Jagr stepping up his game, if not his point total

KNOCKING ON WOOD in the Flyers' locker room yesterday, Jaromir Jagr said he is tired of stopping and starting.

Not on the ice. But in the rehab process - the one that he's continually started over again, without fail, since his wonky groin and hip first started acting up on Nov. 17.

Play two games. Rest. Play two games. Sit. Skate for 14 games. Rest for two. Play seven games. Sit for two. Push for eight. Sit out.

For the most part, Jagr's season has been like a Ferrari snarled in traffic on the Schuylkill Expressway - just enough room to press the pedal, but not enough to fully appreciate the price tag.

Because even when Jagr has been playing, he hasn't been 100 percent. Take the March 6 game against Detroit. The Flyers listed Jagr as "day-to-day," though he never missed a game. He helped the Flyers beat the Red Wings, 3-2, but played just 9 minutes, 19 seconds - mostly on the fourth line with bonus power-play time.

That brings us to his current stretch, in which Jagr is playing arguably his best hockey of the season.

After Scott Hartnell's heroics, Jagr was the Flyers' most impressive player during Sunday's overtime victory over Pittsburgh.

"He's played really strong, I think, the last bit here since coming off the last injury," coach Peter Laviolette said. "I know it takes a little bit to get back into it, but I think he's done a good job. He looks really powerful out there with his skating and puck possession."

The only thing that hasn't translated is Jagr's name onto the scoresheet. He's got three points in his last 10 games, 16 in his last 32.

"I feel good, actually," Jagr said. "You know, I wish I could score a little more goals, but that doesn't matter to me. Skating, I feel good.''

Now, Jagr said, his head is clear. And the points, he hopes, will reappear.

"I don't think it's in my mind," Jagr said. "When you've got injuries, it's kind of tough. It's, 'When are you coming back?' And then you don't play those kind of minutes. You're scared to get injured again. I don't want to get reinjured again and be back, only to start over again. I'm knocking on wood."

With Andrej Meszaros sidelined at least until May after undergoing back surgery today at Thomas Jefferson Hospital, Kimmo Timonen knows no team is going to feel sorry for the Flyers.

For a stretch earlier this month, the Flyers went without Timonen, Meszaros and Pavel Kubina because of injury. When Timonen returned, Andreas Lilja went out.

It's been a revolving door on the defense, and Ilya Bryzgalov has covered up their wounds quite nicely.

"It's sad to see that happen, with regards to 'Mez,' but injuries are a part of the game," Timonen said. "They won't be here. We need to move on. There's nothing we can do."

Kubina returned last night for the first time since March 6, giving the Flyers some semblance of normalcy on the blue line. Lilja also skated after missing one game due to a throat injury.

Kubina gives the Flyers 258 pounds of beef on the back end and a righthanded option from the point on the power play.

"It's been real hard,'' Kubina said of being sidelined. "It didn't happen at the right time for me, but I'm glad I can go back and play. The team has been playing great and it's been fun to watch the team, but injuries are a part of the game. It happens."

One minute last Saturday, Andreas Lilja was tracking Bruins defenseman Andrew Ference's shot from the point; the next, he was gasping for air in the locker room.

Ference's shot was deflected on its way to the net, leaving Lilja totally defenseless for a shot to his neck.

"I was scared, because you can't breathe," Lilja said. "I saw the puck get shot and I saw it get deflected, but then I didn't see it again until it was like 10 centimeters from my face.

"My first thought was that I better get off the ice, because if I can't breathe, then I'm better off in the locker room."

Struggling to breathe, Lilja was quickly transported to Mass General Hospital - just down to the street from TD Garden - where he underwent "every test imaginable" to make sure he wouldn't have complications.

Lilja, 36, sat out Sunday against the Penguins as a precaution but returned to the lineup last night against Florida. He's played his best hockey of the season since returning to the lineup on March 4 after sitting 18 of the previous 21 games as a healthy scratch.

"It's scary because it doesn't matter how many bones or teeth you have, [you can lose them]," Lilja said, "But it's a different story if you can't breathe."