MOBILE DEFENSEMAN Andrej Meszaros was cleared to return to limited practice on Thursday, the same day forward Scott Hartnell skated for more than 90 minutes to test his fractured left foot.
Just as it appeared the Flyers were finally beginning to get healthy, they were bitten by the injury bug again.
Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren announced Thursday that forward Matt Read will miss the next 6 weeks with torn rib cage muscles, a casualty of Wednesday's win at Pittsburgh.
There are conflicting beliefs about how Read sustained the injury. A report on the Flyers' website says Read took a hit from the Penguins' Chris Kunitz in the second period. There was also word circulating that Read took a puck to the chest. Holmgren was not available to shed light on the situation.
Either way, Read's loss will be significant. One could certainly make the argument that Read was the Flyers' most consistent skater through the first third of the season. He was bumped up to Claude Giroux's line with Jake Voracek on Monday on Long Island, where he netted three points.
Read, 26, has seven goals and six assists in 18 games. He missed just three games in his rookie season last year, when he collected 24 goals.
With Read out, rookie Tye McGinn was reinserted in the lineup after sitting out two games as a healthy scratch. McGinn took Read's spot to Giroux's left. Read could miss up to 17 games - or more than a third of the season - if he's out until April.
The Flyers have lost 89 man-games due to injury this season, including Hartnell, Meszaros (shoulder) and Chris Pronger (concussion).
Even though the Flyers did not hold a pregame skate on Thursday, following their win in Pittsburgh, Scott Hartnell skated for more than 90 minutes with Phantoms players.
The Phantoms are in town for Friday night's game at Wells Fargo Center against Wilkes-Barre, and they practiced in Voorhees.
Paul Holmgren upgraded Hartnell from 7 to 10 days to just a 5-to-7-day timetable after Thursday's progress, meaning he could return as soon as Monday against Toronto.
"All-in-all, to be 4 weeks from surgery Friday, and if you would have told me I'd be skating after 3 weeks, I would have told you you're a fool," Hartnell said. "I'm pretty excited about where I am in the recovery because I want to be on the ice to help the boys."
The Flyers' leading scorer last year with 37 goals, Hartnell has missed 16 straight games - his first games missed due to injury since becoming a Flyer in 2007. He had surgery on Jan. 25 after blocking two shots in his foot against New Jersey on Jan. 22.
"To sit and watch games on TV like a fan, I've definitely thrown the remote across the room a couple times," Hartnell said. "And then I've forgotten that I have to hobble up to get it."
The Phantoms' annual Philly homecoming will be televised live on Comcast Network at 7 o'clock. The team announced Thursday that their new downtown arena in Allentown will be called PPL Center, backed by a 10-year naming-rights agreement. The 8,500-seat arena is slated to open in 2014, when the "Lehigh Valley Phantoms" will become the main tenant.
Defenseman Luke Schenn could receive a call from Brendan Shanahan and the NHL's Department of Player Safety on Friday after a questionable hit midway through the second period on Florida's Shawn Matthias.
Matthias turned his back toward Schenn as he was bearing down with the puck, but Schenn did not let up. Matthias was in a vulnerable position. The primary point of contact was not Matthias' head, but his face did smash into the boards.
Luke's younger brother, Brayden, received the Flyers' only suspension this season, a one-game ban for a hit in New Jersey on Jan. 22.
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