Wayne Simmonds

A concussion and knee injury slowed rugged Flyers defenseman Nick Grossmann late last season, but the 113-day lockout helped him recover. "My body feels good. I had a lot of time to heal, train, and rehab - all that," Grossmann said after skating with the Flyers during an informal practice Thursday in Voorhees. Grossmann, a 6-foot-4 230-pounder, could be on the Flyers' first defensive pairing, with Braydon Coburn. "It feels good to come back and know the system and know the coaches and what they want out of us," said Grossmann, who emerged as one of the Flyers' top defensemen after being acquired from Dallas last February for a second-round pick in 2012 and a third-rounder in 2013.

SINCE LONG BEFORE the NHL lockout began, Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo has been on his way out of Vancouver. He was largely beaten out for Vancouver's starting job by up-and-comer Cory Schneider, solidified in the Canucks' first-round loss to Los Angeles last spring. First, it was supposed to be Luongo to the Florida Panthers, where he once played and now spends the majority of his time in the offseason. It made sense. The Panthers, coming off their first Southeast Division title in team history, need an upgrade for Jose Theodore and Scott Clemmensen.

ATLANTIC CITY - Wayne Simmonds had been back on North American soil for less than 10 days, but he knew where he needed to be on Saturday night. That was Boardwalk Hall, where the proceeds from Operation Hat Trick went to benefit victims of Hurricane Sandy. For Simmonds, it was a chance to not only support a worthwhile cause, but an opportunity for some sense of normalcy in an otherwise bizarre 6 months since he last lined up with Flyers teammates. Sure, Simmonds played hockey in two European countries - Germany and the Czech Republic - but it just wasn't the same.

On Black Friday, the NHL took another step toward being dark this season. As in "fade to black. " The NHL canceled two more weeks of games, which means the league has erased its schedule through Dec. 14. If you're scoring at home, 34 percent of this season has been canceled because of the labor war between the league and the players' union. The league also canceled the All-Star Game in Columbus. Bill Daly, the NHL's deputy commissioner, said the league intends to return the all-star festivities to Columbus "as quickly as possible.

Hockey is back. Now, before you think we're talking about the start of the NHL season, stop dreaming. Friday was the 62d day of the lockout, and there is no end in sight. But a benefit hockey game featuring several NHL players will be played at 7 p.m. next Saturday at Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall, with proceeds aiding those affected by Sandy. The game, billed as Operation Hat Trick because it aids three organizations, will feature all-stars Scott Hartnell and Kimmo Timonen of the Flyers and Brad Richards of the New York Rangers.

Eric Lindros has turned into a business entrepreneur and is getting married in November. But the years that made him famous in Philadelphia - as one of the most gifted and rugged players in Flyers history - are why he is returning to the area next week. Lindros will be one of the inductees into the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame on Nov. 8 at the Sheraton Society Hill. "It's a special thrill," Lindros, 39, said this week from Ontario. "It's definitely an honor, and I'm awfully proud to be going in with that company.

WITH NO NEW formal bargaining sessions scheduled between the NHL and its players' association this week, we figured this was a prime opportunity to update you on the Flyers' happenings abroad:   Germany Claude Giroux and Danny Briere continue to tear up the German Elite League for Eisbaren Berlin. Giroux led a seven-goal third-period explosion for the Polar Bears by notching the first goal of a 7-1 win in front of 14,000 fans. Briere assisted on the Polar Bears' final goal of the game.

The NHL lockout could not prevent the Flyers from opening the 2012-13 season with a riveting, 4-3 win over the visiting Boston Bruins on Thursday night. OK, it was a Strat-O-Matic simulated game, but it's all we've got. The NHL season, which was supposed to start Thursday, has gone dark as the owners and players are locked in an ugly labor dispute. In the simulated game, Brayden Schenn scored with 1 minute, 14 seconds left to key the comeback victory. Bruno Gervais (!), Danny Briere, and Wayne Simmonds also scored for the Flyers In real life, eight Flyers are playing in Europe, nine who spent time with the team last season are with the AHL Adirondack Phantoms, and a handful of others are training on their own - and maybe even playing some Strat-O-Matic hockey.

ON THURSDAY, dump trucks hauled in 600 tons of dirt onto the Wells Fargo Center floor in preparation for this weekend's Professional Bull Riders tour event, symbolically burying the ice less than a week before the Flyers were to open their season. Turns out, Claude Giroux and Danny Briere weren't interested in sticking around any longer to watch their season being torn apart. Both Giroux and Briere signed deals on Thursday to join Eisbaren Berlin in Germany, just hours before the NHL announced the cancellation of 82 regular-season games through Oct. 24. For the Flyers, that meant the cancellation of four regular-season contests, including three home games, with lost gross revenue valued at $1.9 million per home date.

Driving from his home in Maine to South Jersey earlier this week, Terry Murray noted a strange coincidence involving the NHL's latest labor dispute. "Three times there's been a lockout - and all three times I've been with the Flyers when it happened," said Murray, who is getting ready to start his first year as head coach of Philadelphia's top minor-league affiliate, the Adirondack Phantoms. This lockout will benefit Murray and all the AHL teams, because they will have an influx of NHL talent.