Flyers still shooting for .500 as James van Riemsdyk visits

For the sixth time this season, the Flyers have a chance to reach what coach Peter Laviolette calls the "starting point" - the .500 mark.

The Flyers (9-10-1), winners of three of their last four games, finally can reach the international symbol of mediocrity if they can defeat improved Toronto and their old pal, James van Riemsdyk, on Monday night at the Wells Fargo Center.

"We had a couple of chances to go to .500 this year," captain Claude Giroux said. "We have to make sure we get those wins. We have a couple of games at home right now in this stretch, and we have to make sure we bear down here."

It will be van Riemsdyk's first game in Philadelphia since he was traded to the Maple Leafs for defenseman Luke Schenn last summer.

When the teams met in Toronto on Feb. 11, van Riemsdyk said that he had great memories of the fans and of playing with the Flyers, but that it was "time to move on."

The left winger has made major strides. He has 11 goals - entering Sunday, he was one goal behind the five players tied for the NHL lead - and had helped the Maple Leafs get off to an 11-8 start.

The Flyers had a chance to climb to .500 Thursday, but they dropped a 5-2 decision to visiting Florida. It marked the fifth time this season they had lost with an opportunity to reach .500.

Afterward, the Flyers conceded that fatigue was a factor. They were coming off a six-game road trip and playing their second game on back-to-back nights. They had rallied for an emotional 6-5 win over the Penguins the night before.

On Monday, there will be no ready-made excuses.

"It's easier when you have the energy, the jump, and when you're not coming off that game in Pittsburgh," coach Peter Laviolette said.

The Flyers had Sunday off and are coming off Saturday afternoon's comeback 5-3 win over Winnipeg.

Laviolette was asked whether there was a psychological hurdle to climb to .500.

"I don't know if it is getting back to .500," he said. "You have to be so many games over .500 in order to make the playoffs and get a chance to compete for the Cup. So we need to get there at some point, and it's good to be home here with some games and get some rest."

The last time the Flyers tried to even their record, shaky defensive play put them in a 4-1 hole and goalie Ilya Bryzgalov was pulled with 8 minutes, 14 seconds remaining in the middle period.

"It feels like we're one game away [from .500] and then we hurt ourselves a little bit with a couple" of games, said forward Brayden Schenn, who has 12 points in his last nine games. "It's huge for us to be ready for Toronto. They are a good hockey team, playing good hockey."

Schenn is one of a handful of Flyers who have picked up the team's offensive slack. The same with Giroux (11 points in last seven games), Wayne Simmonds (10 points in last eight games) and the sizzling Jake Voracek, who has 19 points in his last 12 games.

Conversely, Bryzgalov is going through a rough stretch, and his goals-against average has climbed to 2.77 and his save percentage has dropped to .902. Clearly, Bryzgalov and the Flyers miss the injured Andrej Meszaros (shoulder), who could return to the lineup later this week.