Phil Myers returns to Flyers’ lineup; penalty kill trying to make improvements

Alain Vigneault made a handful of lineup changes when the Flyers faced the visiting Capitals on Sunday night: Michael Raffl, Robert Hagg, and Nate Prosser were out, while Phil Myers, Connor Bunnaman, and Erik Gustafsson were in.

Myers, who missed Saturday’s 4-3 loss to Pittsburgh with an undisclosed injury, was the most significant addition.

Raffl has a “couple issues going on,” Vigneault said before Sunday’s 3-1 loss to the Capitals. Raffl was injured Saturday after taking a shot off his right hand. That put Bunnaman back in the lineup.

Vigneault said he likes the way Hagg has played, but with the Flyers playing their sixth game in nine days, he wanted to give him a rest. Hagg, who had eight hits in Saturday’s loss, figures to return to the lineup Tuesday against Buffalo.

Gustafsson was a healthy scratch for four games, and Vigneault said he wanted “some fresh legs” and put him back in the lineup. Vigneault said he opted for Prosser over Gustafsson Saturday because he “wanted someone who was more of a defender in their building” with the Penguins having the last line change.

“Tonight, we’re at home, and Gus with his puck-moving ability can help us out,” he said.

The Flyers entered the night ranked 28th out of 31 teams on the penalty kill; they were successful on just 71.8% of their kills.

Vigneault said the coaches have been watching video “and going through some principles with our group that we feel if we apply, our penalty-killing will be a lot better.”

The Flyers allowed two power-play goals in three chances in Saturday’s 4-3 loss in Pittsburgh.

» READ MORE: Flyers hope return of fans brings energy; Caps’ Tom Wilson will miss 3 games vs. Philly because of suspension

“Individual mistakes led to seams that were open,” Vigneault said, “and it ended up in the back of our net.”

Because of the crammed schedule, “there is no practice time and there are principles our players have been aware of since we’ve been here that you have to apply,” Vigneault said. “We need to do a better job of that. We’ve just been indecisive in a couple of moments on the ice that have led to seam plays and rebound opportunities, things we’ve been able to take away in the past.”

Fans are still not allowed to watch practices in Voorhees until further notice as the Flyers evaluate the situation, said a club source.

» READ MORE: Simple mistake costs Flyers in 4-3 loss to Penguins

Shayne Gostisbehere was back on the first defensive pairing, alongside Ivan Provorov. ... The Caps were missing antagonizing right winger Tom Wilson (seven goals, 17 points), serving the first game of his seven-game NHL suspension for boarding. He will miss two other games against the Flyers this week. ... The 6-foot-4, 220-pound Wilson had four points in Washington’s 7-4 loss to the Flyers last month. ... Washington’s Alex Ovechkin took a team-worst minus-10 rating into the game. ... The Flyers entered the night on a 5-0-1 run against the Caps over the last two seasons, including the round-robin tourney last year. ... Entering Sunday, Claude Giroux needed three power-play goals to pass Eric Lindros for eighth on the Flyers’ all-time list.