Kimmo Timonen earned the Barry Ashbee Trophy as the top defenseman. He edged out a strong season from Matt Carle to win the award for the third time.
Timonen then presented close friend Hartnell with the Pelle Lindbergh Memorial Trophy as the most improved player. Hartnell has 13 more goals and five more assists from last season's totals. The Lindbergh Trophy is the only award voted by the Flyers' players.
Jaromir Jagr was honored with the Yanick Dupre Memorial Class Guy award for character, dignity and respect for the sport on and off the ice. Wayne Simmonds was the recipient of the Flyers Fan Club's Hart Memorial Award for the player with the most "heart" on the ice. Ilya Bryzgalov was also given a Tiffany crystal by NHL senior vice president Jim Gregory to commemorate his 25th career shutout this season.
JVR's progress
James van Riemsdyk, out since March 1 with a fractured left foot, visited a Philadelphia-area orthopedist Thursday for a checkup.
Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren said the team will know by early Friday morning whether van Riemsdyk can soon resume skating. Holmgren said he was unsure if van Riemsdyk was permitted to remove his walking boot.
Either way, "JVR" remains a longshot to be ready by the middle of the Flyers' first-round playoff series next weekend.
Brennan arrives
South Jersey native T.J. Brennan was a surprise late addition to the Sabres lineup after Alexander Sulzer needed to return home for personal reasons.
Brennan, a 23-year-old defenseman, was born in Willingboro, N.J., and trained in the Philadelphia area with the Little Flyers until he left for the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League in 2006 as a 17-year-old. Thursday was his 10th career NHL game and his first against the Flyers and in Philadelphia.
Slap shots
The Flyers used the same lineup as they did in Tuesday's loss to the Rangers . . . There was no medical update on either defenseman Nick Grossmann or forward Danny Briere. Grossmann, though, said he remained hopeful he can be ready for Game 1 of the first round . . . Tuesday night's lineup on defense, with Marc-Andre Bourdon and Andreas Lilja skating on the third pairing, was the Flyers' 21st different combination of six defensemen used this season - proof that the unit has been held together by little more than duct tape.
Contact Frank Seravalli at seravaf@phillynews.com. Follow him on Twitter @DNFlyers. Read his blog, Frequent Flyers, at www.philly.com/frequentflyers.
