NEWARK, N.J. — Michael Raffl is out again.
After missing eight games from Oct. 20 to Nov. 2 because of an abdominal pull, Raffl will be sidelined again, this time one to two weeks with a lower-body injury suffered Thursday night against the Devils at the Prudential Center. Raffl has a knee sprain, a source tells CSNPhilly.com's Tim Panaccio.
It’s unclear how or when Raffl was hurt. The winger played just 4:25 in the Flyers' 4-0 loss (see Instant Replay). He nearly scored in the second period. The play was ruled no goal and then confirmed by official review (see highlights).
In his fourth year with the Flyers, the 28-year-old has been a productive complementary player, most recently playing on the team’s top line. Raffl has seven goals and two assists in 27 games, and entered Thursday’s action with a Flyers-best plus-4 rating.
Also, in games that Raffl has scored a goal, the Flyers are 5-0-2.
"He does every little thing right," Jakub Voracek said on Dec. 8. "He wins the battles. He wins so many puck battles in the corners and on the boards and gives me and [Claude Giroux] a lot of space to work with. He knows what to do to have success with us and he's been doing that."
In 2015-16, Raffl was the only Flyers player to play all 82 regular-season games.
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Center Boyd Gordon — the lone healthy-scratch forward — is likely to enter the lineup. Center Sean Couturier (knee) and winger Matt Read (oblique) are expected back after New Years and possibly before then.
Mason 'nicked up'
Steve Mason was relieved after the first period because he was “nicked up,” according to Flyers GM Ron Hextall. Mason was dealing with minor back issues, a source tells CSNPhilly.com's Tim Panaccio.
“He got nicked up in the first and that’s why he came out,” Hextall said (see story). “I don’t suspect any more will come of it.”
Mason said, “It was something bothering me but I’m not too concerned,” adding he took no contact.