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Briere, Grossmann practice; Bryz not afraid of Pens

Center Danny Briere and defenseman Nick Grossmann, each of whom missed the last last three games after being injured on hits by Pittsburgh's Joe Vitale, returned to the Flyers' practice Monday in Voorhees.

That seems to be a sign they will play in Game 1 of the Pennsylvania Cold War Series, starting Wednesday in Pittsburgh.

These were the Flyers' lines at practice:

* Giroux centering Hartnell and Jagr.

* Briere centering Schenn and Voracek.

* Read centering Wellwood and Simmonds.

* Couturier centering Talbot and Rinaldo.

The D pairings:

* Grossmann-Coburn.

* Carle-Timonen.

* Bourdon-Lilja.

The extra pair had Pavel Kubina with.....Jody Shelley!

Rinaldo finishes No. 2. Columbus' Derek Dorsett picked up 12 penalty minutes in the last game to pass the Flyers' Zac Rinaldo and finish as the league's penalty king.

Dorsett finished with 235 minutes _ three more than Rinaldo.

Dorsett played in 77 games; Rinaldo played in 66.

The Flyers had three players in the top 25 in penalty minutes: Rinaldo, Scott Hartnell (136 minutes, 11th) and Wayne Simmonds (114 minutes, tied for No. 24).

James Neal led Pittsburgh with 87 penalty minutes.

Pens injury update. Two key Penguins _ James Neal (40 goals) and Steve Sullivan (17) _ returned to the team's practice Monday after being sidelined with late-season injuries.

Pittsburgh defenseman Matt Niskanen did not practice, and rookie Brian Strait is expected to replace him in the lineup on the third pairing.

Quotable. Ilya Bryzgalov when asked about the Penguins' biggest threat:

"I'm not afraid of anything. I'm afraid of bear. Bear in the forest."

Follow Sam Carchidi on Twitter at BroadStBull.