At 37, Briere knew his best days as a player were behind him.

What’s ahead instead for Briere: better days as a father and a new husband.

Flanked by three sons that he rarely saw the last two years as he bounced from team to team, Briere made his retirement official Tuesday, ending the career of an undersized center who often came up big in the playoffs.

Briere spared the tears usually fit for a retirement ceremony and asked his three sons to join him against a Philadelphia Flyers’ backdrop. His boys Caelan (17), Carson (15) and Cameron (14) stepped up for a family photo, dad beaming wider than he did the first time he slipped on a Flyers jersey.

”The priority is going to be family first,” Briere said.

With two of them playing hockey and one playing lacrosse, Briere has a buffet of games and practices to hit in retirement.

His kids, though, were a bit torn.

”There’s a lot of perks of having your dad play in the NHL,” said Briere, who once signed a $52 million contract with the Flyers. ”But on the flip side, they wanted to have me home.”

Briere will stay near Philadelphia and plans to marry his fiancee, Misha Harrell, next summer. He had some feelers about returning for an 18th season, but after limited minutes each of the last two years with Montreal and Colorado, the decision to hang up the skates was easy.

”It became tough when you’re sitting on the bench and you’re watching other guys,” he said. ”I guess it’s the competitive side. I just wanted to be the guy making the play.”

Generously listed at 5-foot-9, Briere left as one of the smallest players to ever make such a huge impact in the postseason. Not familiar with his postseason scoring punch? Check out the 5 minute, 30 second video on YouTube that highlights all 30 points he scored during the Flyers’ 2010 run toward the Stanley Cup Finals. That stands as a team record for playoff points and four of his goals were game-winners.

Briere had a goal and an assist in one of the great games in franchise history: Philadelphia’s 4-3 win over Boston in Game 7 of in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Down 3-0 in the series, then down 3-0 in Game 7, Briere scored the tying goal that keyed the comeback.

On the brink of elimination, Briere thought the Flyers had wasted their momentum.

”I remember sitting on the bench almost crying,” Briere said.

Briere was whistled for a crosscheck and screamed at referee Stephen Walkom on the way to the box.

Walkom settled Briere and gave a pep talk coach Peter Laviolette would have admired.

”I couldn’t control myself,” Briere said. ”And I sat down in the penalty box and the next whistle he came back over and was like, `Calm down. The game is far from over. Just calm down. You don’t want to put your team short another man.”’

He scored a wraparound goal that keyed Philadelphia’s last true championship run.

His 17-year career saw him play for the Phoenix Coyotes, Buffalo Sabres, Flyers, Montreal Canadiens and Colorado Avalanche. Briere spent the bulk of his career with the Sabres and Flyers and earned All-Star nods playing for both franchises.

The Gatineau, Quebec-native was a first-round selection (24th overall) by the Coyotes in the 1996 draft. He had 307 goals and 389 assists for 696 career points. He scored 30 goals five times and had a career-high 95 points in 2006-07 for the Sabres.

Briere, an All-Star with the Flyers and Sabres, had 116 points (53 goals) in 124 career playoff games.

Briere and the Flyers reached Game 6 of the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals when they lost to Chicago.

”I think signing Danny that day back in 2007 kind of turned things around for us almost immediately,” team president Paul Holmgren said.

Briere spurned the Canadiens, his boyhood favorite team, and angered fans there so much that he was jeered each time he played in Montreal. Booed with such ferociousness, he had to tell his mother to stop coming to games.

But on Feb. 13, 2010, Briere was comfortable enough after three seasons in Philly that he left his mom a pass.

She saw her son in the hotel lobby, gave him a hug and had an uncommon request: ”I know I never ask you anything like this, but can you please score me a goal?”

Briere stuck it to the angry visitors and scored a hat trick in Philadelphia’s 6-2 win.

Big game, big production.

It was Briere’s way.

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Erskine was punished Saturday for a hit he delivered to Simmonds’ face that sent him to the ice with a bloody nose late in the first period of Washington’s 3-2 victory on Friday night.

Erskine wasn’t penalized for the shot that knocked Simmonds out of the game.

“Obviously, he’s got a head injury and probably a little bit of whiplash going on right now,” Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren said after the game. “He seemed OK after the game. We’re just going to have to wait and see how he is (Saturday).”

Based on his average salary, Erskine will forfeit $24,324.33 to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.

Erskine will miss two games against Pittsburgh and a matchup with Toronto. He will be eligible to return when the Capitals face Florida at home on Feb. 9.

The Flyers were already without forward Scott Hartnell (broken foot) and defenseman Andrej Meszaros (shoulder). Forward Danny Briere was playing in his fourth game this season after missing the start of the season with a fractured wrist.

After the hit on Simmonds, which drew blood, Zac Rinaldo and Matt Hendricks fought before the ensuing faceoff. Both players received a five-minute fighting major and game misconduct.

Simmonds entered the game with five points in seven games this season, averaging more than 18 minutes of ice time per game.

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Erskine was punished Saturday for a hit he delivered to Simmonds’ face that sent him to the ice with a bloody nose late in the first period of Washington’s 3-2 victory on Friday night.

Erskine wasn’t penalized for the shot that knocked Simmonds out of the game.

“Obviously, he’s got a head injury and probably a little bit of whiplash going on right now,” Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren said after the game. “He seemed OK after the game. We’re just going to have to wait and see how he is (Saturday).”

Based on his average salary, Erskine will forfeit $24,324.33 to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.

Erskine will miss two games against Pittsburgh and a matchup with Toronto. He will be eligible to return when the Capitals face Florida at home on Feb. 9.

The Flyers were already without forward Scott Hartnell (broken foot) and defenseman Andrej Meszaros (shoulder). Forward Danny Briere was playing in his fourth game this season after missing the start of the season with a fractured wrist.

After the hit on Simmonds, which drew blood, Zac Rinaldo and Matt Hendricks fought before the ensuing faceoff. Both players received a five-minute fighting major and game misconduct.

Simmonds entered the game with five points in seven games this season, averaging more than 18 minutes of ice time per game.

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The injury didn’t hurt the Rangers in the short term as New York held on for a 2-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night, but it could become troublesome if Callahan is sidelined for any length of time in this already shortened NHL season.

Callahan scored the eventual game-winning goal during a second-period power play and then got hurt in the third during a post-whistle scrum with Philadelphia’s Max Talbot, who dragged Callahan to the ice by his arm.

There was no immediate medical update regarding Callahan after the game.

The Rangers managed to kill two late Philadelphia power plays despite Callahan’s absence. New York turned aside five of six Flyers advantages, including a 5-on-3 edge in the second period.

“Cally does everything so well — the little plays, especially blocking shots,” said defenseman Michael Del Zotto, who had a goal and an assist. “The guys did a good job of gathering ourselves after he went off with that injury.”

The Rangers have largely relied on their top line of Rick Nash, Brad Richards, and Marian Gaborik to provide most of the offense. They sought outside help, and thought veteran Jason Arnott would join the mix, but a failed physical wrecked those plans.

Where secondary scoring will come from now remains to be seen.

Two goals were enough this time, largely because Henrik Lundqvist was sharp in making 26 saves. New York (3-3) has won two in a row for the first time.

Philadelphia (2-5) has dropped two in a row.

Kimmo Timonen ended Lundqvist’s shutout bid 7:09 into the third with a power-play goal after the Rangers were caught with too many men on the ice. Philadelphia’s power play failed twice in the second half of the period when the Flyers pressed for the tying goal.

“We have to be more hungry,” said Flyers forward Danny Briere, who tied a career high with 10 shots. “The 5-on-3 got us. It’s something we’ll have to look at.

“Their goalie is so good. You need a great shot to beat him.”

Ilya Bryzgalov, back in the net after his first game off, was solid in making 26 saves for Philadelphia.

New York got back at the Flyers after losing 2-1 last week in Philadelphia. Last season, the Rangers won all six games over the Flyers.

The Rangers, who have won three of four overall, have one game left on a three-game homestand that ends Thursday against Pittsburgh. New York rallied to beat Toronto 5-2 on Saturday with four goals in the third period.

“We’re trying to keep our game consistent,” Del Zotto said. “I thought last game we did a great job trying to gain our identity back. We followed up with, maybe it wasn’t the prettiest at times, but we found a way to win.”

It wasn’t easy. With the Rangers short-handed following a penalty for too many men on the ice, Timonen brought the Flyers within 2-1. He was left alone in the high slot when New York had all four players involved in a scrum in the right corner.

The power play for both sides told the story in the second period. Philadelphia was turned away by the Rangers during a 5-on-3 advantage that lasted for 1:17, and then allowed a power-play goal to New York 3:32 after the teams got back to full strength.

Philadelphia had a chance to at least get even after Richards was called for holding, and Derek Stepan took a delay-of-game penalty 43 seconds later.

Flyers coach Peter Laviolette used his lone timeout, but his club got very few pucks to the net despite controlling play throughout. Philadelphia had an added benefit when Jeff Halpern lost his stick in front, but still couldn’t create anything.

“We certainly had our chances,” Flyers forward Mike Knuble said. “It’s the little things. We started to wear them down but couldn’t cash in.

“They are great shot-blocking team. We were passing up some good opportunities. The 5-on-3 was a turning point.”

The Madison Square Garden crowd let out a roar when Stepan left the penalty box, and then had more reason to cheer when Callahan doubled New York’s lead.

The Rangers had scored only twice in 22 power-play chances over their first five games, and failed again on their lone opportunity in the first period. But Del Zotto got involved again to help New York net its second goal.

Nash took a shot from the high slot that Del Zotto tipped in front of Bryzgalov. Callahan got the rebound, calmly settled the puck down as he shifted to his right, and then slid a shot into the open right side at 11:31 for his second goal of the season and 200th NHL point.

The Rangers struck quickly after their top line couldn’t get the puck out of its zone during the game’s first shift.

New York worked the puck around in the Philadelphia end, and Del Zotto let go a shot from the left point that slid across the ice through a maze of legs and skates and found its way past Bryzgalov, who appeared not to see the puck as Brian Boyle and Benn Ferriero screened him.

Game notes

The teams will meet three more times, including twice in New York. … The Flyers are 2-for-27 on the power play in their five losses this season and 3-for-10 in their two wins. They have allowed only one power-play goal in their victories.

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