Danny Briere Latest Flyer With Concussion, Out Indefinitely

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The merciless wrath of the concussion has gripped another Flyer, this time Danny Briere. Could it have come on the de-skater by New Jersey Devil Anton Volchenkov? Or one of a few other shots to the head in what was a gritty Atlantic Division battle?

Hard to say exactly what the source was. Volchenkov's first period hit was about as solid a trucking as you can legally get away with...

But Briere continued to play, up to and including taking two faceoffs late in the waning minutes of the third period. In the third, he appeared to take a Brad Mills stick up high...
... as well as a punch from Patrick Elias...

...And a crosscheck in the back, sending him to the ice...

After the game, Paul Holmgren issued a statement that Briere has a concussion and will be out indefinitely.

I'm not sure there is a better use of the word "indefinite" than its application to an athlete's status after suffering a concussion. The duration and severity of symptoms vary considerably and unpredictably. We literally have no indication of what this means, aside from the likelihood that the Flyers will be fairly shorthanded against the Boston Bruins tomorrow.

Is there some sort of live sacrifice we can offer the concussion gods? They're seemingly insatiable. Said it before and we'll unfortunately say it again. We have no idea what this sport will look like in coming seasons as the league either takes increasingly drastic measures to protects its stars or continues to lose them.

In the meantime, the next matchup with the Devils should be interesting...

A look back at the Flyers' 4-1 win can be read here, with some video. Unfortunately, an encouraging performance will be overshadowed by Briere's concussion, Jaromir Jagr leaving the game again likely due to the nagging groin, Zac Rinaldo having some sort of upper-body injury, and, in all likelihood, one of the more colorful "No Comment's" a player has given lately.

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