Sport-scan daily brief

You'll get arguments from a lot of players, past and present, that fighting is a necessary evil for other reasons, the primary one being that it helps prevent bigger players from taking cheap shots at the game's smaller, faster and more skilled players who score the majority of goals.

Aren't the referees and league office supposed to do that? You'll get the argument that referees can't see everything, but video cameras can. If players are taking cheap shots, then the league needs to crack down with harsh fines and suspensions. A significant enough hit to the wallet would be a greater deterrent than a punch to the jaw.

Ninety-eight percent of the players voted for fighting to remain in the game during a 2011-12 poll conducted by their union. A far lower percentage of players actually get involved in the fights, but the enforcers obviously have incentive to keep the combat mentality going, too. Without it, they do not have jobs.

Parros and Orr, two guys who only have jobs because they know how to use their fists, have a combined 30 goals in 877 career games.

The NHL has implemented rules - third-man in is ejected, instigators get an extra two minutes of penalty time - over the years in an effort to curtail the all-out brawls we used to see during the Broad Street Bullies and Big Bad Bruins days.

Commissioner Gary Bettman, however, is on record as saying he is not in favor of banning the fight club. Do you think he likes the fact that there's a website called hockeyfights.com? Do you think he likes that you can go on YouTube and find almost any classic fight from the NHL's past? It's free advertising for the league.

Here's a comical quote from the commissioner shortly after Fedoruk's fight with Orr in 2007: "The discussion that we've been having is about player safety and injuries. We've had a number of injuries resulting from fighting recently. The question is whether or not that's an aberration or whether or not it's something we need to be concerned about."

People got hurt fighting? You're kidding. Why should the commissioner be concerned? And just how many goals do you get for winning a fight in the NHL?

Philadelphia Inquirer / Daily News LOADED: 10.05.2013

719608 Philadelphia Flyers

Briere, now with Montreal, faces Flyers on Saturday

Sam Carchidi, Inquirer Staff Writer

Posted: Saturday, October 5, 2013, 2:02 AM

MONTREAL - After a bumpy start with the Flyers six years ago, fiercely competitive Danny Briere became a fan favorite, emerging as one of the NHL's most dominating playoff performers, and steering his team - one that snuck into the postseason with a last-game shootout victory - to within two wins of the 2010 Stanley Cup.

Now, with his Flyers legacy in the rearview mirror, the diminutive Briere is a Montreal Canadien, wearing the famed bleu-blanc-et-rouge sweater, and preparing to face his ex-teammates Saturday night at the Bell Centre.

"It'll be a fun game, but a tough game, also," the veteran center said in a conference call with reporters on Friday morning.

Briere, whose injuries affected his effectiveness in his last two seasons with the Flyers, was not only one of the team's top leaders, but he took the younger players under his wing. At different times, Claude Giroux and Sean Couturier lived with him and his three boys in Haddonfield.

"I'm facing guys I was with for a lot of years. . . . It's kind of a weird feeling," said Briere, who kept his Haddonfield house and plans to move back there when his career is over. "You're excited to see them, but it's also weird to have to face them. We all know when the puck drops, it gets competitive. And these guys are the same way - they're not going to give me an inch out there."

Earlier in camp, Couturier, 20, acknowledged he "leaned" on the almost-36-year-old Briere for advice when they were teammates. They were housemates for 11/2 years.

"I was with him almost 24/7, so it should be a special game for both of us," Couturier said. " . . . Since day one, he kind of took me under his wing and adopted me, and I felt like a big brother for his boys. It was a fun experience, to be sure."

Briere said when he signed with the Flyers and played his first few contests against another former team, Buffalo, "they were tough games, mentally, to get ready for. And on the ice you have to shut off the fact that they're your buddies and you have to move on for that three-hour span."

The Flyers and Canadiens are each 0-1; each lost to Toronto.

Before his Montreal debut against the Leafs, Briere was involved in an emotional ceremony with one of the Canadiens' legends.

"It was a pretty special feeling," Briere said. "The Montreal Canadiens organization showed a lot of class by giving me a chance to be the first one to get the torch from one of the all-time greats in Guy Lefleur."

Voracek experiment. Flyers coach Peter Laviolette said he put high-scoring Jake Voracek on the third line Wednesday partly because he wanted him to help jump-start center Couturier and partly because of the winger's recent back injury.

"We're trying to get balance throughout the lineup," Laviolette said after Friday's practice in Voorhees.

Laviolette didn't reveal whether Voracek will return to Claude Giroux's top line Saturday, but he sounded like he would still experiment with him on the third unit with Couturier and Max Talbot - and that Brayden Schenn will remain on the No. 1 line.

Philadelphia Inquirer / Daily News LOADED: 10.05.2013

719609 Philadelphia Flyers

Home sweet Habs: Flyers prepare for Briere, Canadiens

By Rob Parent, Delaware County Daily Times

Posted: 10/04/13, 8:27 PM EDT

Danny Briere’s kids still live and go to school in South Jersey, even as he is reliving a little bit of youth, playing hockey in his home province of Quebec.

Briere, now a member of the Montreal Canadiens, will welcome back his old Flyers teammates Saturday before squaring off against them at the Bell Centre. He’s been following them as much as he can, says he’s confident their various problems can be ironed out and that they’ll have a good season.

He doesn’t want that to start quite yet.

“It’s kind of a weird feeling,” Briere said Friday in a conference call from Montreal. “You’re excited to see them, but it’s also weird to face them. We all know when the puck drops it gets competitive.”

Briere knows the Flyers had a poor preseason, saw that they were only 1-for-7 in their Wednesday opener against Toronto on the power play, which Briere was a big part of for much of the last six seasons.

He still thinks his old team’s issues will clear up — hopefully not until after Saturday.

“You can’t lose faith too quickly,” Briere said. “I think they have a lot of firepower. It’s not going to be too long for them to get going. ... But hopefully it lasts one more game.”

Although he was booed heavily and often when visiting Montreal while a member of the Flyers — Canadiens fans felt he should have signed with their team as a free agent in 2007, when he left Buffalo and went to Philadelphia — Briere is now a returning hero of sorts after signing a two-year, $8 million deal last summer.

That money was on top of the approximately $2.2 million (spread over 14 years) Briere will receive as the first of two compliance buyouts the Flyers used after last season for cap relief. Current Las Vegas Wranglers goalie gambler Ilya Bryzgalov was the other.

With a $5 million cap hit, and a front-loaded contract that was down to a $2 million salary level, he was an obvious choice to be released. Briere had two years left on his Philly deal at the time.

“No hard feelings,” he said. “They were very respectful. It was agreed upon, it was fair. ... I understood completely.”

One of Briere’s sons is with him for the weekend to watch him face his old team. He’ll also welcome back a familiar friend — Sean Couturier, who lived with Briere and his family the first 18 months he was a Flyer.

“We talked once in a while and we’re still in touch; he’s a good friend,” Couturier said. “It’s a special game for both of us. ... Since Day 1, he took me under his wing and kind of adopted me. I felt like a big brother to his kids. It was a fun experience.”

Jake Voracek also acknowledged the void created by Briere’s departure, but has been around long enough to grow accustomed to the ever increasing player movement in the league.

“Obviously it’s going to be a little weird,” Voracek said, “but it’s hockey. The players come and go. It’s a business; that’s what it is. We’re happy for him that he got signed in Montreal. There’s a lot of history there.”

Briere felt it almost immediately. As the Canadiens opened their season at home Tuesday night, the traditional passing of the torch in Montreal saw him receive it from one of the Canadiens’ living icons.

“It was a pretty special feeling and a very special night,” Briere said, “to be the first one to get the torch from one of the all-time greats in Guy LeFleur.”

Voracek seemed to be a little out of his element during even strength situations Wednesday against the Maple Leafs, as he was playing on a third line with Couturier and Max Talbot rather than next to old top-line partners Claude Giroux and Scott Hartnell. But Voracek doesn’t think it’s such a bad idea.

“Claude is always going to play against top defensemen; their shutdown defensemen,” Voracek said. “That should be an advantage for me. I don’t want to say I’m playing against worse players than Claude’s playing against, but not playing against top defensemen, we can take advantage of that. That’s what (coach Peter Laviolette) wants ... spread out that lineup and try to get the offense going.”

Meanwhile, head coach Peter Laviolette would like to see a few pucks start going toward the net.

“I’d like to see 75 more attempts in Montreal and see better results from that,” the cheerful one said. He thinks his third line can contribute to that effort.

“There’s a lot of success with Jake and Sean and Max, when they played together a couple of years ago,” Laviolette said. “But there’s nothing set in stone. We’re looking at it right now.

“We’re looking at things right now and trying to find a little balance throughout the lineup.”

Delaware County Times LOADED: 10.05.2013

719610 Philadelphia Flyers

Danny Briere: Facing the Flyers won't be easy

Sean Couturier and Claude Giroux both lived with Danny Briere for a time.

Couturier, however, was his housemate, along with Briere’s three boys, for 18 months.

“We talked once in a while and are still in touch -- he’s a good friend,” Couturier said. “It’s a special game for both of us.

“You are with him almost 24/7. Since Day One, he took me under his wing and kind of adopted me. I felt like a big brother to his kids, his boys. It was a fun experience.”

It’s one thing to go up against former teammates, but imagine how awkward it’s going to be Saturday in Montreal for all three players when the Flyers meet the Canadiens for the first time this season.

“Facing guys I have been with a lot of years, the past few seasons, guys I had a chance to live with, it’s kind of a weird feeling,” Briere said. “You’re excited to see them, but it’s also weird to face them. We all know when the puck drops, it gets competitive. I know these guys are the same way. They’re not going to give me an inch out there.

“It’s never easy when you face ex-teammates. I remember my first few games facing Buffalo with the Flyers, they were always tough games, mentally to get ready for and also on the ice. You have to shut off the fact they’re you buddies and try to move on for that three-hour span.”

The Flyers bought Briere out of the final two years of his contract last June. He was owed just $5 million in real dollars (not salary cap dollars). Briere ended up signing a two-year deal with Montreal worth $8 million overall.

“There’s no hard feelings,” he said. “I said it the day I talked to you guys after the Flyers bought me out. There are no hard feelings. They were very respectful ... Honestly, I have no complaints. It was agreed upon, it was fair and the Flyers needed to get under the cap. I understand. You move on.”

Briere spent much of August training with the Flyers at Skate Zone in Voorhees. His boys live in Haddonfield, NJ, with his ex-wife. They will get to fly back and forth to Montreal as their school schedule, plus the Canadiens' schedule, permits.

“It’s working out good,” Briere said. “In today’s world with all the communications that we have, it’s a lot easier to communicate and stay in touch. Last year, I got a little taste of it with playing in Europe during the lockout. It’s not ideal but we make it work.”

Briere had been the Flyers' biggest offensive threat in the playoffs during his six years here. Besides leading the NHL in the 2010 playoffs with 30 points, Briere compiled 37 goals, 35 assists for 72 points in 68 playoff games -- better than a point-a-game player as a Flyer.

Briere was minus-1 in Montreal’s season-opening 4-3 loss to Toronto. He played on David Desharnais’ line with Max Pacioretty.

He was honored pregame when Montreal allowed him to accept the torch from Habs legend Guy Lafleur, a tradition before every hockey season symbolizing handing the reins of leadership of the team.

“Yeah, it was a pretty special feeling and very special night,” Briere said. “I think the Montreal Canadiens organization showed a lot of class by giving me that chance to be the first one to get that torch from one of the all-time greats in Guy Lafleur.

It’s different being a French-Canadien playing in Quebec than being American or even a Canadian from another province.

When he didn’t sign with Montreal as a free agent after leaving Buffalo seven years ago, people in Quebec felt betrayed. Briere was booed every time he touched the puck during the six years he was a Flyer.

Back then, he was younger -- had not even turned 30 -- and admitted he didn’t want the pressure of playing in Montreal. Now it’s different. He’s older -- turns 36 in two days -- and far more mature.

“Everyone is different,” he said. “There are players out there that it doesn’t affect them. The media pressure just won’t affect them. Other guys would rather stay away from it. They’d rather play in a quiet place and do their job and not be bothered.

“We all have different personalities. It works for certain guys and doesn’t work as well for other guys. I really believe it is easier as you get older and get to know yourself better. You’re a little bit more mature.”

He’s had one major adjustment in Montreal from Philly.

“Having to do interviews in French and English,” he said. “Whatever it takes, 15-20 minutes, you have to double that. I was coming in knowing that and expecting it from the start. At my age, too, it might be easier to face that, deal with that than if I were 20, 21, 22 years old.”

The Flyers had trouble scoring goals last season, had trouble scoring goals this preseason, and got just one against the Maple Leafs.

Briere said there was too much offensive talent on the Flyers for scoring to become a serious issue with them. He did add …

“Hopefully, it lasts one more game."

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 10.05.2013

719611 Philadelphia Flyers

Flyers' focus in practice: Hitting the net more

The gang that couldn’t shoot straight.

That pretty much describes the Flyers this week, not just in their season-opening loss to Toronto, but in practice as well.

Coach Peter Laviolette isn’t impressed with 73 attempted shots when 21 of them were errant. So many of the drills in the two days that have followed the 3-1 loss emphasize shooting on net.

“I’d like to see us shooting the puck a little bit more. Even more to the point, I’d like to see us hit the net a little more,” Laviolette said. “Even in practice here. We’re firing scud missiles from the slot or coming off the rush. They’re smashing off the glass.

“If we can put it between the red bars somewhere, there might be a second opportunity or third opportunity that follows off the glass or around the corners. And now you are working on puck possession again. I’d like to see us working on hitting that net a little more than we have.”

He’ll have a chance to see whether the shooting practice and focus sessions had any impact this weekend as the Flyers play in Montreal on Saturday and then Sunday afternoon in Carolina.

It’s the first back-to-back sequence of games for the Flyers this season in what will be a relatively light month of October – 11 games, with just two back-to-backs.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 10.05.2013

719612 Philadelphia Flyers

Briere ready to face his former team

Oct. 4, 2013 11:16 PM |

Written by

Dave Isaac

MONTREAL — Before he went to training camp in September, Danny Briere said he was nervous about how Canadiens fans would welcome him.

“I hope they don’t boo me,” Briere said with a smile after one of his last visits to the Flyers Skate Zone over the summer.

He was all too used to that treatment in this French-speaking city.

The former Flyer was booed every time he touched the puck in Montreal after he opted for Philadelphia over the team he grew up rooting for when he was a free agent in July 2007.

Tuesday night, the two sides made amends. Montreal opened its season with a ceremony in which Briere was the first player to accept a torch from Hall of Famer Guy Lafleur.

The crowd went crazy.

“It was a pretty special feeling, a very special night, also,” Briere said on a conference call. “I think the Montreal Canadiens organization showed a lot of class by giving me that chance to be the first one and to get the torch from one of the all-time greats in Guy Lafleur.”

The 35-year-old forward signed with Montreal for two years at $8 million in July. The Flyers will still pay him $833,333 for the next four seasons to compensate for the final two years of his contract they bought out.

Now comes the next test for Briere: playing against his former team.

“I’m facing guys I’ve been with for a lot of years, a lot of time the past few seasons, guys I’ve had the chance to live with,” Briere said. “It’s a weird feeling. You’re excited to see them, but it’s also weird to have to face them.”

Across six seasons, Briere played 364 regular-season games as a Flyer, notching 124 goals and 159 assists. He was usually the best Flyer in the playoffs, scoring 37 goals and 35 assists in 68 games played.

“He was a good player for us, certainly for the whole time I was here and especially in the playoffs he made his noise,” coach Peter Laviolette said. “You look at some of the big series that he had and that run to the Cup, his line was an intricate role in that. It’s good that he’s landed somewhere and that he’s happy. I’m sure he’ll be excited to play his old team.”

Once the puck drops, Briere says the Flyers are “not gonna give me an inch out there.”

He hosted Claude Giroux in his Haddonfield home one year and Sean Couturier the next. It will definitely be a strange feeling.

“You have to shut off the fact that they’re your buddies, and you have to move on for that one game, that three-hour span,” Briere said.

One of Briere’s three sons will be with him tonight when the Flyers come to town. The boys stayed home in Haddonfield with their mother while their father plays for the Habs. They use Internet video messaging to keep in touch, just like they did when Briere played in Germany during last year’s lockout.

Throughout the season, the boys will come up to Montreal when their school and Canadiens’ playing schedules allow. When he sits at home on off nights, Briere will look to watch Flyers games first before anything else.

Unlike some former Flyers, Briere has no angst against his former team.

Even in accepting a buyout, Briere showed there was no hard feelings.

Courier-Post LOADED: 10.05.2013

719613 Phoenix Coyotes

Phoenix Coyotes wing Radim Vrbata trusts in his play to speak for him

By Sarah McLellan azcentral sports Sat Oct 5, 2013 1:31 AM

The only indication Coyotes wing Radim Vrbata gave that he just completed a natural hat trick in Thursday’s opening game was a slight raise of his hands and a subtle fist pump.

No laughter.

No cheering.

No exuberant celebration for guiding the Coyotes to a 4-1 win over the New York Rangers.

“People around me tell me that I should smile when I score a goal, but on the inside, of course, I’m smiling,” Vrbata said. “I’m happy, but I don’t want to draw too much attention to me.”

That plan seems to be working. In the four seasons before this one, Vrbata has scored 90 goals — more than any Coyotes player in that span. And yet his performance hasn’t made him one of the more recognizable players in the league.

His reputation is understated, just like he is. He’s probably underrated, too.

“He’s just focusing on the game and trying to be professional,” center Martin Hanzal said.

That’s why the Coyotes and Vrbata’s agent, Rich Evans, have shelved negotiations on a contract extension until the end of the season. Vrbata is in the final year of a three-year contract worth $9 million.

“Radim’s intent at this time is to focus on playing,” Evans said. “We had some discussion with the team. I’m not going to get into details, but we had discussions with them up until the day before the season started and when it didn’t lead to a new deal, we made it clear that from that point forward Radim was going to focus on playing.

“So any type of contract discussion would be a distraction for him. It’s an important season for him and an important season for the Coyotes, and he’s focused on playing the game and helping his team win.”

Vrbata had hoped to receive an extension during training camp. He wants to stick with the Coyotes, but pricing out his value obviously isn’t a quick process.

“If he keeps doing what he’s doing, he’s going to get paid more,” General Manager Don Maloney said. “We have no problem paying on performance. We’ve always been able to find ways, for the most part, to keep the people we want to keep. So he seems comfortable with it and if (Thursday) night is any indication, he’s going to have a monster year, and I hope he does.”

Vrbata certainly appears primed to chase after the career-high 35-goal mark set in 2011-12. He’s healthy after struggling with a cracked bone in his foot last season, which caused him to miss 14 games. Even then, he still managed 12 goals and 28 points.

That point-per-game ratio would have amounted to approximately 67 points in a normal 82-game season, which would have set a new career-high for the 32-year-old.

“He’s really smart,” Hanzal said. “Usually when somebody’s taking a shot, he knows where the puck is going to be after the shot. He finds the spot, and that’s how he scores so many goals.”

Last season and one game into this one, Vrbata has found ways to produce without a premier playmaker on his line. His release is quick enough that most goalies don’t have time to react to the shot. But he’s also a strong puck-handler, which enables him to be slick in tight areas.

He does all this without putting pressure on himself. He simply goes to work.

“You always want to play your best,” he said. “I don’t want to be thinking about proving something or setting some personal goals. I want to play my best.”

And deliberately, it seems, without a smile.

“I heard somewhere where Brett Hull said, ‘If you celebrate too much, the opposing team notices and they will cover you more,’ ” Vrbata said. “I guess there is something to it.”

UP NEXT:

Who: Coyotes at Sharks.

When: Saturday at 7:30 p.m.