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New Flyer Defense Pairs

October 10, 2008, 2:51 PM ET [ Comments]
Tim Panaccio
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Okay, so here's the deal from Flyers practice today. All the defensive pairs have changed up for the season opener against the Rangers tomorrow.

John Stevens said he would break up Braydon Coburn and Kimmo Timonen and he did. Ossi Vaananen is now with Timonen. I'm calling that the "All-Finn Pair." Coburn is with Steve Eminger. Rookie Luca Sbisa is with Lasse Kukkonen. I don't think that last pair is a safe one. I feel Sbisa should be paired with a guy with more experience.

"I like the way the 'D' moves the puck," Stevens said today.

I asked Timonen for his thoughts on all this.

"It's tough to see because we wanted to come out of camp healthy and we lost two guys," he told me. "Especially, on defense. Those two guys played a lot minutes last year. That is gonna hurt us. It's one of those things you have to go through as a team. Everyone who plays now has to step up. We all have to play top of our level. That is the only way we have to approach this thing."

Eminger averaged just 11 minutes during the 20 games he played last season. Suddenly, his minutes just went up, especially, if he remains paired with Coburn.

"I love the challenge," he told me. "Talk to any player. They will tell you that playing more is not any easier but it's easier to get into the game. When you sit there for minutes, you lose your legs, you get out of the game. I'm looking forward to it. It's a chance for me to prove myself."

My prediction? The Flyers may begin with these pairs but they won't finish with them.

**

Is Stevens excited about his season opener?

"I am," he said. "Any time the season rolls around, you're excited and anxious to get going. You could see the level of intensity go up the last couple of days in practice. The guys are zoning in on the game.

"I don't know if there's any nerves; I get engulfed in our preparation ... I don't think we've had time to be nervous."

**

Marty Biron on the opener:

"It's a different feeling," he said. "I can go back in all the years I've played and I remember every opening night. Where we were. What we did. If I was sick before the game or not. That is the way it is. It's a very marked day in the regular season and you remember those things a very long time."

Joffrey Lupul:

"This has been a marathon, this camp. The amount of games you play ... It's going to be nice to go out and play one for real."

Lupul said something that really struck me today. A lot of teams go deep into the playoffs and come back the following season and fall short. Look at Carolina and Anaheim after winning the Cup for examples.

"That is something that should be in the back of our minds," Lupul said. "Especially, at the start of the year. You have to be focused. Last year is over. It's a new start for everyone and we got to be ready right off the bat."

**

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