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FlyersWIRE: Weekend preview
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Briere is out Friday
After playing four games in six days, the Flyers enjoyed most of this week in relaxing fashion. But they will jump right back into the thick of the grueling NHL schedule with three games in four days - including back-to-back games on Friday and Saturday.
Luckily for the Flyers, the four days off this week gave them a chance to heal from some dents and dings. Here is an injury update:
Danny Briere: Flyers coach John Stevens announced that Briere will not be in the lineup this weekend against the Sabres and Coyotes. Yes, he will be missing a return to Buffalo, where he spent a few seasons and had a lot of good memories. He has been sidelined for the last three games with a groin strain. I had a chance to catch up with Briere at the Philly Sports Fans Choice Awards and he said that it has been good for him to get some rest and begin skating again, but this injury is frustrating for him. He said that he can't tell whether it is getting better or not - it is tough to judge - because for two days it will feel fine and then he will wake up and it will be sore again. It looks like he'll be back in the lineup on Monday.
Ossi Vaananen: The Flyers Finnish defenseman will definitely be out of the lineup this weekend. His finger has been a big issue.
Riley Cote: The big, bad enforcer for the Flyers began skating again on Thursday since tearing his bicep. He could be back in a week or so. It depends on what Stevens wants to do with his roster.
Trade Review:
I think that it is important to look at the Flyers / Lightning trade for Matt Carle after it has had a week or two to sink in. That is just exactly what Tampa Bay did not do with Carle. After only 12 games in Southwest Florida, Tampa Bay decided wayyyy too quickly to ship him off for Steve Downie and Steve Eminger. Why? Well it isn't because Downie and Eminger won't ever amount to much in the NHL - which is besides the point anyway. Carle is a legitmate All-Star-caliber player in the NHL.
Let's not forget that Carle is just 24 years old! In his five games with the Flyers, Carle is average more than 25 minutes in ice time per night. That is pretty impressive. OK, so he hasn't scored many points. But he didn't do that last season in San Jose. He only had 15 points in 2007-08. The year prior, Carle notched 42 points for the Sharks. He may never get back to that level again, but that is fine. He is a top flight player and he is going to get better. Carle is extremely versatile - and he has seen action on both the power play and penalty kill.
Trade Grade: A
The Flyers had hoped Eminger would work out with a change of scenery from Washington. He didn't. Downie was getting lost in the shuffle and clearly could not adjust to play at the NHL level. This was a steal.
Weekend Preview
After stealing two points from Montreal and one point from Pittsburgh, two of the best teams in the Eastern Conference, picking up the points this weekend will be imperative. Although the Flyers have very similar records with Buffalo and Phoenix, these are teams that you need to beat if you are to be considered a true playoff team.
Against Buffalo (9-6-3): One key to the game will be to neutralize the home ice advantage by scoring an early goal. Buffalo is one of the tougher places to play in the league. The Flyers have the speed to match up with the Sabres, so as long as they get the support from their defense that they need and can minimize turnovers, they will be in the thick of the game.
UPDATE (Fri. 4:00 p.m.): WGR 550 (Buffalo) has leaked to FlyersWIRE that Sabres coach Lindy Ruff has opted to bench forward Maxim Afinogenov and defenseman Henrik Tallinder in order to "send a message to his team." Afinogenov, a 73-point scorer just two seasons ago, has struggled this season with only 8 points (1G, 7A) in 18 games. Tallinder is more of a surprising scratch. He is only a -1 this season while 40-year-old Teppo Numminen has struggled and is -5. We'll see how this impacts Friday's game.
Against Phoenix (8-8-1): The Coyotes have one of the youngest teams in the NHL. Olli Jokinen was a huge off-season pick-up for Phoenix. Shane Doan and Peter Mueller are tough players to try and contain. Phoenix' Mueller actually scored the game-winning goal for the Coyotes with 6:25 remaining in the game last time they came to the Wachovia Center, which was just before Christmas last season.
Check back on Monday for a recap of the weekend and preview on Monday night's contest against Dallas.
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