Couturier returning; Jagr upset
The Philadelphia Inquirer Blog - Flyers Report: Broad Street Bull
Couturier returning; Jagr upset
Sam Carchidi, Inquirer Staff Writer
PITTSBURGH - Sean Couturier will return to the lineup Thursday when the Flyers play streaking Pittsburgh at the Consol Energy Center.
The rookie center has been sidelined since teammate Kimmo Timonen's slap shot hit him near his left ear on Dec. 17 against Boston. Couturier said he lost most of his hearing in the ear, but that it is now almost back to normal.
Couturier could be on a line with Brayden Schenn and Harry Zolnierczyk Thursday.
The scratches: Zac Rinaldo, Jody Shelley and Matt Walker. Erik Gustafsson (wrist) still is not ready to return.
Sergei Bobrovsky, who has a 3-0 lifetime record in Pittsburgh, will get the start. Bobrovsky is 7-2-1 with a 2.57 GAA and .913 save percentage. Ilya Bryzgalov is 14-8-3 with a 3.10 GAA and .890 save percentage, and he has lost four straight.
Flyers coach Peter Laviolette wouldn't address the issue when asked if Bob's performance Thursday would affect his decision on the Winter Classic starter.
From here, I'd say it's 95/5 that Bryzgalov starts the Winter Classic Monday against the Rangers. But if Bob stands on his head Thursday....well, you never know.
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Pittsburgh will be trying to extend a four-game winning streak; the Flyers have lost two straight and are trying to avoid their first three-game skid of the season.
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Jaromir Jagr was not himself Wednesday. The usually gregarious Flyers winger, who won five scoring titles with the Penguins, was mostly agitated during a news conference. He admitted on Thursday that he was upset with how the Pittsburgh media has portrayed him.
"Maybe I overreacted. I'm just not happy with some of the media here," he said after Thursday's morning skate. "They make up everything. That was the problem. That's when they start everything, and it's tough to control.
"It's bothered me for a long time, and I was a little bit mad about it yesterday," he added. "It's not going to help me, but at least" he relieved his frustration.
Among the things that apparently bothered Jagr were reports that he had agreed to return to Pittsburgh before signing with the Flyers.
Me thinks we signed a goofball to be our saviour goalie...lack of concentration seems to be the problem...all the 24/7 stuff leading up to this game seems to have derailed what was good for awhile...before that it was all the joking and goofing with the media everyday that had him losing games....sounds to me like we need an attitude adjustment. How about we have him speak to one Bernard Parent this weekend and see if he can emulate his coolness between the pipes....if not get Ron Hextall in here for a buttkicking session. There is no way this guy survives to play out his 9 year contract in this city, no way.— Mark1npt- Well Hextall is Asst. GM for the Kings so I don't think he cares too much about our goaltending. As for Bryz... I'm mad he hasn't lived up to expectations but I will give him to the All Star break. If it's still a mess I think Lavy will go with the hot hand. He has shown that he will do that (see - Stanley Cup Final 2010).
Can't wait to see the "Kid Line" tonight. Flyers have been good in Pittsburgh lately. I like them to get the W tonight. - What the hell is Hexy doing in LA anyway? Does he not belong in Orange & Black, or not? I think he will be back after those faker West Coast Flyers are done messing around. Agreed...he definitely would teach these new Flyer puppy goalies a thing or two about manhood and winning games when your defense does squat in front of you...— sj1926
- I could be wrong about this, but if I'm not mistaken, Hexy was Homer's assistant here. But since Homer wasn't going anywhere, Hexy went to L.A. for a better opportunity. — The Truth Hurts
Comment removed.- Pittsburgh...the only town that is envious of Pittsburgh is Columbus, OH. The Tonner wouldn't take a free trip to either city if it included all the Genny Cream Ale the Tonner could drink.
- I also think the 24-7 cameras are getting to Bryz. His game is off, he was awesome in Phx. This was the correct signing, this was this year's free-agent Cujo: stud G in his prime, there when they needed him, and this time they didn't let him go. He needs to go back to not talking to the media after Jan 2nd.— 88
- i live in pittsburgh but have been a lifelong flyers fan. the media here has written some vicious articles about jagr this past week. i guess they are only pandering to their fanbase, but it is really amazing how bandwagon the hockey fans are in pittsburgh. when i arrived here in 2005 you couldnt give away a ticket to a pens game.. the pens were equal to the pirates in the eyes of fans here. now, after a stanley cup, these same fans act like they have been hardcore for dozens of years and how dare jagr not come back to play for them..— zwarte piet
- Half way through the season the verdict is Bryzgalov sucks. If the Flyers "only" scored 3 goals per game instead of 3.5 he'd have a sub-.500 record. If the scoring lapses even a little the Flyers will go down in flames if he remains the starter.— stinky_pete
- Pittsburgh...try wrapping your mouth around a Primanti sandwich!— Romus
- at one time Jagr was one the most popular Penguins. There were reports that he was coming back to Pgh, to play for Mario because of their past relationship--he got a much better offer from the Flyers. I was more upset about losing Talbot--thought the Flyers overpaid for Jagr, but he has played well for them. There are a few towns envious of Pgh--particularly if you are counting championships. But this Flyers team has enough talent to win it all this year.— tph60
- Always find it amazing how men who probably dreamed of being star athletes in their childhood grow up with a vexatious, derisive style when writing about real athletes. Everybody is Larry Merchant or Howard Cosell...speaking on spawts.— retzlaff
- there are ups and downs with every team every season. still like this team and think they can get hot come playoffs.— stanley
- Everybody is saying "Bryz is distracred by the media," "Bryz is distracted by his contract". The latter is true in the sense that it is a weight on him. Maybe it would help if Ed Snider came down to tell him to just forget about the contract, the fans, the media, and just play hockey like he did in Phoenix where nobody cared.
I really think that he'll be okay in the long run, but that might mean "next season." The fact is, Bryz could be playing like TT and it won't matter come playoff time because they're a one line team, and you can't succeed in the playoffs without scoring up and down the lines. The Giroux line will get suffocated, and they'll be lucky to get past the second round.— element_104 - Consider the source. The only nitwits worse than their sports writers are their game play by play announcers. At least we won't have to watch Cindy whine and play the officials tonight. Flyers win with Bob in the net. Jagr will "light it up" tonight.— dogman5
