VOORHEES, N.J. -- Had Wednesday’s game against the Boston Bruins been a playoff game, chances are Shayne Gostisbehere would have been playing.
The Flyers' rookie defenseman, who sat out the last two games with what is believed to be a groin pull, admitted he would have asked to play under those circumstances.
“I believe so. I think I could have played for sure,” he said. “You gotta be careful with injuries. You don’t want them to nag or hurt them again. You got to be smart about it.”
Gostisbehere was injured last week in Minnesota. He said he’s not feeling any residual effects from the injury.
“I feel good,” he said. “It was a nice, good push out there today with Lappy (assistant coach Ian Laperriere). I definitely feel good.”
Ghost was one of five skaters, plus goalie Michal Neuvirth, who took part in Thursday’s optional skate.
He plans to practice fully with the team Friday and expects to play in Saturday afternoon’s matinee against the Rangers at the Wells Fargo Center.
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“I certainly hope so,” he said. “This is a good part of the schedule. You never want to get hurt but it happened at the right time, [us] not having a game every day … our whole team [got] this rest in.”
General manager Ron Hextall also said he expects Ghost to play.
The Flyers' power play is sorely lacking without Gostisbehere, going 0 for 8 without him in the lineup.
“It doesn’t look like they are missing much,” Gostisbehere said. “Two wins is good for us. Four in a row. The power play is gonna come. Sometimes when it’s not coming, you gotta get it going a bit. But I think the team, it was a great character win last night … it was huge for our team.”
Some of the Flyers felt Ghost was a viable first-half MVP for the Flyers (see story). He has 16 points in 23 games. He leads all rookie defensemen with seven goals.
“For guys to even mention my name, it’s a good team effort,” he said. “One guy doesn’t change a team. We really turned things around here and the direction this team is going in.”