How long Nodl stays this time will depend on the duration of his teammates' injuries.
According to general manager Paul Holmgren, the injuries to both Jon Kalinski and Joffrey Lupul will keep both of them out for a while. Lupul is improving, Holmgren said, but Kalinski is still in West Jersey Hospital with an incision running from his hip to his knee that was opened to drain the pooling blood from a severe contusion.
"He's a little better, I talked to him this afternoon, but it's still draining," Holmgren said. "He got a knee right in the thigh, and they cut him from his hip to his knee to let the blood drain out so he's laying in a hospital."
That's bad for Kalinski, but good for guys like Nodl.
Going up and down is just "part of the process of developing a young player," said coach John Stevens. "Every time he goes down and then comes back up he's more prepared to stay.
"He got down with the minors and got a chance to play a lot in a lot of situations he wasn't getting here. Anytime a young player gets to play a lot it gets his confidence up."
All-Stars tomorrow
There are enough Flyers players having All-Star-caliber years to warrant consideration by the league for the starting All-Star roster. But with the voting in Montreal that placed four Canadiens in the starting lineup and the league's determination to have every team represented, it is unlikely the Flyers will send more than three, if that many, when the remainder of the team is named tomorrow.
"There are 30 teams in the league and that's 120 players, and lots of players are having good years," said Flyers coach John Stevens. "But do we have four guys that deserve consideration? Sure we do.
"We have [Jeff] Carter, [Mike] Richards, Kimmo [Timonen], and [Simon] Gagne. Those are four leaders on our team and four guys who are responsible for a lot of the success we have had this year and I think they all deserve consideration." *
