The Flyers could look a little different in their rematch with the Rangers.
After beating New York, 5-2, Friday, the Flyers (37-20-7) visit the Rangers (35-25-4) Sunday.
Let's get into the essentials:
• When: 12 p.m. ET
• Where: Madison Square Garden
• Broadcast: NBC
• Live stream: NBCSportsPhiladelphia.com and the NBC Sports MyTeams app
• Joel Farabee wasn't gone for long.
The Flyers recalled the rookie winger Saturday night. Farabee, who turned 20 years old Tuesday, was sent to AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley on Monday after the Flyers acquired forwards Derek Grant and Nate Thompson at the trade deadline.
General manager Chuck Fletcher and head coach Alain Vigneault wanted Farabee to play a major role with the Phantoms and be ready to rejoin the big club's stretch run when needed.
NHL
"There’s no doubt that at some point, Joel is going to be back," Vigneault said Tuesday. "I didn’t want a 19-year-old young man just sitting and waiting. We’ve got our farm team right there, he can go down there, practice, get some games in.
"Joel’s the type of guy that sort of played different roles throughout the year, so I do expect him back at some point, but I don’t expect him to be watching his [cellphone] right now to figure out, ‘Am I coming back today?’ I expect him to go down there, right attitude, right work ethic, figure it out, become the best player that he can be and there’s no doubt at some point he’s going to be back here helping us out.”
He's already back, but for how long and in what role is uncertain. It's possible the Flyers wanted an extra forward in case a banged-up player is unable to go for the noon puck drop.
Updated: Sunday, 10:15 a.m. — Sean Couturier has the flu and is a game-time decision.
Grant did not practice Saturday but Vigneault called it a maintenance day and said he expected the third-line center to play Sunday.
Perhaps Grant's status is up in the air. Maybe the veteran Thompson will be a healthy scratch. If one of the two comes out, the Flyers could move Scott Laughton or Michael Raffl down the middle, which would open a spot for Farabee along the wing.
We'll have to wait and see how the Flyers look Sunday morning.
The Flyers, who were carrying only 12 forwards, had roster and cap space for Farabee's recall.
• Thanks to a 15-5-1 run since Jan. 8, the Flyers entered Saturday holding second place in the Metropolitan Division and a 93.2 percent chance to make the playoffs, according to Hockey-Reference.com.
The Penguins, who are one point behind the Flyers, play the Sharks Saturday at 10:30 p.m. ET.
The Rangers are two points out of an Eastern Conference wild-card spot and seven back of the Flyers.
• Carter Hart is 6-1-0 with a 2.02 goals-against average and .929 save percentage since returning from a right lower abdominal strain.
Projected lineup
Forwards
Claude Giroux-Sean Couturier-Jakub Voracek
Scott Laughton-Kevin Hayes-Travis Konecny
James van Riemsdyk-Derek Grant-Tyler Pitlick
Michael Raffl-Nate Thompson-Nicolas Aube-Kubel
Defensemen
Ivan Provorov-Matt Niskanen
Travis Sanheim-Philippe Myers
Robert Hagg-Justin Braun
Goalies
Carter Hart
Brian Elliott
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