Toronto crowd unhappy about Carcillo as a scratch

TORONTO - During pregame introductions at the Air Canada Centre, there was an audible "boo" or two during the announcement of the Flyers' scratches - slightly surprising since the fans weren't booing about their own team, which hasn't made the playoffs since 2004.

Rather, the boos were for Flyers forward Dan Carcillo.

And not because Carcillo is a member of the hated enemy. Instead, they were because Carcillo was not in the lineup for the fourth straight game since returning from an MCL sprain in his knee last Saturday.

Carcillo, the native son of King City, Ontario, which is less than 30 miles from Toronto, has had the misfortune of being the odd-man out of a lineup that has gotten production from all lines.

"I know that Danny wants to get back in there and play," coach Peter Laviolette said. "He's a competitive guy. Nobody likes sitting out. There's been some guys that have played well recently.

"If he goes in, somebody has to come out. And I'm just not ready to do that [now]. But things change on a daily basis."

Carcillo played in 15 of the Flyers' first 18 games, sitting out three times as a healthy scratch. But who would Laviolette yank? Carcillo has as many goals (one) as heavyweight Jody Shelley. James van Riemsdyk has been strong recently and Nik Zherdev scored on Wednesday. Penalty killers Blair Betts and Darroll Powe have important, defined roles.

Still, some thought a change could have come last night against the Leafs following a mind-boggling loss. The Flyers entered last night 11-2-2 with Carcillo, whose heart and intensity are never questioned, in the lineup. They're just 6-5-3 without him.

Rob and Jim Brooks, the co-owners of the Phantoms, said yesterday the team almost definitely will remain in Adirondack for at least one more season.

"We are in no way looking at discontinuing this relationship," Rob Brooks told Tim McManus of the Glens Falls Post-Star about the team's stay at the cozy Glens Falls Civic Center. "We feel really strongly about it. It's not in our minds to not return."

The Phantoms are still pursuing an arena in Allentown to relocate the team to the Lehigh Valley. Ground still has not been broken on that project.

The Phantoms, who have averaged 3,193 fans per game at the 4,806 seat Civic Center, are on pace for the worst record in AHL history. With a 3-20-2 record, the Phantoms have eight points - 15 less than the next to worst team.

"Have we given it enough time [to show it's an AHL market]?" Jim Brooks asked the newspaper. "I don't think we have. [In Allentown], we haven't broke ground. I don't think the timeline has changed or anything. It's not that we're stuck. These projects take a long time."

* The last Maple Leafs playoff game was against the Flyers in 2004, when the Flyers eliminated Toronto in six games in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Last night, Tomas Kaberle was the only player remaining from either team.

* The Sharks' 5-4 shootout victory on Wednesday night ended the Flyers' streak of 232 consecutive wins in regular-season home games in which they led by three goals or more in the third period. Before Wednesday, the last time the Flyers failed to win a home game in such a circumstance was on Nov. 21, 1987, against the Islanders, in which they led 4-1 and ultimately lost 6-4. Conveniently, with the Flyers in Toronto last night, the last time the Flyers did not win a regular-season road game in which they led by three goals in the third period was on March 11, 2008, at Toronto, when the Leafs won 4-3 in overtime.