WALKING INTO the Flyers' dressing room yesterday, defenseman Andreas Lilja turned to a pack of reporters and said: "Didn't the team let you know that we had off today?"
No, Peter Laviolette only gave a handful of his players the day off, but it felt like a holiday inside the Flyers Skate Zone in Voorhees. There were no cameras to jockey around, no coaxing players to talk about more Winter Classic "garbage" and no hype to live up to outdoors.
Laviolette said you could "certainly realize the subtraction of what had been brought for the past month."
For the first time in nearly a month, it was business as usual. The Flyers' vets could finally get back to betting lunches (or more) on tossing tape balls across the locker room without the HBO cameras.
"I think everyone is excited," forward Zac Rinaldo said. "For me, it will be a different scene around the room. Hopefully guys will regain whatever focus was lost when the cameras were around.
"Everyone's mind was racing, there were so many different things going on. There were cameras in your face, we were on the road for the entire month. It was a lot of stress on everyone."
The Flyers handled that stress quite well. Despite racking up more than 12,000 air miles toward their season total of 34,193 in December alone, the Flyers finished the month (including the Winter Classic) at 9-4-1. They also dealt with injuries to key players, like Chris Pronger, James van Riemsdyk and now Jaromir Jagr, and emerged relatively unscathed.
The Winter Classic, and perhaps their 2-4-1 hiccup over the last 2 weeks, left a bitter taste in everyone's mouth. The big picture cannot be forgotten, since a hellacious month like December could have left a much bigger gap in the standings.
Now, the Flyers can officially turn their attention toward their second-half slog, where they can reap the reward of 25 out of their last 45 games at the Wells Fargo Center.
"We all had a great time," Jakub Voracek said. "There was a lot of media attention surrounding us, but now that it's over, we can focus on the second half. It's kind of a relief."
JAGR OUT 7-10 DAYS
Forward Jaromir Jagr will miss the next 7 to 10 days with a mild, left groin strain, according to general manager Paul Holmgren.
Jagr, 39, missed practice yesterday and the final 34-plus minutes of Monday's iconic Winter Classic at Citizens Bank Park. He did, however, remain on the heated bench throughout the remainder of the game.
