Raffl Appears Ready to Return for Flyers

By Mike Witmer, Sports Talk Philly staff writer 

The Flyers are getting a strong depth player back in the lineup just in time for the playoffs.

After Monday's practice, it looks like Michael Raffl will be back on the fourth line with Matt Read and Jori Lehtera for Tuesday night's game against the New York Islanders.

While this season has been a struggle for Raffl, both with the injury and just 19 points and 11 goals this season, he has done well defensive when needed. As the regular season nears its end, Raffl will provide depth that the Flyers will need entering the playoffs.

One area in particular where Raffl is missed is the penalty kill. As a whole, the Flyers penalty kill has struggled throughout the season to the tune of a 75.3 percent success rate, which ranks 29th in the league. The Flyers allowed a power-play goal and the game-tying goal with an extra attacker on the ice against Boston on Sunday. In both situations, Raffl would be the type of player to see the ice and another piece for Dave Hakstol to turn to in key moments of a game.

While these last three games of the regular season are against teams outside the playoff picture, it is still important for the Flyers to get depth players to step up. Raffl can be an aide in that area. The coaching staff has a comfort of putting him in different situations and expecting positive results in the little areas of the game.

Raffl has moved throughout the lineup during the season. For a brief stretch of games before his injury, Raffl was playing alongside Claude Giroux and Sean Couturier on the first line.

This once again shows Raffl's versatility and ability to step into any role. That becomes especially important when closing out games. Simple mistakes were the main reason the Flyers even had to go to overtime to secure a win against Boston on Sunday. In situations where the defense needs to step up, it would not be a surprise to see Raffl on the ice.

With Raffl's expected return coming on Tuesday, it appears that Scott Laughton is the odd-man out, at least for one night. GM Ron Hextall said that if Laughton is indeed the one sitting out on Tuesday, it would likely be a one-game thing. We'll have to see how that plays out throughout a playoff run and playoff series.

The Flyers are getting players back just in time for the playoffs as both Raffl and goaltender Brian Elliott, who is nearing a return of his own. If the Flyers wish to be more than just a one-and-done team in the playoffs, getting key role players back can go a long way.

When healthy and able to return, both players can take significant roles in a playoff run for the Flyers.