a month, but returned within half that time on November 8 against the Tampa Bay Lightning. In the next game, however, against the New York Islanders on November 11, he suffered a groin pull, sidelining him for nine games. In his first game back, Brière suffered yet another setback; he re-injured his groin on December 3 against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Preparing to make a return to the Flyers lineup, he was assigned to the Philadelphia Phantoms of the AHL on January 13, 2009, to play three games on a conditioning basis. Brière finished the season having played in just 29 games for the Flyers, recording 11 goals and 14 assists. The Flyers were eliminated for the second consecutive year in the playoffs by the Pittsburgh Penguins, the eventual Stanley Cup champions. Brière scored one goal along with three assists in the series. The following season, Brière was suspended by the NHL for two games for leaving his feet to check Colorado Avalanche defenceman Scott Hannan, making contact with Hannan's neck with his elbow during a game on November 23, 2009. He also suffered a tweaked groin during that season and missed five games because of it. However, a highlight came to Brière on February 13, 2010, in a game in Montreal where he scored a hat trick with all goals in different situations: power-play, even strength and penalty shot against Carey Price. Brière led the entire 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs in scoring with 30 points (12 goals and 18 assists) and in the process broke the record for points in a post-season by a Flyer, held previously by Brian Propp, who had 28 in 1987. Five games into the playoffs, he was placed with wingers Scott Hartnell and Ville Leino, where the line went on to be one of the most effective of the post-season. In the 2010 Stanley Cup Final series alone, Brière finished with 12 points (three goals and nine assists), one point shy of Wayne Gretzky's record of 13 in a final, and the highest output in a final since Mario Lemieux in 1992. During the last minute of an October 30, 2010, game against the New York Islanders, Brière was given a five-minute cross-checking major and a game misconduct for a stick-swinging incident with Frans Nielsen. On November 1, the NHL suspended Brière for three games. Brière disagreed with the ruling, saying, "If you look