One day after playing noticeably bad in his first game with the Phantoms, defenseman Luca Sbisa recovered big time, by scoring his first professional goal and adding an assist in the Phantoms’ 3-2 loss to the Hershey Bears, Saturday.
The slap shot goal from the slot cut the Bears’ lead to 2-1 in second period. The Phantoms will take on Hershey in the first round of the post season.
Sbisa’s sluggish start back in Philadelphia could be due to fatigue. The Swiss blue liner arrived 20-pounds less than when he left the city midway through the NHL season. Sbisa was relied on heavily throughout the playoffs for the Hurricanes, at one time getting a gluttonous 41-minutes on ice time in game seven of the opening round against Saskatoon. That’s over two full periods.
The Flyers returned the rookie to Lethbridge of the WHL during the NHL season so they wouldn’t lose a year of his restricted free agent eligibility.
Sbisa will likely join the Flyers during the post seaso, as a seventh defender in case of emergencies. However, there is a possibility General Manager Paul Holmgren leaves him with the Phantoms for their playoff run.
Phila.Bright 