Flyers' Brayden Schenn likes keeping a low profile

ONE GAGGLE of cameras and audio recorders surrounded Wayne Simmonds. Another was quickly forming around Danny Briere.

Brayden Schenn kept his head down and walked toward his stall in the corner of the Flyers' dressing room, distanced from the bright lights and eager microphones.

Schenn, 21, entered Monday's action tied for 29th in NHL scoring with 19 points - ahead of such bigger names as Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa, Ilya Kovalchuk, Alex Ovechkin and even Simmonds. Yet no player ahead of him on that list - especially no Flyer - has received less attention and fanfare this season.

"I'd like to keep it like that, too," Schenn said with a smile. "I love flying under the radar, doing what I can to help the team win. I'll contribute any way I can."

Schenn leads the Flyers' forwards in plus/minus (plus-4) and shooting percent (17.1), and ranks third in assists (13).

Once known as a streaky scorer, Schenn has had few valleys in his game this season. He has collected at least one point in 12 out of his last 16 games - beginning just after the Flyers and Rangers' last meeting on Jan. 29.

"I think that's what's nice with our team, our depth is starting to show," said his linemate, Briere. "Our line is starting to give a little more support to the top line; it takes a lot of pressure off of Claude [Giroux] and Jake [Voracek] and Scott [Hartnell].

"Brayden is intense. He's very aggressive, plays with an edge. He creates a lot of turnovers. But he's also a good playmaker and offensive player. As he gets more and more confidence, he'll get better and better."

Part of the reason for his increased confidence is the addition of his older brother, Luke, to the Flyers' blue line. It sounds clichéd, but each Schenn is the other's biggest critic and fan.

"When he played in Toronto, he watched every game," Brayden Schenn said. "We would talk on the phone after every game; it was always, 'What'd you think?' He's helped me. If I need a pep talk or something during an intermission, he'll say something.

"We're pretty positive with each other; we try and pump each other up. We know when we made a bad play or a mistake, no need to repeat it. I respect a lot of the other guys in this room and what they say, but when it comes from your brother, you listen."

The other part of his surge to the top of the stat sheet is his health. Knocking on the wood stall in the Flyers' locker room, Schenn said he always felt the need to prove himself when returning from injuries. He suffered a broken foot, concussion and shoulder injury in succession during the first 3 months of his rookie season last year.

Combined with his AHL performance during the lockout, Schenn has 52 points in 55 games this season. He's on pace to play 79 games before the playoffs roll around, something he said he wasn't sure would help or hurt him later.

"When you have that type of start, the coaching staff was probably wondering what type of player I was," Schenn said. "It always helps your second year, when you feel more comfortable, to know what you can bring to the table."

Matt Read may be back sooner than even the Flyers expected.

Read, 26, originally was projected to be out for 6 weeks with torn rib-cage muscles, suffered in back-to-back hits on Feb. 20 in Pittsburgh. Instead, Read said he could be back "as soon as this weekend." He skated in a full, hourlong practice on Monday - wearing a regular, white practice jersey - and participated in cycling drills with passing and shooting.

Last week, he was limited to only skating and little puck movement. He took the weekend off from skating and felt better on Monday.

"I think I've healed pretty quickly, but I'm still in a lot of pain," Read said after practice. "Maybe that last part, going from 80 percent to 100 percent healthy will take a while."

Read was one of the Flyers' most consistent forwards to start the season, racking up 13 points in 18 games.

"It could be this weekend, it could be 2 weeks from now," Read said. "I really don't know. I don't think it will be another month, though. I just want to take my time and make sure I don't reinjure myself."

Defenseman Andrej Meszaros, expected back soon from a shoulder injury, missed Monday's practice because he was sick . . . Harry Zolnierczyk acknowledged he was taken aback by his four-game suspension by the NHL. He apologized to Senators defenseman Mike Lundin for the hit, which left Lundin concussed . . . Mike Knuble is expected to replace Zolnierczyk in the Flyers' lineup in New York.

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