The loss of Jagr was brushed off by some, with the hope the Flyers front office would replace him with another veteran forward. That signing was made, when All Star sniper Ruslan "Rusty" Fedotenko was locked up late this summer. Oh, what? That doesn't count as a replacement for Jagr? I didn't think so either, but apparently Homer felt the youth on this team would rise to the occasion. Well now with injuries that any well seasoned Philly fan saw coming a million miles away, Scott Hartnell's jacked up foot compounded by Danny Briere's gimpy hand has the pressure squarely on the shoulders of a young group of forwards.

Bryzgalov has not been lights out, but he certainly isn't the blown fuse. The defense wasn't expected to be world beaters, and they certainly haven't helped themselves. Which means the offense needs to step up. Claude Giroux has been the only one to show a little spark, and while he can win a game on his own, he will not be able to carry the team if Hartnell is out of the lineup for an extended period of time. Keep in mind, even with Briere's much needed stick back in, he won't be full strength.

You'll probably read statements like this all season: with a short season, you can't afford to lose back to back nights, you cant afford to go on losing streaks, you can't afford to blah blah blah. Yeah, we all get it. It's only 48 games. That means the prospects who aren't prospects anymore need to step up. The guys thought to be ready to take the next step, need to take that... step. The guy they traded away a young goal scorer for, a player who could really help right now, needs to step up. Ok, enough steps! I'm winded. I think you get the point. The Flyer's goal scoring ability right now is very watered down. Schenn, Jake, Simmonds, Couturier; one of them has to step up to keep this team afloat. Unless you think Rusty Fedotenko is going to untap scoring ability he hasn't shown in 8 years.