Concussed Briere is disappointed
With plenty of time over the last week, Danny Briere went back and reviewed the video of his Jan. 21 game in New Jersey, hoping for some sort of clue as to who or what delivered the knockout punch that has him sitting out with a concussion.
Concussed Briere is disappointed
With plenty of time over the last week, Danny Briere went back and reviewed the video of his Jan. 21 game in New Jersey, hoping for some sort of clue as to who or what delivered the knockout punch that has him sitting out with a concussion.
Most players would look for the culprit and write down his number for their next matchup.
Others would cry foul, wondering why a certain hit wasn’t up for supplementary discipline.
Speaking on Tuesday for the first time since that game, Briere was just disappointed with himself.
“The thing that’s frustrating is that I have survived 15 years in this league by protecting myself from those hits,” Briere said on. “I was disappointed in myself that I didn’t see him coming. That’s part of my game, I’m usually able to protect myself.”
Briere said he isn’t sure, but he believes that Anton Volchenkov delivered the big hit along the boards that caused the most damage in the closing minutes. Volchenkov also hit him a few other times in the game.
“There were a few that I got bumped around and hit my head, I don’t know if it’s a culmination of those hits and the final blow at the end, but I know it was the last one that left me losing my balance,” Briere said.
The bad news is that Briere has experienced headaches as recently as Monday. When the Flyers host Winnipeg on Tuesday night, it will be the third game in a row that Briere has missed.
Briere was able to rest during the All-Star break, saying he took his three boys to their hockey games and stayed off the ice. He has since steadily progressed, first exercising on Sunday, skating in half of Monday’s practice, and pushing it in Tuesday’s morning skate by doing sprints with scratches Andreas Lilja, Harry Zolnierczyk and fellow concussed forward James van Riemsdyk.
Van Riemsdyk, who has been out a week longer than Briere, declined to speak to the media.
Briere also passed a concussion baseline test on Monday, and while that is encouraging, it doesn't necessarily mean anything. Still, his progress has continued each day.
“I’m feeling better and better every day,” Briere said. “That’s the thing with concussions, you just have to hope for the best. You never know from one day to the next what it’s going to bring.”
This is not Briere’s first concussion, though, this is the first time he’s dealt with starting after effects.
“It’s something new,” Briere said. “I’ve had a few, but this is the first time I’ve had to deal with symptoms starting on the next day. I’ve been fortunate that I didn’t have to deal with the symptoms in the past. You have to wait and hope the next day will be good and you’re still symptom free.”
Even with these new symptoms, Briere said he has kept a positive attitude. He’s watched Sidney Crosby and teammate Chris Pronger have their seasons put in jeopardy because of head trauma, yet he said he is not scared about missing games for any extended length of time.
“I’m very confident that it’s going to take a little time,” Briere said. “I’m confident that I will get through that. To be honest, I haven’t thought that this would get worse. I try to stay positive, I try to focus on the next day and what I’m going to do. I’m trying to focus and take it to the next day to try and push it to the next level so I can get back in the lineup.”
As of now, we still don’t have an answer when that will be.
TONIGHT’S LINEUP: Ilya Bryzgalov will start against Winnipeg … With Danny Briere out of the lineup, Ben Holmstrom – who was re-called from Adirondack on Monday – will play center against the Jets. Tom Sestito, Jody Shelley will be in the lineup … No word yet on Zac Rinaldo's status ... Andreas Lilja and Harry Zolnierczyk will be healthy scratches.
For the latest updates, follow Frank Seravalli on Twitter: @DNFlyers
Time to repay Volchenkov on Saturday.— dontlikeneocons- Sestito needs to stick. Kid can skate, shoot, fight and protect his teammates. Lots of heart, born to be a Flyer. And he instantly makes this team harder to play against. Maybe other teams would think twice about headhunting our top playmakers with him in the lineup too. It's time to make other teams dread playing against the Flyers again.— Americanitis
- BTW, please play Bob.— dontlikeneocons
- Back in the cup years, the Flyers would have taken care Volchenkov themselves.
- Back in the Cup years you had a wide open NHL that looked like a Main Event. There was better fighting from Schultz and "the hound", Kelly, as well as "Moose Dupont". The league steadily eroded the Flyer's strength, put in a cap on a team that Snider would use his money to sign a superstar at every position, yet the league still treats the Flyers differently since the day an ashen Colin Campbell, looking like he was at a funeral, handed the Cup to Clarke. The look on his face tells you all you need to know about anti-Flyer bias, and the non-head calls to our concussed players by the "refs".— PhillyboyinNYC
- I'm not buyin' what your sellin'. Sure, there have been plenty of games where i thought we got short-changed by the refs. But there have also been games where i know we got some breaks too.
To say there is anti-Flyer bias from the league, at this point, is a little too much i think. Look no further than the contracts for Richie, Prongs, and Kovalchuk. The league investigated the first two contracts and did nothing to penalize the Flyers. But for a contract that seemed analogous to me-- Kovy's contract-- the league punished the Devils with a $3mil fine, negated the contract (forcing the Devils to resign him at a bigger cap hit), and made them forfeit a 1st and 3rd round pick. OUCH!
So, maybe we got screwed with the non-call against Danny. But the Devils, in my opinion, got screwed by the league way worse, and the league's actions will impact the Devils long after Danny is back scoring hat tricks. - That's why you need to keep Ogie Oglethorpe and Tim "Dr. Hook" McCracken on speed dial to take care of these nefarious types like Volchenkov. Clarke never trusted the Red Menace and neither does the Tonner.— hunglikeaton
- Have to agree with Americanitis. Sestito shows a lot of heart. I don't understand why Harry Z isn't playing. I like the kid. I think he'd be a good linemate with Briere.— Johnnyboyl
- My money is on Volchenkov's cross check to Briere's back that snapped his head back, threw him into the back of another Devil's player, and had him down for 15-30 seconds. Oh, BTW, this was 5 ft from a ref who was watching the whole time and called nothing.— uncle meat
- That's new, right Uncle Meat, a non-call against a Flyer opponent. It is like the old days with Montreal, who in the Forum never got a penalty. The Flyers have been on the NHL "hit list" of penalty calling since I was a kid. I still remember the worst: Ard Skov, Andy Van Hellemond and perfect hair Kerry Frasier. New day, new refs, same old same old on penalty calling. Nice to know from 24/7 that Lavy really gives it to the refs.— PhillyboyinNYC
- Take numbers. It's #28 on NJD.— potus
- Danny has consistently been a main target of other teams goons, and no team members retaliate. This wouldn't happen back in the day.— dogman5
- Probably not- but much has changed since the 70's and 80's- and not for the reason you think. Most impactful & not talked about has been the introduction of the Eastern Europeans en masse during the 90's. Back in the day and I was there- there was not the amount of head-hunting that we've seen over the past 20 years. It was not so much for fear of retaliation - it was respect for a brother Canadian........example - Clark Gillies fought Wilson or Holmgren or Schultz - he didn't take his stick to Barber's head.........— Northcountry
- Please change your headline on the front page. It says, "Concussed Giroux is disappointed." I think I need to now go and change my underwear.— Mikell = Dawkins 2
- — Northcountry--are you saying that it's the influx of European players that has brought about headhunting and concussions? i can't imagine you are because that is simply nuts.— stonelamb
- Yes, it's #28 Anton Volchenkov. How would the Devils respond if someone went after their diminutive captain. I'm not suggesting that, only pointing out that the large defenseman targeted our Daniel throughout the whole game. He has to answer for that.— Blvd Al
