Chris Pronger is done for the season

If the Flyers want to win a Cup this season, they are going to have to do it without Chris Pronger.  The Flyers have announced that their captain, who has been out since November 19th, will miss the remainder of the regular season and the playoffs due to severe concussion symptoms.

This is a huge blow to the Flyers, who lose one of their biggest advantages they have over opponents: their depth on defense.  Since Pronger is on LTIR, the Flyers will have some cap space to acquire someone of significance but he surely won't have the same impact as Pronger has in the back end.

The bigger question could be if Pronger will ever play hockey again.  It's likely too early to tell but if he has already been ruled out for the next 5-6 months, he must be dealing with some very serious issues.  Here's hoping the Flyers get their captain back next season if for no other reason than they are paying him big money for 5 more years.

Flyers lose Schenn for 4-6 weeks

Blink and you might have missed Brayden Schenn in the Flyers lineup so far this season.  The key piece to the Mike Richards deal, who just joined the Flyers 4 games ago, suffered a broken foot against the Canadiens on Wednesday and will miss 4-6 weeks.  The Flyers placed him on LTIR and called up forward Zac Rinaldo and defenseman Erik Gustafsson.

It is the second injury of the season for Schenn, who had to start the season with the Phantoms because he was recovering from an injured shoulder.  He played in only 4 games for the Flyers and didn't register a point and was a -5.  While this is certainly a rocky start to his Flyers career, Schenn is just 20 and there is no reason to expect that he won't develop into a tremendous two-way threat.

The Flyers were awful last night against the Canadiens so a little shake-up of the roster might be in order.  Putting Schenn on LTIR allows the Flyers to keep Matt Walker on the roster for now, though I would expect him to be dumped to the minors the moment Gustafsson shows that he can hang in the NHL.

Flyers lose Pronger for the rest of the regular season

Just a few days removed from Paul Holmgren telling us not to worry about Chris Pronger's injury, the Flyers dropped this news on us today: Pronger will have surgery on his right hand and will miss 3-4 weeks, which covers the rest of the regular season. Fortunately, Pronger should be fine to return in the playoffs and, if anything, he will be plenty refreshed for a long playoff run.

While many Flyers fans thought to panic initially, it's important to remember that Pronger has already missed time this season and the team did pretty well without him. Of course the Flyers would prefer to have their defensive anchor on the ice as they try to hold on to the number one seed in the East but they have plenty of defensive depth, with the newly acquired Nick Boynton stepping in to play on a regular basis. Jumping into the 7th defenseman spot will be Erik Gustafsson, who was called up from the Phantoms. You may remember Gustafsson from his one game stint back in February.

The loss of Pronger does somewhat diminish the Flyers chances at getting the top seed in the East but it should have no affect on how far they get in the playoffs this season. As we have seen time and time again, seeding in hockey means very little, with tops seeds getting knocked off on a regular basis. The Flyers are going to be too busy worrying about turning around their play on the ice to worry about not having Pronger. Perhaps not having him out there will even help the team play good hockey again as they step their game up to replace their best defensive player.

Flyers' Walker to have surgery, miss 10 to 12 weeks

This won't make the people that hated the Simon Gagne trade any happier. The Flyers announced that Matt Walker, who was acquired in the offseason from the Tampa Bay Lightning for Gagne, will be out 10 to 12 weeks after he has hip surgery on Wednesday. Walker, who has yet to play a game for the Flyers this season, suffered the injury in a preseason game.

If the Flyers were going to lose a player for two months, it might as well be their 7th defenseman. Given the depth at the defense position, where the Flyers have six steady contributors and Oskars Bartulis as an extra, they probably won't miss Walker much, if at all. The fact that Walker makes 1.7 million and was the "key" piece in the Gagne deal is somewhat depressing but the Flyers should be just fine without him.

Leighton to have surgery, miss 6-8 weeks

Get ready for a whole lot more Sergei Bobrvosky in net, Flyers fans. Michael Leighton, who was previously thought to miss "about a month", will have surgery on his back in the coming days and will miss 6-8 weeks of the season. While he is out, expect the Flyers to stick with Bobrovsky as the starter with Brian Boucher also getting a few starts in net.

Back injuries are tricky things, so it would be a stretch to expect Leighton to come back in December and be the starting goaltender right away. By that time in the season, it's hard to say what the Flyers goaltending situation will look like, as Bobrovksy might established himself as the starting goaltender in Philly or he might fizzle out and need to go the minors. Given the injury situation and the way he looked last night, it's not to difficult to assume that Bob is going to be the man this season.

Flyers roster taking shape as preseason winds down

With just one game remaining, the most successful Flyers preseason in recent memory is just about to wrap up. While, just like any sport, you can't put much stock in preseason hockey results, the Flyers have looked tremendous while winning 5 of their 7 games. With just one game left, the Flyers are now faced with some tough roster decisions as they prepare for their season opener on Thursday against the Penguins.

Here's a look at how their 23 man roster is shaping up:

Forwards:

Locks (10): Daniel Briere, Mike Richards, Jeff Carter, Scott Hartnell, Nikolay Zherdev, James van Riemsdyk, Jody Shelley, Claude Giroux, Ville Leino, Blair Betts

Bubble (3-4 spots): Daniel Carcillo, Bill Guerin, Darroll Powe, Andreas Nodl, Ben Holmstrom

Injured: Ian Laperriere (LTIR)

The list above assumes that Blair Betts will be ready to play from the start of the season. The injury to Lappy has left the door wide open for Guerin to get a contract and Carcillo to keep his spot. At this point, I bet that both stay and that Powe and Nodl are both kept as extra forwards in case Betts isn't 100%.

Defensemen:

Locks (6): Kimmo Timonen, Chris Pronger, Andrej Meszaros, Matt Carle, Braydon Coburn, Sean O'Donnell

Bubble (1-2 spots): Matt Walker, Oskars Bartulis, Erik Gustafsson, Marc-Andre Bourdon

It isn't known right now if Chris Pronger will be ready to skate on opening night, which means one of the extra defensemen might get some ice time. I'm still scratching my head as to why the Flyers bothered to acquire Matt Walker, they have plenty of kids that can do what he does for much less salary. While I would be all for demoting him, the smart money says that Walker stays and Bartulis is shipped to the AHL.

Goalies:

Lock (1): Brian Boucher

Bubble (1 spot): Sergei Bobrovsky, Johan Backlund

Injured: Michael Leighton (LTIR)

The Leighton injury has opened the door for preseason sensation Sergei Bobrovsky to make the team. While I still would prefer that he get more familiar with the North American game this season and get a ton of minutes in the AHL, he has made a strong case to stick around. The biggest drawback to keeping him will be his salary, which at 1.75 million, will be even more than Leighton will make. With Backlund banged up, however, "Bob" might be given a shot.

It's hard to believe we are less than a week away from the Eastern Conference Champs return to the ice for some real games!

Flyers lose Leighton, Laperriere to injury

It must be hockey season because the Flyers have problems in net! In a conference call today, Paul Holmgren announced that Flyers starting goaltender Michael Leighton will miss about a month of the season with a bulging disc in his back. In his absence, the Flyers will likely go with Brian Boucher as the starter and either Johan Backlund or preseason sensation Sergei Bobrovsky as the backup.

In even worse news, the Flyers also announced that Ian Laperriere will be out indefinitely due to post-concussion issues that are still bothering him from the playoffs last season. There was no announced timetable for a return for Lappy, but given that he's still hurting from an injury from last season, expect him to be placed on the long-term injured reserve and miss a significant chunk of the season. With Lappy out, a roster spot is all but guaranteed for training camp invite Bill Guerin. While Guerin won't replace Lappy's toughness, he will certainly provide more offensive punch.

With the season just over a week away, this wasn't exactly the news we all were hoping to hear. Then again, it wouldn't be Flyers hockey without a goalie issue.

Reinforcements: Carter, Lappy back for the Flyers

Suddenly, the Flyers are back to full strength: according to various sources, both Jeff Carter and Ian Laperriere are back in the lineup for Game 4. While there had been speculation that Lappy would be back for Game 4, the fact that Carter is suiting up after the Flyers said there was no chance he would be back during the Eastern Conference Finals is nothing short of a shock. Apparently, the Flyers are pulling out all the stops in a Game 4 that will swing the series one way or another.

To make room for Carter and Laperriere, the Flyers will scratch Dan Carcillo and Andreas Nodl. Expect Laperriere to play on the 4th line and jump right back onto the penalty killing unit while Carter will likely be eased back a little more, playing mostly on the wing and some on the power play. What they shouldn't do with Carter is put him back in at center, especially with how well Danny Briere and Claude Giroux have been playing.

It's pretty clear the Flyers want to leave Montreal with a 3-1 series lead. Whether Carter and Laperriere are really healthy enough to help is a big question but they won't be replacing anyone that was making a huge impact in the series anyway. It's really a win-win for the Flyers to bring these guys back, though, with the best case scenario being Carter's and Lappy's returns give the team the same boost they got when Simon Gagne returned in the second round and the worst case scenario being one or both re-injures themselves and the Flyers depth steps back in the lineup once again. Either way, an already huge Game 4 just got a lot more intriguing.

Flyers injury update: Lappy coming soon, Carter likely out for the Conference Finals

One of the advantages of making a deep playoff run is that the players you thought were out for the season start inching closer to a return. There have been grumblings that two such players for the Flyers, Ian Laperriere and Jeff Carter, are getting ramped up for a possible return to the ice.

Laperriere appears more likely to return in the Eastern Conference Finals than Carter. CSN Philly speculates that Lappy, who suffered a concussion and brain contusion against the Devils, could be back as soon as Game 4 against the Canadiens. Apparently, Laperriere has felt well enough to resume skating and he hasn't had any setbacks in recent days. Of course, it will likely be up to a doctor to ensure that there are no lingering issues before he will be cleared to play. Laperriere's return to the ice would be huge for the Flyers as he can jump right back onto the 4th line in place of Andreas Nodl and start killing penalties right away. With Lappy being a hard worker and a great chemistry guy, the team will welcome him back with open arms.

As for a player that some think would hurt team chemistry if he returned, it doesn't sound like Jeff Carter will be coming back at any point in the Eastern Conference Finals. While reports from CSN Philly originally speculated that he could be back as early as Game 2, Paul Holmgren has gone on record saying that it would be "a stretch" to think Carter would be able to suit up at all in this series. Despite initial positive reports, it's sounding more and more like Carter won't be able to come back unless the Flyers make it to the Stanley Cup Finals.

The return of either player would simply be a case of the strong getting stronger. With the Flyers playing as well as they have been, neither player should feel pressure to have to hurry back from their injuries. Should the Flyers drop a couple of games to the Canadiens, though, I wouldn't be shocked to hear that both Carter and Laperriere were feeling much better and were ready to go.

Jeff Carter could be back in Game 2 for the Flyers...or not?

The good news just keeps on coming for the Flyers. With the team already rolling past the Canadiens in Game 1, rumors have come out that they may get their leading goal scorer back sooner than expected. According to CSN Philly, there is a chance that Jeff Carter, who has been out since injuring his foot in Game 4 against the Devils, could return to the Flyers as soon as Game 2 on Tuesday. As you may recall, initial reports back on April 21st speculated that Carter would miss 6 weeks so a comeback this soon would mean he has made an incredible recovery from his injury.

Of course, as soon as this rumor was broken by CSN Philly, the Flyers quickly squashed it, saying that a return in Game 2 or 3 would be highly unlikely. Take what the Flyers say at this time of the year with a grain of salt, though, teams don't like to give away when their players are returning in the playoffs.

While some may not want Carter back in the lineup given how well the Flyers are playing without him, I don't see how his return could be anything but a good thing. Since the Flyers are playing well, there is no reason to rush him back to the ice, but if he's ready to contribute, he needs to be playing, even if it's just on the power play or on the third or fourth lines. Adding a 30 goal scorer to the Flyers lineup will give them yet another weapon that the opposition has to figure out how to stop. Whether it's sooner or later, whenever Jeff Carter returns the Flyers offense gets that much more potent and their chances of winning a cup increase even more.

Flyers injury update: Gagne out 3 weeks, Carter done for the season

It looks like Simon Gagne and Jeff Carter will be missing much more than just Game 5. According to Flyers GM Paul Holmgren, both Gagne and Carter are going to have surgery on their respective foot injuries, meaning both will not be "day to day" as was originally reported. In fact, following surgery on Friday, Gagne is expected to be out 3 weeks, or at least until the end of the second round, while Carter is expected to be out for 6, which will end his season.

As we already knew, Ville Leino and David Laliberte are likely going to replace Gagne and Carter in the lineup but they won't be expected to get all of the ice time and power play minutes. Instead, look for the Flyers to turn to players like Claude Giroux and James van Riemsdyk to make a bigger impact. It will be up to the young guys to step up if the Flyers want to make any serious playoff run.

Flyers lose Carter, Gagne for at least Game 5

(Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

Suddenly, that 3-1 series lead doesn't look so solid. Just hours after their impressive Game 4 win over the Devils, the Flyers got some bad news: they will be without Jeff Carter and Simon Gagne for Game 5 and possibly beyond. Both forwards will be out with foot injuries that they sustained in Game 4, with Carter injuring his foot deflecting the puck on his second goal of the game and Gagne injuring his while blocking a shot. Flyers GM Paul Holmgren said that both players are "day to day", though in the playoffs, even players with major injuries are said to be "day to day".

Losing the two puts a damper on the Flyers chances in Game 5 but it doesn't kill them. Neither forward has been the focal point of the Flyers attack in the series, although the timing for Carter, who is a very streaky scorer, was especially bad considering he is coming off a two goal game. Replacing Carter and Gagne in the lineup will be Ville Leino and David Laliberte, which definitely constitutes a dropoff in offense. While I have been hoping Leino, a solid offensive player, would get some ice time in the playoffs, he certainly is no Jeff Carter.

Eliminating the Devils in Game 5 in New Jersey was already going to be a tough task for the Flyers; with these injuries, it almost seems insurmountable. That said, the best case scenario for the Flyers is probably to let these two heal and regroup for a chance to beat the Devils back in Philly for Game 6.

Flyers turn to college player to backup Boucher (but only on weekends)

Ugly. It's a word that can describe both how the Flyers are playing right now as well as their goaltending situation. Everything guest poster Mark Trible said the other day about the Flyers lacking passion and accountability still rings true but what's happening in goal this season, where things have gone from bad to worse, is just ridiculous.

With Ray Emery and Michael Leighton already out for the season, the Flyers have been forced to turn to Brian Boucher as the starting goaltender despite how many bad goals he lets up. On Saturday, the Flyers gave Johan Backlund his first career start in net, and, despite giving up too many juicy rebounds, he had a decent showing against the Penguins. Until he got hurt, of course. Backlund had been dealing with groin issues with the Phantoms and he re-aggravated it in the second period, forcing the Flyers to put Boucher into a game that they promptly lost. While Backlund wasn't going to be the savior in net, we should have expected that the moment he showed any promise he would go down with an injury. That's just how things have gone for the Flyers this season.

Luckily, Backlund only expects to be out a few days. In his place, the Flyers have made an emergency call-up of Carter Hutton from UMass-Lowell. Hutton was just recently signed by the Flyers after he finished his four year college career and will serve as Boucher's backup until Backlund is healthy again. Well, at least on weekends. Apparently, Hutton will be unavailable to play games in the middle of the week because he has a class he must attend at UMass-Lowell.

Yep, so not only are injuries keeping the Flyers thin in goal, classes in college might keep the Flyers from having two healthy netminders. What the Flyers will do if Brian Boucher gets hurt and Hutton isn't around to back him up is a mystery. Perhaps that whole idea of signing Robert Esche that Hockeybuzz.com came up with doesn't seem so ridiculous. And that pretty much sums up the sad state the Flyers goaltending situation is in.

Season over? Flyers lose Carter for 3-4 weeks

First they lost Ray Emery for the season, then Michael Leighton. Add to that the 4 losses in their last 5 games. So, of course this happens.

Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse for the Flyers, they will be without their top goal scorer for the rest of the regular season: Jeff Carter will miss the next 3-4 weeks with a fracture in his left foot, which happened when he blocked a shot against the Thrashers on Sunday. With only 3 weeks left in the season, this means the Flyers could also be without Carter when the playoffs get under way.

So, is that it for the Flyers? Should we stick a fork in them? While Carter leads the Flyers with 33 goals this season, the team does have plenty of other goal scorers, with 8 other players in double-digits. So, while it appears that the Flyers season is circling the drain, if they can get one of Claude Giroux or James van Riemsdyk to step up in the absence of Carter, the Flyers can keep hope alive.

Losing Carter isn't the end of the world for the Flyers. Barring a massive collapse, the Eastern Conference isn't strong enough to keep them out of the playoffs. If they can just keep the ship afloat for the next few weeks, the Flyers will find themselves back in the playoffs, likely against one of the top teams in the East. Sure, they seem destined for a first round failure, but that probably would have happened with or without Jeff Carter. Maybe another first round exit will convince the Flyers they need a real goaltender. Then again, it probably won't.

Uh, oh: Flyers lose Leighton to high ankle sprain

Talk about a worst-case scenario. With Ray Emery out for the season, the Flyers took a risk and went with Michael Leighton as their starting goaltender. While Leighton has struggled to find his consistency, he has proven that he deserved to be given a shot to carry the Flyers into the playoffs. Sure, he wasn't going to take over many games for the Flyers but he also wasn't going to completely flop, either.

Of course, that was all barring an injury like the one he suffered on Tuesday night in Nashville. In the first period against the Predators, Leighton was ran into and had to leave the game and was replaced by Brian Boucher. Initial reports say that Leighton has suffered a high ankle sprain, something that should keep him out for a few weeks.

In Leighton's absence, Brian Boucher, who hasn't started a game since December 21st, is your Flyers goaltender. Boucher has been a pretty big disappointment in his return to the Flyers this year, posting a 4-12 record and a 2.86 goals against average. Calling on him to start 8-10 games in net could be nothing short of a disaster for a Flyers team looking to make a move up the Eastern Conference standings.

My initial guess is that Johan Backlund will be called up to be the new backup goaltender at some point, although he is currently injured. Backlund has played pretty well for Adirondack in the AHL this season but he has no NHL experience. Backlund might actually be a better goaltender than Boucher if given the chance.

This is the risk you take when you don't make a move to strengthen one of the weakest positions on your team. While there is no way you can predict injuries, it would still have been nice if GM Paul Holmgren had a better contingency plan in place than Boucher. Let's hope Leighton is a quick healer or the Flyers might find themselves facing the Penguins or Capitals in the first round of a quick playoff series.

Flyers lose Syvret for a month, activate Tollefsen

One of the nicer surprises for the Flyers this season has been defenseman Danny Syvret. With all the tumult and inconsistent play going on around him, Syvret has emerged as a solid top 6 d-man for the Flyers. No, he doesn't put up big numbers (4 points in 21 games) but he rarely is out of position and consistently makes the right play. He has made quite a jump from the 7th or 8th defenseman to someone the Flyers are counting on every night.

Unfortunately for the Flyers, the strides Syvret has made will be put on hold. Syvret suffered a separated shoulder in the Flyers win over the Stars on Monday night and he will be out for a month. Steve Ott of the Stars is the one to blame for the injury as he boarded Syvret, a hit that could arguably have drawn a suspension but didn't.

In Syvret's place, the Flyers have activated Ole-Kristian Tollefsen from the IR. Tollefsen has been out since December 14th with knee problems and there is some speculation as to whether he is actually healthy enough to return or whether the Flyers are forcing him back because they are desperate for a 6th d-man. Having only played 10 games this season, Tollefsen hasn't exactly been "healthy" this year. The cynic in me wonders if he'll make it through the week without getting hurt again.

Flyers lose Emery for 6 weeks

It just gets worse and worse for the Flyers. Already mired in a slump that has seen them lose 8 of their last 9 games, the Flyers got some news today that certainly won't help them climb out of their funk: goaltender Ray Emery will be out 6 weeks. Emery, who uncharacteristically played only 1 of the last 4 games for the Flyers, will have abdominal surgery to repair a torn muscle.

Losing Emery is a pretty big blow to the Flyers but the surgery should help him bounce back from his recent woes. Emery started out the season playing one of the best goalies in the league before fading in the recent weeks; the Flyers think having surgery will get Emery back to playing at the top of his game.

In his absence, the Flyers will go with Brian Boucher in net. Johan Backlund was also called up to be the backup. Boucher hasn't been great for the Flyers this year but he is certainly a capable backup that won't win you a lot of games but he won't lose them, either.

Flyers lose Betts and Powe to injury

Just when you thought everything was looking up for the Flyers, they lose a pair of games and a pair of players in subsequent days. Philly had won 7 of their last 8 heading into Friday night's game with the Sharks, which they lost 6-3, then they headed to Phoenix on Saturday where they lost 3-1 to the Coyotes. A pair of losses on the road isn't necessarily a terrible thing but the team unfortunately also suffered a pair of significant injuries.

Blair Betts has been an unsung player for the Flyers, killing penalties and winning faceoffs in his checking line role. While Betts doesn't fill up a box score, he does all the little things that help hockey teams win. Unfortunately for the Flyers, however, Betts re-injured his right shoulder on Saturday night against the Coyotes, an injury that, according to Tim Panaccio, is expected to keep him out about a month. This will be the second time this season Betts has injured his right shoulder so concern has to be setting in about whether he will hold up at all this season.

The Flyers also will be without Darroll Powe, another forward who does the little things but has also had a scoring touch this season, for an undisclosed amount of time. Powe injured his left shoulder against the Sharks on Friday night and the Flyers believe that he will be out for several games.

It will be interesting to see who the Flyers call up and how they go about replacing Betts and Powe in the lineup. Youngster David Laliberte will likely remain with the team for a while but I am curious as to who else will step in and get some extra minutes. I wouldn't be surprised if Jared Ross is brought up for the first time this season.

No one the Flyers call up is likely to have the same positive impact that Betts has on the club, however.

Gagne to have surgery, miss 6-8 weeks

Less than a week after placing him on Injured Reserve, the Flyers got a timetable as to when they can expect Simon Gagne back in the lineup: 6-8 weeks. Gagne, who hasn't played since October 25th, will undergo surgery to repair two hernias in the coming days. This current injury is not believed to be related to the groin issues Gagne has had throughout his career.

While losing Gagne for an extended period of time will set the Flyer offense back a bit, if there is one thing the Flyers have plenty of it is forward depth. With the emergence of youngsters Claude Giroux and James van Riemsdyk, losing Gagne's scoring won't hurt the team too much.

There is no word right now on Danny Briere, the other oft-injured Flyer, who has been dealing with groin issues.

Good news: Flyers win thriller in OT Bad news: Betts, JVR injured

(AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

The Flyers continued their hot start to the season, downing the Capitals in overtime in a high-scoring 6-5 contest. Danny Briere was the hero in OT, netting the winner to keep the Flyers undefeated season going. Other studs on the night were Mike Richards, who had a hat trick in the second period, and Matt Carle, who had an NHL record-tying 4 assists for a defensemen in the 2nd period. The Flyers had some issues shutting down Capitals star Alex Ovechkin, who had 2 goals and an assist, but managed to slow him down just enough to keep the game close. New Flyers goalie Ray Emery played his worst game in net so far, stopping 31 of 36 shots, but he made the big saves late in the game when they mattered.

Following the exciting win, the Flyers did get some bad news on the injury front. According to Tim Panaccio on Twitter, newly signed forward Blair Betts, a face-off and penalty killing expert, separated his shoulder in the game and will be out for about a month. Losing Betts doesn't slow the team down too much although it will stretch the solid PK unit a little thinner.

Panaccio also reported one other injury that is a little scarier: Flyers phenom James van Riemsdyk may have suffered a concussion in tonight's game. Flyers fans have had enough experience with concussions to know the severity of them and for a kid like JVR to start down the concussion path at his age brings back bad memories of Eric Lindros and Simon Gagne. Let's hope JVR is all right and can continue his development this season.

Great overtime win by the Flyers tonight. They certainly gave fans everything they could ask for in their home opener. 82-0 is still a possibility!