Briere out with flu, groin?
The Flyers will be without Danny Briere for a third consecutive game. He missed the first two serving his suspension for a hit on Colorado's Scott Hannan. Now he is out with the flu. Could it be worse?
Briere out with flu, groin?
Danny Briere will not skate Saturday night in Atlanta.
No, that is not a misprint. No, his suspension was not extended.
Briere picked up the flu bug over the Thanksgiving holiday and will be unable to play. He was suspended by the NHL for two games on Tuesday for his hit on Colorado defenseman Scott Hannan but completed that term on Friday.
Is the flu the only thing bothering Briere?
A Flyers source is telling me that Briere is also struggling with his groin again, just a few weeks after he came back from a quad injury that we were told was unrelated to last year's saga. He missed 53 games last year with a nagging groin problem.
Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren denied the claim on Saturday night. He was attending the Phantoms' game in Central Pennsylvania against the Hershey Bears.
Speaking of suspension, Buffalo's Patrick Kaleta was suspended for two games by the NHL on Saturday for his hit on Jared Ross on Black Friday. I am told that Ross will not skate in Atlanta. That means Jon Kalinski will probably play his first NHL game this season against the Thrashers.
Kaleta is not one of the NHL's more respected players. He plays on the edge, making questionable hits - he had two this week alone - and refuses to drop the gloves to defend himself or teammates.
The Flyers are trying to extend a 14-game winning streak against Atlanta tonight at Philips Arena. It is the longest active winning streak against one opponent in the NHL.
For the latest news, follow Frank Seravalli on Twitter at http://twitter.com/DNFlyers.
I'm not saying Briere's a bad guy for taking the money. I can't imagine anyone is. The fact that we're paying this guy so much that we can't pursue anyone else because of cap space, while this same guy misses 75% of the season is why I'm angry. I could come on here and curse Fate or the Hockey Gods, but Briere's a more accurate target. Plus, I don't want to anger the Hockey Gods more than they already are. Clearly they're ticked off at Philly for something. I still don't know what we did to deserve Rathje.— elpel- For all you posters out there who post inaccurate player stats that could be gotten from a number of websites, Briere is NOT the Flyers leading scorer, not in goals, assists nor points. Richie leads with goals, 11; Carter is tied for the lead in assists with Pronger at 14, and leads in points with 23...all bettering Danny's 10 markers, 6 helpers for 16 points.— bsbullie
