Ahead of the Flyers home match-up versus the Hurricanes on Thursday night, the team officially activated veteran Goaltender Brian Elliott, making him available for the final games of the regular season as the Flyers look to clinch a spot in the postseason.  The 32 year old Elliott has been the most consistent Goaltender for the Flyers this season posting a .908 Save Percentage with a 2.72 Goals Against Average and team high 19 Quality Starts this season.  With Petr Mrazek's inconsistent play combined with Michal Neuvirth's frequent injuries makes the return of Elliott very important for the Flyers if they hope to make a run in the Eastern Conference Playoffs.

Flyers Radio Analyst Steve Coates joined The Sports Bash on Thursday with his perspective on the value of Brian Elliott returning from injury for the Flyers:

“(Elliott is) a big part of the veteran leadership on this team – The one thing that I always look for in a Goaltender is the Goaltender to come up with a save at a time of the game where it’s crucial to keep your team competitive….When (Petr) Mrazek’s on, he’s on but he has no in-between and so when you take a look at his Save Percentage (.891), not very good – Now he’s won us some games but he’s lost us some games, so in saying that, Elliott when you look back at his year outside of the first couple of games I thought he was probably one of (the Flyers) most valuable players.  So having him in is more crucial as a veteran and as a leader than his actual play as a Goaltender….He’s going to make the saves, there’s no two ways about it, but his leadership is going to be huge.”

Hear what Coates had to say about Head Coach Dave Hakstol making line changes, expectations for the team as they play out the regular season, and more

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