Flyers goalie Ilya Bryzgalov livens up pregame skate

IN HOCKEY, pregame skates are usually quiet - players twirling around the ice in an empty arena in an attempt to shake the doldrums of a night's sleep.

Ilya Bryzgalov livened the Flyers' morning skate on Wednesday when he exited his crease and winged his goalie stick across the ice in apparent frustration. It was a routine drill, one the Flyers perform religiously before games, yet something upset Bryzgalov.

It has been a routine practice recently for Bryzgalov, who has tried hard to stay out of the limelight after a less than flattering introduction to Philadelphia last season.

Bryzgalov, 32, angrily threw his stick against the glass in a pregame skate at Pittsburgh last Wednesday after allowing a goal by Luke Schenn. The next night, he threw it down the tunnel to the Flyers' dressing room after being pulled against Florida.

It may have bothered his coach, Peter Laviolette, who skated over immediately and said something to his goaltender. But tossing his stick doesn't seem to irk Bryzgalov's teammates, who have enjoyed his fire and competitive streak.

"It's been the norm for him the last couple games," Scott Hartnell said Wednesday as a guest on "Daily News Live." "I think he was a little frustrated at himself, maybe he was blowing off a little steam. I don't know what happened, but there was definitely no fallout from that from me or other guys."

Hartnell said he has noticed a marked difference in Bryzgalov's locker-room demeanor.

"His attitude has changed big-time from last year to this year," Hartnell said. "He's not trying to be in front of the camera and take all of the accolades. He's been more to himself. He's worked on his game and it's showed. He's probably been our best player through the first half of the season. We're going to stick with him and keep riding him."

Off to a strong start this season, Bryzgalov's humongous personality may be poking through that shell again. He has a newly painted mask, with Star Wars figurines and orange light sabers, showing his love for space exploration. Apple iPhone's "Siri" app will tell you he's "Mr. Universe" if you ask her.

Bryzgalov has taken a liking to the "Mr. Universe" nickname and recently signed a stick using the moniker.

"They pronounced my name differently, like wrong," Bryzgalov said of "Siri" in an interview with NBC. "We'll get that changed. Let's copyright and start printing some jerseys, T-shirts and other stuff. I guess it's welcome to Hollywood soon."

For the record, Bryzgalov said after the win over the Capitals that he threw his stick Wednesday morning "for the fun of it."

On the heels of interesting trade chatter involving Danny Briere, the press box at Wells Fargo Center was full of scouts and executives again Wednesday.

Oilers president Kevin Lowe was joined by senior vice president Craig MacTavish and Eastern scout Morey Gare. A trip from Edmonton isn't exactly around the corner, but the Oilers are peddling former first-round picks Ryan Whitney and Ales Hemsky.

Whitney, 30, is the mobile, offensive defenseman the Flyers crave, but he has been a healthy scratch recently. Hemsky, a 29-year-old winger, has thrice broken 65 points scoring in his NHL career, all with the Oilers.

Jeff Petry, 25, is also an intriguing name out of Edmonton. He's younger, and more expensive than Whitney, but has a decent mix of size and footspeed. Plus, he'd be a solid No. 4 on a defense corps full of third pairing-type players.

The NHL trade deadline is April 3.

One week after tearing muscles in his rib cage, Matt Read was back on the ice for the pregame skate in Voorhees. Though his on-ice functions are limited, Read chose to skate to try to maintain his game shape.

Breathing hasn't been an issue, but coughing, sneezing and sudden movements jar his rib cage. Read netted 13 points in 18 games and was one of the Flyers' most consistent forwards before injuring himself on back-to-back hits from Evgeni Malkin and Chris Kunitz in Pittsburgh on Feb. 20.

He is expected to miss another 5 weeks - and that time frame likely hasn't changed.

"I can skate, but I can't do anything else besides that, really," Read said. "It's frustrating, but . . . injuries are part of the game. You can't do anything about it. You need to take it with a grain of salt and when you get back to being healthy, get ready to be at 100 percent."

Blog: philly.com/FrequentFlyers