Eric Wellwood

The Wells Fargo Center had all the electricity of a neighborhood funeral parlor for most of Tuesday's matchup against upstart Florida on Tuesday night. There were lots of empty red seats. Lots of sleepy play by the home team early in the game. Lots of missed Flyers chances on the power play. The Flyers, who two days earlier scored an epic overtime win with less than a second left, dropped a 2-1 decision to Florida before an announced sellout crowd. (Wink, wink.) The Flyers lost despite outshooting the Panthers, 36-13, and their season-best, five-game home winning streak came to an end. Florida goalie Scott Clemmensen made several saves in the closing seconds to hold off a Flyers flurry.

By the looks of Saturday's practice, Flyers defenseman Andrej Meszaros will return to the lineup for Game 4 on Sunday night in Newark. By the sounds of it, Meszaros himself isn't even sure he is ready. The final call may not actually be up to Meszaros, as the Flyers could try to press him into action for the first time since he underwent lower-back surgery March 21 to remove a disk fracture. It wouldn't be the first time, especially in the Stanley Cup playoffs. "You want to help the team, but on the other hand, you don't want to overdo it," Meszaros said.

Flyers Notes With Chris Pronger sidelined by an eye injury, the Flyers defense has struggled to clear the front of the net. But there is another area that has suffered dramatically - the power play. Entering Saturday night, the Flyers were 1 for 23 (4.3 percent) on the power play in the five games Pronger had missed. Before that, they were 11 for 40 (27.5 percent). Pronger quarterbacks the power play from the point. The Flyers have also missed Danny Briere, Matt Read , and James van Riemsdyk - all of whom man the power play - for some games because of injuries.

For the Flyers, clearing the crease and slot has been a major problem in the last month, so on Thursday they made a deal they hope will help solve those woes.  They acquired Dallas defenseman Nicklas Grossman, a rugged 6-foot-4, 230-pounder, for second- and third-round draft picks. The second-round 2012 pick was acquired from Los Angeles in the Mike Richards trade, and the 2013 third-rounder came from Minnesota for Darroll Powe.  "He's really going to give us a boost in our own zone," said general manager Paul Holmgren, adding that Grossman figures to be used on a regular shift and on the penalty kill.

Versatile left winger Eric Wellwood, who had a goal, two assists, and a plus-6 rating in five earlier games with the Flyers, was recalled from the Phantoms and rejoined the big-league club on Saturday. "He's smart, plays with speed, and is a good checker," coach Peter Laviolette said after Saturday's practice in Voorhees. "Every time he's been up here, he's done a nice job for us. " This is the fourth time Wellwood has been recalled this season. "I'll do it any day," said a smiling Wellwood, referring to the long car ride from Adirondack to rejoin the Flyers.

The players on the Flyers' (black and) blue line got a lot bigger - and more experienced - on Tuesday night against Florida. In: Veterans Pavel Kubina (6-foot-4, 258 pounds) and Andreas Lilja (6-3, 220). Out: Rookies Erik Gustafsson (5-10, 180) and Brandon Manning (6-1, 195). The Flyers went for size over speed on defense as they tried to continue their domination of the Panthers. Kubina and Lilja returned from injuries; Gustafsson and Manning were sent to the AHL's Phantoms on Tuesday.

The Flyers have reportedly acquired their second defenseman in three days. Pavel Kubina, the righthanded shooting defenseman from the Tampa Bay Lightning, was acquired by the Flyers on Saturday evening for two draft picks. As of Saturday evening the Flyers hadn't confirmed the news, first reported by Bob McKenzie of TSN. One reason the Flyers likely aren't making any comment that they could be awaiting league approval. In addition, the Flyers must make corresponding moves to get under the NHL's salary cap. The 6-foot-4, 258-pound Kubina is in the final year of a two-year $7.7 million contract that has a cap hit of $3.85 million this season, according to Capgeek.com.

For the Flyers, there is a sliver of good news if the NHL lockout lasts for a significant amount of time: Several of their promising young players will get a chance to stay sharp by playing for their American Hockey League affiliate. Players who are exempt from waivers can be sent to the AHL, and Sean Couturier, Brayden Schenn, Erik Gustafsson, Zac Rinaldo, and Eric Wellwood were among the Flyers assigned to the Adirondack Phantoms on Saturday night. In addition, defenseman Danny Syvret and forward Matt Ford cleared waivers Friday and will attend the Phantoms' camp - which starts Sept.

MATT READ waddled off the ice and into the Flyers dressing room on Thursday and snuck over to his stall in the only quiet corner. It's a space usually reserved for the Flyers' unnoticed players, with his locker located next to Zac Rinaldo and Eric Wellwood. There, it would be easy to forget that the player unlacing his skates led all rookies in goals last season, topping rookie of the year Gabriel Landeskog and burgeoning Oilers star Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Read, 26, was one of only two rookies to break the 20-goal pleateau, finishing with 24 - nearly 10 percent of the Flyers' entire total (264)

Representatives of the NHL and the players association met at the league's New York City headquarters on Friday, trying to find some common ground that will lead to a new collective-bargaining agreement and an end to the lockout. But while the sides did not discuss the core economic issues, they made some contentious comments after the meeting. "You can meet all you want, but you can't make them talk about what they don't want to talk about," Bill Daly, one of the league's negotiators, told reporters.