Flyers Notes: Leighton working way back for Flyers
If the Flyers get to the second round of the playoffs, coach Peter Laviolette may have a tough goalie decision.
If the Flyers get to the second round of the playoffs, coach Peter Laviolette may have a tough goalie decision.
Michael Leighton, who rescued the Flyers' season after he was claimed from Carolina on reentry waivers Dec. 15, continues to make progress from a severe high-ankle sprain, and there is a chance he could be ready to play in two or three weeks.
Without Leighton, Brian Boucher has played solidly in the net. Entering Tuesday, Boucher had a 1.87 goals-against average and a .926 save percentage in his last eight games.
Leighton has been skating and taking shots in practice.
"It doesn't feel great, but I'm working to get back," Leighton said Tuesday. "It's on schedule and it's healing." He said he was hoping to get back before the original estimate on his recovery - a minimum of eight weeks.
Leighton injured his left ankle in a March 16 game in Nashville.
"It's getting better, and I'm hoping to get back out there," he said.
If the Flyers get past New Jersey and reach the Eastern Conference semifinals, there is a chance Leighton could be ready early in the series.
Leighton went 16-5-2 with a 2.48 goals-against average and .918 save percentage with the Flyers. He can become an unrestricted free agent in July but would like to remain with the team.
Leighton's agent, Mike Liut, and general manager Paul Holmgren have not had any contract talks, the goalie said.
"I like it here. I like the guys and the organization." Leighton said. "That's my take on it. Whether Paul feels the same, I don't know."
Holmgren plans to talk with Leighton's agent after the season.
Steroid problem?
In reaction to a Sports Illustrated report that the NHL and the Washington Capitals may have covered up a steroid investigation, Flyers president Peter Luukko said the league does not have a problem with performance-enhancing drugs.
Luukko called it "pretty much a nonstory" and said the Flyers and the league did not have steroid issues.
Coburn steady
Since moving to the second defensive pairing and being reunited with Kimmo Timonen earlier in the series, defenseman Braydon Coburn has raised his level of play.
The top two pairings - Chris Pronger and Matt Carle, and Timonen and Coburn - have been logging most of the defensemen's minutes.
"They're the big four, and they've all done a really good job with the puck, and position-wise," Laviolette said.
Bullies revisited
Laviolette got a sneak peek at HBO's special on the Broad Street Bullies, which premieres May 4. The documentary focuses on the team's 1974 and 1975 Stanley Cup champions and how they galvanized the city.
The coach liked what he saw.
"The film was great," he said. "I like documentaries where you get to learn a little bit about something. It gave me a lot of background on the Flyers and Mr. Snider [Ed, the chairman] and how they got them and how they became the Broad Street Bullies."
Growing up in Massachusetts, Laviolette was a Bruins fan when they lost to the Flyers in the 1974 Finals.
"I was 10 and don't remember too much" about that season, Laviolette said. "My memories of when I was 10, 12, 14 years old, to be honest, it's more of Boston-Montreal and that rivalry."