Gagner filling in ably for Flyers

Sam Gagner is playing like he doesn't want to come out of the Flyers' lineup.

Alternating between wing and center, Gagner has been used as an injury replacement for R.J. Umberger and Sean Couturier. He entered Tuesday with two goals and two assists) in five games, along with a plus-3 rating and a key shootout goal in a win over the Rangers.

Couturier has missed the last two-plus games because of a concussion, suffered when he was leveled by Boston's Zac Rinaldo last Wednesday. Gagner has filled in admirably as the second-line center. He played his first three games mostly at right wing.

"Obviously, it's ideal to find one position and get comfortable there," Gagner said Tuesday before the game against Buffalo. "But I've done it so much in the past - going back and forth between wing and center - that I'm pretty comfortable with it."

Acquired in a June trade that sent Nick Grossmann to Arizona, Gagner said getting dealt from Edmonton to Tampa Bay to Arizona (all on the same day in 2014) helped him get adjusted to the shock of being with a new team and a different system.

"Last year, I was traded for the first time and it was tough for me to get acclimated early on," he conceded. "Because of going through that, I think it's made it easier this time around."

Coach Dave Hakstol called Gagner a "coachable guy who wants to improve his game. He just has to keep taking small steps in the right direction every day."

Couturier skated at the team's morning practice Tuesday for the first time since Friday; he hopes to play Thursday against New Jersey.

Couturier said Rinaldo sent him a text, saying "I'm sorry."

His response?

"I said I was fine," said Couturier, adding he thought Rinaldo should have been suspended.

The Flyers' power play, which finished third in the NHL last season, began Tuesday clicking at just 16.7 percent, 20th in the league. "We've had the same unit pretty much for the last four years," Wayne Simmonds said. "Obviously teams are starting to lock down on certain things we like to do, so it's up to us to change it up, get some new looks."

Retired Flyer Danny Briere was honored in a pregame ceremony that included video highlights of his career. "I feel it was time. I had my time," Briere, 38, who played parts of 17 seasons, said when asked if he had any second thoughts about retiring. "The game is getting faster, and I'm getting older and slower. ... I have no regrets." ...  Defenseman Luke Schenn replaced Brandon Manning for the second time in the last three games.