Bryzgalov lightens the load for Flyers' defense

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Fifty-one million smackers. A franchise trying to win, not just survive. And then Ilya Bryzgalov learned that the Flyers can order lunch in the locker room at will.

Never mind the rain, you still cant beat being in Philadelphia, says the new goalie who didnt beat around the bush Thursday saying he expects exactly what is expected of him.

I never put the pressure on myself, he said. I know my job and I know what I have to do.

Sorry guys, its from you the media, you put the pressure on us and create the pressure around the team, but it depends how you can handle this.

I think I can handle it. I know what I have to do. I know when I play bad and what I have to do to fix it.

The Flyers played really bad in the second round against Boston and everybody knew what Ed Snider and Paul Holmgren had to do to fix it: Finally bring in a goalie who can carry a team, rather than be carried by it. An affable Bryzgalov was like a kid in the candy store Thursday at his first live Philadelphia press conference, certain he has come to the right place and for the right reason.

I have been in the league like seven or eight years and every year I see that team always had good players in the roster and they always played in the playoffs except one year, said Bryzgalov. Two years ago the team reached the final.

Its a team with a rich history. The team always puts in front of them the highest goal, to win the Stanley Cup.

Now he just has to hope that directly in front of him are some guys with which the Flyers can still win a Stanley Cup. The off-season overhaul of one of the deepest sets of forwards in the NHL was shocking, while the defense returns intact, even though "staying" intact has become more difficult.

Chris Pronger has been in the last few days, feels great, said Holmgren. He is maybe a little bit behind where he would be if he didnt have to deal with the back surgery he went through this summer.

We anticipate hell be ready at the start of the season. Whether he takes part in any preseason games or not, its probably a little too soon to tell.

If Pronger, who turns 37 on Oct. 10, isnt all the way back to dominant form by mid-season, youll be able to tell by the Flyers fighting for eighth place. They thrived during his first absence of 2010-11 but reality set in on the second. Dominoes started to wobble on the backline.

Braydon Coburns play didnt fall off. But in general it looked like the added responsibilities began to take their toll, starting with Kimmo Timonen, who is five months behind Pronger in age and right below him in importance.

I dont know if Kimmo wore down, said Holmgren. A lot of things started to slide in the last 25-30 games for us, you cant point fingers at Kimmo.

Like Chris, hes used to playing those minutes, been a guy on the penalty kill, power play, and playing five-on-five his whole career. To start to cut back any of those areas is the wrong message to send.

Hes a guy who has learned as he gets older to look after himself a little better, push himself a little harder. Im not really worried about Kimmo, he was angry last year at the end. I would think he would be chomping at the bit.

Matt Carle, Prongers usual partner, was minus-8 during the playoffs, with only one plus-game out of 11.

I thought Matt struggled only in the last series, said Holmgren. I thought he was good against Buffalo. He led the league in even-strength points as a defenseman. I think he is one more underrated defensemen in the league.

Andrej Meszaros, a revelation in his first 60 games, was only average thereafter. Perhaps the responsibilities caught up to him. So it would help, both for cap planning for 2012-13 and for Cup lifting purposes come June, if two kids the Flyers believe can earn Peter Laviolettes trust, do so in the early going.

Oskars Bartulis got hurt right around the time Chris got hurt and that would have been an opportunity for him to play, said Holmgren. He had shoulder surgery, and Im anxious to see how he does in camp.

Erik Gustafsson is a another guy we like a lot. Not the biggest guy, but a good all-around defensemen.

Holmgren wasnt afraid to come back with what he has, in part because these guys wont be afraid to let some shots go through to somebody who will stop them. Nervous goalies make for nervous teams.

If Bryzgalov is the 60-game horse he been and the Flyers are paying him to be, he may lighten some loads as much as a robust Pronger.

Jay Greenberg covered the Flyers for 14 years for the Daily News and Evening Bulletin. His history of the Flyers, Full Spectrum, was published in 1996. He can be reached at jayg616@aol.com.

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