Almost back at full strength, Flyers start 5-game road trip in Buffalo with high hopes

For the first time in more than two weeks, the Flyers are almost back at full strength.

Three players who had been on the COVID-19 protocol list — Jake Voracek, Scott Laughton, and Oskar Lindblom — returned to practice Friday and are expected to be in the lineup Saturday afternoon in Buffalo.

In fact, the three will be on the same line, based on Friday’s practice in Voorhees.

“It’s called my COVID line,” coach Alain Vigneault joked after practice, adding that all three players “felt surprisingly good.”

With six games over nine days, “those guys are going to get themselves back into game shape and timing by playing right now,” Vigneault said.

The Flyers (9-4-3) have a five-game road trip that includes back-to-back afternoon games in Buffalo (6-8-3) and three contests in Pittsburgh (10-7-1).

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Voracek skated Thursday — an off day for most players — and was reunited with his teammates Friday.

“It feels good to be back with the boys, obviously,” said Voracek, who tested positive for the coronavirus but was asymptomatic. ”Being locked in a room or your apartment for 14 days is no fun.”

Vigneault said he liked the way his other three lines played in five-on-five situations in Wednesday’s 4-2 win over the Rangers. That’s why he decided to put Lindblom, Laughton, and Voracek together.

“We’re excited to have those guys back,” winger Joel Farabee said. “I thought all those guys looked really good in practice; their legs were moving, and we should be ready for this road trip.”

Farabee said it doesn’t matter how Vigneault assembles his lines because most of the players can play on any unit. He said the newly formed Laughton-Lindblom-Voracek line should fit well because “they’re really good players and have great track records.”

Added Farabee: “AV put a really good system in and it really doesn’t matter who you’re playing with, and on any given night, chemistry is probably going to be there. Guys know where to be, and in our second year with AV, I think we’re really starting to click on the systems.”

Vigneault said “everybody reacts differently” when they get back from a long quarantine, and that Claude Giroux “set the tone” when he returned and had three assists to engineer Wednesday’s win over the Rangers. He said he was hoping the three returning forwards “are like G. Full of energy and execution, and the timing and execution will be there. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.”

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With Laughton returning and playing center, that means Nolan Patrick will remain at right wing for at least another game or two.

Patrick could go back to center when right winger Travis Konecny returns. Konecny is the only Flyer remaining on the COVID-19 list, and he might be able to play Tuesday in Pittsburgh.

Besides Lindblom, Laughton and Voracek, defenseman Justin Braun is expected to return to the lineup Saturday after being on the COVID-19 list. Braun was paired with Travis Sanheim in practice. Phil Myers, who is usually Sanheim’s partner, was with Nate Prosser in what appeared to be the “extra” pairing.

Vigneault wouldn’t confirm whether Myers, who struggled in Wednesday’s win, would be a healthy scratch Saturday. He did say that, with the busy upcoming schedule, he would try to rotate players and give some a rest.

“I wanted to see Brauner with Travis,” Vigneault said. “We’re playing six games in nine nights, and I have a feeling that if I can, I will be using more personnel. I don’t recall any time in my coaching career [playing] six games in nine nights. We’re not the only team; a lot of teams are doing that. So if I have the possibility to rotate forwards and D, it might [happen]. We’ll figure it out game by game.”