**Flyers Look to Group Effort to Fill Void Left by Injured Tyson Foerster**
*PHILADELPHIA* — No one player can replace a leading performer like Tyson Foerster, who is expected to be out for at least a couple of months due to an upper-body injury suffered in Monday night’s loss to Pittsburgh. With Foerster sidelined, the Flyers are counting on a collective effort from the team to pick up the slack on both offense and defense.
Rookie Nikita Grebenkin was slated to play on a line with Noah Cates and Bobby Brink as a fill-in for Foerster in Wednesday night’s game against Buffalo. The hope is that Grebenkin can elevate his game and make a meaningful contribution.
“What I want from him is just good decisions,” Flyers coach Rick Tocchet said after the morning skate at Xfinity Mobile Arena. “Sometimes when he gets the puck, he doesn’t move his feet. For him, I want him to play mind-free, but he’s got to skate and hold onto the puck.”
Grebenkin played in Russia last year, and the Flyers recognize there is a transition period as he adapts to the NHL style of play.
“It doesn’t happen overnight,” Tocchet explained. “In practice, there’s day-to-day progress that we see. The solution is to let him play and see if he makes mistakes — there’s a process to it. Do I feel like he’s ready? Yeah. It’s the way he practices and the way he takes in information.”
One area Tocchet emphasized that Grebenkin needs to improve on is handling two-on-one situations, especially during practice. The coach noted that sometimes Grebenkin tends to slow down when attempting to pass the puck.
“Against Pittsburgh, he had all day to go in and fire the puck, but he waited and tried to make a pass, and their guy picked it off,” Tocchet said. “Today, we talked about it during morning drills, and his two-on-ones were outstanding. Hopefully, he can apply that in a real game. To be an NHL player, you have to take that information.”
Noah Cates spoke highly of Grebenkin’s abilities. “A ton of skill,” Cates said. “He’s been working on his game and getting a lot of good looks. I know he’s excited to play. He brings that energy. We just have to work with him and build some chemistry. He can do a lot of good things out there; we just need to help him out.”
In addition to Grebenkin, Tocchet stressed that other players will have to step up during Foerster’s absence.
“I don’t think it’s just one guy,” Tocchet said. “I think everybody can give themselves five percent better. You add all those up, and it helps. We have a few guys who can play 5 to 10 percent better.”
Foerster’s injury means the Flyers will lose more than just a team-leading 10 goals; he is also a crucial part of both the power play and penalty kill units. Tocchet emphasized that this is a moment for team leadership to shine.
“It’s a dressing room thing,” Tocchet said. “‘Next man up.’ It’s not making excuses when the coaches leave the room. More like, ‘Hey, we got this.’ We really rely on a chunk of leaders to do the messaging — that we can still be a good hockey team. The ‘poor me’ mindset can’t linger in the room.”
As of Wednesday night, the Flyers held the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference standings and had games in hand on several teams.
**Injury Updates and Power Play Concerns**
Defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen is still recovering from offseason surgery on a torn triceps but has begun skating and could return in a few weeks if his rehab continues to progress well.
“We’re not quite there with the contact stuff,” Tocchet said. “I’m not sure when the contact stuff is coming, but it’s coming.” He added that Ristolainen’s return would likely be “less than a month.”
The Flyers’ power play, which started the season strong, has cooled off considerably. Going into the Buffalo game, the Flyers had converted on just three of their last 27 power-play opportunities, causing their NHL ranking to slip from 14th to 20th.
Losing Foerster won’t make things easier. Tocchet pointed out that the power play has been vulnerable to too many two-on-one situations when on the man advantage. While a player like Trevor Zegras is important on the first unit, he can also be a defensive liability.
“We have to get more shots from the middle,” Tocchet said. “We need to start hammering the puck and get more down-low plays. Hopefully Trevor and Mich (Matvei Michkov) can show some motion for us, handle the puck, and then start hammering shots from that side of the ice. We need more shots from prime areas.”
As the Flyers navigate these challenges, the emphasis remains on teamwork, leadership, and steady improvement to maintain their playoff position.
https://www.thetimes-tribune.com/2025/12/03/flyers-notebook-nikita-grebenkin-gets-first-chance-at-filling-tyson-foerster-void/