Flyers Notes: Even Flyers' Jagr surprised by quick recovery

A 40-year-old winger coming off an injury in his previous game is not supposed to make a quick recovery.

Then again, the Flyers' Jaromir Jagr is not your typical 40-year-old.

On Wednesday, general manager Paul Holmgren said he didn't expect Jagr to play Thursday because of a hip injury suffered against Detroit Tuesday.

But Jagr, a future Hall of Famer, was in the lineup against visiting Florida on Thursday. Because the Flyers didn't want him to overdo it, he began the night on the fourth line with Eric Wellwood and Jody Shelley.

"I felt better than I thought I would," Jagr said after the morning skate in Voorhees.

Defenseman Brandon Manning was recalled from Adirondack and made his NHL debut Thursday, replacing the injured Pavel Kubina.

If you're scoring at home, the Flyers have four defensemen sidelined with injuries: Kubina, Kimmo Timonen, Andrej Meszaros, and Chris Pronger.

Kubina received stitches near his eyebrow and bridge of his nose when he blocked Alex Ovechkin's shot in Washington on Sunday, but Holmgren said the defenseman's latest injury isn't related. Kubina, who played Tuesday against Detroit, is listed as day-to-day.

Manning, 21, began the night paired with vet Andreas Lilja.

Forward Harry Zolnierczyk, who was also recalled from the Phantoms but was a healthy scratch, gave a glowing report on Manning.

"He stood out pretty quickly for us as one of our better D," Zolnierczyk said. "He's reliable in all positions. It wasn't too long before he was the quarterback of the power-play unit, a big part of penalty killing, and a big player five-on-five. He's definitely built for the pro game and he'll do well when he gets his chance here."

Manning, who had groin surgery in April and hip surgery before the season, didn't expect the promotion.

"Any time it's your first call-up, you're going to be surprised," Manning said. "I know the back-end's been hurting for awhile, so it was a possibility and I've been doing what I can do to get ready and hopefully get the call."

In 32 games with the Phantoms, the 6-foot-1, 195-pound Manning had four goals, five assists, and 75 penalty minutes. He signed with the Flyers as a free agent in 2010.

Winger James van Riemsdyk had successful surgery on his left foot, Holmgren said. The Flyers hope he can return for the start of the playoffs. . . . Lilja was playing in his third straight game after sitting out 18 of the previous 21 contests. The layoff hasn't hurt him, he said. "I think it's an advantage that I'm older and have played for a long time," he said. "It's in my backbone, how to play hockey."