Carcillo to miss 3 weeks

UPDATE: Dan Carcillo will miss three weeks with a left knee sprain, general manager Paul Holmgren said. (see more on the injury below).

UPDATE: As expected, Sergei Bobrovsky will make his 11th straight start in net for the Flyers against the Canadiens at the always hostile Bell Centre.

The Flyers were 1-1 in Montreal in the regular season last year and 1-1 in the playoffs, before sending the Habs packing for the summer with a 5-game series win in the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Flyers' power play was just 2-for-15 last year against the Canadiens in 4 contests.

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MONTREAL -- The Flyers will anxiously await word today, as they prepare for the Canadiens, about the status of forward Dan Carcillo.

Carcillo, who left Monday's 5-1 win over Ottawa just a few minutes into the second period, will miss at least two weeks with what appears to be an MCL sprain.

But it could be worse.

The Flyers don't know exactly what is wrong with Carcillo's knee, as only so much can be determined without an MRI. He will have that MRI of done today in Philadelphia if there is not too much swelling to try and determine the exact extent of his injury.

"He's a good player on our team," general manager Paul Holmgren said. "He fills a lot of roles. Sometimes he's on the fourth line and sometimes, depending on the game, he moves up. So obviously it's not a good thing for us. But these things happen."

The Flyers did not re-call anyone from Adirondack for tonight's game against the Northeast-division leading Canadiens. The Phantoms were flying today, for a change, to Charlotte, N.C. If a call-up was necessary, Adirondack is just a 3-hour drive from Montreal.

Instead, James van Riemsdyk will remain in the lineup, despite not producing any points in his first game back since sitting out 4 as a healthy scratch.

"I thought James came back in and gave us some jump," Peter Laviolette said. "He was physical early. He had the chance when he hit the post and a couple other opportunities he got going."

Andreas Nodl will be forced to return to the lineup after missing the last game with a bruised left big toe. Nodl skated gingerly on Monday morning but said he could use the extra day of rest after barely being able to walk on Sunday.

"I think Andreas was one of those things this morning where he probably could have played," Holmgren said, "But we didn't want to take a chance. He should be OK for tonight."

"Hopefully he's back, ready, and he'll be good," Laviolette said.

While Laviolette did not disclose who his goaltender will be at the hostile Bell Centre, all signs point to Sergei Bobrovsky making his 11th straight start as the Flyers try to push their record to 10-0-1 in their last 11 games.

Bobrovsky said he doesn't mind making so many starts in a row.

"On one hand, physically it's a little tougher," Bobrovsky said with the help of a translator. "But on the other hand, with each game, you get into the game much faster. So I prefer to [play] as often as possible."

Still, Laviolette and the Flyers want to rack up as many points now as possible.

"The points are as valuable early on as they are late," Laviolette said. "Any time you can catch a streak or stretch where you're putting points on the board and moving forward, you're separating yourself from team number eleven or team number ten.  You're separating yourself as one of the top conference teams.  It doesn't matter whether it's the middle of the year or the end of the year, you need to do it consistently."

Few teams, this season, can say they have been as consistent as the Flyers.

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