Rookie McGinn back in Flyers lineup; Read likely out

Thursday, 02.21.2013 / 6:00 PM

By Adam Kimelman - NHL.com Deputy Managing Editor / 2012-2013 At the Rink blog

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PHILADELPHIA -- Rookie forward Tye McGinn, a healthy scratch the past two games, will return to the lineup Thursday when the Philadelphia Flyers play the Florida Panthers.

McGinn's return makes it likely forward Matt Read will sit out Thursday. Read left Wednesday's game against the Pittsburgh Penguins with an upper-body injury after being hit by Chris Kunitz with 3:24 left in the first period.

The Flyers would not give further details on the injury, but CSNPhilly.com is reporting Read has a concussion.

"You never like to see an injury, that's unfortunate, but I've just got to go out and do my best, keep working hard, stay positive and take it one game at a time," McGinn said.

McGinn has three goals and two assists in 13 games since being called up from the American Hockey League on Jan. 21, and had been impressive in his ability to get in front of the opposing goalie and create traffic and chaos. But in looking for extra speed in the lineup in the previous two games, the Flyers inserted AHL call-up Harry Zolnierczyk, which pushed McGinn to the press box.

McGinn said he never got an explanation from coach Peter Laviolette why he was taken out of the lineup; instead, he looked at it as a positive, that rather than returning him to the AHL, the Flyers opted to keep him.

"Just to play and practice, stay up with the big club, you learn little things every day just being with the NHL guys," McGinn said. "It's a great opportunity, the way the team travels, the way the team practices -- it's all little things that I'm taking in every day. It's helping a lot."

With McGinn in and Read out, here is how the Flyers' lineup likely will look against the Panthers:

FLYERS

Tye McGinn - Claude Giroux - Jakub Voracek

Brayden Schenn - Danny Briere - Wayne Simmonds

Maxime Talbot - Sean Couturier - Mike Knuble

Zac Rinaldo - Harry Zolnierczyk - Ruslan Fedotenko

Kimmo Timonen - Luke Schenn

Braydon Coburn - Nicklas Grossmann

Bruno Gervais - Erik Gustafsson

Ilya Bryzgalov

Brian Boucher

Scratched: Tom Sestito, Kurtis Foster