Going End to End today are NBC Sports Philadelphia's John Boruk, Tom Dougherty and Jordan Hall.
The question: Who replaces the injured Michael Raffl in Flyers' lineup?
Boruk
If you inspect Raffl's game log over the first nine games of the season, he's been easily playing 13 minutes a night while also serving as a key contributor on the team's penalty kill. Raffl has been a key piece to that fourth line and is also known as a good puck possession player.
General manager Ron Hextall spoke Tuesday about how the team will go with what it has on the roster and right now the two scratches are Corban Knight, who saw just over seven minutes of action in his Flyers debut last Thursday in Columbus, and Mikhail Vorobyev, a healthy scratch the last three games. I like how the centers stack up right now with Sean Couturier, Nolan Patrick and Jordan Weal, so I'll pass on Vorobyev.
I give the edge to Knight since he has spent time alongside Scott Laughton on the team's penalty kill, and I'd like to see Dave Hakstol give him an opportunity, although I don't think there's anyone within the Flyers' system who can play 13 minutes on the team's fourth line. The only other viable option would be to recall Taylor Leier from Lehigh Valley.
Dougherty
This isn't rocket science. There's no need to get cute.
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With Raffl out, Vorobyev should see his way back into the Flyers' lineup, either as a winger or center. The coaching staff is in a tight situation with Vorobyev, but this is an opportunity to see if the rookie can hang with the Flyers.
Vorobyev won the third-line center spot with a ferocious training camp and preseason. He played extremely well in the first two games. But then hit a wall. He has since lost his spot as the third-line center and has fallen out of the lineup. He needs to be playing.
Hextall said last week that "Misha has to show us that he can do it." This is the Flyers' opportunity to give Vorobyev the chance again to show he can stick around.
If he gets in the lineup and doesn't take advantage of the opportunity, then sending him to Lehigh Valley is the best course of action. If he gets in and plays well, then we know he's an NHL player at this point in time. It does no one any good to keep him sitting.
Hall
How about a dark horse in Nicolas Aube-Kubel?
Will it happen? Unlikely, considering Hextall said the team would move forward with what's on the roster.
But Aube-Kubel played a smart game during the preseason, mixing speed and forechecking. And it's always great to see offensive potential on the fourth unit, which the 2014 second-round pick brings to the table, having scored 18 goals and 46 points last season at AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley. When players are skilled and can dictate possession, offense really is the best defense.
Aube-Kubel understands playing a bottom-line role. He's done it with the Phantoms. The 22-year-old can do a better job of staying out of the box, but he was a plus-24 last year in Lehigh Valley.
His dynamic would be an intriguing experiment early in the season, especially for a fourth line lacking quickness. Fresh blood might do a 4-5-0 team some good.
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