Ville Leino

THEY STARTED filing out of the Wells Fargo Center Tuesday night at about the 6-minute mark, right after Travis Zajac scored the goal to put the Devils up by two. The talk of a Flyers sweep went with them. There was a popular school of thought last summer when Paul Holmgren pushed the plunger and decimated the Flyers roster that offense was going to be a problem. For most of the season, it was not. In Tuesday's Game 2, it was as the Flyers slogged their way to a 4-1 loss. With Mike Richards and Jeff Carter gone, the Flyers, it was thought, weren't going to have enough reliable scoring to make a serious playoff run. They entered the season having to replace the 59 goals the homegrown stars provided, plus another 19 that Ville Leino gave them.

Flyers winger Scott Hartnell had an elevated heart rate during the team's last exhibition game and will see a cardiologist Tuesday, general manager Paul Holmgren said after Sunday's practice in Voorhees. Hartnell's heart rate has since gone down, Holmgren said, but the Flyers do not want to take any chances, and the 29-year-old forward will sit out Monday's exhibition against the visiting New York Rangers as a precaution. In Friday's 3-1 win in Detroit, Hartnell picked up an assist, but he did not play in the third period because of an elevated heart rate between the second and third periods, Holmgren said.

Like the other up-and-comers on hand Wednesday for the start of the Flyers' developmental camp, forward Matt Read would like to capitalize on the team's recent roster overhaul and fill a vacancy left by a traded or non-signed player. "There could be an opportunity for myself," said Read, who signed a three-year, one-way deal with the club in March and then notched 13 points in 11 games for the Adirondack Phantoms. "If there's a spot open for me, I'd love to take it. " At a morning practice session at the Skate Zone in Voorhees, Read and others, including promising forwards Brayden Schenn and Sean Couturier, showcased their skills in a variety of drills.

With Tuesday's critical 5-2 victory in Pittsburgh, the Flyers took a major step toward winning the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference. They also may have discovered something that will serve them well in the forthcoming Stanley Cup playoffs. Specifically, an adjustment made by the Danny Briere line helped that unit break out of a funk and spark the win. Briere and linemates Scott Hartnell and Ville Leino combined for three goals and four assists and the line was plus-7 as the Flyers moved closer to securing their first Atlantic title since 2003-04.

Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren is attempting to do the seemingly impossible this offseason: sign Russian goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov and re-sign unrestricted free-agent left winger Ville Leino. First order of business may be signing Bryzgalov before this Friday's NHL draft. "Well, we would like that to get resolved at some point," Holmgren said Monday on a conference call. "There is still enough time after the draft to get a deal done. The important thing is that there was progress made when Ilya [Bryzgalov]

All things considered, Jaromir Jagr would rather be in Philadelphia. In a conference call with reporters on Saturday, the new Flyers right winger said he signed a $3.3 million, one-year deal Friday even though "there were a lot more teams with a higher offer than Philadelphia. " A future Hall of Famer who ranks 12th in NHL history with 646 career goals, Jagr returns to the league after playing three years in Russia's KHL. Jagr, 39, said he didn't expect to become a Flyer.

Call them the Ilya-delphia Flyers. That's what some fans were suggesting Wednesday after hotshot goalie Ilya Bryzgalov, whose rights the Flyers acquired the previous day from the Phoenix Coyotes, said he wanted to play for the Orange and Black. Now it's up to general manager Paul Holmgren and Bryzgalov's agent, Ritch Winter, to work out the costly details. The Flyers hope to sign Bryzgalov before he hits the free-agent market on July 1. "I am pleased the Flyers thought enough of me to make the trade with the Coyotes," Bryzgalov said in a statement.

The Flyers left Sunday afternoon for their last extended road trip of the season, and on the flight to sunny South Florida they had a lot to think about. At the top of the list: Finding a way to close out tight games. If they don't find an answer - quickly - they will limp into the Stanley Cup playoffs next month. They have lost five of their last seven games, and in four of those losses they were ahead or tied in the third period. "The scary part is, it's happening way too often," said center Danny Briere after the Flyers' worst late-game collapse in 24 years, a 5-4 overtime loss to Atlanta on Saturday night.

In a deal designed to make them one of the league's top Stanley Cup contenders next season, the Flyers acquired the rights to Phoenix goalie Ilya Bryzgalov on Tuesday for minor-league winger/enforcer Matt Clackson and a third-round draft pick in 2012. If they sign Bryzgalov, they will also give up a conditional pick, which will not be a first- or second-rounder, general manager Paul Holmgren said. Bryzgalov, one of the league's top goalies, can become an unrestricted free agent on July 1. That gives the Flyers a little over three weeks to try to sign him before he reaches the open market.

It is Thursday, Oct. 6, Opening Night in Boston. The Flyers are in the visitors' locker room, excited and nervous about the new season, as the Bruins break out their Stanley Cup banner and send it skyward. The lights come up and the Flyers hit the ice, led by new goalie Ilya Bryzgalov, followed closely by their new captain and the rest of the lineup. It's logical to think Chris Pronger will be the new captain. Here is a look, with caution, at who will line up wearing Flyers uniforms that night: Taking the opening faceoff is the Flyers' new first line of Claude Giroux, Danny Briere and James van Riemsdyk.