Claude Giroux

The Flyers, losers of three straight, hope the return of veteran forward Danny Briere will give their sad-sack offense a boost Saturday afternoon in Buffalo. Briere, concussed during a March 23 practice, has missed the last 10 games. "I have no worries. I feel I'm ready to go," said Briere, who was on the second power-play unit at Friday's practice in Voorhees. "I'm not going to hold back. I haven't played in a couple weeks, and hopefully it won't be too much of a challenge getting my game back.

The Flyers on Thursday signed a speedy, late-blooming right winger who was a second-round draft pick of the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2010. Petr Straka, a 6-foot, 195-pound free agent who reportedly was courted by 12 NHL teams, signed a three-year, entry-level deal to start next season. He will earn $925,000 next year, including a $92,333 signing bonus, and likely will play for the AHL's Phantoms. Playing for Baie-Comeau of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, Straka had 41 goals and 41 assists in 55 regular-season games this year.

Goalie Ilya Bryzgalov did not sleep on Thursday night. The Flyers offense did. Bryzgalov was brilliant, but the Flyers were virtually knocked out of the Eastern Conference playoff picture by a team that had lost five straight. Colin Greening scored on a breakaway power-play goal with 5 minutes, 36 seconds left, snapping a 1-1 tie and giving Ottawa a 3-1 win at the Wells Fargo Center. Greening took a pass from Patrick Wiercioch and scored on a high shot while Claude Giroux was serving a four-minute penalty for high-sticking Mika Zibanejad with 6:07 remaining in regulation.

TWICE IN THE last week, the Flyers faced off against teams desperately clinging to their playoff lives - riding identical five-game losing skids into the matchup. Both times, Winnipeg and Ottawa skated off the ice with a pair of points, quickly rejuvenating their playoff hopes in this crazy, shortened season. It was the Senators' turn Thursday night, scoring two third-periods goals - including a rare breakaway, power-play tally - to down the Flyers, 3-1, in a somewhat empty and lifeless Wells Fargo Center.

RYANE CLOWE and the San Jose Sharks have the Flyers waiting with bated breath. Clowe, the forward the Flyers have spent the better part of the past 2 days chasing, was scratched from Monday night's lineup by the Sharks in order to "protect the asset" in the event of a trade. An injury would have derailed the process. As of press time for this edition, Clowe had not been traded. Check Philly.com/Sports for the latest Flyers information. Multiple sources confirmed to the Daily News on Monday that the Flyers have been negotiating with Clowe's agent, Boston-based Kent Hughes from MFive Sports.

RYANE CLOWE and the San Jose Sharks have the Flyers waiting with bated breath. Clowe, the forward the Flyers have spent the better part of the past 2 days chasing, was scratched from Monday night's lineup by the Sharks in order to "protect the asset" in the event of a trade. An injury would have derailed the process. As of press time for this edition, Clowe had not been traded. Check Philly.com/Sports for the latest Flyers information. Multiple sources confirmed to the Daily News on Monday that the Flyers have been negotiating with Clowe's agent, Boston-based Kent Hughes from MFive Sports.

CLAUDE GIROUX spun and fired. As soon as the puck left his stick, and squirted through the legs of a pursuing Capital, Giroux knew it was destined for a dark place. It landed on Marcus Johansson's stick and quickly rested in the back of the Flyers' net. Giroux had tried to recover, sliding to Johansson's shot, and his stick went flying. Laying on the ice, Giroux buried his face in his palms, filled with disgust. Johansson delivered Washington a one-goal lead and they still had another 2 minutes remaining on their power play, on which Alex Ovechkin added to the lead only 26 seconds later.

Jake Voracek won a third-period fight, but the Flyers appeared to have lost the war Sunday night. That was before they made a remarkable comeback, scoring two goals in the final 7 minutes, 12 seconds of regulation - including Kimmo Timonen's tally with 9.5 seconds to go - en route to a stunning, 5-4 overtime win over the Washington Capitals in front of a sellout crowd at the reverberating Wells Fargo Center. Ruslan Fedotenko tapped in Timonen's pass 1:34 into overtime for the win. Claude Giroux engineered the comeback with a power-play goal and a relentless shift that set up Timonen's tying score, after which the little Finn leaped toward the rafters as the puck kissed the back of the net. Suddenly, the Flyers are smack in the middle of an intriguing playoff hunt.

DEAD ON Tuesday. Kidding themselves on Thursday. Rallying on Saturday. Two points out of a playoff spot on Sunday. With that, welcome to the Flyers' week that was. The ride is now officially absurd. It was certified as such on Sunday night when the Flyers came back from a 4-2 deficit in the middle of the third period and stunned the Washington Capitals, tying the game with just under 10 seconds remaining in regulation and winning the game in overtime, 5-4. Seven teams are now fighting for the final playoff spot in the NHL Eastern Conference.