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Flyers welcome back Read, Grossmann

mattreadgetty

The Philadelphia Flyers are closer to rolling out their full lineup than just about anyone expected against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday.

As speculated earlier, Matt Read is indeed back far sooner than anticipated. Read, 26, seemed poised to return from his rib injury closer to April.

Tonight’s game will be a good test to see if he’s really fit for such a hasty comeback, but the true key might be in future contests (after that first game back adrenaline wears off).

Read is the biggest surprise, but the team also must be happy to see defenseman Nicklas Grossmann in the lineup tonight. He left Tuesday’s contest and didn’t return from a lower-body injury, yet he’s in action so far against Pittsburgh.

Excluding Chris Pronger, the Flyers have almost everyone back in the mix, aside from Andrej Meszaros. Still, judging by the discomfort Read and others seem to be playing with, calling them “100 percent” might be going too far.