VOORHEES, N.J. — Garnet Hathaway, who has not played in March, took the ice for practice Friday as he recovers from an undisclosed injury.
He was wearing a non-contact jersey and his helmet had a tinted visor, which is sometimes used by players recovering from head injuries.
Hathaway last played Feb. 27, when he took a blindsided hit from Penguins winger Bokondji Imama. Hathaway was not near the puck, which resulted in Imama being whistled for interference.
There has been no timeline for Hathaway's return, but the 33-year-old winger's presence at practice was a good sign.
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The Flyers have gone 2-5-0 without Hathaway. He's a hard-nosed player who often flips momentum for the Flyers.
"We've missed him," John Tortorella said Friday. "Hath has been mostly a third-, fourth-line guy for us, but in some of the things that have gone on with the team, people being moved out of here, it puts even more of a little bit of a light there on how important he is to our team just in the grind of it. He has been such a good pro for some of the young guys to watch, just what he brings to our team."
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Prior to his injury, Hathaway had played in all 60 of the Flyers' games. He has eight goals, 10 assists and a plus-4 rating.
Tortorella's lineup has looked a lot different with Hathaway's absence and five players being traded in the span of five weeks before last Friday's deadline.
The Flyers were able to finally pick up a win on their season-long seven-game homestand when they edged the Lightning, 4-3, Thursday night in a shootout. They were 0-5-0 on this stretch at home before beating Tampa Bay. The Flyers wrap up the homestand Saturday as they host the Hurricanes (7 p.m. ET/NBCSP).
In other injury news, Rasmus Ristolainen missed practice Friday. The 30-year-old defenseman was unavailable Thursday night because of an upper-body injury. He has been considered day to day.
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