The Philadelphia Flyers announced Saturday that captain Sean Couturier is returning to the lineup for their matinee matchup against the Boston Bruins.
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Couturier, who was named team captain on Feb. 14, has sat out the last two games after head coach John Tortorella decided to make the 31-year-old watch the action from the press box.
The Flyers won their first game without him last Tuesday with a 4-3 decision over the Toronto Maple Leafs, then followed it with a gutsy effort in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday.
Couturier, the No. 8 overall pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft has the highest cap hit on the Flyers with $7.75 million. He is in the second year of an eight-year deal extension, which lasts until the end of the 2029-30 campaign.
He started the season strong, scoring nine goals and 14 assists for 23 points in 31 games, solid production for someone who missed the entire 2022-23 season with injuries and only played 29 games in 2021-22.
But in his last 27 games, Couturier only has one goal, combined with eight assists for nine points. In his last nine games, Couturier has only recorded one assist and is averaging 14:04 of ice time, well below his season average of 18:36.
Ahead of their game against the Bruins, the Flyers are 35-26-9 with 79 points, third in the Metropolitan Division and two points ahead of the Washington Capitals, who are fighting to either seal the No. 3 spot in the division or one of the two Wild Card spots in the Eastern Conference. Those two spots are currently held by the Tampa Bay Lightning (82 points) and Detroit Red Wings (78 points).
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