Laviolette's relationship with Bryzgalov is still developing

Flyers coach Peter Laviolette said his relationship with colorful goalie Ilya Bryzgalov is a work in progress.

You might recall he said something similar about his rapport with since-traded captain Mike Richards last season.

Don't jump to the wrong conclusion, Laviolette said after the Flyers practiced Tuesday in Voorhees. He hinted that the comments about Richards were misconstrued, and said that he gets along fine with Bryzgalov.

"I have a good relationship with Bryz," said Laviolette, whose team has lost five of its last six games. "We continue to work on that. That should not be construed in a negative way. But we continue to work on it. He's a new player. I'm a new coach. Like a lot of the guys in here, it takes time to develop those relationships. My relationship with Bryz is good."

The Flyers need their fiery coach and their inconsistent goalie on the same page as they head down the stretch and try to regroup and secure a high seeding in the Eastern Conference.

Bryzgalov, who signed a nine-year, $51 million contract before the season, has just a 2.78 goals-against average and .900 save percentage. He had been showing signs of snapping out of his funk, allowing a total of just six goals in his last four games before being sidelined by the flu.

After missing the last three games, Bryzgalov was back at practice Tuesday and said he was ready to return to action. The Flyers will host Buffalo on Thursday, and Bryzgalov figures to get the start.

"If there was going to be a game [Tuesday], I'm ready to go," he said.

Bryzgalov said he finally was starting to feel himself after battling the flu for five days.

"It was a headache, sore throat, sinus infection, coughing," he said. "I feel pretty good. Like I said, I had a pretty good practice, and it seems like I'm catching more air in the practice. It's not that tough anymore as it was the previous two days."

During their last six games, the Flyers' special teams have been outscored, 9-2, but they have outplayed most of their opponents at even strength.

"What's missing is a little bit of our mojo that we had early on," center Danny Briere said. "You have to create your bounces. I think at times we're playing the right way and playing hard; we're limiting shots against, and we're getting shots at the other net. At some point, those things will start going your way, so we can't get away from the plan too much."

The Flyers also faltered after last season's all-star break.

"We hit those patches every year. Last year, we hit it coming down the stretch and it hurt us in the playoffs as well," Briere said. "I'm hoping [since] we're going through a tough time right now, we have time to snap out of it and fight for a good position in the playoffs - and hopefully come in with an upswing instead of a downswing into the playoffs."

Contact staff writer Sam Carchidi at scarchidi@phillynews.com or @BroadStBull on Twitter.