Goaltender has been sidelined since Feb. 2
The Philadelphia Flyers will continue their road trip with a game on Saturday afternoon against the Boston Bruins at 1:00 p.m.
Returning for the Flyers will be goaltender Robert Esche, who has been out of the lineup since sustaining a sprained knee on February 2 against Tampa Bay. Esche, whose 1.91 goals against average is fourth overall in the NHL, is ready to get back into action.
�I�m trying to get over the soreness, but there�s really no more pain,� said Esche. �I�m excited, not so much to play but to get out there and do what we need to do to win. We�ve duplicated game situations in practice as much as possible, so now it�s time.�
The Flyers practiced on the campus of Northeastern University on Friday
Esche has been skating with the team for several days in preparation for his return.
�To me, he�s looked excellent for a week now,� said Head Coach Ken Hitchcock. �We just have to get him into games now and get him going again.�
Sean Burke, who has played the majority of the time between the pipes with his good friend on the sidelines, earned the Flyers a point on Thursday night making 40 saves against the Ottawa Senators. Simon Gagne scored his eighth goal in 11 games on the power play in a 1-1 tie at the Corel Centre.
The Flyers skated on Friday afternoon at Northeastern University in Boston. The team is still battling a flu bug, as Sami Kapanen stayed back at the team hotel and Michal Handzus also remained off the ice.
On the bright side, forwards Todd Fedoruk and Donald Brashear joined the team for the skate and should play soon. Both have been out of the lineup with sprained knees.
This will be the fourth and final game of the regular season between the Flyers and Bruins, with each team sporting a 1-1-1 record in the season series. In the most recent game on February 19 at the Wachovia Center, Glen Murray scored a power play goal 31 seconds into the third period for the eventual game-winner in a 4-3 Boston victory.
John LeClair tallied twice for the Flyers along with Gagne, but Hal Gill, Patrice Bergeron and Rob Zamuner scored for the Bruins.
The Bruins are coming off of a 3-2 overtime loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night at the Fleet Center.
Philadelphia will continue its road trip on Sunday night in Detroit. The team returns home for a Wednesday night game against the Nashville Predators on March 3, in which former team captain Dave Poulin will be inducted into the Flyers Hall of Fame in a pregame ceremony.