The Hockey Guy's posts tagged Scott Hartnell

See all posts tagged with Scott Hartnell »

• Battered Philadelphia Flyers sink to basement

  February 02, 2013

  Philadelphia Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren can’t sit idly by while his team continues reeling.
  
  “I’m concerned because we’re falling behind here,” he told CSN Philadelphia. “We got to get going here.”
  
  The penalty-prone Flyers lost six of their first eight games this season to sink to the Eastern Conference basement. CSN Philadelphia notes the last time they occupied 15th in the East for any sustained period of time was during the 2006-07 season.
  
  Players have fallen to injuries left and right. Power forward Scott Hartnell may miss another month with his broken foot.
  
  Power forward Wayne Simmonds could miss time, too, after taking a nasty elbow to the face from John Erskine of the Washington Capitals. He left the game with a bloody nose and a possible concussion.
  
  Hartnell and Simmonds define the Flyers playing style. Both players hit, fight and score.
  
  “If we lose Wayne for any stretch of time, that’s another big hole,” Holmgren said. “It’s hard to replace those kind of guys.”
  
  Embattled coach Peter Laviolette will have to keep shuffling lines until he gets No. 1 center Claude Giroux going. Daniel Briere, Brayden Schenn, Matt Read, Jakub Voracek and newcomer Mike Knuble all need to get it going.

  0 Comments
• Losing Scott Hartnell slows Philadelphia Flyers attack

  January 24, 2013

  One of the National Hockey League’s most imposing players will miss up to two months of this abbreviated season.
  
  The Philadelphia Flyers got that bad news about power forward Scott Hartnell, who pumped in 37 goals last season playing with Claude Giroux on his team’s top line. Hartnell suffered a broken foot when defenseman Kimmo Timonen accidentally fired a slap shot off his skate.
  
  The team is signing free agent winger Mike Knuble to park in front of the net on power plays. He can’t replace Hartnell, of course, but he is a respected pro who should fit in just fine.
  
  Wayne Simmonds’ role becomes even bigger with Hartnell’s scoring punch missing. Ditto Brayden Schenn, who got a look on the top line. Ditto Jakub Voracek, who is overdue for his breakout offensive season.
   
  Daniel Briere’s imminent return from a broken wrist should help offset the loss, too.
  
  But for a team that prides itself on playing big, losing the monstrous Hartnell is a serious blow. How many players can top 30 goals and 125 penalty minutes in a season?

  0 Comments
• Injuries mount for Philadelphia Flyers

  January 23, 2013

  It’s hard to imagine a worse start for the Philadelphia Flyers.
  
  They lost their first three games. Defenseman Chris Proinger remained sidelined with severe post-concussion syndrome. Forward Daniel Briere wasn’t ready to start the season, due to a wrist surgery suffered playing overseas during the lockout.

  Forward Brayden Schenn quickly earned a one-game NHL suspension for a questionable hit on Devils defenseman Anton Volchenkov. That sanction surprised Schenn.

  "It seemed what it was called – no penalty on the play," he told CSN Philadelphia.

  Then came news that power forward Scott Hartnell will be shelved indefinitely with a foot injury suffered when teammate Kimmo Timonen blasted him with a point shot.
  
  “We will know more on this within a day or two as we await results of tests,” general manager Paul Holmgren said in a statement.
  
  Briere could return on the weekend and move onto the top line with center Claude Giroux. The Flyers may opt to keep rookie forward Scott Laughton past the five-game mark and commit to him for the season, thus burning one of his contract years.

  0 Comments