Linus Högberg slated to become ninth Flyers player to make NHL debut this season

MONTREAL — Shortly after the Lehigh Valley Phantoms’ 5-4 overtime road loss Tuesday night, head coach Ian Laperrière pulled aside defenseman Linus Högberg on the team bus and shared the news every young hockey player aspires to hear.

With defenseman Kevin Connauton (lower body) injured Tuesday against the Toronto Maple Leafs and out of the lineup indefinitely, the Flyers recalled the 23-year-old Högberg under emergency conditions. Now, Högberg will make his NHL debut Thursday against the Montréal Canadiens.

According to interim coach Mike Yeo, Högberg hasn’t “stopped smiling” since he entered the Bell Centre for morning skate.

“I don’t know so much about Montréal, and I heard they have great fans,” Högberg said. “It’s going to be a good building to get my debut.”

Högberg’s call-up makes him the sixth Phantoms player to have his NHL debut this season, joining forward Max Willman, forward Linus Sandin, goalie Felix Sandström, forward Isaac Ratcliffe, and forward Hayden Hodgson. A total of nine players have made their NHL debuts with the Flyers in 2021-22, including college players Bobby Brink, Noah Cates, and Ronnie Attard.

Just five days ago, Högberg returned to the Phantoms’ lineup after rehabbing a shoulder injury sustained March 18 against the Springfield Thunderbirds. In 57 games this season, his second with the Phantoms, Högberg has registered seven assists and is minus-six.

Before the start of the season, Högberg missed part of training camp while dealing with an oblique strain. However, Högberg is pleased with the development of his game this year despite recovering from multiple injuries along the way, especially considering the difficulty of the Phantoms’ schedule.

“I would say consistency, to be able to come to the game and perform good,” Högberg said. “Especially down there with the back-to-backs, like three times in a row.”

Yeo decided to shuffle the defensive pairings to start against the Canadiens. He placed Högberg on the second pairing on the left side with Travis Sanheim — “a really good D, two-way defenseman,” Högberg said — as his partner.

Sanheim was partnered up on the top pairing with Ivan Provorov against the Leafs, but Yeo decided to split up his veterans to spread the expertise among an inexperienced defensive corps. The Flyers are lacking bodies on the blue line because of injuries, with Connauton, Cam York, Rasmus Ristolainen, Nick Seeler, and Ryan Ellis out.

Now, Yeo is looking forward to seeing what Högberg can bring to a Flyers team that aims to break a six-game losing streak.

“Go out and play confident; go out and show us what you can do,” Yeo said. “Obviously, you can’t go into this game and be intimidated. You can’t go into this game and be afraid of what might happen. You have to go out there with an aggressive mindset and enjoy the moment.”

On the heels of a 5-2 loss to Toronto on Tuesday, goalie Martin Jones will get a second straight start against the Canadiens.

Yeo was pleased with Jones’ performance, despite allowing four goals on 28 shots. Following the game on Tuesday, Jones assigned blame to the Flyers’ defensive breakdowns for the Leafs’ success.

“We didn’t get the win, but I thought he played well,” Yeo said. “I think he’s played well for us for a long period of time here.”

Jones, 32, has become the Flyers’ starter with Carter Hart (lower body) likely out for the rest of the season. Hart was injured against the Washington Capitals in the first period April 12, and Jones took over for him for the final two periods of the game. In 32 games this season, Jones has posted a 3.53 goals against average and a .897 save percentage.

Meanwhile, Sandström, who the Flyers recalled after Hart sustained his injury, will wait in the wings for his next start. Seeing as the Flyers have four games in six days starting Sunday when they take on the Pittsburgh Penguins, Yeo said Sandström will get “at least one more opportunity” to start in net before the end of the season.

Sandström, 25, has three starts this season (3.29 goals against average, .915 save percentage) and is looking for his first NHL win.

Center Sean Couturier (back) participated in team drills at the Flyers’ morning skates in advance of their games against the Leafs and the Canadiens. Couturier, 29, is in the midst of rehab and will not return this season. He’s expected to be ready to start training camp next season. … Forward Joel Farabee will move back to center on the second line with wingers James van Riemsdyk and Brink against the Canadiens. Farabee, 22, spent his last seven games at wing before playing six games at center from late March to early April. In turn, Scott Laughton will move to left wing on the top line alongside center Kevin Hayes and winger Travis Konecny.