Hartnell boots and rallies

FOR A MOMENT in Buffalo on Tuesday night, Wayne Simmonds cheered when Scott Hartnell blocked a vicious slap shot. Hartnell's willingness to sacrifice his body prevented a scoring chance.

It wasn't until Hartnell limped back to the bench and down the tunnel to the locker room that it hit Simmonds: That one shot could have cost him one-third of his red-hot line.

"I was a little worried there," Simmonds said. "We've been thriving. The last thing you want is for one of the guys to go down."

Hartnell quickly returned to the game and grabbed two more points before finally pulling off his skates and heading to the X-ray room at First Niagara Center.

That's when coach Craig Berube got a little nervous.

"We weren't sure [on Wednesday]," Berube said. "It could have been a lot worse. You don't want to lose any player for that length of time."

Sure enough, when the first whistle blew at yesterday morning's pregame skate, Hartnell was gingerly testing his ankle. Alexander Sulzer's blast from the point caught him on the side of his skate, but he fortunately escaped with only a contusion.

Hartnell wasn't about to miss a game because of a bruise.

"It feels better in my skate than it does a shoe," Hartnell said.

Hartnell remained in the Flyers' lineup last night when they took on his former team. Last night, he was wearing a clear, plastic boot over his skate to protect the tender area.

It wasn't surprising because, well, Hartnell doesn't miss games. Period.

Hartnell, 31, has played in 92.3 percent (918 out of 995) games he has been eligible for since his rookie season in 2000-01 with the Predators.

His durability with the Flyers has been nothing short of impressive. Before fracturing a foot during last year's lockout-shortened season, Hartnell had only missed one game in his first five seasons. He was suspended for two games by the NHL in Nov. 7 in his first season in Philadelphia.

"I was a little worried about this one," Hartnell said. "You hate to miss games. You hate to get injured."

Hartnell would have hated to get injured in the midst of one of his best runs in the last 18 months. His three-point night, the second of this season, gave him 14 points in his last 14 games.

Both Hartnell and Simmonds were right in the thick of the action again last night, screening Carter Hutton on Brayden Schenn's first period tap-in. Hartnell, Simmonds and Schenn were all within a few feet of each other around the goal, as Andrej Meszaros walked in front the point. Simmonds picked up an assist - and another one on Meszaros' second-period goal - giving him 19 points in 15 games.

"We have the same mindset, so sometimes we do bump into each other," Simmonds said. "It was probably a game or two before we could trust each other."

Simmonds said his line works so well with Hartnell, who previously played with Jake Voracek and Claude Giroux, because they love being at the net.

"We're all smart players," Simmonds said with a smile.

Since Hartnell has missed more time because of blocked shots than anything else in his Flyers career, he said the protective boots may not be going away.

"I wore them last year after I broke my foot," Hartnell said. "I put them on after I blocked the shot last game. How convenient. I think they might stick this time. I think in a few years, most guys will be wearing them."

Wearing the skate shields won't knock Hartnell's toughness down any pegs in Simmonds' book.

"That's the beauty of a hockey player: We battle through a lot of injuries," Simmonds said. "If you can walk, you can play."

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