Sean Couturier’s nightmare second half took another unfortunate turn when the Philadelphia Flyers’ captain left Monday night’s tilt against the New York Islanders with what appeared to be an upper-body injury.
Islanders’ defenseman Ryan Pulock rode ‘Coots’ into the boards 12 minutes into the contest before New York took the lead on a Bo Horvat wrister just 18 seconds after tying the game via a tipped shot by Matt Martin.
The first-year captain fell face first into the wall and left the ice in visible discomfort as the Isles jumped in front.
Couturier’s triumphant turn from nearly two years of surgery-related absences has taken a turn from the worse since he became the 20th captain in team history; the 31-year-old had 11 goals and 33 assists in 50 games before he took the ‘C,’ but has just 3 assists and an ugly -16 rating in the 19 games since.
Monday’s game was to be Couturier’s return to the top line and power play after coach John Tortorella scratched him twice in March, but that plan, like so many of the Flyers’ in recent months, went awry.
Goaltender Sam Ersson also left the game, but by his coach’s choice rather than an injury; replacement Ivan Fedotov, who finally arrived in America last weekend after his 2022 military detainment and subsequent return to the KHL, became the joint-tallest goalie in NHL history on his second period debut.
Fedotov and the Flyers trail 3-2 after two frames though the Russian played well during the second, stopping 15 of 16 shots. If Philadelphia cannot come back to defeat the Islanders, the latter will re-enter a crowded race for the Eastern Conference eighth seed.
More must-reads: