It took guts for John Stevens to put Danny Briere in the third and final slot of a shootout for the second time in a week amid his slump which resembled the horridness of the team’s 10 game winless drought. What was perhaps even more surprising was that Briere made the shot. The Philly fans helped warm up Briere for the senseless booing he received in his former city of Buffalo, yet the $6.8M man proved he didn’t totally forget how to put the puck in the net.

After the Flyers put an end to the grueling 10-game, they took a step towards a playoff berth when they acquired Vaclav Prospal from the Tampa Bay Lightning for defensive prospect Alexandre Picard and a conditional pick in 2009. This is a pretty good trade on both sides. Although originally I didn’t know how accepting I was to parting with Picard, defensive prospect Ryan Parent appears to be just as good, if not better than what Picard was thought to someday become. On the Flyers end they have Vinny Prospal for the second time. They originally drafted him in 1993 and had given the Flyers fits since they parted ways in 1998. Prospal, now 33, has 57 points this season with Tampa this year and will definitely add to the scoring depth. He makes $1.9M this season and will be an unrestricted free agent when the season ends.

The Flyers improved Monday night but were quiet Tuesday, not making a trade at the 3 p.m. deadline. The only team in the division that made a notable trade was Pittsburgh. They picked up Marian Hossa from Atlanta but there is question as to whether or not they actually improved their team overall. They gave up highly touted prospect Angelo Esposito, forwards Colby Armstrong and Erik Christensen and a first-round pick. Although this helps the Pens short term (Hossa is an unrestricted free agent after this season), they traded away two young developing players that showed promise and were getting valuable NHL experience, and a high-energy youngster in Angelo Esposito who is expected to be very good.

Although the Flyers potentially could have done better, perhaps picking up another scorer in addition to Prospal and a puck moving defenseman, they are an improved team as they look to move forward and make a serious playoff run. If the Flyers can actually buckle down and play the way they did in December and January they could pose a serious threat in the Eastern Conference. Next up for the orange and black are the Ottawa Senators. Thursday night the two teams will face off for the fourth time this season. The Flyers are 2-1 against the Sens with the loss coming in the form of a shootout last Tuesday. The Senators just got embarrassed Monday night losing to the rival Toronto Maple Leafs 5-0.