Lindblom returned ahead of schedule, uncertain for Flyers in Game 7

Oskar Lindblom might not play for the Philadelphia Flyers again this season, but the forward already made good on the deal he made with his coach.

"We'll see what happens in the next 24 hours," Flyers coach Alain Vigneault said Friday. "Hopefully he can continue to play and get his game to where it was before he couldn't play anymore and help our team win some more games."
The next chance to do that would be in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Second Round against the New York Islanders at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, TVAS), after Lindblom helped the Flyers extend their season with a 5-4 double-overtime win in Game 6 on Thursday.

That was Lindblom's first game since Dec. 7, the last one he played before he was diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma, a form of bone cancer. After months of chemotherapy, Lindblom completed his treatments July 2 and joined the Flyers in Toronto, the Eastern Conference hub city for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, on Aug. 7.
Vigneault told Lindblom that if the Flyers reached the Eastern Conference Final, he would play.
"Originally in the schedule Sept. 6 was the start of the conference final in Edmonton," Vigneault said. "We made a deal with him that we would get there and you get yourself ready to play in Edmonton."
But when forwards Sean Couturier and Joel Farabee were unable to play for the Flyers in Game 6, Lindblom fulfilled the deal a little early.
"After going through what he went through, he could have easily said with the situation and the way things are right now in the world and the COVID, I'm going to wait for next year, I'll get ready and I'll be 100 percent," Vigneault said. "No, he comes back, helps his teammates, gets himself ready to play."
Vigneault would not commit to Lindblom playing in Game 7. If Couturier is able to play, Lindblom may be out.
The 24-year-old played 17:30 in Game 6, with three shot attempts, two hits and one blocked shot.
"It's hard to step into a playoff game, especially one of these when you have to win," Lindblom said Thursday. "Tried to grind it out and luckily we came out with a win here."

Vigneault said he talked to Lindblom before the game about keeping his shifts short, and the coach said he'd check in with him before each shift to gauge his energy and stamina.
"His first shift he got caught out there because they had possession of the puck for a minute and something (1:39)," Vigneault said. "Not exactly the way I had planned it out, but things happen. After talking to him he was fine."
His teammates were impressed. Forward Jakub Voracek said that if it wasn't for Lindblom losing his hair from the chemotherapy treatments, you wouldn't have known he had been sick.
"I know he's been pushing hard the last two months here to get himself in shape and be able to play," defenseman Robert Hagg, Lindblom's closest friend on the Flyers, said Friday. "To see him out there on the ice was emotional, for sure."
And if Lindblom doesn't play in Game 7, he'll continue to inspire his teammates.
"He's a true warrior," Flyers forward Kevin Hayes said. "I know our team supported him every step along the way. To see him in the locker room before we went on the ice was special. We couldn't be happier for him."