After time off, Flyers get back to business

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SUNRISE, Fla.They worked on break-outs and the penalty kill. They sprinted back and forth between the blue lines until the ice was chewed up. Their practice dragged on for close to an hour and a half. And yet, after the Flyers left the ice Saturday afternoon, they all wore big smiles into the locker room.

And thats how it should be. The team arrived at BankAtlantic center after spending two days on a bonding excursionfishing, golfing and relaxing while deliberately taking time off from their daily routines to work on their off-ice relationships.

I really believe we had a lot of fun, lots of good things happened amongst us and we really got the chance to know each other better, Danny Briere said. I think it was a success. But this is something that probably wont show up for another two, three months. Its a work in progress, but we certainly made steps in the right direction.

Though they declined to get specific about just how the time in Naples, Fla., was spent (see story), most of the players agreed they had fun and felt refreshedand that the days away from the rink were especially valued. As Zac Rinaldo pointed out: Everyone needs those.

But on Saturday afternoon, fresh off the bus from Naples, coach Peter Laviolette put his team back to workhard. It was one of the teams more grueling practices of the season, with a lot of time spent skating cross-ice and working on zone break-outs.

Laviolette, certainly, wanted to make sure his team hasnt missed a beat while enjoying the Florida sun. The players seemed to follow suit.

You want to get back into it, Matt Carle said. We hadnt skated in two days, I think as much as you dont really look forward to hard practices, you know theyre necessary. Today we definitely worked one of them, especially with the 5 p.m. game tomorrow. We came out today and really put in a good, solid work day and competed. And I think well be ready to go tomorrow.

Rinaldo, fresh off his first Flyers team bonding experience, took a similar view.

It was nice to get back to practice, actually, he said. You kind of miss it after a couple days. So when you get on the ice for the first half-hour to an hour, youre kind of flying around and getting used to it again. But its good to be back on the ice.

Theyll definitely have plenty of ice time in the coming days. They play back-to-back games Sunday and Monday, against the Florida Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes, respectively.

The Panthers, as strange is it might sound to those who havent been paying attention, have been having a particularly successful season thus far.

Theyre playing well, coach Peter Laviolette said. Theyre coming off a couple of big wins. Theyve got speed and skill, so certainly theyre a good hockey team. Again, I think its always more about us, and more important how we play than the opposition. But they certainly have had a good start to the season and theyre playing well.

Led by former Flyer (well, for a few months, anyway) Kris Versteeg, the Panthers have fought their way to a 8-4-3 recordidentical to the Flyersand are just a point behind the Washington Capitals, who lead the Southeast Division. Versteegs eight goals lead the team, but a wealth of new talent brought in over the off-season has helped propel Florida forward.

In fact, much like the Flyers themselves, the Panthers are very much a new-look team.

I cant tell you much about the Panthers because its a completely different team, Briere said. Ive had the chance to watch them on TV a little bit, but its hard to tell on TV, til we play against them.

Said Carle, I know they brought in a lot of skilled forwards, theyre a tough team to play against. Theyve got some young guys back there on D who are producing and coming into their own. I think theyre a team thats playing with a little more confidence than they have in the past, and certainly not somebody to be taken lightly.

Unfamiliarity with the Panthers means the Flyers will have to focus on playing their game and avoiding mistakes, much like Laviolette pointed out.

You really try to focus a little bit more on yourself, Briere said. Its a little bit like the Columbus game. We didnt know much about them, although theyre in a different place than Columbus was. But for us, I think its to get back to focusing more on ourselves.

Focusing on themselves? If thats the case, perhaps the time spent over the past two days will come in helpful sooner than they expected.

E-mail Sarah Baicker at sbaicker@comcastsportsnet.com

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