaw said. “See what he looks like at this pace. We need depth at center and hopefully he can be one of those solutions for us there.”
The coach said Dorwart had to pass a number of medical tests, hence the delay and not participating in Monday’s practice.
Making his debut in either Montreal’s Bell Centre or New York’s Madison Square Garden should be quite a thrill for the young man.
“He’s going to start his career in one of the two greatest NHL buildings and cities,” Shaw said. “He can’t miss there. We want to try to get him up to speed and kind of see where he fits in. When training camp comes around (in September), he’ll have a way better idea on what this league is all about.”
>Ristolainen likely done for season
Ristolainen, who’s been out since March 13 with an upper-body injury, is likely done for the season, according to Shaw.
“The plan is to not have him back this season,” Shaw confirmed. “I’m not a hundred percent on what the timeline looks like but I can’t imagine he’ll be playing in the next couple weeks.”
>Coach getting comfortable
Shaw worked his third game behind the bench on Monday night and said he’s getting more comfortable there with each passing game.
“It starts to feel like something you’ve done before,” the coach said. “It’s been fun to win the first couple. Been fun to watch guys find their scoring tough again (the Flyers scored a total of 13 goals in wins over Montreal and Buffalo).”
