Flyers' Bryzgalov to meet his old team

Ilya Bryzgalov tried to downplay Thursday's game at the Wells Fargo Center against his previous team, the Phoenix Coyotes, but the Flyers goalie wasn't fooling anybody.

"It is Game No. 18," he said after Wednesday's practice at the Skate Zone in Voorhees.

Indeed, it is the 18th game for the 10-4-3 Flyers, but Bryzgalov quickly turned serious when discussing playing against a team he spent most of the previous four seasons with.

"It's special; it's my former team. I have lots of friends and can't forget the time I played there," Bryzgalov said. "The good years, [there were] lots of friends, lots of good people work in this organization, and it is going to be a very special game."

In 11 games this season, Bryzgalov is 7-4-2 with a save percentage of .899 and a 2.78 goals-against average.

Since allowing four goals in a relief effort during a 9-8 loss to Winnipeg on Oct. 27, Bryzgalov is 4-0-1 with a 1.79 goals-against average and .939 save percentage.

In the four games before that, including the Winnipeg contest, he was 0-4 with a 4.54 goals-against average and .802 save percentage.

"I said this before, there were a lot of crazy things that happened in a two- to three-week period there," Flyers coach Peter Laviolette said in discussing Bryzgalov's slump. "There were some tough redirects and bounces, and I am not making any excuses, we need to win hockey games and we need to do a good job playing in front of him. The goaltender has his responsibilities, but there were some tough things that happened there."

What's interesting is that Bryzgalov's successor in Phoenix, Mike Smith, has enjoyed an even better start. The 6-foot-4 Smith, who appeared in 22 games last season for Tampa Bay, signed a two-year, $4.4 million contract as a free agent.

In 13 games, he has a .933 save percentage, along with a 2.19 goals-against average and a record of 8-2-3. At 9-4-3, Phoenix is among the NHL's early-season surprises. The Coyotes also are 5-1-1 on the road.

"Mike has been everything we hoped and needed to date," Phoenix general manager Don Maloney said in an e-mail response. "He is big, athletic, and outstanding at handling the puck, a real help for our defense."

Bryzgalov said this is different from facing his other former NHL team, the Anaheim Ducks, where he was a backup goalie. The most games he ever played in a season at Anaheim was 31.

After being claimed on waivers early in the 2007-08 season by Phoenix, Bryzgalov averaged 64.2 games for the Coyotes in four seasons. He really doesn't know how he will feel on Thursday.

"I guess it's a little bit strange to see Phoenix Coyotes and you are in a different jersey," he said. "I don't know, but I can tell you [Thursday]."

Schenn practices. Forward Brayden Schenn participated in his first practice since suffering a broken left foot in a 5-1 loss at Montreal on Oct. 26. It was his third day skating.

"It felt pretty good, and I had a good day skating," said Schenn, who has appeared in four games this season. "My goal is to get better day to day, and there is no time line, but hopefully, [Thursday] it feels better."