Flyers Notes: Injuried Briere, Grossmann miss game with Penguins
PITTSBURGH - It was supposed to be a week for the Flyers to get recharged and have three grueling practices that would prime them for a playoff run.
PITTSBURGH - It was supposed to be a week for the Flyers to get recharged and have three grueling practices that would prime them for a playoff run.
Instead, two of their regulars - forward Danny Briere and defenseman Nick Grossmann - were injured during workouts and missed Sunday night's game in Pittsburgh.
The injuries were not revealed by general manager Paul Holmgren until Sunday. Holmgren would only say they both had upper-body injuries and were listed as day-to-day.
Grossmann, whose 82 blocked shots placed him third in the NHL, took part in Sunday's morning skate. But he was replaced in the lineup by Kurtis Foster, who was paired with Andrej Meszaros. Braydon Coburn, usually paired with Grossmann, was with Bruno Gervais.
"Certainly we would rather have healthy bodies in there, but that is not the case," coach Peter Laviolette said. "We've dealt with this before in the past, and we'll make adjustments."
Briere, who is goal-less in his last 13 games, was replaced by Harry Zolnierczyk.
It appeared Briere was ticketed for third-line duty with Scott Hartnell and Max Talbot. Instead, that line included Zac Rinaldo, who was promoted from the fourth unit.
Striking distance
The Flyers were fortunate. Despite not playing since last Monday, they remained the same distance out of a playoff spot - five points - entering Sunday's action.
"It could have been a lot worse," winger Simon Gagne said before Sunday's game. "We got some help from other teams, and we're right there. It's not that bad. Five points out of the playoffs, and we have 18 games left. It's a lot of hockey left, and we need to get on a roll now."
Winger Wayne Simmonds said it was nice the Flyers got some help from other teams during the week, "but we have to figure out what we're doing in this locker room."