Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Posted: 5:12 p.m.
By Tim PanaccioCSNPhilly.com
ATLANTA -- Its all about the minutes.
Over the final four weeks of the regular season, Flyers coach Peter Laviolette plans to rev up the minutes of his top forwards and defensemen to prep them for the playoffs.
Certain players will see their ice time jump from 17 to 20 minutes or 21 to 25 minutes per game. It began with Tuesdays 3-2 win in Florida against the Panthers, although the final box score totals were slightly off and later revised.
Were making it a point to make sure everyone is in shape, and thats why theres extra workouts, extra bikes after practice and bikes today, Laviolette said. Weve been stretching minutes here, but nobody has really been taxed.
Mike Richards at 18, and Jeff Carter, Danny Briere at 16. The fact of the matter is, in the playoffs, those guys are going to be called on to play 20 minutes. The defensemen will be called on to play 24 minutes.
Thats why Nick Boynton, inserted in the lineup for Chris Pronger, actually saw his minutes plunge to almost six minutes. Barring injury, Boynton wont dress for the playoffs. Sean O'Donnell dropped seven minutes to 9:34 against Florida.
NHL
Andrej Meszaros, Kimmo Timonen and Matt Carle each rose five minutes or more to 26 minutes against the Panthers.
As we manage the bench, I want to make sure we manage it to where guys are ready to play, Laviolette said, adding this practice will continue Thursday against the Thrashers. Ive been pretty consistent with what Ive been saying for the month of March. I want to be ready.
The increase will run through the remaining 12 games so that Richards, for instance, can adjust from his 19-minute average to 23 minutes without feeling taxed when the playoffs arrive.
You want to push the minutes on some of those guys that you know are going to play those minutes come mid-April, Laviolette said. You want to make sure that theyre able to do it.
That said, the top three new line combinations used against Florida will remain intact for Atlanta.
As for the defense, Laviolette said that rookie Erik Gustafsson will play against the Thrashers. Unless Laviolette goes with seven defensemen, Boynton likely comes out.
Gustafsson played 16:06 in his NHL debut on Feb. 26 at Ottawa for Pronger.
There are minutes to be played for everybody, so whatever minutes hes called on for tomorrow night, hes got to be ready, Laviolette said of Gustafsson. Its hard to say where every game is going with the minutes. Theres a plan in place, but that doesnt mean it always gets there in the end.
The 22-year-old, who played four years in Sweden and has been in North America now for four years, said it took him time to adjust to the smaller rinks and more physical game here. Gutsafsson moves the puck well and doesnt panic under pressure.
Its important to get him experience if called upon, Laviolette said. Defensemen are a valuable commodity come playoff time. Hes only had one game up here. With Chris out of the lineup, maybe we can get him some experience.
I didnt know that, Gustafsson bubbled when told he was playing.
Gustafsson took away some pointers from the Ottawa game.
Its way quicker and you have to move the puck quickly, he said. I was nervous the first game. As the game went on in Ottawa, I thought I got better. I can start tomorrow where I left off.
He said he had to get used to the dump and chase here as opposed to the five-man, uniformed breakout in Europe.
Its a more physical, straight-forward game here and I think I like it better, Gustafsson said. Its more intense here.
He also said his size5-foot-10, 180 poundsmade his transition more difficult because so many forwards he goes up against are bigger than him.
It was an adjustment for me to make but I think Im learning every day, he said.
JVR dips
One player who saw his minutes dip was winger James van Riemsdyk, who logged just 12:30 against Florida, a two-minute drop off. He admits to some nagging injuries, but says its not affecting his skating.
He had eight minutes in penalties at Florida and was benched part of the third period, too.
When Im in the box that long, stuff gets out of the flow a little bit, JVR said. We ran a couple power plays and stuff. It just happens once in a while.
To a man, the Flyers seem to appreciate the four full off days they have had over the last 10 days.
We did this last year and it kept us fresh down the stretch, JVR said. Its a long year and this time of year, youre playing almost every day. To stay away from the rink a little bit keeps you fresh and gives you that extra jump.
Car Bombs fight
Dan Carcillo picked the perfect timestart of the second periodagainst Florida to fight rookie Mike Duco.
Its no accident. For an agitator or fighter to be effective, he needs to know when and where to pick his battles.
Back in November, when Carcillo was out of the lineup with a sprained knee, he sat next to Ian Laperriere in the press box on game nights and learned, through Lappys eyes, when to drop gloves.
Ian was great at it knowing when and when not to fight, Carcillo said. I thought that was a good time for me to fight because they were up a goal and it always feels good when guys go out and score after a fight.
Carter scored immediately after the fight to make it a 2-2 game. That turned the momentum on the Panthers.
Its a feeling, a process, and there are certain rules like never fighting when you are up a goal, Carcillo said. I dont want to say its an art, but its feeling out the game.I knew Duco was anxious because it was his first NHL game, so I asked him.
Carcillo also admitted he still feels badly about fighting the Rangers Marian Gaborik last season.
Gaborik is not a fighter.
Loose pucks
Among the 22 blocked shots the Flyers had against Florida, Braydon Coburn led the way with five while Timonen was next with four.The Flyers had 31 hits against the Panthers, led by Coburn (eight) and Scott Hartnell (seven).Carle had the most ice time at 26:49. Thats his second-highest single game total since Feb. 22 when he logged 26:56 against Phoenix.
E-mail Tim Panaccio at tpanotch@comcast.net
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