By Dan Heaning, Sports Talk Philly staff writer 
The Philadelphia Flyers will play in their last preseason contest when they face off against the Boston Bruins on Saturday in the TD Garden.
They will be hoping to make it out of this final exhibition tilt without any more injuries.
Over the course of the last few days, general manager Ron Hextall has dealt with the losses of forward Scott Laughton, defensemen Brandon Manning and, as it was learned on Friday, Michael Del Zotto.
While Manning is "week-to-week" and hopes to be back in the lineup by Friday’s season opener in Los Angeles against the Kings, Laughton will miss three-to-four weeks and Del Zotto will miss four-to-five weeks.
Couple the injuries with Brayden Schenn's three-game suspension and the Flyers now face the likelihood that Hextall’s “slow cook” development of some prospects will be tested.
Forward Travis Konecny and defenseman Ivan Provorov, who have both proven in this preseason to be NHL ready even without the injuries, should now become locks to wear the Orange and Black to start the 2016-17 campaign.
With all of these monkey wrenches being tossed into Hextall’s plans, it’s interesting to consider what the opening night lineup will look like for the Flyers.
One line should be pretty simple to configure. Konecny should be partnered with center Sean Couturier and right wing Jake Voracek to form a balanced second line. This unit played well together in the preseason and each forward scored in Thursday's tilt against the New York Rangers.
Without Laughton, the third line could be configured in a number of ways. Nick Cousins was slotted at left wing against the Rangers, but he’s been a center his entire career. To switch positions on Cousins now, considering how well he’s played in the third-line center role last season, would be odd. Therefore, partnering Cousins with newcomer Dale Weise and someone like Michael Raffl would complete another balanced line.
Yet, if Raffl is on the third line then an opening exists on the top line with captain Claude Giroux and right wing Wayne Simmonds. Normally, this is where Schenn would go. However, head coach Dave Hakstol will need to insert someone else in this slot for the first three games of the season.
This is where most will believe Raffl should be placed. Instead, this is an ideal spot for someone like Jordan Weal.
Weal has had a strong preseason. Giving the former King a chance on the first line against his old team would surely be a motivator. Though, more importantly, Weal carries enough offensive upside that could flourish with the playmaking Giroux and the power forward, Simmonds. If this combination fails, Raffl is always around to take the top line LW spot back.
On the fourth line, Boyd Gordon should take the center role and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare should slide over to the right side. However, the fourth line left wing position could go to one of three players.
One option is Matt Read. Read is a solid defensive player and penalty killer. He’d fit best in the defense-first role that the Gordon and Bellemare duo will serve, but he seems to be the least likely option. He’s chained to Hakstol’s doghouse, has put together two straight poor campaigns and doesn’t fit in the makeup of this Flyers team. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Read clear the waiver wire and head to Lehigh Valley come next week.
Like Read, Chris VandeVelde’s role is to play defense and kill penalties. Though unlike Read, Hakstol likes and trusts VandeVelde enough to give him and his former linemates more ice time than Read, Laughton or Cousins received last season.
The third option, Roman Lyubimov, is the best one to take. Lyubimov has enjoyed a strong preseason and showed a tenacity that would compliment Gordon and Bellemare well. With his 6'2", 207-pound frame, he could definitely take the left wing on the fourth line over VandeVelde without shrinking the unit.
Going this route would require the Flyers to waive Read and VandeVelde. While Read would likely clear the wire, VandeVelde probably wouldn't. His price tag along with his defensive play would make him a nice addition to another club. However, to keep players like Weal, Lyubimov and Konecny up with the big squad it's a risk Hextall should take.
On defense, only two questions should remain. What are the pairings and if Manning can't make the opening season road trip, how takes his spot?
As far as the pairings go, Shayne Gostisbehere has been playing with Nick Schultz, Provorov with Mark Streit and Radko Gudas was with Del Zotto. Without the veteran defenseman, the pairings could shuffle to last season’s pairings of Gostisbehere-Andrew MacDonald, Streit-Schultz and then pair Provorov with Gudas.
Meanwhile, if Manning can't hit the road there are a few options for Hextall to take. Samuel Morin almost made it to the bitter end during this exhibition season and could be the first name to call. Though Moorestown, NJ native T.J. Brennan would likely be the Flyers primary option to give the likes of Morin and Travis Sanheim time to work on their respective games in the AHL.
The Flyers will certainly want to have Manning, Laughton and, especially, Del Zotto back as soon as they can return. Yet, these injuries may be a blessing in disguise. Just like last season's loss of Streit allowed Gostisbehere to prove his game was more than ready, so too can these injuries introduce Provorov, Lyubimov, Weal and Konecny to prolonged stays in the National Hockey League.
