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Future Flyers Report: Kessel’s Offensive Weekend

Blake Kessel is regarded as one of the better defenseman on the Trenton Titans. At 6’2″, 203 pounds, Kessel does a great job in his own end of the rink and can pitch in offensively as well. In his final two years at the University of New Hampshire and his time with the Adirondack Phantoms last season, Kessel posted a total of 16 goals and 67 assists in 133 games. This weekend, Kessel had a three-assist game on Saturday and a two-point game yesterday. Thanks to Stephen Schultz’s four-goal game on Saturday, Kessel showed his ability to start a scoring …

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RICE & MICE: Matt Read’s rib cage muscles and Zach Redmond’s femoral artery

  Injuries giveth and injuries taketh away. Just as it was announced that Scott Hartnell was nearing a return to the Flyers lineup, it was announced that Matt Read would miss around six weeks with torn rib cage muscles. Read left the February 20 game against Pittsburgh after the first period and did not return. Now, when players injure their wrist, we can put a brace on it. Shoulder injury? Put the shoulder in a sling. Ankle? Give them some crutches so they can rest the ankle. Rib muscle injury? Well, we can’t exactly tell a player to stop breathing …

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Flight Plan: Home Sweet Home

The Philadelphia Flyers went 3-1-0 this week, capping off a six-game road trip with a win over the Pittsburgh Penguins by a score of 6-5. They lost the back-to-back game with the Florida Panthers, but beat the Winnipeg Jets, 5-3. More importantly, the Flyers are now in eighth place in the Eastern Conference with 20 points and play their next three games at home, where their record is 5-2-1. This week the Orange and Black will host James van Riemsdyk and the Toronto Maple Leafs, Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals, and Daniel Alfredsson and the Ottawa Senators. Get your …

Thanks to Phillysportscentral.com

Medical Miracle: Hartnell Returns

It was just 32 days ago that we feared the worst as Scott Hartnell went limping off the ice in Newark after taking a shot to the left foot from teammate Kimmo Timonen. Now, at the conservative end of his recovery timetable, Hartnell has returned to the lineup, per head coach Peter Laviolette, after a 16-game absence as the Flyers take on the Winnipeg Jets at home this afternoon. Hartnell had undergone surgery to correct the fracture three days after the incident, and had initially been given a 4-to-8 week turnaround. But in typical Flyers fashion, things progressed quicker than …

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Poll: With the trade deadline less than six weeks away, what is the Flyers’ biggest need?

You could argue that the Flyers have a number of needs as the team currently stands. They could use a scoring winger for the top six–if not, the top line–especially with Read’s injury. Erik Gustafsson has the potential to help, but a puck-moving defenseman would be nice. I’m sure some people out there still want a goaltender, if only a backup. Outside of Giroux, the Flyers are pretty dreadful on faceoffs. I, for one, am not a fan of either Talbot or Fedetenko playing the fourth-line center spot, so that could be a need as well. With the trade deadline less …