After taking a late hit from veteran Bobby Holik in the Flyers’ 3-2 overtime loss against the Devils on Sunday, Flyers’ forward Scottie Upshall limped off the ice and never returned. The injury was initially listed as a mild knee sprain, but the severity was not known. On Monday, Upshall had the knee evaluated and the result was a 10-14 day trip to the injured reserve.
“I stopped and Holik hit me awkwardly,” said Upshall, who has five goals and six assists in 33 games played. “It doesn’t seem too serious. Obviously, it was bad enough to take me out of the game.”
With Upshall out, along with Danny Briere and Glen Metropolit, the Flyers will have to dip, once again, into the farm
system to bring up a replacement. The likely choice to replace Upshall is Andreas Nodl, who recorded just three assists in 23 games played up with the Flyers this season. He was sent down a week ago due to the upgraded play of Arron Asham, who took Nodl’s spot on the third line.
Another choice could be rookie AHLer Claude Giroux. After a slow and disappointing start getting acclaimated to the pro gram, Giroux picked up his production and is currently tied for fourth in the AHL in points with 17 goals and 16 assists in 31 games.
The Flyers will continue play Tuesday, Dec 23 against the Ottawa Senators at the Wachovia Center.
Phila.Bright 