The hits just keep on coming. The Philadelphia Flyers announced on Wednesday evening that forward Travis Konecny and defenseman Travis Sanheim have both been placed in COVID-19 protocols.
Their placements come less than 24 hours after the Flyers took on the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center last night, where the Ducks defeated Philadelphia 4-1. Both players appeared in the game for a Flyers team that has already been depleted by COVID so far. Claude Giroux and Ivan Provorov were placed in protocols last evening, and Nick Seeler and Jackson Cates were placed in protocols on Monday.
Konecny currently has 5 goals and 14 assists for 19 points in 33 games this season. He hasn’t scored since November 18th but he had racked up 9 assists in his last 11 games before the news today.
Sanheim has arguably been Philadelphia’s best defenseman this season and has two goals and eights assists for 10 points in 33 games on the Flyers blueline. He is third in team defensive scoring behind Provorov and Keith Yandle, and he has logged 22:31 of ice time per game, good for second among qualified defensemen on the team behind Provorov.
The Flyers are scheduled to host the Pittsburgh Penguins tomorrow night at Wells Fargo Center to begin a three-game homestand, but we’ll see if that holds up if anymore players end up in protocols before puck drop.
With Sanheim out of the lineup, either Egor Zamula or Adam Clendening could get the recall from AHL Lehigh Valley to suit up on defense, as the Flyers currently only have Justin Braun, Rasmus Ristolainen, Cam York, Keith Yandle, and Kevin Connauton healthy and ready to play.
As far as Konecny’s absence is concerned, Derick Brassard may end up having to play tomorrow to give the Flyers a 12th forward in the lineup. Interim coach Mike Yeo stated earlier in the week that they didn’t fly Brassard out to Anaheim so they could let him skate back home and they wanted him to practice before he got in any game action, but tomorrow they might not have a choice. In the event Brassard isn’t ready to go, the Flyers could call up someone such as Connor Bunnaman to fill the void for the game.
