The Philadelphia Flyers had a strong start to the season, but they now must navigate the foreseeable future without their top goalscorer. On Monday, forward Tyson Foerster left Philadelphia’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins after appearing to injure his right arm after attempting a slap shot. On Tuesday, Flyers general manager Danny Briere announced that Foerster will be out for the next two-to-three months.

The Flyers received their first test on Wednesday, as they took on the Buffalo Sabres. The team was inspired, to say the least, as they defeated the Buffalo Sabres 5-2. Three of those goals arrived in under one minute. Not a bad outing for the Flyers without Foerster in the lineup.

After the game, Trevor Zegras was asked about how the Flyers will move forward without Foerster in the lineup. Zegras took this moment to playfully crack some jokes at Foerster.

“I mean he was in the locker room, he’s still here, but yeah, he’s a tough guy to replace, so we all just have to be a little bit like Foery blocking shots or shooting when you should pass,” said Zegras, h/t Flyers reporter Kendall Skalicky.

Trevor Zegras takes playful shot at Tyson Foerster while discussing absence from lineup

For some important context, head coach Rick Tocchet revealed that Foerster was in attendance for the game despite his injury, and that he was high-fiving teammates after the win. So he’s in good spirits at least. That did open the door for Zegras to crack a joke at his expense.

Foerster had the most goals scored on the team with 10 before his injury. During the team’s win over the Sabres, Zegras tied him after scoring in the first period. Zegras’ goal was also one of the three goals the team scored in under a minute, so he really helped the team pull away from Buffalo and avoid a loss in their first game after Foerster’s injury.

In that game, Zegras did get boarded by Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, resulting in the latter’s ejection from the game. Zegras appeared to be fine despite the hit, but his teammates had his back by going after Dahlin. He appears to be just fine, considering he spoke to reporters after the game.

As for how the Flyers can replace Foerster, it appears they are running with the “next man up” strategy. After Foerster’s injury announcement, the team called up Carl Grundstrom from the AHL. with Lehigh Valley, Gurunstrom recorded six goals and nine assists in 19 games played this season. Grundstrom was not in the lineup for Wednesday’s game against the Sabres.

Other options the Flyers could explore is calling up some of their top prospects. Or, they could check the trade market, but that’s pretty unrealistic right now considering most of the league is still in the playoff picture.

The Flyers passed their first test without Foerster in the lineup. Now, we’ll see if they can keep it up.