The Flyers have a problem on defense.
You could figure that out, given they have surrendered 28 goals, the second-most in the NHL behind the Oilers. The silver lining was that Braydon Coburn had been out with a lower body injury since opening night. Since Coburn is one of the Flyers’ better defensemen (that in itself is a bit problem, given Coburn's less-than stellar numbers), that could account for some of the problems.
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The hope had been Coburn would return soon. Now, he’s out at least four weeks so the plans to fix the issues on the blue line have to begin elsewhere. Since the Flyers were already short Kimmo Timonen (blood clots), you can presume those plans probably involve a good deal of scrambling.
The Flyers also announced fellow defenseman Andrew MacDonald is out a month as well. MacDonald has been substantially less valuable than Coburn, and rates as one of the worst Flyers when it comes to shots attempted/allowed this season. This isn’t a new thing — MacDonald’s never had good Corsi or Fenwick numbers.
That means Flyers fans can look at this injury as one of two things. The first is that the Flyers, much like their Metro division rivals, handed out a contract that was a mistake and now, forced to play someone else, may actually get better production from the spot. Or, as bad as the numbers suggest he was, MacDonald remains one Philadelphia’s better options.
There's reason to think it might be the former rather than the latter though — the first man up is 21-year-old rookie Shayne Gostisbehere.
BREAKING: The #Flyers have recalled D Shayne Gostisbehere from the @LVPhantoms. Details → http://t.co/oKU6ET4leR
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) October 24, 2014
Teams are often reluctant to go with rookies, especially when veterans on multi-year deals sit on the depth chart ahead of them, so it's certainly possible Gostisbehere lives up to his last name (kidding, it's actually pronounced GOSS-tiss-bare). Of course, there's also a reason teams can be reluctant to toss rookies into the fire, even if their long-term upside is higher than the boring old vet.
But with the team leaking goals as is, this is probably the time to try something new and hope for the best. While it certainly may not improve much, there is at least the possibility Gostisbehere gives some lift to the struggling blue line.
The other option: Signing a free agent. ESPN's John Buccigross says the team is in discussions with a veteran, and that it could happen by the weekend. Hal Gill's name will pop up, but he barely played for the Flyers last season. Mike Komisarek, meanwhile, spent camp with the Devils.