Injury Notes: Foerster, Carlo, Nichushkin

The Philadelphia Flyers announced mid game that forward Tyson Foerster will not return after sustaining an upper-body injury. The winger unloaded on a one-timer and immediately went down in a non-contact play, appearing to favor his shoulder. Although Foerster was on injured reserve earlier this season, it was a lower-body injury with no apparent correlation. 

Foerster, 23, was a great find at 23rd overall by the Flyers in 2020. The 6’2” winger has scored nine goals in 20 games, on track to take another step forward after last year’s 25 goal, 18 assist campaign where he appeared in 81 games. Especially as Philadelphia has found their stride of late, firmly in the Wild Card mix as of today, the hope will be that the top line forward will not be out for long. 

Elsewhere across the league:

• Toronto Head Coach Craig Berube told David Alter of The Hockey News that defenseman Brandon Carlo had a setback in his recovery, and will return home to see a specialist. Placed on IR two weeks ago, the 29-year-old has been dealing with a lower-body injury. As he practiced in recent days, it appeared Carlo could be gearing up for a return tomorrow at Florida, before the setback. The towering blueliner’s struggles to acclimate to the Leafs have been well discussed, especially considering the steep package GM Brad Treliving gave up. Troy Stecher, claimed off waivers, has been a steady presence to alleviate pressure on Philippe Myers in Carlo’s absence, but if the Leafs are to turn their season around, Carlo must find his game when healthy.
  
• Avalanche Head Coach Jared Bednar told Meghan Angley of Guerilla Sports that forward Valeri Nichushkin is a “possibility” for tomorrow, as Colorado hosts Vancouver. The often injured 30-year-old went down with a lower-body ailment against the Ducks on November 12th and was listed as week-to-week. When ready, Nichushkin will likely jump right back into a top-six role where he had 12 points in 17 games before going down. In his absence, Ross Colton has filled in adequately and the team has not missed a beat, currently atop the league with just one regulation loss, a sign of their depth after a wildly successful roster shakeup.