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Bryzgalov to make his 11th straight start

Ilya Bryzgalov, Wojtek Wolski

Philadelphia Flyers goalie Ilya Bryzgalov (30), of Russia, dives to block a shot as Florida Panthers’ Wojtek Wolski (8), of Poland, skates in during the third period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, March 8, 2012, in Philadelphia. Philadelphia won 5-0. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

AP

It’s interesting how quiet things have gotten in Philadelphia when it comes to the play of Ilya Bryzgalov. For the longest time this season, doubts were sky high as to whether or not Bryzgalov was going to be able to handle playing in Philly and his play certainly seemed to indicate that he couldn’t handle it.

Now that he’s shutting things down and playing very solid in goal, the howls for Sergei Bobrovsky to start have died down and Bryzgalov is set to make his 11th straight start tonight for the Flyers, this time in Toronto against the Maple Leafs. As Peter Laviolette tells Sarah Baicker of CSNPhilly.com, Bryzgalov is looking good lately.

“Bryz is fresh. He’s ready,” Laviolette said after the morning skate. “Our team is fresh and ready, and we’ve got a big game tonight. Two points at stake against a team that’s desperate to win. We’ve got a guy who’s coming off a great game, and I’m putting him back in. No, it wasn’t a tough decision.”

Getting things settled down in goal has been huge for the Flyers considering their problems injury-wise elsewhere. With Pavel Kubina and Kimmo Timonen both banged up and Jaromir Jagr and Jakub Voracek dealing with separate issues as well as Danny Briere being mired in a 21-game goalless funk, things could be dramatically worse if not for Bryzgalov.

Who would’ve thought we’d be saying that a couple months ago? In his last 10 games, Bryzgalov is 7-2-0 with a no decision and two shutouts. Keeping that solid play going would help make life a lot easier in Philly come playoff time.