SCOUTING REPORT
Today's game: Philadelphia Flyers at Penguins, 1:08 p.m., Mellon Arena.
TV, radio: WTAE; WWSW-AM, WWSW-FM.
Penguins: Need victory to reach .500 for first time since they were 18-18-3 in early January. ... Are 1 for 12 on power play against Flyers. ... Have scored first goal in five of past six games, going 5-1 during that span.
Flyers: Are one of six NHL teams with winning record on road (17-15-5). ... Former Penguins RW Mark Recchi has goal in each of past two games after failing to score in previous 14. ... D Ulf Samuelsson, a healthy scratch for five of past seven games, got a sprained knee during practice Thursday, but the injury is not believed to be serious.
Hidden stat: Flyers have 6-1 record in games when shots are even.
NOTEBOOK
Lemieux, Patrick honored: Penguins owner Mario Lemieux, GM Craig Patrick and USA Hockey executive Lou Vairo were presented with the Lester Patrick Award yesterday at the Westin William Penn hotel Downtown. The award recognizes contributions to hockey in the United States and is named for a longtime general manager and coach of the Rangers. Craig Patrick became emotional when giving his acceptance speech, recalling memories of Lester Patrick, his grandfather. Lemieux expressed pride at joining present and past Penguins who have received the honor, including Herb Brooks, Bob Johnson and Joe Mullen.
Hlinka runs practice: With Brooks and assistants Rick Kehoe and Ed Johnston off at the Lester Patrick luncheon, associate head coach Ivan Hlinka oversaw yesterday's optional practice at Southpointe. Three goalies and 16 skaters participated, although several high-profile players such as D Janne Laukkanen, D Jiri Slegr, LW Matthew Barnaby and C Robert Lang opted against going onto the ice.
Empathy with Eric? RW Jaromir Jagr, the Penguins' captain, declined to take a position on Philadelphia's decision earlier this week to strip the "C" from Eric Lindros -- purportedly because of comments he made that were critical of the team's handling of his most recent concussion -- and give it to D Eric Desjardins. "I don't have a right to comment on anything like that," Jagr said. "I'm an outsider. I'm not an insider. I don't know what's happening or why they did it. I think they thought about it for a long time. They didn't just make a decision in one day. Whatever they feel is good for the team, they did it."
As for No. 11: D Darius Kasparaitis, who gave Lindros the first in his series of four concussions two years ago, took a bit more of a pro-Lindros stance. "To make him look bad right now, I think that's not the right thing to do," Kasparaitis said. "I don't know what's going on there. I'm not playing for that team. But I think he's getting a lot of abuse." He added that players like he and Lindros get little compassion from their peers "because we compete and we play hard," but that, "from a human side, of course I feel sorry for Eric. Hopefully, he's going to do well." The Flyers are 10-8-3 without Lindros this season, 4-3-1 during his current absence. Their all-time record when he is injured is 58-59-17.
Flyers tough on Tugnutt: Ron Tugnutt, who has been in goal for the Penguins' back-to-back victories against New Jersey and Washington, is expected to get the start against Philadelphia this afternoon, and he realizes the Flyers can make life miserable for opposing goalies. "Obviously, their size is an issue in front of the net," he said. "They like to crash the net." Tugnutt has made 16 career appearances against Philadelphia, compiling a 1-6-2 record.
Consistent excellence: Flyers LW John LeClair, one of the game's premier power forwards, needs two goals to have 40 or more for the fifth consecutive year, something no player in the history of that franchise has done.
Corbet skates: LW Rene Corbet, who has not played since badly bruising his right shoulder during the Penguins' 8-2 victory on Long Island March 21, skated only before yesterday's practice. Corbet, who handled the puck somewhat gingerly, hopes to be back in the lineup by the start of the playoffs, if not before.
MINOR-LEAGUE REPORT
THURSDAY'S RESULTS
WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON (20-45-9) did not play. The Baby Penguins are at the bottom of the AHL overall standings with 52 points, four fewer than St. John's, which has a 22-44-8 record.
WHEELING (23-39-5) did not play.
