Expect Carter to play
Flyers forward Jeff Carter skated in today’s Flyers practice and said he will be a game-time decision for tomorrow night’s win-to-get-in matchup with the Rangers at Madison Square Garden.
Expect Carter to play
Flyers forward Jeff Carter skated in today’s Flyers practice and said he will be a game-time decision for tomorrow night’s win-to-get-in matchup with the Rangers at Madison Square Garden.
Carter said he felt “good” but did feel pain because “there is a screw in my foot,” and said he expects to feel pain for a few more weeks.
“I thought Jeff did fine during the practice,” general manager Paul Holmgren said. “But I think we need to see how this responds tomorrow before we make any decisions. We’ll go from there.
“The way I understand it, if he’s in any pain we need to back him off. With the screw in place, I think the chances of him [injuring it worse] are slim. We want to see how he is tomorrow.”
Holmgren has long said that Carter's availability will depend on his pain tolerance.
My two cents: Carter is a lock to play tomorrow night. He did not hesitate when skating, his conditioning level is close to where it was, and the injury is unlikely to have any future impact. Oh, yeah, and he is their leading scorer.
In hockey, if you can walk, you can play.
Look for Carter to play with Scott Hartnell and Arron Asham, most likely bumping Danny Briere back to the wing.
For the latest updates, follow Frank Seravalli on Twitter (http://twitter.com/DNFlyers).
bad move, hold him out til the playoffs. The injury was so obscure that it took extra testing to find it so we're not sure how little pressure it can take to prolong the issue. At first sign of daylight Carter shouldn't run to it if only cause you don't see the hole below you.— Phillyaddicted- Sure, this training staff has such a FANTASTIC record of keeping players healthy, we trust anything they say. Right.— n62
- How many times are players rushed back only to get hurt even worse in their first game or two? And why would they rush Carter back to stick him on a line with Hartnell and Asham? Don't you want to utilize Carter's skills with some playmakers?— Snap Crackle Propp
- Frank, I'd suggest you get a headstart on the Carter out for the season article when he reinjures himself. Seriously, Flyer fans haven't we seen this movie before and it doesn't end well.— booman55
- Keep him out...this team isn't going anywhere this year anyway...why risk future damage. Until they get a better defenseman, goalie, captain, GM, and fair-priced wingers, they should not worry about getting into the playoffs. Getting swept by Washington in the 1st round isn't going to be stopped by Carter anyway!— dgabs
- Not sure I agree with matching him with Asham and Hartnell. Shouldn't he play with someone with some skill? Neither are really playmakers or scorers. At least one other playmaker or scorer should be on his line, ie. perhaps Leino? Seems like he's a pretty saavy passer.— SLP2009
Phillyaddicted you are right on. Rushing Carter back for the final two games and risking further damage that could sideline him for the playoffs is absurd. And kudos to you n62, the Flyers Training Staff has a history of activating players as soon as they appear healed only to have them re-aggravate their injury in the first or second game back.— snad264
good to see carter stepping up like a man and playing through the pain. the injury can't get worse. and we need at least one win over the next two in order to get into the play offs. Its play off time right now.— azguz
Let's see...5-1 win vs. NJ, swiss-cheese & 4 vs. Isles, outplay Habs in 1-0 loss, 4-3 win against Detroit, 2-0 win vs. Toronto. Yep. All the reason in the world to rush a marginally-healthy player back into the lineup and change all the lines around. This persistent, narrow-minded thinking is why they wind up fighting to make the bottom 4 instead of the top 4. BTW, this "essential" player has a mere 8 pts. more than Mike Knuble. Whoops, I'm sorry. I forgot...we have Dan Carcillo now instead. And Scott "No-Shoot" Hartnell to fall back on. Never mind.— icarus- It's little bone in his foot. Hard to rebreak unless he takes another slapper in it.— blueye7
- You guys that are saying "hold him out for the playoffs" - you realize the Flyers have to win 1 of their last 2 games to get in, right? And if the win 1 or even better 2, they will probably be the 6 or 7 seed, not the 8, so they won't "get swept by Washington" because they won't play Washington (at least not right away. Make sure you get in, then anything can happen... Jeff, if you feel up to it, get in there tomorrow night!!!— JesseH
Briere has started to put some good plays together at Center. I would not move him now. I think Keeping Danny at Center would be a smart move for the time being.— flyler- Why risk permanent injury for this season's team. Sit him out, playing would be inviting disaster.— FlyFifty8
- Carter + Asham = Cawesome! heh. That first period tomorrow is going to be mucho huge.— SD doug
- It's not a re-injury issue, it's the pain causing tentative play that poses a risk. Unless he comes in at near 100%, Carter will not improve the team, only change it. Now, if you're talking scratching Hartnell to make room for him, I'M ALL FOR IT! Otherwise, I'd bet Torts is praying that Holmgren makes Lavy change up his lines with a rusty player.— icarus
