Bill Meltzer Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • RSS
• Archive
• CONTACT
Quick Hits: May 14, 2021
1) Flyers 2020 first round pick Tyson Foerster will miss the two remaining games of the Lehigh Valley Phantoms' season with a dislocated clavicle suffered early in the first period of Wednesday's game after he crashed into the lower part of the end boards. Binghamton Devils defenseman Matt Hellickson was assessed a boarding major and game misconduct.
Foerster was bleeding but reportedly his head did not make contact with the boards. It was hard to tell exactly what happened from the lone available camera angle, which also had Hellickson in the frame. Foerster was off-balance and it looked like he may have been bumped from the side (it wasn't a case of being drilled in the numbers).
In any event, Foerster will not need surgery and he was apparently not concussed, either. He will have to rehabilitate the injury but should be fine for training camp. All in all, it could have been a lot worse although the collarbone injury isn't a trifling matter.
2) On Tuesday, the Russian Ice Hockey Federation announced that Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov will represent Team Russia at the 2021 IIHF World Championships in Latvia (May 21 to June 6). None of the American Flyers players -- James van Riemsdyk, Joel Farabee, Kevin Hayes, Shayne Gostisbehere, Justin Braun, Cam York, Jackson Cates or the injured Tanner Laczynski -- were listed on the initial Team USA roster but former Flyers goaltender Anthony Stolarz is going. Other countries' rosters, including Team Canada and Team Sweden, will be released soon.
3) The Flyers will enter the 2021 NHL Draft Lottery with the default 13th overall spot (93.7 percent probability of staying in that spot after the lottery drawing) in the Draft order. They have a 1.5 percent chance of winning the first overall pick of the Draft and a 1.7 percent chance at winning the No. 2 overall pick. There's a 3.1 percent chance at dropping a slot to 14th the final Draft order.
Actually, the Flyers' have the 14th-highest (3rd lowest) odds of winning the first or second overall pick in the Draft. However, because the Arizona Coyotes were forced by the NHL to forfeit their 2021 first-round pick, the Flyers will most likely pick 13th. The Coyotes are in the Draft lottery, with the 11th-highest lottery odds of coming up for the first or second pick, but the NHL will re-draw for the spots if the Coyotes are selected. The Coyotes had to forfeit both their 2020 second-round pick and their 2021 first-round selection as a result of rule violations tied to NHL Draft Combine testing/ interviews.
The brand new Seattle Kraken have been issued the default 3rd overall highest odds (11.5 percent) in the lottery. That's why the Flyers are 13th rather than 12th in the default Draft order with Arizona unable to make a pick.
4) ICYMI: Earlier this week on the Flyers' official website, I wrote an Exit Day Five Takeaways article on the major themes of the Chuck Fletcher and Alain Vigneault press conference on Tuesday. There is also a synopsis of the Dave Scott press conference. Coming next week, we will have player-related features as the page turns to the offseason after a very disappointing 2020-21 campaign.
On Jason Myrtetus' Flyers Daily show, he and I discussed Exit Day. what went wrong this season and what we'd like to see the Flyers accomplish during the offseason. To listen, click here.
6) Flyers center Morgan Frost, who is now healed from season-ending shoulder surgery and should be fine for training camp, celebrates his 22nd birthday day.
7) May 14 Flyers Alumni birthdays: Don Blackburn (1938), Pierre Plante (1951).
8) Today in Flyers History: May 14, 2010
In the final installment of their historic comeback from a three games to zero deficit against the Boston Bruins in the 2010 Eastern Conference Semifinals, the Philadelphia Flyers saved the best for last.
After trailing the host Boston Bruins by a 3-0 score late in the first period, the intrepid Flyers storm back to score four unanswered goals in regulation.
Rookie left wing James van Riemsdyk gave Philadelphia some life at 17:12 of the first period. Scott Hartnell narrowed the gap to one goal at 2:49 of the second period and then Danny Briere notched the tying goal at 8:39 of the second period. The game settled into a 3-3 deadlock until an opportunistic Simon Gagne power play goal at 12:52 of the third period put the Flyers ahead to stay. After yielding three early goals, Michael Leighton (22 saves) settled down the rest of the way as Philly started to take over the game.
With their victory in the series, the Flyers became just the third team in NHL history to win a playoff series after trailing three games to zero. The others were the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1942 Stanley Cup Final against the Detroit Red Wings and the 1975 New York Islanders against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Stanley Cup Quarterfinal.
In 2014, the Los Angeles Kings became the fourth team to join the exclusive Comeback Club, downing the San Jose Sharks after trailing three games to zero in the Western Conference Quarterfinal.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
Join the Discussion:
»