For the second time in as many weeks, the Philadelphia Flyers are utilizing the injured reserve, as forward Tyson Foerster has been placed on IR due to a lower-body injury. In a corresponding move, they’ve recalled defenseman Emil Andrae from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
Ahead of their 2-1 loss to Calgary on Sunday, the Flyers ruled out Foerster with a lower-body injury that he sustained after blocking a shot in Saturday’s 5-2 loss to Toronto. He was in considerable pain after eating an Auston Matthews shot, but he still finished the game and even scored a goal in the third period.
Unfortunately, it worsened to the point where the Flyers have now placed him on IR retroactive to November 1st. He is set to miss 7 days minimum, which includes dates against the Montréal Canadiens on Tuesday, Nashville Predators on Thursday, and Ottawa Senators on Saturday.
After signing a 2-year contract during the summer, Foerster has enjoyed a very solid start to the 2025-26 season with 4 goals and 7 points in 11 games. He’s also held a +5 rating, tallied twice on the power play, and holds a 21.1 shooting percentage while averaging 18:18 TOI.
His play alongside Noah Cates and Bobby Brink has given Rick Tocchet and the rest of the coaching staff a reliable line to throw out in any situation, including as the second power play unit alongside Trevor Zegras and Cam York.
In his absence, the Flyers started the game with Owen Tippett taking Foerster’s spot at even-strength. Sean Couturier also made his return after missing Saturday’s game due to an upper-body injury, but that wasn’t enough to get past the Flames.
Tocchet put his lines in a blender in the third period after the Flyers were barely able to muster much of anything against the Flames, so it remains to be seen how the lineup will look ahead of tomorrow’s matchup against the Canadiens.
With Foerster down, the Flyers decided to recall Andrae, who was reassigned back to the minors last week when the club called up Jacob Gaucher after Couturier’s injury. At the time, Tocchet mentioned how he really liked Andrae’s play, which insinuated that his demotion was strictly due to his waiver exemption.
Now that he’s back with the big club, Andrae should find himself back in the lineup, but he will have to beat out Egor Zamula or Noah Juulsen for a spot. Adam Ginning has been a healthy scratch over the last few games.
The Flyers could surely use Andrae against the high-powered Canadiens, who enter Tuesday’s contest sporting a 9-3-0 record, while also scoring the 2nd-most goals in the league on average and own the 6th-best power play.
In two games with the big club, Andrae is without a point and has averaged 12:44 TOI. However, we know what he’s capable of doing when in the lineup, and his AHL numbers back that up. So far in the early going, he’s collected 5 points in 7 games to start the year, and that’s coming off a quick 16-point cameo in 25 games last year with the Phantoms.
In short, put him in the lineup.
