Oskar Lindblom, Less Than Year After Being Diagnosed With Cancer, Returns To Flyers' Lineup For Game 6 Vs. Islanders

TORONTO (CBS) -- Less than one year after being diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer, Oskar Lindblom is playing hockey again. Lindblom will return to the lineup Thursday night for Game 6 as the Philadelphia Flyers try to force a Game 7 against the New York Islanders.

Lindblom was diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma, a rare type of cancerous tumor that grows in the bones or soft tissue around bones and has a high rate of being cured, according to WebMD, in December.

The 24-year-old leftwinger completed his cancer treatments on July 2. He signed a three-year, $9 million contract extension on July 22 and then joined the Flyers in the Toronto bubble on Aug. 16.

Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher and head coach Alain Vigneault were both optimistic Lindblom could return to game action this postseason with September being the most likely target date.

It will be his first game since Dec. 7, 2019, when the Flyers beat the Ottawa Senators, 4-3, at the Wells Fargo Center.

Lindblom was the Flyers' leading goal scorer with 11 at the time of his diagnosis.

The Flyers will be without center Sean Couturier, however. Couturier suffered a lower-body injury in the Flyers' Game 5 win over the Islanders on Tuesday. It appeared to be a right knee injury, but there's no official word.

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