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After being on the road, Flyers happy to be home for a stretch

After spending most of November and December on the road, then going on a recent weeklong trip to Ottawa, Carolina, Long Island, and Nashville, the Flyers are grateful to be home for nine of the next 12 games.

Twenty of the 29 games that the Flyers have played since November 9 have been on the road. (Yong Kim/Staff file photo)
Twenty of the 29 games that the Flyers have played since November 9 have been on the road. (Yong Kim/Staff file photo)Read more

After spending most of November and December on the road, then going on a recent weeklong trip to Ottawa, Carolina, Long Island, and Nashville, the Flyers are grateful to be home for nine of the next 12 games.

Since Nov. 9, the Flyers have played 29 games - 20 on the road. They were 12-6-2 in those road games, and they are four points behind the first-place New York Rangers in the Atlantic Division.

"It was a grind," coach Peter Laviolette said after Monday's practice in Voorhees. "It was good to get through it and still be in good shape, and we look to make some hay down the stretch here."

While Flyers winger Scott Hartnell said: "It'll be nice to sleep in your own bed for more than a couple of days at a time," it should be noted that the Flyers actually played better on the road (16-7-2, best in the NHL) than at home (10-6-2).

The Flyers will host fading Minnesota on Tuesday, and they will try to get their top line - Claude Giroux centering Hartnell and Jaromir Jar - untracked.

During a four-game trip that ended with Saturday's 4-2 loss in Nashville, the line combined for just one goal and two assists, and was minus-12. On the road, they usually have been matched with opponents' top-checking lines and their best defensemen.

"Our last few games, our line hasn't been good," said Hartnell, who leads the Flyers with 19 goals. "We've been slow to pucks and things like that, and obviously it's shown on the score sheet. We have to pick it up."

Goalie Ilya Bryzgalov, expected to get the nod Tuesday, is happy the schedule finally has several home games coming up.

"It's difficult when you stay away from your families and from your home building and your fans," Bryzgalov said. "It's great to have great support from our fans in our road games, but still, your home building is your home building. It's nice to be home and see your kids and play in front of your fans with full support."

On Tuesday, the Flyers will face a Minnesota team that has lost 13 of its last 15 games and is without captain Mikko Koivu, who is expected to miss four to six weeks with what the Minneapolis Star Tribune is calling a separated left shoulder. Koivu, who has 33 points, was hurt in Saturday's loss to St. Louis.

With Koivu injured, the NHL will have to add an all-star replacement. Hartnell, who is having a career year and has never been an all-star, is among the candidates.