JVR back; Grossmann out?
Zac Rinaldo said he had not heard from the NHL’s Department of Player Safety for his game misconduct involving repeated hits to Pittsburgh defenseman Zbynek Michalek in Game 4.
JVR back; Grossmann out?
Zac Rinaldo said he had not heard from the NHL’s Department of Player Safety for his game misconduct involving repeated hits to Pittsburgh defenseman Zbynek Michalek in Game 4.
But that doesn’t mean that Rinaldo will definitely be in the Flyers’ lineup for Game 5 on Friday night, as his team tries to close out the Penguins in their best-of-seven series.
That’s because James van Riemsdyk appears poised to return to the lineup any day now, after skating for the fourth consecutive day on Thursday. He skated on a line with Jakub Voracek and Matt Read.
Coach Peter Laviolette said he would not hesitate to make a lineup change, without commenting specifically on van Riemsdyk being used.
“I think lineup changes are made all the time, constantly,” Laviolette said. “I thought James looked good today. It was just a 20 minute skate. He’s looking better every day. I think, at some point, we will make that decision.”
Van Riemsdyk, who has missed 23 straight games since fracturing a bone in his left foot, has not played since March 1. Through an injury-riddled season, van Riemsdyk added 11 goals and 13 assists in 43 games.
He led the Flyers with 7 goals in last year’s 11 Stanley Cup playoff games.
“It’s always a fun time of year to play and it sucks to watch from the sidelines,” van Riemsdyk said. “I’ve always prided myself growing up in playing in these pressure-type games. Last year, I was given an opportunity to play a lot and I just ran with it.”
An extra forward, Matt Ford, joined the Flyers in practice on Thursday. He will travel with the team to Pittsburgh. The Penguins will get forwards Craig Adams and James Neal back from their suspensions for Game 5.
GROSSMANN OUT?: Defenseman Nick Grossmann missed Thursday’s practice.
Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren said that Grossmann suffered an “upper-body” injury in Game 4 against Pittsburgh. He is officially listed as “day-to-day.”
Grossmann left the game in the second period after taking an elbow to the head from Evgeni Malkin. NBC 10’s Howard Eskin is reporting Grossmann suffered a concussion. The Flyers had no comment on the report.
Should Grossmann not be available to play, he would be replaced by one of Erik Gustafsson or Brandon Manning. Both Phantoms players saw time with the Flyers this season and practiced with the team on Thursday.
The Flyers also re-called defenseman Oskars Bartulis from Adirondack, starting the waiver process for him. If Bartulis clears waivers, he is yet another possibility to replace Grossmann in Game 5.
For the latest updates, follow Frank Seravalli on Twitter: @DNFlyers
- Rinaldo is our current Carcillo. Both taking dumb penalties at the worse time.
— Could.It.Really.Be...ColonelAngus - WAH WAH WAH WAH WAHHHH— bristolstomp
- 1 game ago they were going to win the cup and now they have already blew their 3-0.. Stop Crying.— FABER
- Losing Grossman would be MAJOR.. as if 10 goals being scored last night was not enough evidence of that.— Freddy
- LAFlyer, didya also notice the 5 straight penalties called on the Flyers. You would have thought that the refs were only looking at one team. Malkin's hit, Jagr was pulled down, Briere was interfered with and nothing got called. Is it any wonder the Flyers didn't seem like they were on the ice, they weren't. Every infraction in the 2nd period went against them. Too many men on ice penalty on the goalie? How many times have you ever seen that. I guess they were afraid Bob was getting into the play with that big goalie stick.— skolman
- Hear hear! They gave the early calls to the Flyers to get them out of the way then hand the game to the Pens. Most of the calls never got the CSN replay--because they couldn't see where the penalty was. — ena1977
- Hey Strangler, if you didn't know, Bryz was out the last few games of the season with a bone chip in his foot that get sustained from a slapshot he got hit with in practice. He can't move side to side very well.— LAFlyer
- LA, you are an idiot. Leighton was called up 2-3 days ago as he was last year too once the Phantoms season ended. Leighton will not, under any circumstances play. I would bet my house that Bryz starts tomorrow. Finish? Not so sure but he WILL start.— andrewc23
- Skolman, the elbow from Malkin was clear as day and ref was looking at them and didn't call it. I guess because Grossmann continued to play through it and didn't stumble.
As for the too many men call, I didn't see it. I counted five guys, one Flyer was leaving the ice. That was a pathetic call since the puck was no wear near the bench. I don't get it. I officiating was terrible on both ends.— LAFlyer - Flyers will not change up the first two lines, no need to -- the team is scoring. JVR will play with Matt Read and Voracek. But Giroux-Jagr-Hartnell and Briere-Simmonds-Scheen will remain the same.— Public Image Ltd
- Andrew, you call me an idiot? Boy that is mature, are you a kid?
Did you know that Bryz left practice today after only 10 minutes on the ice? Yes, I know many Phantoms practiced with the Flyers the last few days. So what is your point? Bryz is hurt and won't start if he can't go side to side, did you watch game 4?
— LAFlyer - JVR has to play...if he is going to be moved this summer for a defenseman like Luke Schenn, other teams need to see him healthy.— Romus
- Did they call too many men because Bob wasn't close enough to the bench when the extra attacker came on? If that's the case, the ref blew it. Rule 71 - Premature Substitution - covers this. It calls for the play to be blown dead. That's it. No penalty is assessed.— Phantoms9805
- Game over man, game over. Leighton come and save us, LEIGHTON (screaming like Brando in Streetcar named Desire).— neddyflanders
- My point, LA, is that Leighton was not called up to be the back-up as you stated in your post above. Bryz will play unless he is somehow hurt which I highly doubt. It is normal for guys to not practice hard or at all the day between playoff games.— andrewc23
