Flyers' last romp in 'The Swamp'

It's never easy to get to and it has had a couple of different names, but the one that sticks, no matter what, is "The Swamp."

Regardless of the name and the fact that it's one of the NHL's emptiest buildings during the regular season and the visiting locker rooms are below standard for an old-fashioned minor hockey rink, the games played at Continental Airlines Arena between the Flyers and New Jersey Devils always have been good ones.

Here's hoping that tonight lives up to the image because with their season winding down, tonight will be the last time the Flyers play there.

Next year, with a new building under construction, the Devils will play in Newark.

"I'm not really going to miss the building, the locker room or the stands," Simon Gagne said. "But certainly on the ice you forget about all those things and it was very fun to play there. The stands, they're empty. We usually have more fans than the Devils and that's good for us.

"But I have some great memories of that building," Gagne said. "For me, every game between the Flyers and Devils has been special. We all know every time we faced that team in the playoffs it was something special.

"We had some success maybe the last time we played them, but a lot of times we had a hard time winning hockey games there."

For Gagne, the best and worst memories came in the same year - the 2000 Eastern Conference finals, when the Flyers blew a 3-1 series lead and a trip to the finals.

The best was the fourth game when he scored a goal late in the game and they won. The worst was Game 6, the game Eric Lindros came back and the Flyers lost, forcing a Game 7 in Philadelphia that the Flyers also lost.

Denis Gauthier suffered a sprained wrist in Wednesday's win over Carolina when he was run into the boards from behind by Craig Adams. Gauthier said he will not play tonight or tomorrow against the Rangers.

And for the record, he was not happy about the noncall on Adams and feels the hit was dangerous and should have been at least a boarding call.

"Isn't that what I got a two-game suspension for against Toronto here at the end of the year last year?" he asked . . .

It was a fair fight between Todd Fedoruk and Colton Orr and an undisputed butt-kicking by the Rangers on the Flyers last week. But that isn't going to change what will happen when the teams play their final game this season at the Wachovia Center tomorrow, according to Riley Cote.

So, does that mean heads up New York?

"Well, yes, kind of," Cote said. "It was a fair fight and every time you fight there's a chance of getting knocked out or getting injured. But as a role player, everybody knows the consequences. There was no cheap shot or anything like that, but it is my teammate. I am a role player and I am a new guy. So I've got a lot to prove here. It's a great opportunity against a tough guy like [Orr].

"I'll get my name out there and show the team I can fill [Fedoruk's] shoes while he's absent.

"As a role player, my job is always to start stuff. I'm an energy guy and if I can't find a fight, I gotta bring a hit. The last couple of games I've found the hits but I can't find the fights. Playing these next couple of teams, they've got guys that are gamers and it will be a challenge." *