"I think teams always want to play good defense; they always want to take care of their own end," he said after another fast-paced practice. But . . . "I can tell you that the first thing I said to my team is that we're going to attack. We're going to put pucks behind and we're going to go after it."
A year ago, the Flyers allowed 2.74 goals per game, placing them 20th in the 30-team league.
Those numbers are why Ed Snider, chairman of the Flyers' parent company, Comcast-Spectacor, talked about his team's defense in a far-ranging news conference early Tuesday.
Just back from a week's vacation spent celebrating his 80th birthday on the Caribbean island of St. Barts, Snider talked optimistically about the season. But he mentioned last season's defensive struggles and its effects on Bryzgalov.
"I think a lot of his problems had to do with the different style we played as opposed to Phoenix," said Snider, referring to Bryzgalov's previous team, "and I really believe we'll probably tighten it up a bit to help him out. And I think he's a damn good goalie."
Laviolette, whose team has a bulked-up defense, understands his boss' concerns.
Just because the Flyers will be in attack mode, "that doesn't mean we can't take care of our own end," the coach said. He added: "Certainly I think the defense can be better, but so can our specialty teams and other areas of the game."
Laviolette does not want the Flyers to hold back in their emotional opener Saturday afternoon against the visiting Penguins and superstars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.
Asked if he wanted his players to guard against being too hyped against their hated rivals, Laviolette smiled.
"I like energy," he said in a matter-of-fact tone. "I think if you can take that energy and harness it in the right way and come out with lots of pop to your game, I'm OK with that. Given the two choices - go out and just feel around and see how it's going, or go out and tear the door off its hinges - I'd probably rather have the latter."
Laviolette referred to the Flyers' series-clinching win over the Penguins in last season's playoffs as an example of why he doesn't want his team to hold back. Claude Giroux flattened Crosby with a check in the opening seconds, then quickly scored to ignite the 5-1 victory.
The coach doesn't want his players pacing themselves Saturday. He wants them going full tilt from the drop of the puck.
"I'm not going to come in and send a message to let's just dip our big toe in and see how the water feels," he said.
The Flyers have had a long offseason to remember how the 2012 playoffs ended. Snider still sounded disappointed about their five-game-series loss to the Devils in Round 2.
"We couldn't adjust to New Jersey when they were bringing all their men back, and we had three forwards on five players and it's hard to score," he said.
Follow the Flyers on Sam Carchidi's blog, "Broad Street Bull."
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Contact Sam Carchidi at scarchidi@phillynews.com. Follow on Twitter @BroadStBull.
