Holmgren on Bryz: ‘He’s been our best player — by far’

Early last week, Flyers captain Claude Giroux called Ilya Bryzgalov Philadelphia’s “best player.”

Today, it was general manager Paul Holmgren’s turn.

“He’s been our best player — by far,” Holmgren told ESPN.com. “He’s been great. He’s had a great focus. Every game, he’s been great.”

Bryzgalov is 5-5-1 with a .921 save percentage – impressive stats made all the more important given the Flyers’ offensive struggles.

And unlike last season – his first in Philadelphia after signing a nine-year, $51 million contract – consistency has been a strength for Bryzgalov. The 32-year-old has only surrendered four goals once; otherwise it’s been three or fewer.

Besides goaltending, the Flyers (5-6-1) have little to brag about. After 12 games, they’re in the bottom half of the league in goals (2.4, 22nd), goals against (2.7, 16th), power play (17.3%, 17th), and penalty kill (77.4%, 22nd).

Philadelphia is in Toronto tonight to kick off a stretch of six straight road games. The Flyers have just one victory in six tries away from Wells Fargo Center.