Flyers' Briere living the dream

DANNY BRIERE did not hesitate.

He cannot remember the last time life was this good. Even though he has missed three games due to suspension, Briere leads the Flyers with 14 goals, he is completely healthy, and - for the first time in a long time - everything is falling into place off the ice.

For the last 2 years, Briere struggled with a divorce that he admits sometimes affected his play. But the Flyers' highest-paid player - and at times, most lethal weapon - says that's behind him.

"There were a lot of things going on that probably didn't go the way I wanted to," Briere said in a candid November interview. "Right now, my life is a lot easier. The last few years have been tough, with a lot of energy wasted away from the rink. Now, I can focus that energy on my time at the rink and my kids. It's positive energy. All the negative energy is out of my system."

It has shown on the ice, where Briere's 14 goals have him on an early track to hit the 40-goal plateau for the first time in his 12-year NHL career. Quietly, Briere entered last night tied for fifth in the NHL in goals.

And his goals have come at clutch times: the first-ever goal scored at Pittsburgh's new Consol Energy Center on opening night, at least three in an attempt to spark comebacks in games in which the Flyers were down, and two game-winners last weekend in wins over the Islanders and Devils.

He looks like the same Briere who tallied 12 goals and 18 assists in 23 playoff games last year. It took him 37 games last regular season to post the 30 points he did in 23 playoff games.

"I think he's picked up right where he left off last year," said coach Peter Laviolette. "He's got a lot of confidence. He's a talented guy, that's why he was brought here originally. For whatever reason, he hadn't panned out here like he had wanted to until last year in the playoffs."

A big part of that was Briere's chemistry with linemates Scott Hartnell and Ville Leino. Last year in the playoffs, Laviolette threw Briere and Hartnell - two guys with similar, admitted off-ice struggles impacting their subpar regular seasons - with Leino, a player who was a healthy scratch for parts of his first 3 months as Flyer.

This year, Jeff Carter has agreed to experiment playing on the right wing to allow Briere to stay at center. Without Carter on the wing, Briere or Claude Giroux would need to shift back to that position instead of center.