Flyers’ Coach Mike Yeo: “Last Game Is Not Who We Are.”

The Philadelphia Flyers have some reinforcements back in the fold as they get set to close out their Disney On Ice road trip against the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday night (10 p.m. ET).

After serving their time in Covid protocol, goaltender Carter Hart and forward Scott Laughton rejoined the team for practice on Monday at the Honda Center. Coach Mike Yeo said Laughton was certain to draw into the lineup against the Ducks. He was more cautious when speaking about Hart, saying that the No. 1 netminder would dress, but the team staff wanted to take time to make a full assessment of his conditioning before handing him the starter’s job.

Hart hasn’t played in nearly three weeks. His last start was the fan-free game in Montreal on Dec. 16, when the Flyers fell 3-2 to the Canadiens in a shootout. He missed the next game, an overtime win against Ottawa, due to a non-Covid illness.

“It’s crazy, where I legit had the flu for a couple days, didn’t feel good at all,” he said. “Then, come back and, after the break, test positive.

“I had pretty mild symptoms, if any at all. So it’s pretty wild.”

In Hart’s absence, Martin Jones and Felix Sandstrom have collectively backstopped the Flyers to a 2-1-1 record. In his NHL debut, 24-year-old Sandstrom helped the Flyers steal a point in their 3-2 overtime loss in San Jose last Thursday.

With Jones in net, Saturday’s 6-3 defeat in Los Angeles snapped Philadelphia’s seven-game point streak (5-0-2). It was the club’s first outright loss since Dec. 8.

“Not Who We Are”

After putting his team through a brisk practice in Anaheim on Monday, interim head coach Mike Yeo wanted to make it clear that Saturday’s loss to the King is not indicative of the character of his team.

With the Flyers now 1-1-1 on this west-coast swing, Yeo believes there’s still room to make the trip a success.

“We win that game (Tuesday) and and I think we’re all coming home feeling pretty decent about the trip,” he said after practice. “Not necessarily an outstanding trip, but a pretty good trip that gives us a chance to get back on the horse, get some momentum going into games coming up at home.

“(I) find that game important, to make it a good road trip. But I think, more importantly — let’s bounce back. Let’s show that last game is not who we are. Let’s get back in the win column.”

Ten games into Yeo’s tenure as interim head coach, the Flyers are 5-3-2. Heading into Tuesday’s games, they sit 10th in the Eastern Conference. They’re two points out of the second wild-card spot, although the eighth-place Boston Bruins have four games in hand.

Play Tougher, Play Smarter

In Los Angeles on New Year’s Day, the Flyers were scrambling almost immediately after Viktor Arvidsson put the Kings on the board just 12 seconds into the first period. And while Joel Farabee drew Philadelphia even with his 10th of the year at the 13-minute mark of the first, Trevor Moore quickly answered back for Los Angeles.

At the tail end of a 5-on-3, Adrian Kempe‘s power-play marker made it 3-1 for the home side just 46 seconds into the second period. Officially a 5-on-4 goal, that may have sealed the Flyers’ fate.

“You’re playing against good teams on the road,” said Yeo. “Penalties happen. We want to be an aggressive team. We want to be a physical team. There’s times where you’re going to have to kill penalties.

“There are times where you have to take penalties, whether it’s trying to make a defensive play or trying to do something. But penalties in the offensive zone, retaliatory penalties, frustration penalties — obviously, these things make it difficult on you.

“Also, defensively — I think some of the areas that we’ve been focusing on — trying to be pretty strong on protecting the front of our net, in D-zone coverage, not giving up odd-man rushes. I felt that some of the goals that we gave them, last game, were too easy.”

The Road Ahead

After a strong run earlier in the season, the Ducks are now winless in their last four games, with an 0-2-2 record. They’re opening a four-game homestand against Philadelphia.

In net, John Gibson remains as impressive as ever. But the Ducks are dealing with Covid issues have forced four players into protocol including captain Ryan Getzlaf and December’s rookie of the month, Trevor Zegras.

The good news for Anaheim is that defensive anchor Cam Fowler was not hurt badly when he crashed heavily into the end boards during Anaheim’s 2-1 overtime loss to Vancouver last week. After missing just one game, Fowler scored a power-play goal and played 26:33 in his return to the lineup on Sunday, as the Ducks fell 4-2 to the Colorado Avalanche.

After wrapping up their road trip in Anaheim, the Flyers will finish out the week with home games against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday and the San Jose Sharks on Saturday.

The January schedule is quite friendly to the Flyers, who will play eight of their remaining 12 games this month in the friendly confines of Wells Fargo Center. They’re 6-6-2 on home ice so far this year.

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