Illya Bryzgalov Has A Small Fracture In His Foot

13 games started, 10 wins, 2 losses, 1 overtime loss, an astounding 1.47 goals against average, and a .947 save percentage.

Those are Illya Brygalov's statistics in the month of March... En Fuego! 

When January and February kicked off, who would of thought that Illya Brygalov could accumulate those numbers in just one month of play the way his first season in Philadelphia was going?

I certainly was on the bandwagon of Flyers fans who were calling for Bryzgalov's head, and chances are, you were too. Bryz has since reversed those fortunes and turned in one of the greatest months of any Flyers goaltender in franchise history. The man looks tuned in, focused, and comfortable in the Orange and Black and may we praise the lord, because in turn, we did sign the net minder to a nine year fifty-one million dollar contract.

If it wasn't for Matt Carle lazily turning the puck over in the defensive zone on Monday night against the Tamba Bay Lightening which led to an easy Tom Pyatt goal, leading to a dagger in the chest of Flyers fans and a 5-4 victory for the Lightening, Bryz' numbers would be even more impressive.

His final stat line on Monday night was fourteen saves on eighteen shots, but today it was discovered that Illya Bryzgalov played the whole game with a minuscule fracture in his foot that he suffered during warmups before Monday's contest.

Worry not! Although Bryz will not make the trip to Toronto for Thursday's matchup against the Maple Leafs, General Manager Paul Holmgren stated today thet Bryzgalov should be back in the lineup this weekend when the Flyers return home to face the Ottawa Sentators on Saturday at the Wells Fargo Center (puck drops at 1:00) then travel to Pittsburgh in a crucial game, possibly a first round matchup in the playoffs against the Penguins, nationally televised on NBC (12:30)

Bryzgalov is 32-15-7 withsix shut outs and a 2.46 goals against average on the year, in what has been a whirlwind of a season for the 31 year old Russian.

Sergei Bobrovsky will be starting in goal for Philadelphia until Bryz returns back to the lineup.

The Flyers have clinched a playoff birth and currently sit in the fifth slot in the eastern conference with a record standing at 44-24-8, with 96 points, just four points behind Pittsburgh for the fourth seed with just six games left in the regular season. Two of those six games are against the Penguins, in Pittsburgh (April 1st, April 7th)

Buckle your seat belts!