Report: Multiple Flyers set to return against Blue Jackets
The Philadelphia Flyers are set to get key reinforcements back into their lineup ahead of a pivotal tilt on Tuesday night against the Columbus Blue Jackets that carries plenty of playoff implications.
According to Kevin Kurz of The Athletic, forwards Sean Couturier, Denver Barkey and Luke Glendening are all slated to return from injury for the Flyers.
Barkey, Couturier and Glendening all back in tonight, I'm told
Earlier Tuesday, team reporter Bill Meltzer shared that all three players were potentially available to take part in tonight’s game.
Couturier, the longtime Flyer and team captain, has missed the team’s two most recent contests. He’s racked up 29 points on 7 goals and 2 assists in 66 games played this season.
A promising rookie with 11 points in 32 appearances this year, Barkey also missed each of Philadelphia’s two most recent games.
Glendening, claimed off of the waiver wire earlier this month, scored a goal in the Flyers’ win over Anaheim on March 18, but he too was sidelined for each of the club’s last two games.
As things stand entering a jam-packed slate of games on Tuesday, the Flyers are five points back of both the Blue Jackets for third in the Metropolitan Division and the New York Islanders for the second wild card spot.
The Flyers are coming off of a successful road trip that saw them sweep the NHL’s three California teams to keep pace with the East’s other surging bubble teams. Philadelphia has at least one game in hand on every team standing between them and the playoffs as well as some crucial head-to-head opportunities to make up the five-point deficit.
In addition to tonight’s contest against Columbus, the Flyers still have all three meetings left on their schedule with the Detroit Red Wings, who are also in the mix for one of the last playoff spots in the East, as well as one more showdown with the Islanders.