Oct 25, 2008 - 1:37 AM
0 shoutsNEWARK, New Jersey (Ticker) -- The hits just keep on coming for the Philadelphia Flyers.
Already entering Friday's game against the New Jersey Devils as the lone winless team in the NHL, the Flyers are expected to be without center Daniel Briere for up to a month with a torn abdominal muscle.
"Danny has a slight tear in his reptus abdominis, which is a stomach muscle," Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren said. "He will have surgery at Hahnemann Hospital (on Saturday) at 7:30 a.m. (EDT). He will be out of the lineup approximately three to four weeks."
With Briere out of the lineup, the Flyers went on to post their first victory of the season, a 6-3 triumph over the Devils. Captain Mike Richards led the way with a career-high four assists, while Scott Hartnell scored a pair of goals.
"Danny's a big part of our team, obviously," Richards said. "Just getting the news in the afternoon was a little bit disheartening for us. But it shows the character of the team. With injuries, it just allows different people to step up, and I thought we did that tonight."
"Obviously, we'll miss him," Hartnell said. "He's one of our best players, but we know we have a great group in here."
Briere suffered the injury in Wednesday's 7-6 shootout loss to the San Jose Sharks. The 31-year-old visited a doctor Friday and received the disappointing - and shocking - news.
"I am surprised by the turn of events that happened today," Briere said. "I hate missing time, but by being aggressive, I will be back soon."
Signed to an eight-year, $52 million contract prior to last season, Briere has been one of Philadelphia's lone bright spots this campaign. The 5-10, 179-pound native of Gatineau, Quebec entered Friday leading the team in scoring with seven points, including a club-high four assists.
"It's never fun when you lose a leader like Danny and a guy who's been playing so well for us right now," goaltender Martin Biron said.
"Some guys have a chance to play a little bit more with Danny out," said left wing Simon Gagne, who returned to the lineup to score a goal Friday after missing a game with the flu. "Hopefully, it's not going to be too long. Last year, we showed with big guys out of the lineup, always somebody stepped up."
Drafted 24th overall by Phoenix in 1996, Briere has recorded 196 goals and 259 assists in 568 career games with the Coyotes, Buffalo Sabres and Flyers. The Most Valuable Player of the 2007 All-Star Game, he enjoyed his best season that campaign, notching career highs of 32 goals and 95 points in 81 games with Buffalo.
