Sunday, March 16, 2008

Latest Flyers Injured: Umberger, Hatcher, Jones

The bad news just keeps coming for the Flyers. In the last three games, not only have the Flyers lost, but they have also had three players injured. Derian Hatcher, Randy Jones and R.J. Umberger are the latest three Flyers to be banged up, and all three are expected to miss some time.

Hatcher's injury is the worst of the three. He fractured his right leg while blocking a shot in the Boston game on Saturday. He is expected to miss at least a month, so unless the Flyers go deep into the playoffs, he is likely done for the year.

Randy Jones is day to day with a hip flexor, so he will likely only miss a few games. R. J. Umberger got hurt in Sunday's game against the Penguins, and he will be out for a minimum of two weeks with an MCL sprain. That timetable would let him return for the last few regular season games and allow him to play in the playoffs.

With Simon Gagne already out and the injuries mounting again for the Flyers, it is looking more and more like this season isn't going to be the amazing turnaround that fans were hoping for. The team has been inconsistent all year long, and some of that has to do with the revolving door of available players for any given game. The Flyers have used 34 different skaters this season, so you can imagine how hard it is to build any momentum from one game to the next when the team has no idea who will be taking the ice.

Injuries are a poor excuse for how awful the team looked today against the Penguins, but the way they are piling up isn't making things any easier for the Flyers.

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