Wayne Simmonds

After starting the season with goals in each of his first two games, Flyers center Claude Giroux entered Saturday in one of the worst slumps of his young career. Six games. No goals. And whispers that the new captaincy role was weighing on him. The 25-year-old superstar appeared to be pressing. "I've talked to Claude. I think he cares a lot. I think he wants to be successful and he wants his team to be successful," coach Peter Laviolette said before Giroux broke out of his funk in Saturday's much-needed 5-3 win over Carolina.

Is it too early for the Flyers to start targeting players who would upgrade their sad-sack offense? In a normal 82-game season, probably. In a lockout-shortened 48-game season, no. The Flyers have played only nine games, but that accounts for almost 20 percent of the abbreviated season. Heading into Saturday night's game against Carolina, the Flyers had two goals or fewer in seven of their first eight games. They had a total of seven in their six losses. Several unrestricted free agents this summer will draw the Flyers' attention, but those same players may be available in trades before then.

Flyers winger Wayne Simmonds missed Saturday's game against Carolina because of a concussion suffered when he was elbowed by John Erskine during Friday's 3-2 loss in Washington, general manager Paul Holmgren confirmed. Simmonds, who missed the last two-plus periods against the Capitals, will be reevaluated Sunday, Holmgren said, adding that Simmonds has head and neck injuries. "It's disappointing," coach Peter Laviolette said before the game. "We certainly can use him in the lineup right now with his ability to score, and his physical presence.

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.

BY THE time Feb. 21 rolls around, the earliest date Scott Hartnell is projected to return from a broken foot, he will have played just 26 regular-season games in an entire calendar year thanks to the NHL lockout. For a player who missed just three contests in his first six seasons in Philadelphia, two to suspension and one to illness, that's a significant blow. It's an even bigger blow for the Flyers, who are clearly reeling without their leading goal-scorer from last season.

Watching the Flyers from afar (his couch), injured winger Scott Hartnell says he can sense the frustration of his teammates through his television set. Hartnell, who is out four to six weeks after surgery on his broken left foot, was a visitor at practice Wednesday, and he tried to supply encouraging words to his teammates. It's not easy to be upbeat when the team is 2-5 and has struggled on the power play. Entering Wednesday, the Flyers were 23d in the NHL in power-play percentage.

IT HAS COME to this: Peter Laviolette is mimicking Doug Collins. Last week, Collins surrendered to the reality that his Sixers team, fatally flawed without the presence of Andrew Bynum, has to try to outscore its opponents. That meant gutting his bench and ruining his rotation. Collins craves the predictability of prescribed roles, but the Sixers had lost 19 of 26 games, and Collins was desperate. Collins' team now is improved, if imbalanced, and, above almost all else, Collins worships balance.

Hoping to awaken his team's sleepy offense, Flyers coach Peter Laviolette juggled his lines during practice Thursday in Voorhees, moving Danny Briere to the top unit to replace Matt Read. Briere, who said his injured wrist gets stronger each day, played left wing on a line with Claude Giroux and Wayne Simmonds. Giroux and Briere played together in Germany during the lockout, and they have been occasional linemates in the past with the Flyers. "We weren't generating as much as we'd like in New York," Laviolette said about Tuesday's 2-1 loss to the Rangers.

NEW YORK - Wayne Simmonds angrily yanked the clear tape off his shin pads and winged it across the Flyers' locker room, an abundance of frustration apparent in his eyes. The Flyers were only able to capitalize on one of three power plays in the third period, missing out on a golden chance in the final 4 minutes, as they were outmuscled on the boards by the bigger New York Rangers. This time, Broadway had Broad Street's number. The Rangers pushed the puck toward their hulking defensemen in the corners, particularly on the two power plays in the last 9 minutes, effectively pinning it against the boards and coming out with a 2-1 victory that dropped the Flyers to 2-5-0.