Van Riemsdyk was struck in the hand by a Carter shot on Saturday and was diagnosed with a “fleck” fracture of his left pinky finger on Sunday, according to Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren.

Van Riemsdyk, who needed stitches to close a cut on his finger, will not practice today and is being listed as day-to-day. The Flyers return to action Thursday night at home against the Ottawa Senators.

Holmgren said defenseman Ole-Kristian Tollefsen suffered a mild concussion when he was checked hard into the boards Saturday night. He’ll also sit out today’s practice and is being listed as day-to-day.

“Ole was better (Sunday), we will re-evaluate again (Monday),” Holmgren said.

THE SEATS YOU'LL NEVER SIT IN

Spectrum seats go on sale today at 10 a.m. at RememberTheSpectrum.com. A pair of seats is $395, a single permanent seat is $295 and a single folding chair is $195.

-Chuck Gormley

--The Flyers are now 6-2-1 at home with their next three games on home ice.

--The Flyers’ shootout victory is just the third time in team history they’ve won two shootouts in a row and the first time since Jan. 16 and March 28, 2009.
--The Flyers are a remarkable 47-12-10-0 against the Blues on home ice.
--The Flyers are now 5-1-0 in back-to-back games, going 3-0 in the first games and 2-1 in the second.

--The Flyers are 9-2-1 when scoring first and 0-2 when allowing their opponents to score first.

QUOTE TO NOTE
“The guys were kidding him last night he could’ve had a hat trick, he had so many good chances. But even doing some breakaway challenges you always keep an eye on guys, and he’s pretty good in practice. He’s a little bit older and looking down the bench there’s no [Simon] Gagne, [Danny] Briere, and James [van Riemsdyk] wasn’t on the bench, so we went with him and to his credit he came through.” – Coach John Stevens on choosing Mika Pyorala for his first shootout attempt and goal

PLAYER NOTES
--C Mika Pyorala is the fifth player in NHL history to score a shootout game-winning goal before recording his first goal in the NHL. The others are Jaroslav Balastik (Columbus), Patrick Kane (Chicago), T.J. Oshie (St. Louis) and Mike Santorelli (Nashville).
--With an assist D Chris Pronger extended his point streak to four games with one goal and five assists and is a plus-7 in that strethch. Pronger has at least a point in 10 of his last 13 games.
--LW Scott Hartnell has recorded a goal in four of his last five games, while also posting eight points during that stretch.
MEDICAL REPORT
LW James van Riemsdyk (lacerated left pinky, day-to-day) ; D Ole-Kristian Tollefsen (concussion, day-to-day); RW Danny Briere (groin strain, day-to-day); D Ryan Parent (groin strain, day-to-day); LW Simon Gagne (hernia, 6-8 weeks).

--C Ian Laperriere’s two assists were his 200th and 201st in the NHL.

MEDICAL REPORT
LW Simon Gagne (hernia, 6-8 weeks); RW Danny Briere (groin strain, day-to-day); D Ryan Parent (groin strain, day-to-day).

NOTES, QUOTES
--The Flyers have won five straight games against the Sabres by a combined score of 25-11.

--The Flyers are 8-2-1 when scoring first and 0-2 when allowing their opponents to score first.

--The Flyers are 3-0 and have outscored their opponents 12-3 in the front end of back-to-backs this season. They are 1-1 in the second end.

A pair of seats can be reserved for $395 while a single seat can be reserved for $295. The Spectrum folding chairs will also be available for $195. A portion of the proceeds benefits the Comcast-Spectacor Foundation.

“The Spectrum is a very special place for so many millions of people,” said Comcast-Spectacor Chairman Ed Snider. “I know how passionate people are about the Spectrum and we’re excited to offer our fans a chance to now own Spectrum seats.”

“The Spectrum will live forever,” added Comcast-Spectacor President Peter Luukko. “Our fans can keep the Spectrum going in their home, their office, or any other place they would like by owning the actual seats from the Spectrum.”

Philadelphia Flyers and 76ers season ticket holders, Wachovia Center premium seat customers, and members of the Flyers and Sixers email clubs, Wachovia Complex Cyber Club and the RememberTheSpectrum.com email club will have priority in purchasing souvenir seats from the Spectrum. These priority customers will be notified in advance by email.

Archer Seating Clearinghouse of Vineland, NJ, is working with Comcast-Spectacor on processing the sale of the seats. Orders will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. There are no guarantees on specific seat location requests. Seats will be available for pick-up at the Spectrum beginning on Monday, November 30. Customers can select their pick-up date and time when ordering.

In addition to owning seats from the Spectrum, fans can also purchase the complete photographic history of the Spectrum entitled “God Bless the Spectrum” for $24.95 or a piece of the basketball court for $76 (3-inch by 5-inch piece) or $176 (10-inch by 10-inch) at RememberTheSpectrum.com.

Demolition of the Spectrum, which is expected in the spring, will make way for Philly Live, a spectacular new retail, restaurant, and entertainment district. Cordish Company, of Baltimore, MD, a world-renowned developer of similar projects throughout North America, is partnering with Comcast-Spectacor in Philly Live.

http://theultimatefan.com/winterclassic

Or

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Please see the following transcript of Simon Gagne’s comments on his decision to have surgery tomorrow (Tuesday, Nov. 3)…

Simon Gagne

Q: Talk about the decision you made today…

“Well, after meeting with three doctors and a different opinion on a lot of things, we went right to the bottom [of it] to make sure we were making the right decision for myself, for the team and for the future, to go and do the surgery. So basically now we are going to go ahead and do the surgery and after that get on a program after the surgery to make sure those types of injuries don’t happen to me anymore.”

Q: You’re going to be out six to eight weeks, how disappointed are you to hear this news?

“It’s hard, it’s hard to take because surgery you usually try and stay away from during the season. The off-season is there for that. At the same time there’s never good timing in the season to have surgery, but it’s still early in the season. I’ll miss close to two months and I’ll have time to get back in shape and get my game back and feeling 100 percent when I’m skating. That’s something I wasn’t able to do right now. That’s why I think the decision was made to go ahead and do the surgery. After that I’ll be ready to have a strong end of the season and be 100 percent, then I’ll be healthy. But to be 100 percent and ready for the playoffs, I think it’s the right decision. It’s something that’s been kind of bothering me for a long time, not only this year, but from last season. I think we made the right decision to go ahead and fix everything. After that, like I said, I’ll get on a special program that a lot of others have had and had no problems in their career that followed. If I follow that and get the surgery I should be good. I want to stay away from that type of injury in the future.” ]]> http://blogs.courierpostonline.com/flyers/2009/11/02/gagne-talks-about-surgery/feed/ 2 http://blogs.courierpostonline.com/flyers/2009/11/02/gagne-opts-for-surgery-out-6-8-weeks/ http://blogs.courierpostonline.com/flyers/2009/11/02/gagne-opts-for-surgery-out-6-8-weeks/#comments Mon, 02 Nov 2009 23:57:29 +0000 Chuck Gormley http://blogs.courierpostonline.com/flyers/?p=1009 “Simon is going to have surgery tomorrow (Tuesday) to reinforce the rectus abdominis on both sides, and at the same time he’s going to look and see, laparoscopically, through his bellybutton, at the small hernias that we saw, and he’ll repair those as well.  This is Dr. Meyers at Hahnemann.  We’re probably looking at six to eight weeks before he’s ready.”

Q: [Dr. Meyers] known for being minimally invasive. Was that one of the reason you went with him?

“Yeah.  He’s had repairs in both those areas before, so the doctor can just go through the same place.  They’re small incisions. Go in, reinforce the area, and look at the small hernias that we saw on the ultrasound.  That’s kind of a different procedure.  But it’s over.  We finally know, and we’re confident that Simon will return in six to eight weeks.”

Q: Is that what the delay was about?

“It was more to just make sure Simon was feeling comfortable with what was going on.  I think deep down, he just wanted to know, which is right.  It does seem frustrating at times, but at the end of the day you’ve got to trust the player. Simon’s been through a lot and we just wanted to make sure we get it right.”

Q: Do any of the doctors suggest that you’re more susceptible to these injuries recurring once they’ve happened once or twice?

“I don’t know.  I guess you could say it seems that way, but there have been players in all sports who have had procedures like this done that don’t have recurrences.  So I don’t know.”

On the team personnel

“We’ve got to continue to lean on the guys we’ve got.  I think some of our young players will come up, obviously James has played very well, I thought David Laliberte had a good game last game.  It’ll be nice to have Danny back… I don’t think that’s a long term thing right now.  And the other guys just have to pick it up.”