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Nick Cousins enjoying the ride, however long it lasts

Dave Isaac
@davegisaac
Nick Cousins, center, has filled in well at center when the Flyers have needed him.

PHILADELPHIA - Nick Cousins woke up from his pre-game nap last Monday, the day of the NHL trade deadline, and turned his phone back on when the messages started pouring in.

“I thought I got traded,” Cousins said. “They’re all like, ‘Did you get sent down?’ I’m like ‘Not that I know of.’”

The Flyers didn’t tell Cousins, but technically they had sent him down to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the American Hockey League.

Sort of.

They recalled him a couple hours later.

The paper transaction was made so that Cousins could be on the Phantoms’ roster at 3 p.m., making him eligible in the event that the Phantoms make the playoffs. He was still able to play against the Calgary Flames that night and is still on the NHL roster to date.

“I’m just trying to take it game by game,” the 22-year-old center said. “I’m trying to go out there and play my best every night and make it difficult for them to send me back. That’s what I’m doing, just trying to play my best every night and see what happens. That’s all you can ask for. I think I’ve done a pretty good job so far.”

He has four goals and seven points in his last 16 games, since he was recalled to replace Sean Couturier in early February. For a while, he had a top-six role and made the most of his minutes. Now that Couturier is back Cousins is getting fewer minutes, but still being productive.

He’s in the lineup at least in part because Jake Voracek is out with a left foot injury. The star winger is set to return next week and it appears as though Cousins has done well in making it a difficult decision for Flyers brass to send him back down. He has played very well with Scott Laughton and Matt Read as his wingers.

“Those are two fun players to play with,” Cousins said the other day. “I think when we are getting in on the forecheck and making plays when they are meant to be made is when we are at our best. So I think we have a little bit chemistry so far from the games we played with and what not. Got to give credit to them for our success. They are doing a good job for me in the middle and that makes it easy for me to play.”

So far in his NHL career Cousins has 31 games, with 20 of those games and all the points coming this season. He’s set to be a restricted free agent this summer and is fighting for a job on next season’s NHL roster, but Flyers general manager Ron Hextall isn’t convinced yet.

“Has he shown us he’s got a chance? Absolutely,” Hextall said late last month. “His growth from three years ago, his first year in Glens Falls, it’s phenomenal. It really is. He’s become a lot better player, a lot more well-rounded player. His defense the first year was not very good and offensively he didn’t put up a ton of numbers either. You see the kid just worked and worked and worked and worked and he’s figured it out.”

So has the line. Laughton, a natural center, is feeling more and more comfortable at left wing.

“Yeah, I feel better and better,” said Laughton, 21. “I definitely need to work a little bit better at the wall play and stuff like that, just when D pinch and stuff like that, but I’m starting to feel better and more confident. I think that’s the biggest thing. I’m starting to feel the puck a little bit more. I’m just gonna stay rolling here and stay consistent.

“I’ve always been a centerman. I’ve always liked taking faceoffs and stuff like that, but Cuzzy’s done a good job in the middle of the ice. It’s definitely a little bit easier over on the left side.”

So Cousins stays in the middle, at least until Voracek returns. At that point, he’s hoping he doesn’t get another surprise.

Dave Isaac; (856) 486-2479;disaac@gannettnj.com.

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