Goalie Ilya Bryzgalov, fighting off the flu, missed Friday's practice and likely will be sidelined for Saturday's key game against the visiting New York Rangers.

    Sergei Bobrovsky is expected to get the start against the Rangers, who are 4-0 against the Flyers this season.

    GM Paul Holmgren did not rule out Bryzgalov playing on Saturday.

    "He's feeling better," Holmgren said, adding he will know more on Saturday morning.

    Still, it's a long shot that Bryzgalov plays. He has not practiced in two days and figures to be weakened by the aftereffects of the flu.

     The Rangers have outscored the Flyers, 14-6.

     “Even though they’re a great team, I still believe we can beat them," Flyers winger Jaromir Jagr, a former Ranger, said after practice.

     The last two meetings have been tight. The Flyers blew a 2-0 lead and dropped a 3-2 decision in the Winter Classic on Jan. 2. In the Rangers 5-2 win last Sunday, the game was tied at 2-2 early in the third period.

    Here's a sobering stat for Flyers fans: Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist is 4-0 with a 1.50 GAA and .949 save percentage against the Orange and Black this season.

    * * *

   Jason Bacashihua, recalled from the Phantoms on Thursday, replaced Bryzgalov at practice.

   * * *

   The Flyers practiced shootout drills against Bobrovsky on Friday. They are 1-5 in shootouts this season and an NHL-worst 20-39 in franchise history.

    * * *

    After sitting out Thursday's morning skate, winger James van Riemsdyk returned to practice. Afterward, he admitted to feeling in a fog as he recovers from a concussion.

   * * *

   Follow Sam Carchidi on Twitter @BroadStBull.

(UPDATED at 3:15 p.m.)

Goalie Ilya Bryzgalov was ill and did not participate in the Flyers' optional morning skate on Thursday, and Sergei Bobrovsky will start tonight against visiting Toronto.

GM Paul Holmgren said Bryzgalov has the flu. "We will know more later in the day," he said in a text message.

Jason Bacashihua was recalled from the Phantoms to be Bobrovsky's backup. With the Phantoms, Bacashihua was 7-6-1 with a 2.98 GAA and .902 save percentage.

Bacashihua, 29, appeared in 38 NHL games for St. Louis from 2005-07, going 7-17-4 with a 3.19 GAA.

The Flyers will be trying to end a season-high three-game losing streak.

Coach Peter Laviolette said the Flyers need to generate more traffic in front and be in an attacking mode.

"You want to go out and do the right things and play with a certain identity," he said.

Said center Danny Briere: "It'll be a dangerous game if we start playing a river-hockey game against the Leafs. We don't want to do that. We know they have a lot of firepower."

As for Bobrovsky, the Flyers are confident with him in the net.

"To be honest with you, it doesn't really matter who starts for us," Briere said. "Bob has played tremendous hockey throughout the year. I'm never worried about him. He had a great season last year _ obviously not the way he wanted to end it _ but he was good for us for the most part. He seems to get better and quicker. He's definitely a goaltender who in the futiure is going to be one of the tops in the league. I'm guaranteed of that."

It should be pointed out, however, that Bryzgalov, the usual starter, has a nine-year contract.

* * *

At the morning skate, Justin Musciano, 27, from Delaware County, replaced Bryzgalov as one of the goalies.

Musciano was playing in a game with several Comcast-Spectacor employees when he was asked to stay for the Flyers' skate.

* * *

Defenseman Luke Schenn said he loves playing in Toronto, but he hopes to one day be teammates with his brother, Brayden, who is with the Flyers.

Luke Schenn has been on the Flyers' radar. The trade deadline is Feb. 27.

* * *

Toronto forward Mikhail Grabovski said he feels bad about hitting Chris Pronger in the eye with his stick in October, but that it was "100 percent accidental."

Pronger will miss the rest of the season, and his career is in jeopardy.

* * *

Follow Sam Carchidi on Twitter @BroadStBull.

Video: Toronto's Luke Schenn discusses rumors that he could possibly be dealt to the Flyers before the NHL trade deadline Feb. 27.

Sporting a beard, Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger visited with his teammates at their practice facility in Voorhees on Wednesday.

"It was nice to see Chris," center Danny Briere said. "We all know and understand he’s been having a hard time and we all would if we were in his situation. It’s tough to be away from the game that long. We’re all competitors. We want to be out there. It was nice for us to see him walk around here, smiling and chatting with the guys."

Pronger is sidelined for the season with a concussion.

“He seemed happy. Not lots of joy. I’m sure he’d rather be dressing with us. He seemed like he was in a good mood."

Asked if the team's captain was making progress, Briere said, "I didn’t ask him about that. I tried to leave him alone as much as possible. I'm sure he gets that everywhere he goes."

Rookie Matt Read said Pronger walked around the locker room and “made sure he connected with everybody.”

Pronger, 37, stayed at the rink for about 90 minutes, chatting with teammates. He declined a request to speak with the media.

"I'm hanging in there," one staffer said Pronger told him.

Pronger was invited to a Super Bowl party with his teammates at Scott Hartnell's Old City loft on Sunday, but declined because he wasn't feeling well.

    * * *

Saying he wanted to show “courage,” Mike Richter, a clown with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey’s circus, donned goalie equipment and faced shots from the Flyers’ Marc-Andre Bourdon, Zac Rinaldo and Tom Sestito following practice Wednesday in Voorhees.

Richter has the same name as the former Rangers standout goalie from Flourtown. He will be among those performing at the Wells Fargo Center Feb. 22-27 - with the circus, not with an NHL team.

  * * *

The Flyers are 1-5 in shootouts this season and an NHL-worst 20-39 in franchise history. That explains why they spent the first part of Wednesday's practice working on the shootout.

At one point, goalie Ilya Bryzgalov stopped seven straight before Wayne Simmonds beat him with a backhander.

Bryzgalov entered the season with a respectable track record in shootouts: He was 19-22 with a .660 save percentage.

This season, he is 0-4 and has stopped just two of 10 shots (.200).

As a team, Flyers shooters are only 5 for 17 in shootouts this season.

* * *

The Flyers have won just 12 of 25 games at home, where they are a head-scratching 12-8-5, including Tuesday's 1-0 shootout loss to the Islanders.

  * * *

The Flyers' Brayden Schenn will oppose his brother, Toronto defenseman Luke Schenn, when the teams meet Thursday at the WFC.

Brayden Schenn said he is aware of rumors that his brother could be dealt to the Flyers.

"Absolutely," Schenn said when asked if he would like to be teammates with his brother. "It would be unbelievable to play together."

  * * *

Follow Sam Carchidi on Twitter @BroadStBull.

The Flyers won 59 percent of their faceoffs against the New York Islanders, outshot the visitors by a 45-18 margin, and goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov notched his second shutout of the season.

All in a 1-0 loss after a shootout.

The Inquirer's Sam Carchidi reports on a rough night for the Flyers at the Wells Fargo Center.

(Video by Samantha Corrado/Philly.com)

After missing six games because of a concussion, Flyers center Danny Briere will return to the lineup Tuesday against the visiting Islanders.

Winger James van Riemsdyk spoke Tuesday for the first time since suffering a concussion and said he is still dealing with headaches.

Ilya Bryzgalov (19-11-5, 2.86 GAA, .899 save percentage) will start against the Isles, who will go with Evgeni Nabokov (11-12, 2.31, .920).

Briere, who has 13 goals and 17 assists, suffered a concussion Jan. 21 during a 4-1 win in New Jersey.

“Hopefully I can provide a little spark,” Briere said after taking part in Tuesday’s morning skate. “It’s been a little tough since the break, especially at home. I don’t like our record at home; it’s something we want to improve. Hopefully, I can come in and help in that department.”

Overall, the Flyers are 12-8-4 at home.

Briere, 34, said the decision to return was “all up to me” and that he cleared a baseline test last week. The decision was made after he woke up without any symptoms following a practice Monday in which he absorbed contact.

“It’s good to get Danny back in the lineup because it adds more depth and balance to our attack up front,” coach Peter Laviolette said. “It makes it a little more difficult (for opponents) to focus on one player or one line.”

As for van Riemsdyk, he said he was making small strides in his recovery.

“Some days are better than others, but not the way I want to feel,” van Riemsdyk said. “I’m just trying to take it day by day, and that’s really all I can do.”

Like Briere a couple weeks ago, van Riemsdyk said there have been days when he has felt in a fog.

“It’s definitely one of those things where you have to stay in the moment, stay positive and let the body heal itself up.”

He said he didn’t talk to the media until Tuesday because his symptoms were changing daily. The left winger said he didn’t want to “place expectations on when I want to be back. I just want to heal and be good” to go.

Added JVR: "I guess if I do look at now vs. when I first started (rehabbing), I do feel a little bit better, so that's obviously encouraging, but it's been a slow process. Hopefully, it starts to progress."

   * * *

Here is how the lines may look tonight:

Hartnell-Giroux-Jagr; Read-Briere-Voracek; Talbot-Schenn-Simmonds; Sestito-Couturier-Rinaldo.

   * * *

Breakaways. Milan Jurcina, one of the Isles' top-hitting defensemen, will miss the game with a lacerated elbow.....The Isles are 10-11-3 on the road, including a 4-1 win over the Flyers last month.

The Flyers' Danny Briere talks about his chances of returning to the lineup for Tuesday's game against the New York Islanders.

(Video by Sam Carchidi/The Philadelphia Inquirer)

(UPDATED at 1:25 p.m.)

The Flyers are hoping veteran center Danny Briere, who has missed the last six games because of a concussion, can return to the lineup Tuesday against the visiting New York Islanders.

They can use him. Their offense has been listless in the first period lately, and a healthy Briere might give them a jump-start.

The Flyers will have a meeting at their Voorhees practice facility Monday at 11 a.m., and there is no word on if they will skate. Briere, however, figures to skate either way. He said last week he was “close” to returning and he started to take contact in practices.

After participating in an optional practice Monday in Voorhees, Briere said he was feeling better each day and there was a possibility he would be back against the Isles. It depends on how he feels when he wakes up in the morning and finds out if he has any aftereffects from Monday's contact.

* * *

Rangers fans started a sing-song chant in the third period Sunday: “You can’t beat us!”

They’re right. After Sunday’s 5-2 loss in Madison Square Garden, the Flyers are 0-4 against the Rangers this season and have been outscored, 14-6.

The Flyers will get another crack at the Blueshirts on Saturday at the WFC.

* * *

Give rookie Tom Sestito credit for trying to spark the Flyers. The 6-foot-5, 230-pound winger had three fights (by our estimate, he won two of them) in Sunday’s loss. It was the first time a Flyer was involved in three fights in a game since 2009, when Ian Laperriere dropped the gloves three times in a 4-1 loss to Florida.

“It’s a big rivalry, and I think we needed an edge,” Sestito said.

The league is looking into accusations that Sestito pulled Brandon Prust’s hair during their third-period fight. The replays were inconclusive.

BTW, there was no retaliation on the Rangers’ Mike Rupp for mocking future Hall of Famer Jaromir Jagr with a salute after scoring a Winter Classic goal last month.

With a straight face, Rupp claimed he was just excited about scoring in the Winter Classic and that he wasn’t making fun of Jagr.

In Sunday’s game, Rupp played just 4:41.

* * *

Flyers goalie Ilya Bryzgalov was having a terrific game Sunday until he allowed a brutal wraparound goal  to Marian Gaborik, giving the Rangers a 2-1 lead with 5.1 seconds left in the second period.

Bryz said the puck took a "funny bounce" off his stick and that it was like  "somebody sucking the puck with a vacuum behind the net."

* * *

After meeting the Islanders Tuesday, the Flyers host Toronto on Thursday _ and the Luke Schenn trade rumors figure to intensify. The Maple Leafs’ defenseman is the brother of Flyers center Brayden Schenn.

* * *

Follow Sam Carchidi on Twitter@BroadStBull.

There were two ways that Saturday’s 6-4 loss to the New Jersey Devils was viewed by the Flyers in the locker room.

Coach Peter Laviolette talked about how he was happy the team played hard in scoring four third period goals after trailing 6-0.

Yet he made it clear that the end result was bitterly disappointing.

“They went out, they played well and they gave it their best,” Laviolette said about the third period. “We came up short and we're leaving here with a loss so I guess that's how we'll look at it."

Earlier this season the Flyers suffered a 6-0 Saturday matinee loss at home to the Boston Bruins. In that game they showed no fight.

Had the Flyers had a similar effort against the Devils, then going in against the Rangers would have been more difficult than the task at hand, which is pretty difficult in its own right.

The Flyers feel at least it will be good that they won’t have long to stew over this defeat.

“I think if you get embarrassed at home the best thing to do is get back in the saddle again and go after an opponent that’s waiting for you, that’s hungry, that’s kind of owned you, like you said, three times earlier this year,” Scott Hartnell said. “So, in Madison Square Garden, we’ve got to come out fired up like we did in that third period and just continue that momentum that we gained in that last twenty minutes.”

Easier said than done.

The Flyers are 0-3 against the Rangers and 0-2 at MSG, having been outscored 6-2 during those games in New York.

This will be the first meeting between the two teams since the Rangers took a 3-2 victory on Jan. 2 during the Winter Classic at Citizens Bank Park.

That game seems so long ago. Remember, a slumping Ilya Bryzgalov was benched?

Now he is playing much better. On Saturday Bryzgalov didn’t allow a goal and made a few nice glove saves in relief of Sergei Bobrovsky.

In his two starts since the all-star break, Bryzgalov has been involved in a 2-1 shootout loss to Winnipeg and a 4-1 win over Nashville.

After Saturday’s performance from Bobrovsky, Bryzgalov likely won’t be looking over his shoulder for a while.

The Flyers need a game where Bryzgalov stands on his head, figuratively of course.

And they must come out with the urgency that was missing for the first 40 minutes against the Devils.

The Rangers lead the Flyers by three points with two games in hand.

With 31 games left, this may not be a must-win situation for the Flyers, but it’s awfully close, not only from a standings-purpose, but for their confidence.

After this there will only be two more meetings with the Rangers.

“We can’t let these points pass away against the Rangers,” Claude Giroux said.

In short, the urgency that the Flyers showed the final 20 minutes, but be displayed for the entire 60 for them to have a chance against the Rangers.