Brandon Manning didn't bother fishing the puck out of the net when Brayden Schenn flicked a quick wrist shot into the New York Rangers net Tuesday night in Philadelphia.
It was a monumental assist for Manning, the first NHL point of his young career, but he knows his time will come to collect his game souvenir when he scores a goal of his own.
"No one got the puck but I'm not worried about it, I plan on getting my first goal soon here so hopefully someone will grab that for me," said Manning, 22, after posing Wednesday with the rest of the Flyers on the ice for a team photo.
"Just to get the opportunity to come into Philly and play was exciting enough and to be able to contribute like that and have something to build on down the stretch is exciting for myself."
Manning, the Prince George son of Paula and Leroy, is now on the verge of sticking around with the best hockey players in the world and the lavish lifestyle that affords.
He was called up from the AHL Adirondack Phantoms by the Flyers Tuesday and arrived in Philadelphia just in time to suit up against the Rangers. Backed by Steve Mason's 38 saves, the Flyers made Manning's first night back memorable with a 3-2 win that kept them in the playoff hunt. With five games left, Philadelphia is just five points behind the Rangers and the Winnipeg Jets.
"Before the Montreal game [a 7-3 Flyers' win on Monday] there were four games in a row where the team struggled and we've brought a little life here with back-to-back wins," said Manning. "We'll have to finish out strong and win four or five of our last games and get some help from other teams. The guys are excited and there's some good energy in the locker room and if we get in the playoffs, anything's possible."
The Flyers host the struggling New Jersey Devils tonight (4:30 p.m., PDT). The Devils have lost their last three games and are winless in 10.
Signed as a free agent by the Flyers late in 2010, Manning is coming to the end of his two-year contract, so the timing of his return to Philadelphia couldn't be better. He's hoping he'll stick around long enough to win a spot with the big club next season.
"I talked to [Flyers head coach Peter Laviolette] and he liked how I jumped into the play and said I looked steady, just like I did last year," Manning said. "Those words go a long way, especially after you get into your first one and are looking to play the last five games here."
Manning knows quite of the few of the Flyers from their time playing in the AHL with the Phantoms. He also played four games for Philadelphia in March last season. On Tuesday he was paired with veteran Kurtis Foster, whom Manning said was a calming influence right from the start of the game.
Plagued by a few minor injuries and a bout of sickness in January he suspects was mononucleosis, Manning admits he's had a bit of roller-coaster ride in his second season of pro hockey. The Phantoms' top two defencemen from last year -- Erik Gustafsson and Oliver Lauridson -- stuck with Philadelphia
Manning had surgery on his hip in the off-season which acted up on him last month, and just a week ago he tweaked a knee ligament playing for the Phantoms. He was called into service for the Flyers when veteran defenceman Kent Huskins suffered a concussion Monday in the game against Montreal.
"It's probably been the weirdest season of my career," Manning said. "With the lockout and the guys in Adirondack, and we had four or five guys go up to Philly and no actual training camp. I was sick for three weeks and lost 13 pounds. The first time I was back I was 188 pounds and it took me a month to get back my weight."
In 65 games in the AHL this season he collected six goals and 15 assists for 21 points and 82 penalty minutes. Manning was the only undrafted defenceman to play for the Eastern Conference all-stars at the game in Providence, which coincided with a visit with his dad, Leroy. Manning had a great time in the skills competition, where he got to put on a show for the fans competing in the puck relay stickhandling and shootout events. He spent time with the top players in the league and got to know Jon Cooper, the Prince George-born coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning, who at the time was coaching the Syracuse Crunch.
Manning was at the centre of two frightening incidents in February that left two opposing players injured. On Feb. 15 in a Phantoms' home game in Glens Falls, N.Y., Albany forward Mattias Tedenby suffered a 120-stitch cut on the side of his face when he was sliced by Manning's skate after getting tripped up by Phantoms goalie Scott Munroe.
Two nights later in Springfield, Manning collided with former Merritt Centennials Wade MacLeod and his face hit into the glass. Manning was given a minor penalty, and as MacLeod skated by the players' benches he collapsed and went into convulsions. Both teams agreed to suspend the game with 3:26 left in the second period. MacLeod, a 26-year-old Columbus Blue Jackets' prospect, had surgery three weeks ago in Boston to remove a non-cancerous growth on his brain.
"It was a scary scene, probably the scariest thing I've seen in my hockey career," said Manning. "Luckily for everyone, he's doing better now. I talked to my old [Chilliwack Bruins] captain Nick Holden and he's doing better after surgery and they removed everything. He's expected to make a recovery and hopefully come back to the game of hockey."
