Philadelphia Flyers forward Matt Read has had an abysmal season.
After averaging 23 goals a year in his first two full NHL seasons, the 28-year-old Read has managed just three this year for a struggling Flyers team. While his assist numbers are up - he's got 14 already this season after managing just 18 last year and 13 the year before - his time on ice is down, his shooting percentage is 11 full points off his career average and he seems set to surpass his career-high in penalty minutes - the hallmark of a player doing more chasing than he should.
Read revealed Wednesday, to Frank Seravalli of the Philadelphia Daily News, that he has been suffering from a dreaded high-ankle sprain for the past two months.
He originally sustained the injury against the Florida Panthers on Nov. 1 but said he doesn't want to use it as an excuse for his poor early-season play.
"I don't want to blame anything on that," Read said, per Seravalli. "I wasn't playing very good hockey the first couple months of the season. I wasn't putting myself in the right areas to score. I wouldn't blame (the injury) at all. It's about getting to tough areas, shooting more pucks, doing all the little things right."
Read said that the pain has subsided recently, which may explain his uptick in play.
"I'm just finally getting through it," Read said. "The last couple games, I've been feeling a lot better, a lot faster, a lot sturdier on my skates. I feel like I'm in better position out there because of that, skating a ton better."
Read now has three points in his last four games and managed his second multi-point game of the year against the Washington Capitals - the team the Flyers will square off against Wednesday night - last week.
"Maybe taking a week off or something would have been best," Read said. "It's hard to say now. I was taking a lot of practices and optional (morning) skates off. I've been getting a lot of treatment."
Flyers coach Craig Berube said he knew something was wrong with Read and first hinted at a "foot issue" for the veteran on Dec. 15. Read though, never once made mention of it as a reason for his lackluster play.
"We knew it was an issue with him, obviously," Berube said. "He never once complained, asked to be treated any differently. He's battled through it the whole time."
Now that he's healthy, Read can get back to killing penalties and adding the secondary scoring depth the Flyers have been so sorely lacking this season.
