Flyers get Scott Laughton back; Joel Farabee no longer at center (for now)

The Flyers (22-36-11) will see the return of an important player Tuesday when they host the Blue Jackets (32-32-6).

Let's get into the essentials for the game:

When: 7 p.m. ET with Flyers Pregame Live at 6:30 p.m. ET
Where: Wells Fargo Center
Broadcast: NBC Sports Philadelphia+
Live stream: NBCSportsPhiladelphia.com and the NBC Sports MyTeams app

• In his recovery from a concussion, Scott Laughton was cleared to play ahead of last weekend's back-to-back set. But with the Flyers not competing for the playoffs, they felt it would be prudent to give him a few more days instead of having return for two straight games.

The Flyers lost at home Saturday to the Maple Leafs, 6-3, and beat the Rangers, 4-3, in a shootout Sunday at Madison Square Garden.

How much lobbying did Laughton do to play last weekend?

"I was telling them I was ready. I packed a bag for New York just in case," he said with a laugh Tuesday. "But, no, you never want to be out and watch guys. But I thought guys did a good job last game and I'll try to come in and help them out tonight."

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The 27-year-old center has been one of the Flyers' best and most competitive players this season. He has also grown into one of the team's leaders, a guy who takes immense pride in being a Flyer through thick and thin.

Laughton was sidelined March 10 when he suffered the concussion against the Panthers.

"He was playing at a really, really high level when he left and we really missed him in our lineup in a number of areas," Flyers interim head coach Mike Yeo said Tuesday. "The departure of [Claude Giroux], we've talked a lot about leadership and guys stepping up. Laughts all year, for me, has been a guy who has really emerged as a leader for our group.

"One of our more vocal guys, obviously a real competitor the way he plays the game, a guy that drags people into the fight and plays the game the right way. His commitment to play the game hard at both ends of the ice, it's real good for especially our young guys coming in, for them to have the chance to see him play like that and to play with him."

• With the return of Laughton, the Flyers have some more flexibility at center.

The Flyers had been trying Joel Farabee down the middle. For now, he'll move back to the wing.

But having Farabee at center was not just a byproduct of injuries. The Flyers wanted to see Farabee at center for evaluation of the 22-year-old possibly playing there in the future.

Yeo said it was discussed between general manger Chuck Fletcher, senior advisor Dean Lombardi and the staff.

"You're looking for certain traits, certain qualities as far as who could fill that center-ice position, which is such an important position in the game today," Yeo said. "Hockey sense has got to be high on the list. Obviously you need a certain skill set, but hockey sense and Joel's hockey sense is very high. It shows that, despite being a young guy, we play him on every penalty kill, we play him against top lines.

"He's a guy that can move around the lineup and play with different players. I think that he did a really good job. He's not there tonight, but it doesn't mean that he won't be there going forward."

• Defenseman Nick Seeler, who suffered a lower-body injury last Saturday, could be done for the remainder of the season.

"I would say he's week to week, so there's a chance we might not see him again this year in the lineup," Yeo said. "But I don't have confirmation on that; just usually the way things go with that injury."

Zack MacEwen suffered a head injury from his third-period fight with Wayne Simmonds last Saturday.

There's no firm timeline for his return.

"We'll just take our time with him, make sure that he's in a good spot before he comes back," Yeo said.