Ilya Bryzgalov

It wasn’t pretty, but pretty doesn’t get you points.

While the Philadelphia Flyers were only able to take away one point from Tuesday night’s less than thrilling shootout loss to the Winnipeg Jets, one was a number they were happy to see.

As in, one goal.

In the first game back from the All-Star break, Ilya Bryzgalov managed to walk away from Tuesday night’s game having only allowed one goal in 65 minutes of play.

For Bryzgalov, a player who most will agree has largely struggled over the past month, the ability to hold an opponent to a single goal is a step in the right direction.

The first half of the season did not go the way Ilya Bryzgalov hoped it would.

In the first 48 games of his nine-year contract, Bryzgalov failed to display the attributes that earned him $51 million and the trust of the Philadelphia Flyers organization.

The main purpose in signing the 31-year old Russian was to stabilize the most inconsistent position in the history of the storied franchise.

The result has been any thing but.

The Philadelphia Flyers (28-14-5) head down to Florida to face the Florida Panthers tonight in what will be their last game before the All-Star break.

The break could not come soon enough for the Flyers as several players have been banged up recently and the seven days off should give some of these players time to heal physically and mentally.

Ilya Bryzgalov may finally have found his confidence again.

Though it’s arguable that he never lost full confidence in the first place, it was definitely a step in the right direction for the Russian netminder, who still has his doubters.

It was a stellar game in net for Bryzgalov, combined with some timely scoring on the power play for the Flyers that led Philadelphia to a 4-1 win over the Devils Saturday afternoon in North Jersey.

Bryzgalov stopped all but one of the 31 shots he faced, a goal by Alexei Ponikarovsky in the second. He improved to 18-10-3 on the season.