Well looks like the Flyers are on a roll again.  They proved they can win without their Captain, Keith Primeau, who is still out with a concussion.   The bad turned to good when The Flyers won in Atlanta on Simon Gange's penalty shot.  Then back at home facing the Blackhawks, they earned their second straight win, as former Hawks; Zhamnov and Gange each got a goal to give the Flyers a 3-1 win, Claude Lapointe scored an empty-netter late in the 3rd to ensure the victory.  Now, can the Flyers prove  they have the stuff to beat the Senators for the first time this season?  If the Canadeins can beat the second place Senators, so can the Flyers.  Hey, it might not be pretty, but they got to win right?  The Flyers are on a 2 game winning streak, and the Senators are coming off a 4-2 lose against the Canadeins from Tuesday night.  This game is a key match-up as the Senators

are only one point behind the Flyers for the top spot in the eastern conference standings.  Will the Flyers win Thursday night? I guess you will have to watch the game and find out.  

        On other notes, the Flyers injury list looks to be cleaning up within the next seven days.  The big news coming today, February 25th, is that Robert Esche is cleared to return to line-up.  He has recovered quickly than coach Ken Hitchcock was thinking.  Esche who has been out since February 2nd with a MCL sprain was cleared to today to return to action.  Esche saw his doctor and did some tests.  They put pressure on his knee and other tests to make sure Esche will be ready.  Esche mention that he is very excited and anxious to return to action.  He has missed the past 10 games because of his injury.  This will also be the first time both him and Burke will be together in the same rink since Burke was traded to Philadelphia in a three player trade on February 9th.  Burke and Esche are great friends on and off the ice and will be great seeing them together on the same team again.  This also means that rookie goalie Antero Niittymaki, who was brought up from the Phantoms to replace Esche while he was out injured, will be reassigned to the Phantoms.  Niitty was scheduled to play in Boston on Saturday if Esche was not ready for return by Saturday, but with Esche healthy again, Niitty will go back to his normal job.  Hopefully in the next couple years we will see Niitty in the net wearing a Flyers jersey.  But no one can't say he did a good job in the three games he played in.  Stopping a total of 74 shots of 77 he faced, including 35 out of 36 shots by the New Jersey Devils back on the 10th of February. 

    On other injury news it looks like Fedoruk and Brashear will be returning in seven days.  This is great considering Primeau and Roenick are still out, and with Roenick most likely being out  at least till' the end of the season, them two coming back is really a charm.  Hitchcock said he will restate when Brash and Fedoruk on Sunday. Fedoruk and Brash have been out since the 5-2 loss down in Tampa on the 17th. 

    An update on Primeau and Roenick.  Primeau is still suffering from side affects of the concussion he sustained  in New York on the 12th.  The Flyers won that game and the home-and-home series but Bobby Holik from the Rangers  "accidentally" ran into Primeau at mid-ice just 32 seconds after Roenick got hit my a fly puck, which left him with a broken jaw.  Primeau has skated with the Flyers but still had dizziness when he got back home.  Roenick has come back from Phoenix and had some great news for us Flyer enthusiasts.  He did not have nothing wrong with his Brain, which previously he had concerns.  Another good sign is that Roenick has not mentioned anything about retiring.  Roenick will cancel the meet with the specialist in Montréal for at least two weeks.  Instead, he will see some doctors in Philadelphia and see what they have to say.  Fans have sending Roenick get well cards, if you would like to find out how to send him a card made you, go the official Flyers website and check it out there.     

    Friday February 27, 2004