The Flyers continue to play musical chairs on the blue line but reinforcements could be on the way

Consistency is a word coach John Tortorella has uttered since training camp opened up in September.

The only problem is his defensive corps has been anything but.

Defenseman Nick Seeler was hurt to start the year with a leg injury. He returned after missing the first five games and a week later Cam York went on injured reserve with an upper-body injury.

The Flyers announced Wednesday that York is still considered day to day, as is his buddy Jamie Drysdale, who went on injured reserve Nov. 11 with an upper-body injury. Emil Andrae was recalled when York got injured and quickly established himself as a key cog on the blue line. Unfortunately, he too is now day to day with a mid-body injury.

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Andrae was on the ice for the team’s optional morning skate Wednesday in a regular jersey alongside York and Drysdale, the only skater in a noncontact jersey.

A banged-up group is why veteran Erik Johnson, who was expected to play sparingly as the team’s seventh defenseman, has suited up for 14 of the first 19 games — including his 1,000th NHL game on Saturday in Buffalo. The injuries also opened the door for Helge Grans, acquired in the three-team Ivan Provorov trade two summers ago, to make his NHL debut on Monday.

“It’s still we want to win every game but, in my mind, we have to find out about these other guys, and that’s where we’re at with the organization,” Tortorella said before Monday’s loss to the Colorado Avalanche. “I don’t look at it as a negative. You start winning some games, and you want to have your best lineup in there so you can keep it rolling, but this is all part of what we have to go through, and it gives us a look.”

Last season, the Flyers were criticized for the lack of call-ups, especially on defense, amid the team’s self-imposed rebuild. Andrae started with the team and was sent down after four games, staying with Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League for the remainder of the season. Guys like Victor Mete and Louis Belpedio were brought up early but were never expected to be part of the long-term plan and were quickly sent down. Young defensemen Adam Ginning and Ronnie Attard did get NHL time in March and April; Attard was recently traded to the Edmonton Oilers for 26-year-old defenseman Ben Gleason.

This season, the Flyers brass are finally dipping into the AHL well as Andrae — who thought he had more to show last season — got a chance to prove he belongs in the NHL. Meanwhile, Grans, who was selected 35th overall in 2020 by the Los Angeles Kings and debuted Monday, “Didn’t look out of place,” according to Tortorella. Grans, 22, was in the lineup again Wednesday when the Rod Brind’Amour-led Carolina Hurricanes (7:30 p.m., NBCSP, TNT, Max) visited the Wells Fargo Center.

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“Only thing we’ve talked about is just being ready,” Tortorella said when asked if he’s given Grans more game-play direction now compared to Monday when he let him be before his first NHL game. “The two teams he’s playing against are two of the fastest teams in the league. Tonight our challenge is, we’re playing against [a team] just as fast as Colorado, but they check, they press.”

Who Grans would be paired with against the Hurricanes wasn’t revealed by the bench boss. Grans started Monday’s game with Egor Zamula but the young Russian defenseman left in the third period with an injury; Tortorella said Wednesday is the same lineup so expect Zamula to play. Grans finished the game with top defenseman Travis Sanheim.

“Obviously it’s difficult when you’re banged up like we are, a lot of new faces and different partners and playing with different partners in games. I think we’ve done a pretty good job, honestly, with how banged up we are, with the guys stepping in,” said Sanheim, who joked Grans looked a lot more confident than he did in his first game.

“A lot of guys that have come up from the minors [have] played really well for us. It’s nice to see that we have the depth and the ability for guys to be able to step in and play right away and, hopefully, we can get some of these [other] guys back here in the near future.”

Despite the injuries and ever-changing pairings, the Flyers have seen improvement in goals allowed per game. Across the first nine games of the season, the Orange and Black allowed the most goals against in the NHL (4.44). Since then, they conceded the eighth fewest (2.60).

“We’ve definitely been better in our D zone,” Seeler said. “I think we’re spending a little bit too much time in our D zone. I think we need to get pucks out and you can tell in the third period last game, that when we were connected and getting out of our zone, it just led to offensive chances. And I think we just need to be aware of that and focus on that.”

Ivan Fedotov will start against the Hurricanes. ... Goalie Sam Ersson remains day to day with a lower-body injury. ... The NHL and NHL Players’ Association announced they will reveal the full rosters for February’s 4 Nations Face-Off on Dec. 4. Finland and Sweden will be announced on NHL Network and ESPN at 2 p.m. Sportsnet and TNT will reveal the USA and Canada rosters at 6:30 p.m. Ramus Ristolainen (Finland), Ersson (Sweden), Sanheim and Travis Konecny (Canada) are fighting to make their respective nations’ teams for the event. ... The Flyers announced a new partnership with Chevrolet on Wednesday and the players’ helmets will now sport the company’s logo.

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