Gustafsson returned; Scary fight

DETROIT -- It's a shame Erik Gustafsson cannot collect frequent flier miles.

On Monday, the Flyers returned Gustafsson to the Adirondack Phantoms after the first call-up of his career. Gustafsson did not play in any of the Flyers' three games in which he was on the roster but flew from Albany to Los Angeles to join the Flyers in the middle of the trip as an insurance policy against black-and-blue defenseman Kimmo Timonen.

Gustafsson, 22, skated Thursday morning in Los Angeles and just came along for the ride to Anaheim and then to Detroit - a total of almost 5,500 miles.

Gustafsson earned $29,032 for his 6 days on the Flyers' roster. His season salary back in the AHL is $67,500. He leads the Phantoms in scoring as a defenseman with 4 goals and 22 assists in 32 games.

SCARY FIGHT: Speaking of the Phantoms, who have won six of their last eight games and improved to 4-2 under new head coach Joe Paterson with a three-game sweep this weekend, defenseman Marc-Andre Bourdon was involved in a scary fight on Saturday at the Glens Falls Civic Center.

Bourdon dropped the gloves with Albany's Dan Kelly, who knocked Bourdon unconscious with a vicious right.

Bourdon was out cold before his head even hit the ice. Video of the fight is below.

Bourdon missed Sunday evening's win in Rochester.

For more on the Phantoms' recent turnaround, check out the Glens Falls Post-Star.

ZHERDEV HURT? The Flyers wanted to make it clear that Nik Zherdev wasn't a healthy scratch on Sunday evening in Detroit, despite the fact that he didn't see much ice in Los Angeles and Anaheim.

A Flyers spokesman said Zherdev is suffering from a lower-body injury and is day-to-day. He should be ready to play on Thursday.

There's no telling, though, if there will be a spot in the lineup for him on Thursday. Zherdev has 13 goals this season - which as we mentioned yesterday would lead Edmonton, Florida, Minnesota, Nashville, New Jersey, the Islanders, Ottawa, Phoenix and St. Louis in scoring.

In Zherdev's absence, the Flyers' fourth line of Dan Carcillo, Blair Betts and Jody Shelley was actually one of their more productive lines on Sunday against the Red Wings. The trio combined for 1 goal, 5 shots, 3 hits, 6 faceoff wins and no giveaways in just 6:20 of ice time. That's efficient use of time.

TAKING A BREAK: The Flyers have a complete day off on Monday, as they returned home Sunday night after their game in Detroit for the first time in more than a week. The Flyers went 2-2 out West, picking up 4 of a possible 8 points. They sit in 2nd in the NHL overall, in a four-way tie for first, holding tie breakers over Pittsburgh and Detroit but losing out to Vancouver.

They will practice Tuesday and Wednesday in Voorhees before continuing their road swing in New Jersey against the Devils. The Flyers play four of their next 5 on the road, with the lone exception being the backend of this week's home-and-home with New Jersey.

For the latest updates, follow Frank Seravalli on Twitter: @DNFlyers

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