Philadelphia Flyers’ goalie Michael Leighton out for month
Philadelphia Flyers’ net-minder Michael Leighton will be out for a month with a bulging disk in his back. Leighton was diagnosed with the injury on Monday and is likely to have suffered it in a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday.
Philadelphia general manager Paul Holmgren spoke on Leighton’s injury, saying, “Michael saw another doctor last night and a doctor this morning as well. It was discovered through those visits that right now we’re dealing with a bulging disk in his lower back
and we’re going to put him on the shelf for about a month.”
Leighton was expected to split time this season with Brian Boucher as the Flyers elected to get their goaltending by committee.
Going back to last season Philadelphia has had a number of goaltending problems relating to injury. The Flyers lost last season’s starter Ray Emery for the rest of the season heading into the 2010 play-offs. Emery was replaced by back-up Boucher, who played
extremely well, until he suffered an injury in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals. After the Boucher injury, Leighton as the third-string goalie was asked to fill the void and led the club to the Stanley Cup Final.
The injury to Leighton will force the Flyers to start the season with youngster Johan Backlund. Backlund spent all of last season with the Flyers American Hockey League franchise the Adirondack Phantoms, winning 21 games in 41 starts
In addition to the loss of Leighton, the Flyers have also lost veteran Ian Laperriere. Laperriere has been forced out of the line-up indefinitely with post-concussion syndrome. Post-concussion syndrome is difficult to assess and players can be out anywhere
from a week to an entire season. The Flyers have stated that they will not know much more on Laperriere’s status until he visits with a doctor in Pittsburgh next week.
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