Team Canada doesn't need Flyers' Carter

Flyers forward Jeff Carter traveled to Vancouver, but he won't be an Olympian.

Carter was left off the Team Canada roster today, when the team decided to stick with Ryan Getzlaf, who returned to the lineup for the Anaheim Ducks - just in the nick of time.

Getzlaf, who injured his ankle last Monday, would have needed to be replaced by Carter to meet today's roster deadline.

Carter flew to Vancouver yesterday morning just in case Getzlaf couldn't compete, something that seemed like a possibility given Getzlaf's absence in the Ducks lineup on Saturday in Calgary.

"Obviously, I wanted to make the team on the first go-round," Carter said on Wednesday in Newark, N.J. "Just to get the call [from Team Canada general manager Steve Yzerman] . . . is pretty exciting."

Carter, a London, Ontario, native, leads the Flyers with 27 goals and 25 assists in 60 games.

Getzlaf showed no sign of weakness in his ankle last night, posting two goals, two assists and four hits in Anaheim's 7-3 win over Edmonton, the NHL's last game before the Olympic break.

Without Carter, the Flyers will be represented by four players in Vancouver: Mike Richards and Chris Pronger (Canada), Oskars Bartulis (Latvia) and Kimmo Timonen (Finland).

The men's hockey tournament opens tomorrow with the following matchups: United States vs. Switzerland, Canada vs. Norway and Russia vs. Latvia.

- Frank Seravalli