Forsberg To Miss Half Season

Will there ever be any happiness in Flyerdom? When the last time the Flyers had breaking news and it was good, not bad?

Peter Forsberg is going to miss one-half of next season. The Flyers center will undergo two, separate surgeries to repair congenital defects in his right ankles. The recovery period is that long.

"He had a bad feeling he was going to miss half a season because of his ankles," someone close to him told me tonight. "In his mind, he was a 70 percent player and he knew he needed two surgeries to be 100 percent again. It bothered him."

Forsberg gave the somber news to general manager Bob Clarke and club owner Ed Snider yesterday morning but the reality is, the Flyers were expecting the worse simply because ... it's always worse that they expect and if you expect the worse, you can't ever be disappointed.

"We weren't caught by surprise," Clarke said.

Forsberg has a "hard arch," he said. Both feet lean toward the other side, damaging the ligaments. During his 11 years in the NHL, the condition has worsened. His feet are crooked and his skate boot does not fit correctly on either foot.

"When I come back I will be a better player," Forsberg predicted. "I have to get this done. I didn't want it to happen. I know I can be better than I was."

Read more about this in tomorrow's Philadelphia Inquirer ...

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Regardless of who wins the Ottawa-Buffalo game - going into OT at 2-2 _ the Senators' speed has been nullified in this series. I am amazed at how few end to end rushes the Senators get.

Buffalo is so quick on transition ... sticks in lane, blocked shot, blocked passes, and every turnaround leads to a Buffalo rush the other way. Ottawa will not win this series.

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Channel flipping tonight back 'n forth between that game and the Carolina-NJ games won by the Canes, 3-2 on a nifty deflection by Rod Brind'Amour in the second period. Was that the eighth PPG by Carolina in just 3 games? Weren't the Devils the No. 1 PK unit among playoff clubs coming into this series? Yes they were and the Canes are killing them on special teams.

I thought NJ and San Jose would get to the Stanley Cup final back in April. I had Ottawa winning the East last fall ... I see Buffalo and either Anaheim or San Jose for a Stanley Cup final at this point.