Sport-scan daily brief

POSTED: Wednesday, April 3, 2013, 1:05 PM

Flyers defenseman Nick Grossmann says he is under strict orders not to discuss his current upper body injury but he was among the last off the ice during today’s morning skate.

While saying that general manager Paul Holmgren would have to update his status, Grossmann did allow that he did extend his work today. “That was the most (work) in a few days,” Grossmann said.

Grossmann last played on March 18. He was hurt in practice on March 22 and hasn’t played in the last five games.

Holmgren said Grossmann would not play tonight. "He's coming along but not enough to change his status," Holmgren said.

-Marc Narducci

Philadelphia Inquirer / Daily News LOADED: 04.04.2013

667882 Philadelphia Flyers

Flyers claim Hall

POSTED: Wednesday, April 3, 2013, 12:35 PM

The Flyers have claimed well traveled center Adam Hall on waivers from the Tampa Bay Lightning. The 32-year-old Hall began the season on Tampa Bay, was claimed on waivers March 16 by the Carolina Hurricanes and traded back to Tampa Bay on Tuesday.

This season he has no goals and four assists in 26 games, 20 with Tampa Bay and the other six with Carolina. In his career he has 65 goals and 82 assists in 591 regular season games.

-Marc Narducci

Philadelphia Inquirer / Daily News LOADED: 04.04.2013

667883 Philadelphia Flyers

Is Keith Yandle a Flyers possibility?

POSTED: Wednesday, April 3, 2013, 11:12 AM

Frank Seravalli

UPDATE (3:05pm): Keith Yandle remained with the Phoenix Coyotes through the trade deadline. Expect the possibility of trade talks resuming at the Draft in June, since that's when the Flyers and Coyotes first opened dialogue last summer.

TORONTO -- Heading into Wednesday's trade deadline, the Flyers' plan was to remain 'status quo' unless they could acquire a franchise-altering player to build the future around.

Phoenix defenseman Keith Yandle is that player - and he's suddenly on the market, after the tea leaves indicated on Tuesday that he was untouchable.

Yandle, 26, is that puck-moving No. 1 defenseman the Flyers - and nearly all 28 other teams - are craving. The Coyotes, though, will require nothing short of an absolute haul to move Yandle out of the desert.

Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren has indeed be in touch with Coyotes general manager Don Maloney on Wednesday. This is not the first time the Flyers have inquired about Yandle over the years.

Yandle is tied for the Coyotes' team lead in points with 21. He has 8 goals and 13 assists this season, which would tie him for fifth on the Flyers in goals this season.

Yandle has 3 years and $16.5 million remaining on his contract. His salary cap hit is $5.25 million per season. The Flyers have enough salary cap space to add Yandle by adding more players, such as Andrej Meszaros, to the long-term injury list.

One name who would likely have to be heading out West is forward Sean Couturier, who was actually born in Phoenix while his father, Sylvain, was playing for the AHL's Roadrunners.

Couturier has seen an up-tick in his minutes - nearly 2 more minutes on average per game over his rookie season - and that is expected to increase with Max Talbot's injury leaving a hole on the penalty kill. The Flyers were looking for more out of Couturier offensively in his sophomore season, yet his numbers have gone down. He is averaging 0.08 less points per game (down to .27) and he has only 9 points in 33 games.

Couturier already has 110 career NHL games under his belt. I am not suggesting he has come anywhere close to reaching his ceiling, but the question needs to be asked: at which point is the book on Couturier written, causing his value to drop?

In some ways, Couturier's value may never be higher than it is as this very moment.

Does that mean the Flyers would be willing to part ways with the still-blossoming 20-year-old? It would likely be a surprise if Holmgren is willing to make that judgment call before 3 o'clock on Wednesday.

Even if Couturier is part of the asking price, Holmgren will have to listen and even strongly consider. Yandle is still young, he has been durable and hasn't missed a game since 2008-09, and he's a rare commodity in the NHL. He would instantly make the Flyers a more formidable foe - both now and over the next three seasons.

Philadelphia Inquirer / Daily News LOADED: 04.04.2013

667884 Philadelphia Flyers

Mild surprise as Flyers acquire goaltender Steve Mason

FRANK SERAVALLI, Daily News Staff Writer seravaf at phillynews.com

Posted: Thursday, April 4, 2013, 1:16 AM

ILYA BRYZGALOV started his 20th straight game on Wednesday night against Montreal, something Peter Laviolette said he didn't have much choice about, given the Flyers' position in the standings.

Well, now Laviolette has a choice. And so do the Flyers this summer in retaining Bryzgalov's rights.

The Flyers acquired goaltender Steve Mason from Columbus before Wednesday's trade deadline, the same team they traded backup Sergei Bobrovsky to last summer. The Flyers were also reportedly in the hunt for Ottawa's Ben Bishop, who was dealt to Tampa Bay.

Backup Michael Leighton was sent to the Blue Jackets along with a 2015 third-round pick. Leighton is a pending unrestricted free agent. This is the Flyers' first trade-deadline-day move since 2009.

When asked if the Flyers view Mason as a backup, general manager Paul Holmgren was quick to not pigeonhole Mason into a specific role. Holmgren passed up an opportunity to stress that Bryzgalov is the Flyers' long-term starter.

"We see him as one of our two goalies, not only the rest of this year, but moving forward," Holmgren said. "We'll just leave it at that for now."

That would seem like an ominous response for Bryzgalov's future here, with the option of a contract amnesty coming in the summer.

Bobrovsky, 24, was a March "Star of the Month" and he's the big reason the Blue Jackets are in the playoff hunt. He has a 2.13 GAA and .927 save percentage.

Mason, also 24, was the 2009 Calder Trophy winner as the NHL's Rookie of the Year. He was pulled in his first game the following season and has never really recovered.

Mason was looking for a change of scenery after Bobrovsky took over Columbus' starting role by force. Mason said he is "just looking for the opportunity to go there and get my game back on track." He is in the final year of a 2-year, $5.8 million deal.

"I'm super excited to get into Philadelphia," Mason told Rogers Sportsnet. "It's a tough place to play, fans expect the most out of their goaltenders. I'm looking forward to getting into a market like that. When you're playing well as a goaltender in that situation, there is no better situation."

Mason said he retooled his game last summer with the Blue Jackets' goaltending coach, calming down his style. His save percentage averages under .900 over the last four seasons since winning the Calder, but he is still young.

"We've changed a couple things, with the depth I've been taking off the rush. When your calm, the game seems to hit your sometimes," Mason said. "It's definitely a great feeling. With the players they have in that organization, and the history they have there . . . I'm really just looking forward to starting off on the good fit."

Holmgren said Flyers goaltending coach Jeff Reese saw something he liked in Mason.

"I think he's bounced back a little better this year," Holmgren said. "Steve is still a young goalie, still has a lot of upside. Jeff Reese, our goalie coach, studies a lot of goalies around the league and likes Steve. He thinks there is something there. We still think there is tremendous upside there."

Now, with Mason in the fold, it sure seems as if the Flyers have plans to use the amnesty clause on Bryzgalov in the summer. The Flyers would still be required to pay Bryzgalov his remaining salary, over a longer period of years, but they would be relieved of his salary cap hit and he would become a free agent.

The Flyers owe Bryzgalov $34.5 million over the remaining 7 years on his deal after this season. Bryzgalov is 48-30-10 with a .905 save percentage since joining the Flyers. The buyout formula is two-thirds money remaining divided by double the term remaining, so $23 million divided by 14 years is $1.64 million per season until 2027 . . . to not play for the team.

How much of this trade is a sign that the Flyers might be cutting Bryzgalov loose in the summer? Mason is due more than a $3 million qualifying offer as a restricted free agent to retain his rights. Of course, Mason could re-sign prior to the summer for less money, which is possible given his decreased numbers recently.

If Mason does not sign for less, the Flyers would be spending an all-time franchise-high $8.7 million in goaltenders with both Bryzgalov and Mason. Holmgren said he has already held discussions with Mason's agent and expects to re-sign him before this season ends.

"I don't think it will be $9 million [total spent on goaltenders]," Holmgren said. "I think there is a way to work with Steve and his agent to get that salary down."

Historically, Holmgren does not believe in spending a lot of money on goaltenders. See: Leighton and Brian Boucher as a tandem in 2010. Bryzgalov joining the Flyers was at the mandate of chairman Ed Snider. With the salary cap decreasing to $64.3 million next season, you can bet on the Flyers not spending nearly 15 percent of the cap on goaltending.

Instead, the Flyers could amnesty Bryzgalov and bring in another young, affordable goaltender to work in tandem with Mason. At the very least, if the Flyers don't have interest in moving away from Bryzgalov, the question is: Why Mason? There were a myriad of other less expensive backups available with fewer performance question marks.

Bringing in Mason opens a world of possibilities. Buckle your seat belt. It will be fascinating to see how Bryzgalov responds to Wednesday's somewhat surprising move.

"I didn't know [the Mason deal] was going to happen and, to be honest, even if I knew, I wouldn't have talked to [Bryzgalov] anyway," Holmgren said. "His job is to stop the puck when he's in the net. It's not to worry about other things like that."

Philadelphia Inquirer / Daily News LOADED: 04.04.2013

667885 Philadelphia Flyers

A game of firsts as Flyers rally to beat Canadiens

ED BARKOWITZ, Daily News Staff Writer barkowe at phillynews.com

Posted: Thursday, April 4, 2013, 12:47 AM

PARAPHRASING Mark Twain a bit here, but any rumor of the Flyers' death has been greatly exaggerated.

At least for now.

The Flyers followed up a pair of wins over the weekend with perhaps the most dramatic victory of the season on Wednesday night, beating visiting Montreal, 5-3.

"We won't give up. We still have a chance," said youngster Sean Couturier, who ended a 27-game streak without a goal. "If we keep winning, we'll be back in the mix."

The Flyers not only have won three in a row for the first time all year, they finally won a game that they had trailed after the first period. They were 0-12 in that situation coming in. So in 12 of their 17 losses, they basically were cooked even before the oven got warm.

Now, they're the ones cooking.

"We just have to keep playing, play a full 60 [minutes] and ride this wave that we're on," said forward Matt Read.

The Flyers are banged up mightily on defense, most notably Braydon Coburn (shoulder separation), Nicklas Grossmann (upper body) and Andrej Meszaros (torn rotator cuff). Their active blue-liners are more green than any other color.

But Wednesday, two of them contributed mightily to the deciding goals. Bruno Gervais, who has been thrust into the top pairing thanks to Coburn's injury, had an assist on a goal off Wayne Simmonds' skate that tied the game with a little more than 5 minutes left.

Then Erik Gustafsson clanged one off Canadiens defenseman Francis Bouillon that ended up being the game-winner. Gustafsson was patiently trying to feed Read, who was creating confusion in front of Montreal netminder Carey Price.

"I don't know if I got a piece of it," Read said afterward. "I'm happy to give it to Gus."

So were the official scorers. It was Gustafsson's first goal of the season.

"We got a lot of [defensemen] that are getting called up, covering the guys that are hurt right now," Read said. "You can't tell if they're minor league players or NHL players right now. You have to give them a lot of credit, playing with the confidence they're playing with right now."

Even Couturier, who was a popular subject of trade inquiries from many of the other general managers around the league, got on the scoring sheet. His second-period score bounced off Montreal defenseman P.K. Subban and past Price. On the scoresheet, however, it might as well be Kurri from Gretzky and Coffee.

The last time Coots scored a goal was Jan. 27.

"It's nice to get the monkey off the back," Couturier said. "Sometimes all you need is a lucky bounce. I'll take it."

The Flyers have 12 games left and still lots of work to do. But they haven't raised the white flag and started calling around for golf reservations.

The last 5 minutes of Wednesday's game allowed them to jump from 13th to 11th place. The Rangers' resounding win over Pittsburgh created an even larger logjam for the final playoff spot. Both New York teams and the Devils occupy the seventh, eighth and ninth spots in the Eastern Conference, with 39 points.

The Flyers are four points back of those three teams, with a very quick turnaround Thursday night up in Toronto.

They packed their bags for a charter immediately after the Montreal win. In addition to sticks and pucks, they also were bringing hope.

"We don't control what other teams do," captain Claude Giroux said. "I saw that the Rangers won. It's something we don't control, so we don't need to stress about it. We just have to worry about our game and getting better. If we keep winning, that's the only way we'll have a chance to get in."

Ice cubes

The Flyers obtained goaltender Steve Mason from Columbus for Michael Leighton and a third-round pick. They also plucked Adam Hall off waivers from Tampa Bay. Hall, 33, has played in 26 games this year and is ostensibly a veteran replacement for Max Talbot, who is out for the season with a broken leg. Hall is expected to make his Flyers debut on Thursday . . . Cal Heeter served as Ilya Bryzgalov's backup on Wednesday. Mason will join the team in Toronto . . . Nick Grossmann (upper-body injury) missed his sixth game, but skated extensively in the morning and appears close to returning . . . With the trade deadline passed, the 23-man roster restriction is lifted and the Flyers are free to recall whomever they please . . . Zac Rinaldo sustained a lower-body injury in the second period and did not return.

Philadelphia Inquirer / Daily News LOADED: 04.04.2013

667886 Philadelphia Flyers

Flyers hould resist urge to amnesty Ilya Bryzgalov

Marcus Hayes, Daily News Sports Columnist

Posted: Thursday, April 4, 2013, 12:40 AM

ALL PAUL HOLMGREN had to say was, "Bryz is our No. 1 goalie, now and for the foreseeable future."

Words to that effect would have squelched speculation that the Flyers' deadline trade Wednesday for Steve Mason, a young, pedigreed goalie, might mean an early divorce from Ilya Bryzgalov.

Instead, Holmgren said, "We see [Mason] as one of our two goalies, not only the rest of this year, but moving forward. We'll just leave it at that for now."

Of course, nothing concerning the Flyers gets left at that. Not for now; not for later.

For better or worse, Holmgren's Flyers, like every other team in this town, is poised to throw big money at a problem in hopes of currying local favor and quickly fixing a perceived problem.

Holmgren also created an atmosphere in which his hypersensitive franchise goalie can stew while the team makes a likely futile push for the last playoff spot in this bastardized season.

A lockout-shortened season, in which Bryzgalov played pretty well.

A compressed season, in which Bryz suppressed his guileless and entertaining personality at the behest of paranoid handlers and party-line teammates.

A season in which a shaky defense was rent to tatters by free agency and injury.

Wednesday night, with the word "AMNESTY" floating in a bubble above his net, Bryzgalov let in a softie early, then, late in the second, he got burned by lousy backchecking and a deflection from a teammate, the last a forgettable Kodak moment, since Bryz looked like he ducked the deflection. He also sweetly denied two evil shots in the first and in the third.

It was Bryzgalov's 20th consecutive start, and he made 14 saves in the Flyers' 5-3 victory over Montreal. He declined to address the media afterwards.

He should get Thursday night off, in Toronto.He probably would not get the Toronto game off had Mason not arrived Wednesday night, in exchange for shelved veteran backup Michael Leighton and a third-round pick in 2015.

It is very probable that while Bryzgalov watches Mason work, Bryz will ponder his future. There is much to ponder.

If Mason shines down the stretch the Flyers, in anticipation of the shrinking salary cap, will be tempted to use an amnesty buyout to rid themselves of the $34.7 million burden of Bryzgalov's contract over the next seven seasons. Amnesty rules would limit the buyout cost to $23 million, paid over twice the remaining term, or 14 seasons.

Bryzgalov would become a free agent and his cap hit would disappear.

The Flyers already are negotiating Mason's deal to a number lower than the $3 million qualifying offer required to retain his rights as a restricted free agent next season. If they buy out Bryz, they could acquire an even cheaper backup for Mason.

Bryzgalov certainly has considered all of those possibilities. He might be flighty, but he ain't dumb.

As for Philadelphia brass impatiently throwing money around, consider:

* The Eagles paid cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha $4 million in guaranteed money to leave and join the best team in the NFC. Asomugha would have earned $15 million in his third season as an Eagle.

* The Sixers paid forward Elton Brand $18 million in an amnesty buyout to play zero games for them, on someone else's bench. They used most of that cap room to acquire Andrew Bynum, whom they paid more than $16 million . . . to also play zero games for them.

* The Phillies paid Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels $57 million for their 54 wins the past two seasons. They owe Hamels $144 million; Lee, as much as $102.5 million.

In the meantime, the Phillies in 2006 traded promising lefty Gio Gonzalez (and baffling righty Gavin Floyd) to the White Sox for Freddie Garcia, who arrived as damaged goods, won one game and made $10 million. Gonzalez is 52-29 and twice was an All-Star since 2010.

Brand, while diminished from his All-Star days, is a productive bench player in Dallas. Andre Iguodala, part of the trade to acquire Bynum, is a key cog with a dangerous Denver team. Nic Vucevic, also traded to get Bynum, has emerged as a passable post player, and rookie guard Mo Harkless, also part of that deal, has shown promise.

The Eagles, still evaluating personnel and formulating a plan, have no idea what their defensive backfield will look like without Asomugha, other than it won't be as well-dressed.

So, no, throwing money at the problem does not always work.

And now, the Flyers could pay Bryz a humongous $23 million to occupy another quadrant of the universe.

Flyers goalie coach Jeff Reese is smitten with the potential of Mason, a 24-year-old who won the Calder Trophy as the league's top rookie in 2009.

Of course, the Flyers might just ride out Bryzgalov's deal and hope he continues to control his neuroses and earn his money . . . or, start earning it, depending on how you see him.

He was 48-30-10 as a Flyer with a .905 save percentage entering Wednesday night's game.

He has been brilliant at times, but he also has been ordinary, and sometimes downright poor.

Last season he irritated his teammates, coaches and Holmgren with comments perceived as selfish, and with comments perceived as eccentric. He lost his starting job by the time the Flyers played in the Winter Classic, the league's showcase game.

Then he clammed up in interviews and clamped down between the pipes and was splendid last spring, but his tender feelings were so bruised by then that he ignored accolades.

Yes, it has been a prickly union, with an all-too-brief honeymoon, but there is no need to contemplate a costly split.

The teams in this town have wasted enough money already.

Philadelphia Inquirer / Daily News LOADED: 04.04.2013

667887 Philadelphia Flyers

Flyers storm back late and beat Canadiens

Marc Narducci, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

Posted: Wednesday, April 3, 2013, 10:32 PM

For the Flyers to get back into the playoff hunt, they must do some extraordinary things, such as going on a lengthy winning streak.

The Flyers won their third straight game for the first time this season with a 5-3 comeback victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday night at the Wells Fargo Center.

The Flyers came through in the third period, outscoring Montreal, 3-0, and outshooting the Canadiens, 14-2.

"We are winning battles, making better decisions with the puck, and we're having more fun playing that third period," said captain Claude Giroux, who assisted on Erik Gustafsson's winning goal. "When we are down, we want it so badly and keep working."

Gustafsson scored the decisive goal with 3 minutes, 36 seconds remaining. Jake Voracek added an empty-netter.

Taking a pass from Giroux, Gustafsson skated deep in Montreal's end and sent a puck on goal that bounced off a Canadiens defenseman and went in. It was Gustafsson's first goal of the season.

"I got it from [Giroux] and was looking to shoot it first, but the guy came out in my shooting lane so I faked it and put it in front," Gustafsson said. ". . . You never know what will happen, and it went in on a lucky bounce."

The Flyers had gotten the equalizer on Wayne Simmonds' 12th goal with 5:06 left. Bruno Gervais' shot bounced off Simmonds' skate.

With 12 games left, the Flyers are four points out of the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot. The New York Rangers, New Jersey Devils, and New York Islanders are each tied for seventh with 39 points.

This was the end of a five-game homestand for the Flyers, who went 3-1-1 (3-0-1 after an opening loss) and play in Toronto on Thursday night in the first stop on a three-game trip.

Injuries continue to plague the Flyers. Zac Rinaldo did not return after he suffered a lower-body injury in the second period.

Montreal opened the scoring on defenseman Alexei Emelin's snap shot from inside the blue line with 6:47 left in the first period. Emelin received an outstanding back pass from Max Pacioretty for the only goal of the opening period.

The Flyers tied the score on a fluke goal by Sean Couturier, whose pass from inside the left circle went off the leg of P.K. Subban and into the net with 15:13 left in the second period.

"I got a nice pass in the slot from [Ruslan Fedotenko] and saw a chance to put the puck on the net and got a lucky bounce off a skate," Couturier said. "And I will take it."

The Flyers took a brief, 2-1 lead when Simon Gagne scored on a rebound off the boards with 4:17 remaining. Luke Schenn and Oliver Lauridsen got the assists. For Lauridsen, it was his first NHL point.

Montreal took the lead by scoring twice in 20 seconds. Brandon Prust got the equalizer on a wrist shot after a nice feed from Jeff Halpern with 3:31 left in the period.