PHILADELPHIA -- With five regular defensemen out of the lineup with injuries, Luke Schenn has turned into a workhorse for the Philadelphia Flyers.

He played nearly 33 minutes in the team's win Monday at the Montreal Canadiens, and one night later, against the New York Rangers, he skated 24:39. He was solid, going a plus-1 and taking one penalty. He also helped rookie defense partner Oliver Lauridsen continue to adjust to the game at the NHL level.

Schenn averaged 16:02 per game last season for the Toronto Maple Leafs, seventh among that team's blueliners. This season, he's now up to 21:40 per game, and that number likely will continue to grow through the Flyers' final five regular-season games.

"I think his year has been a strong year for us," Flyers coach Peter Laviolette said. "He's taking on more minutes, I think by necessity based on certain situations and line matchups that have to happen for us. But I think he's had a strong year. The minutes have gone up recently because of the injuries on the back end. You see him pushing almost 60 minutes combined the last two games. That's an opportunity for him. He's had it all year and he's played well."

With the Memorial Cup starting one month from Wednesday, the three leagues that make up the Canadian Hockey League -- the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, the Ontario Hockey League and Western Hockey League -- have all reached their conference finals. And a number of 2013 NHL Draft prospects have helped their respective teams get to this point.

The conference finals in the WHL start first, with a junior-hockey version of the Battle of Alberta when the Eastern Conference Finals open April 18 with top-seeded Edmonton Oil Kings facing the Calgary Hitmen.

Aiding in Edmonton's effort to this point has been forward Curtis Lazar, No. 26 on NHL Central Scouting's midterm ranking of North American skaters eligible for the 2013 draft. A 5-foot-11.75, 193-pound center/right wing is fifth on the team with four goals in nine games. Lazar already has proven himself as a quality postseason player -- Lazar led all first-year WHL players with eight goals and 19 points in 20 playoff games last season to help Edmonton reach the Memorial Cup.

Helping Calgary's case has been forward Gregory Chase, No. 94 on Central Scouting's list. The 6-foot, 195-pound right wing/center is fourth on the Hitmen with seven points in 10 games.

PHILADELPHIA -- One of the two defenseman the Philadelphia Flyers recalled for their game Tuesday against the New York Rangers (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN) will get into the lineup, with Brandon Manning expected to make his season debut.

Manning, who was a plus-1 with six shots on goal in four games with the Flyers last season, likely will be paired with Kurtis Foster. Matthew Konan, also recalled, will be a scratch.

Manning will be the 12th different defenseman to see action for the Flyers this season, tying the Carolina Hurricanes and Montreal Canadiens for the most in the League.

An injury-depleted blue line saw two more players join the injury list -- Kent Huskins, who sustained a concussion during the game Monday against the Canadiens, and Bruno Gervais, who team announced Tuesday needs surgery to repair a torn stomach muscle. They join Braydon Coburn and Andrej Meszaros, who are out with shoulder injuries, and Nicklas Grossmann, who has a concussion.

Here is what the Flyers' lineup likely will look like when the puck drops:

Simon Gagne - Claude Giroux - Jakub Voracek

Matt Read - Sean Couturier - Wayne Simmonds

Danny Briere - Brayden Schenn - Scott Hartnell

Jay Rosehill - Ruslan Fedotenko - Adam Hall

Oliver Lauridsen - Luke Schenn

Kimmo Timonen - Erik Gustafsson

Kurtis Foster - Brandon Manning

Steve Mason

Ilya Bryzgalov

Injured: Bruno Gervais (torn stomach muscle), Nicklas Grossmann (concussion), Braydon Coburn (shoulder), Andrej Meszaros (shoulder), Maxime Talbot (leg), Zac Rinaldo (ankle), Jody Shelley (hip)

Scratched: Matthew Konan, Mike Knuble

Contact Adam Kimelman at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @NHLAdamK

PHILADELPHIA -- When Brandon Manning and Matthew Konan arrived in the Philadelphia Flyers' locker room for their game Tuesday against the New York Rangers, they could be forgiven for making sure they weren't still in the American Hockey League.

The rookie defensemen, both recalled from the Flyers' AHL team Tuesday, saw four teammates from earlier this season dressing in same room.

On a defense depleted by injuries -- the latest are a concussion sustained by Kent Huskins during the game Monday against the Montreal Canadiens and the torn stomach muscle that will sideline Bruno Gervais indefinitely -- the arrival of Manning and Konan mean four of the Flyers' seven healthy defensemen started the season in the minor leagues.

Manning has four games of NHL experience from last season, but if Konan gets in, it will be the first game for the undrafted native of Orange, Calif.

"It does [help with the nerves], seeing Olie [Oliver Lauridsen], Gussy [Erik Gustafsson], Mand-dog [Manning]," Konan said. "It does help seeing those guys. I'm excited to be here. I'm thankful and I'm going to do whatever I can to be ready. If they need me I'll be ready to go."

Konan had offseason surgery to repair a pair of sports hernias and started the season in the ECHL. He also missed time this season with a concussion, but in 42 AHL games he has two goals and four assists.

"Konan was a guy that he keeps getting talked about that he's playing well down there," Flyers coach Peter Laviolette said. "A tall kid; a good, steady two-way defenseman."

Manning was plus-1 with six shots on goal in four NHL games last season. He admitted to struggling at times this season, and in 65 AHL games he has 21 points, 135 penalty minutes and a minus-28 rating that ranked as the second-worst in the league. However, he did play in the AHL All-Star Game.

"My game hasn't been where I want it to be," Manning said.

Laviolette said he's looking forward to having another look at Manning in the NHL, based on his "familiarity with [him] from having him up here. You know what he brings."

Laviolette said he won't change much of the game plan, but did say there have been "tweaks."

"We've tried to just play a more dependable game defensively," Laviolette said, "and in certain situations where maybe we'd be a little more aggressive we've tried to back off the numbers a little bit if the circumstances aren't allowing us to be aggressive."

One of Manning or Konan has to play for the Flyers to have six defensemen, but Laviolette would not say which one or both would play.

"I think defense is a tough, tough position for young players," Laviolette said. "Forwards you get a little bit of latitude if there's a mistake in the offensive zone or the neutral zone. Your defense is your last line of something in front of your goaltender. When there's a breakdown it's a little more obvious. So it's a little more difficult for young defensemen."

Contact Adam Kimelman at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @NHLAdamK

PHILADELPHIA -- Derek Dorsett and Marc Staal were on the ice for the New York Rangers during the team's optional morning skate Tuesday, but neither is close to returning to the lineup.

It was the first time Staal has taken the ice with teammates during the pregame skate, but coach John Tortorella said there was nothing new to report in regard to Staal's condition. The defenseman hasn't played since being hit near the right eye by a deflected puck during a game against the Philadelphia Flyers on March 5.

PHILADELPHIA -- Coming off one of the New York Rangers' better efforts of the season in their previous game, coach John Tortorella said he will stick with the same lineup he used Saturday when his team faces the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN).

That means Henrik Lundqvist will be back in goal. In seven games since the calendar flipped to April, Lundqvist is 5-1-1 with a 1.53 goals-against average and .948 save percentage. In the Rangers' 1-0 overtime win against the New York Islanders, Lundqvist stopped all 29 shots he faced for his first shutout of the season.

"If he wasn't standing on his head that game we would not have won that one," defenseman Anton Stralman told NHL.com. "He saved us two points right there."

PHILADELPHIA -- Looking to snap a two-game losing streak, Philadelphia Flyers coach Peter Laviolette completely re-worked all four of his forward lines for the Flyers' game Thursday against the Ottawa Senators.

Most notable is the insertion of Simon Gagne as the left wing on the top line, alongside Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek. It's a line that appeared to spend the most time together at the Flyers' morning skate, but Laviolette had different trios making rushes in drills, which included injured center Danny Briere.

Gagne's move to the top line means Scott Hartnell shifts to left wing on a line with center Brayden Schenn and right wing Ruslan Fedotenko.

Here's how the Flyers, based on line rushes in pregame warmups, will look Thursday against the Senators:

Simon Gagne - Claude Giroux - Jakub Voracek

Scott Hartnell - Brayden Schenn - Ruslan Fedotenko

Matt Read - Sean Couturier -Wayne Simmonds

Jay Rosehill - Adam Hall - Mike Knuble

Bruno Gervais - Kimmo Timonen

Kent Huskins - Erik Gustafsson

Luke Schenn - Oliver Lauridsen

Ilya Bryzgalov

Steve Mason

Injured: Danny Briere (concussion), Maxime Talbot (leg), Jody Shelley (hip), Zac Rinaldo (ankle), Nicklas Grossmann (concussion), Braydon Coburn (shoulder), Andrej Meszaros (shoulder)

Scratched: Kurtis Foster

Contact Adam Kimelman at [email protected]. Follow himon Twitter: @NHLAdamK

PHILADELPHIA -- The last time the Ottawa Senators were in Philadelphia, on March 2, a rare thing happened -- Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson was assessed a major penalty and a game misconduct.

Alfredsson was angered over a hit by the Flyers' Zac Rinaldo on Ottawa defenseman Chris Phillips near the Ottawa bench in the third period, and cross-checked Rinaldo immediately after the hit on Phillips. Alfredsson was assessed a major for cross-checking and a game misconduct. It was the second time in Alfredsson's 17-season NHL career he had been called for a major penalty and game misconduct, with the other time coming April 9, 2002.

Of Alfredsson's 29 penalty minutes this season, 15 came on that one play.

Thursday marks the first time the teams have met since then, but it's doubtful we'll see the same level of physicality, but it has nothing to do with the fact that Rinaldo is out of the lineup with a sprained left ankle.

"It's an important game for both teams," Alfredsson said. "I don't expect anything special to happen unless one team gets up four or five goals."

Alfredsson said he does expect the Flyers to play their usual aggressive, attacking style, but hopes his team can use that play to its advantage.

"We know they're going to be aggressive, it's up to us to make that to our advantage and move the puck quick," he said. "If we can make them go out of their way to makechecks and we move the puck quick, we should create a lot of chances from that."

Contact Adam Kimelman at [email protected]. Follow himon Twitter: @NHLAdamK

PHILADELPHIA -- Ottawa Senators coach Paul MacLean said there are no messages being sent by center Jean-Gabriel Pageau being called up from Binghamton of the American Hockey League and inserted into the lineup for the game Thursday at the Philadelphia Flyers.

"We're trying to put the best team on the ice to give us a chance to win the game," MacLean, whose team has lost six straight, said after the team's morning skate here at Wells Fargo Center. "Right now we're not winning games, so we need to find a better group to do that with and that's what this is about."

VOORHEES, N.J. -- A year ago Thursday, the Philadelphia Flyers were in Pittsburgh, preparing for Game 1 of their first-round Stanley Cup Playoff series against the Penguins.

If they have any hope of getting back to the postseason this year, they'll need what Flyers forward Scott Hartnell called an "epic" final nine games of the regular season, starting with their game Thursday night against the Ottawa Senators.

The Flyers are 12th in the Eastern Conference, seven points out of a playoff spot.

"We need to have an epic ending to the season," Hartnell said after practice Thursday morning. "Basically we need to win them all to have a chance. We need to get back to our winning ways. Hopefully we can come out here hard, lay it all out on the ice."