IS GLAD SPRING TRAINING IS FINALLY HERE
RALEIGH, N.C. _ Simon Gagne went through the morning skate, said his condition was improving and planned to play in Saturday night’s game against the host Carolina Hurricanes.
The Flyers’ left winger missed the last half of Thursday’s 3-2 loss to New Jersey because of dehydration and fatigue.
“It’s a lot better than yesterday and the day of the game (Thursday) and I’m good to go,” Gagne said after a light workout Saturday morning. “I’ve got a little bit more energy; it’s maybe not 100 percent, but I definitely have a lot more energy than two days ago. I’ll make sure I have some short shifts. I don’t know if I’ll play 21 minutes tonight. I might play a little bit less minutes, but I’ll be ready to go.”
Flyers coach John Stevens said he would probably take Gagne off the penalty-killing unit tonight unless it was a critical situation. He expected Gagne to play about 18 minutes.
Darroll Powe, a Princeton graduate who was recently promoted from the AHL Phantoms, will get some time with Mike Richards on the penalty-kill, the coach said.
Defenseman Kimmo Timonen, who missed the last few minutes of Thursday’s game, will also play tonight. Defenseman Matt Carle, suffering from back spasms, did not make the trip. “He’s still tight and continuing his rehab, and we’ll see where it goes next week when we get back at practice,” Stevens said.
Goalie Antero Niittymaki will make tonight’s start.
- Sam Carchidi
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