Flyers have two more injuries as they try to fend off franchise infamy

by 24USATVJan. 24, 2022, 3:01 a.m. 41
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VOORHEES, N.J. — Just as Wade Allison saw his first opportunity with the Flyers this season, it was taken away by another injury.

The 24-year-old winger suffered an MCL sprain during the Flyers' 6-3 loss Saturday to the Sabres. Following practice Sunday, interim head coach Mike Yeo said he expects Allison to be out until the Feb. 4-5 All-Star break.

Yeo said he believed the injury was not to the same knee in which Allison suffered a torn ACL back during college.

Allison, who plays with an all-out style and a big shot, has had a rough career from a health standpoint. He battled two ankle injuries in 2021 and overcame the ACL tear at Western Michigan, where he ended up staying for four years. He also suffered an elbow injury last month with AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley not long after he returned from the high ankle sprain.

Allison was not the only winger banged up Saturday afternoon in Buffalo, New York. Zack MacEwen missed practice Sunday and is considered questionable for Monday when the embattled Flyers host the Stars (7 p.m. ET/NBCSP).

"Zack got dinged up a little bit last night, kept him off the ice today," Yeo said. "Still a possibility, but obviously not a certainty."

More: Embarrassing game marks Flyers' 11th straight loss, puts more and more in question

The Flyers have been besieged by injuries to Joel Farabee (upper body), Kevin Hayes (abdominal), Sean Couturier (upper body), Ryan Ellis (lower body), Derick Brassard (hip), Nate Thompson (shoulder) and Patrick Brown (MCL sprain).

With the injuries to Allison and MacEwen, the Flyers had two empty winger spots at practice. Extra defensemen Kevin Connauton and Nick Seeler filled in. Yeo said there's a "fairly decent chance" the Flyers make a transaction ahead of their game against Dallas.

"I know Lehigh plays today, this afternoon, so we'll take that into consideration," Yeo said. "We do have the possibility of dressing seven defensemen. We want to see how Zack is doing tomorrow, so there is some uncertainty going into the game tomorrow."

Brassard did not practice Sunday after recently being on the ice.

"Nudging him along," Yeo said. "Basically doing what he can do as far as trying to get the conditioning back and making sure that we push it near the limits but not past the limits of what he's capable of."

Yeo said Couturier and Ellis have continued their off-ice rehab but there remains no timeline for their respective returns.

The Flyers (13-20-8) have lost 11 straight games (0-8-3) and are trying to avoid matching the franchise's worst-ever winless skid. That came during 1998-99, when the Flyers recorded eight losses and four ties in succession.

Prior to their lopsided loss to Buffalo, the Flyers did not practice Friday.

"We chose the other day to keep players off, we chose rest over rust sort of as a philosophy and that obviously didn't work," Yeo said. "So today we got to work, every drill had a purpose.

"For me, it's more about mindset and attitude. Not going to allow any of us — certainly not going to allow it in myself, going demand that of our leaders, going to demand that of anybody that's putting on the Flyers jersey — that we come to the rink, we don't feel sorry for ourselves, we don't make excuses, we don't quit."

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