Philadelphia Flyers' first-line center from last night exits preseason game after hard hit

Denver Barkey's strong preseason took a scary turn on Monday night in Hershey, and Flyers fans are now stuck waiting for answers.

Barkey, who has looked like the real deal as Philadelphia's top line center through camp, took a hard hit from Capitals defenseman Martin Fehervary with roughly four and a half minutes left in the first period.

He came up slow on that play, but stayed in the game, which had a lot of people breathing a sigh of relief too soon.

That relief did not last long. Barkey took the opening faceoff of the second period, and within seconds he was skating straight to the bench looking noticeably uncomfortable.

He did not stick around long after that either, heading down the tunnel and out of sight for the rest of the night.

There has been no official word yet from the Flyers on what exactly is going on with their young center, and that silence tends to make fans nervous this time of year.

Barkey has been nothing short of excellent in preseason play, showing exactly why so many around the organization believe he can handle a top center role sooner rather than later.

Losing him for any stretch, even in exhibition games, stings a little more given how well he has been trending.

The hope inside the Flyers organization has to be that this is simply a precautionary pull rather than anything long term.

Preseason hits like this one always carry extra weight when a young player is fighting for a real role, and Barkey has done everything he can to make that job harder for the coaching staff to fill without him.

Either way, all eyes will be on Voorhees in the coming days for an update on one of the most encouraging stories of training camp.

Philadelphia still has time before the regular season opener, but every practice matters when a center spot is genuinely up for grabs.

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