Nick Piccone
According to Bill Meltzer, the Flyers have put Sean Couturier on injured reserve as he’s dealing with a lower-body injury that’s kept him out of action since January 19th. This isn’t a good sign for Couturier, but being able to backdate it from the 19th might help in the long run.
Couturier has quietly had a solid year so far for the Flyers, and his absence has been felt as they went on a three-game skid before miraculously winning in Washington before the All-Star break.
Meltzer wrote on HockeyBuzz.com that Couturier landing on IR isn’t particularly encouraging. Even being able to backdate it doesn’t necessarily help at this point in time. Here’s what Meltzer wrote:
The Flyers have removed the day-to-day description of Sean Couturier’s lower-body injury and have placed him on the injured reserve list. While they can back-date it to the time of the injury (he last played on Jan. 19), the fact that he was put on IR over the All-Star break is not an encouraging sign for his readiness to return to practice — let alone play — when the team returns to prepare for Tuesday’s game against the Montreal Canadiens.
Although the Flyers earned an overtime win against the NHL-leading Washington Capitals this past Wednesday, it has been obvious during Couturier’s absence how much the team misses him when he is not in the lineup. The team has had a hard time stopping the bleeding when other teams start to generate momentum and the Flyers desperately need a stabilizing shift or two restore order. The second periods of the Pittsburgh and Washington games (although the latter ended well for the Flyers) and the first period of last week’s game against Boston were scenarios where Couturier’s presence could have at least helped the Flyers gain their equilibrium sooner.
Couturier alone isn’t the difference between winning and losing, but his presence at least keeps the team out of some mismatches when the top line isn’t on the ice. It is not entirely coincidental that the team is 2-5-2 in the nine games he’s missed to date and 19-11-4 when he’s been available.
The good part of the IR list in the NHL is that it’s not season-ending like it usually is in the NFL. Couturier could even be back next week. But, like Meltzer stated, if that was the case, he likely wouldn’t have been put on IR at this point.
Hopefully Couturier is back sooner than later so the Flyers can put together a run to get into playoff positioning. Without him, they might be struggling to just stay at .500.