Flyers keep van Riemsdyk out of lineup after head injury

The Flyers kept rookie forward James van Riemsdyk, who posted three assists in his first three NHL games, out of the lineup in last night's 5-4 loss to Pittsburgh because of the head injury he suffered on Tuesday night.

Van Riemsdyk needed to be helped off the ice in the second period after awkwardly crashing into the boards with Washington's Milan Jurcina. Van Riemsdyk returned in the third period but only played two shifts.

"He felt better,'' Flyers coach John Stevens said. "He's just not feeling 100 percent.''

Van Riemsdyk, 20, remains day-to-day after general manager Paul Holmgren said he "got his bell rung.'' The Flyers have resisted diagnosing the injury as a concussion. They simply called it "head trauma'' at practice on Wednesday.

"We wanted to err on the side of caution,'' Stevens said. "With any of our players, especially a young guy, the last thing you want is a young guy being tentative out there. That's when you usually get hurt. James is a good player when he is feeling 100 percent. If he's not, we don't want to play him.

"We've got healthy guys. [Arron] Asham is healthy, Riley [Cote] is healthy. If not, we'll get someone up from the minors. There is no sense pushing anyone at this time of the year.''

Cote and Asham were inserted into the lineup last night, filling in for van Riemsdyk and Blair Betts, who will be out at least 4 weeks with a dislocated right shoulder.

Van Riemsdyk did not participate in the team's pregame skate yesterday but rode the exercise bike during practice on Wednesday and said he was headache- and pain-free.

Stevens was unsure if van Riemsdyk will play tomorrow night against visiting Anaheim.

"We'll see how he feels [today],'' Stevens said. "He's certainly an option for Saturday.''

The Flyers subbed out defenseman Danny Syvret last night to get Ole-Kristian Tollefsen his first game action of the season. Tollefsen, who was acquired via free agency in August, was plagued with a hip injury throughout training camp.

Tollefsen, at 6-2, 211, gave the Flyers' back line added muscle against Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, who scored a goal and had an assist last night.

The Flyers were led by Danny Briere and Jeff Carter, who scored two goals each.

Tollefsen played just over 10 minutes last night, taking two shots.

"We didn't want to keep him out too long," Stevens said. "We wanted to give Tolly some time to get back up to speed.

"He is a physical guy that is hard to play against.''

Syvret is a smaller and speedier puckhandler who brings a different look to the blue line. Both players have been battling for the sixth defensive spot in the lineup.

"I actually talked to Danny today and said, 'If we take you out because of performance, I'll tell you that,' '' Stevens said. "We just think he is a well-rounded guy that can help us at both ends of the rink.''

Flyers goalie Ray Emery will be hanging out on his own block, Emery Street - at the corner of Lehigh Avenue - today to teach students from Stephen A. Douglas High about the basics of hockey.

Emery will be joined by Flyers ambassador Bob Kelly at 2:15 p.m. for a quick skills clinic as part of the Flyers' Hooked on Hockey program.

Comcast-Spectacor chairman Ed Snider will be honored with the John Wanamaker Award tonight at the YMCA of Philadelphia's annual gala for his work with the Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation, which was created in 2005 to teach hockey and life skills to underprivileged students in Philadelphia.