Brayden Schenn

WASHINGTON - Flyers winger Wayne Simmonds was bloodied by a Washington player's elbow Friday night and missed most of the hard-fought game at the Verizon Center. The Flyers tried gallantly to rally without Simmonds, but they were outlasted by the Capitals, 3-2. Seconds after the Capitals' Troy Brouwer was knocked to the ice, he picked himself up and beat goalie Ilya Bryzgalov to the short side from a sharp angle, giving Washington a 2-1 lead with 16 minutes, 3 seconds left. Brouwer had only inches of room, but he found it as he fired a shot past defenseman Luke Schenn and over Bryzgalov's right shoulder.

WASHINGTON - Flyers winger Wayne Simmonds was bloodied by a Washington player's elbow Friday night and missed most of the hard-fought game at the Verizon Center. The Flyers tried gallantly to rally without Simmonds, but they were outlasted by the Capitals, 3-2. Seconds after the Capitals' Troy Brouwer was knocked to the ice, he picked himself up and beat goalie Ilya Bryzgalov to the short side from a sharp angle, giving Washington a 2-1 lead with 16 minutes, 3 seconds left. Brouwer had only inches of room, but he found it as he fired a shot past defenseman Luke Schenn and over Bryzgalov's right shoulder.

Mucking and grinding . . .   WHEN SCOTT HARTNELL went under the knife on Friday to repair his fractured left big toe, he joined a long list of Flyers to undergo a similar procedure as a result of a blocked shot. From Simon Gagne and Chris Pronger to Jeff Carter, Brayden Schenn and James van Riemsdyk, the Flyers have had quite a few unlucky breaks. They have affected forwards and defensemen equally? Are protective, plastic shields for skates an option to keep the Flyers just a little more healthy in the shortened season?

SCOTT HARTNELL sat out Thursday night with an injury for the first time since joining the Flyers six seasons ago. It was just the fourth game he has missed overall - two due to suspension and one due to illness. Turns out, there's a good reason: Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren revealed Hartnell fractured a left metatarsal bone in his foot, which may end up needing surgery. He suffered the injury with 6:53 to play in Tuesday's loss to New Jersey. The Flyers' leading goal scorer from last season could miss anywhere from 4 to 6 weeks, depending on a possible surgery.

For the 0-3 Flyers, the news keeps getting worse. They lost two forwards from their already-depleted lineup Wednesday as Brayden Schenn was suspended for a game and the team announced that Scott Hartnell was out "indefinitely" because of an injured left foot. Both will miss Thursday's game against the visiting New York Rangers. The Flyers were already missing injured forwards Danny Briere and Zac Rinaldo. Schenn was suspended by the NHL for a second-period hit on New Jersey's Anton Volchenkov in Tuesday's 3-0 loss to the Devils.

THREE GAMES into the season and the 0-3 Flyers are rapidly approaching rock bottom. Without even playing a game on Wednesday, Peter Laviolette's squad took two nasty hits. Last year's leading scorer, Scott Hartnell, will be out indefinitely with an injury, and promising forward Brayden Schenn (see below) will serve a one-game suspension Thursday against the Rangers. Oh, and the Flyers are already without Danny Briere (wrist) and Zac Rinaldo (leg laceration) until at least the weekend.

NEWARK - Looking for a spark after an 0-2 start, Flyers coach Peter Laviolette scrambled all four lines Tuesday against New Jersey and inserted newcomer Tye McGinn on a line with Brayden Schenn and Wayne Simmonds. The Flyers, who scored a total of three goals in their first two games, began Tuesday with these lines: Claude Giroux centering Scott Hartnell and Jake Voracek. Voracek replaced Schenn on the top line. Sean Couturier centering Ruslan Fedotenko and Matt Read. Schenn centering McGinn and Simmonds.

NEWARK, N.J. - Just a few seconds after he hung up with his parents in Ontario on Sunday night, Tye McGinn phoned his older brother, Jamie, halfway across the country in Denver. He could barely contain his excitement, explaining to his brother - who plays for the Colorado Avalance - as clearly as possible that he was being recalled by the Flyers. "It was probably one of the best feelings I've ever had," Tye McGinn said. "I was probably even happier to tell him, because he's already been through it all. We talk everyday.

When the Flyers' season starts Saturday afternoon against visiting Pittsburgh, it appears that Brayden Schenn will get the first crack at being their first-line right winger. "I want to go in there and win that spot and hopefully stay there," Schenn said after Monday's practice in Voorhees. During the first two days of training camp, Schenn was mostly on a line with star center Claude Giroux (28 goals, 93 points last season) and left winger Scott Hartnell (37 goals). "It's an opportunity to play with one of the top players in the league, and Hartnell is coming off a great year" said Schenn, 21. "For me, I'm just trying to blend in and find chemistry as quick as possible and hopefully step up and fill that role.

Scott Laughton made a good first impression on the man who matters most - coach Peter Laviolette - as the Flyers opened their six-day training camp Sunday in front of a standing-room-only crowd in Voorhees. "He certainly didn't look out of place," Laviolette said. Laughton, an 18-year-old center who was the Flyers' first-round pick in the June draft, will be given every opportunity to earn a roster spot. "I thought he did a nice job out there," said Laviolette, who had watched Laughton play one junior game for Oshawa this season.