Travis Konecny ruled out for Flyers vs. Rangers with upper-body injury
The Flyers' leading scorer is out day-to-day after leaving practice early on Friday.
On the same day the Flyers announced the return of Tyson Foerster from a lower-body injury, the team announced Travis Konecny is out day to day with a upper-body injury. The forward left practice early in discomfort on Friday.
Konecny is the Flyers’ top scorer, with 54 points (27 goals, 27 assists) in 57 games. Recently named an alternate captain, the forward would have entered Saturday’s game against the New York Rangers on a heater with 12 points (five goals, seven assists) during a seven-game point streak. The loss of the Flyers’ All-Star leaves a hole in the top-six, power play, and penalty kill; Konecny is the NHL’s co-leader with the Islanders’ Simon Holmstrom with five shorthanded goals.
» READ MORE: Rookie Tyson Foerster will be ‘a big part’ of the Flyers’ stretch run
”He’s got an engine on him that doesn’t stop and has made big plays at key times, does everything for us,” coach John Tortorella said recently. “I’d hate to think where we would be if we didn’t have his energy in our lineup. So not so much him talking, just what he is as a pro.”
Now the Flyers will have to think about it. The return of Foerster definitely helps ease some of the pain. The versatile forward who has a strong defensive game while being able to fire off a wicked shot has missed four games after sustaining an injury to his right foot.
”It’s obviously tough to miss [time]. Like, those are big games for me. Toronto and the outdoor game are pretty cool, but hopefully, there’s a lot more,” said Foerster, who grew up about two hours north of the Maple Leafs’ arena. “I just tried to rehab my foot and get back here as soon as possible, and that’s what I did.”