Tuesday night’s Flyers game was bound to be a memorable one, though not for the events on the ice. The Flyers were reeling from a three-game losing streak, including back-to-back defeats after learning their teammate Oskar Lindblom had been diagnosed with Ewing Sarcoma, a rare cancer of the bones and soft tissue surrounding them. Entering Tuesday’s morning skate, members of the team were purportedly a bit more somber than they had been a week ago, but then Lindblom appeared and gave his teammates a huge boost. He had one message. It’s the same message we’ve all heard countless times in every Philly stadium and arena. Lindblom, like Adrian in Rocky II, looked his teammates and delivered this message: Win.

Okay, it was a bit more than that. Per head coach Alain Vigneault:

And one of the things when he went through his teammates this morning, he said to everybody: “Got to win tonight guys, got to win tonight guys”.

Vigneault said of the game, “I knew it was going to be a hard game for us. It was going to be a hard game because we were coming back from the west coast there and a tough trip coming back and obviously seeing Oskar this morning was going to be emotional for the group. We’re all happy, it was probably a bigger relief for us to be able to see Oskar and talk to him and he had a great demeanor about him.”

In all honesty, the postgame locker room was far more upbeat than I would’ve predicted pregame. Again, it can’t be overstated just how important seeing their teammate was to the Flyers’ collective psyche. Captain Claude Giroux pointed out that it was truly the first time the guys had an opportunity to see Lindblom since the news came out:

Yeah, this morning, Oskar was around. Spent time with him. It was the first time we really spent time with him since we heard what was going on. His attitude is unbelievable. It was great to see him again with the guys. We wanted to get this win for him, and every win for the rest of the season will be for him.

While it’s certainly a great source of motivation for the team, winning without one of their breakout stars of the season. What’s more, the reality of the situation is sure to weigh on the team; they’re human after all.

“Well it’s not an easy thing to do obviously,” forward Jake Voracek said. “You know it’s in the back of our minds and it will be for a while. It’s an unfortunate situation but what can I say? He wants us to do good and we’re going to do good for him… it was great to see him in the morning. He is here now too so you know obviously it’s a touchy situation for him but he’s a strong guy. He’ll find a way to beat it.”

Sometimes the best answer is one of unbridled joy. In the case of 21-year-old Carter Hart, there was a fresh energy -a second wind if you will- when he talked about seeing Lindblom:

It was awesome to see Oskar this morning. We missed him on the road trip. It was good to see him and the positive attitude he had. It kind of uplifted our group. He is something to play for, someone to play for and we are alongside him in this fight and every step of the way.

Odds and Ends

Before the game, there were a ton of questions from fans asking what the team would do to honor Lindblom and what in the world they’d do with their “Fly or Die” marketing. We got those answers Tuesday.

Hockey Fights Cancer Sweaters

In what I believe should be an every game ritual, the Flyers wore their purple and black Hockey Fights Cancer sweaters in warmups:

In the meantime, the team confirmed that beginning with Thursday night’s game against Buffalo, they’ll be wearing #OskarStrong t-shirts under their sweaters. They’ll presumably be the same shirts that fans were able to purchase with funds going to cancer research:

Fundraising Initiatives for Ewing Sarcoma Research

If you’re heading down to Thursday night’s game, consider buying a 50/50 ticket. The Flyers’ half of the 50/50 raffle will be going to Ewing Sarcoma research:

Also, if you’re unable to make the game or buy a 50/50 ticket, you could also make a donation to the Sarcoma Foundation of America in Lindblom’s name.

“I Fight For Oskar” Signs

This was a really cool sight for anyone entering Wells Fargo Center on Tuesday night:

A Video Tribute

The only downside to the signs being place on every seat was that it made it abundantly clear just how many -or few- people were in attendance during the video tribute.

That’s not to take anything away from the video itself or the gesture to support the player, but given how sparse the crowd was just seven minutes into the game, I was of the opinion they should’ve shuffled the program a bit and pushed the tribute until later in the game. Either way, the video encapsulated what anyone who’s spent time around Oskar Lindblom has experienced: a smile that lights up a room and a positive demeanor that the world could use more of.

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