Neilson will begin scheduled, aggressive treatment Monday for multiple myeloma, a rare form of bone marrow cancer he was diagnosed with Dec. 9. Assistant Craig Ramsay will take over as coach, with help from assistant Wayne Cashman and minor league coach Mike Stothers.

	Flyers coach Rogers Neilson left the 1999-2000 season on a winning note.

"Starting right now, Rammer and Cash are the coaches," Neilson said after the Flyers gave him a victorious sendoff with a 4-2 victory over Washington.

Neilson told his team in what he described as a minute-long meeting following the morning skate. He is expected to be out until at least mid-April, or through the first round of the playoffs.

"Mark Recchi said, 'Let's go out there and win this game for Roger. It's his last game for a long time,"' goaltender Brian Boucher said. "I think we were inspired by that."

Neilson's doctor, Isadore Brodsky, remained upbeat that the treatment will work. But the doctor acknowledged after Neilson's news conference that there's a chance the coach won't be able to return at all this season.

"Yes, there's that possibility," Brodsky said. "He knows that. He'll listen to what we tell him to do. We're not going to jeopardize his life."

Neilson, 65, joked that he did not instruct his team that it had better still be playing when he returns. He has joked since being diagnosed with the incurable disease that maybe it would be best if he weren't around for the first round, where Philadelphia has lost the past two seasons.

"I've never had to leave a team in the middle of the year, so that's the difficult part," said Neilson, who has coached more NHL teams than anyone and is ninth in career victories.

Captain Eric Lindros said, "We're going to miss him, obviously. But he's implemented a game plan that's pretty basic of what he wants us to do. It takes a lot of hard work. Rammer's been with him a long, long time and knows what he wants."

Neilson will begin aggressive treatment Monday, including chemotherapy and the removal of bone marrow cells. Brodsky said chemotherapy has already significantly reduced the cancer cells.

"That means everything is on schedule and I can go ahead with the transplant," Neilson said.

After some marrow cells are removed, Neilson will receive a massive dose of chemotherapy to "totally obliterate his marrow," Brodsky said. The clean marrow will be returned in a transplant procedure in about two weeks, and Neilson will need 3-6 weeks after that for recovery.

Brodsky drew a laugh from Neilson when he said, "Knock on wood, we haven't lost a patient from the stem cell transplant."

"Well, that's good to hear," Neilson said, clapping his hands and smiling.

The Flyers coach has been undergoing chemotherapy for a rare form of bone cancer since mid-December when he began waging a public fight against it.

Neilson has multiple myeloma, which strikes about 15,000 people a year and causes about 10,000 deaths annually in the United States. Neilson's sister, Joan -- his last living relative -- died from the same form of cancer in 1997.

There is no cure, but patients have lived 10 years or more. Doctors said the average life expectancy for patients who receive transplants is 2-3 years, with half the patients making it five years.