Flyers activate Jamie Drysdale off injured reserve

An important piece is set to return to the lineup.

On Wednesday, the Philadelphia Flyers activated defenseman Jamie Drysdale off injured reserve, and he is expected to play in that night’s game against the Buffalo Sabres.

Drysdale has been out of action for the past nine days after suffering an injury against the Anaheim Ducks on Jan. 5. He was hurt early in the second period. With the puck in the Ducks’ zone, Drysdale was skating back toward the blue line, where he was caught with a blindside hit from Ducks forward Ross Johnston, who was coming across the ice. The hit happened with the puck nowhere in sight.

Philadelphia ended up winning the game 5-2.

Drysdale’s absence certainly hindered the Flyers. In the three games the 23-year-old has missed, the Flyers lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs and both games against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Drysdale brings a youthful jump to the lineup that the team needs to get back into the win column when he’s healthy. The Toronto native missed 12 games last season with an upper-body injury, with a shoulder injury holding him out of 16 games during the 2023-24 campaign.

In the 41 games he’s played so far this year, Drysdale has scored three goals and 15 assists for 18 points. He has a plus/minus of +1 while averaging 21:12 of ice time. He was seemingly on a path to best his career-best season, offensively, which he set back in 2021-22 with Anaheim. That year, he posted four goals and 28 assists for 32 points.

The Flyers (22-12-8) sit tied for fourth in the Metropolitan Division, one point out of a Wild Card spot and eight points back of the Carolina Hurricanes for first place.