Braydon Coburn

Braydon Coburn is not sure how his blast from the point got through a thicket of screeners' legs and into the net for the game's first goal in the Flyers' 3-2 overtime win against the Kings on Tuesday night. No matter. The point is not how his shot found the back of the net, which extended the 22-year-old defenseman's scoring streak to five games with two goals and five assists. The point is that it was the residue of the progress the steadily developing blue-liner is making during his first full season in the NHL. Paired with veteran Derian Hatcher to form one of the league's tallest defensive tandems - both stand 6-foot-5 - Coburn is making the deal general manager Paul Holmgren made to get him from Atlanta for Alexei Zhitnik last February look shrewd.

CLAUDE GIROUX Put simply, the Flyers are 15-1-3 when Giroux scores a goal this season. He is dangerous in all three zones and with 66 points in 71 games, Giroux has been consistent enough to be their leading scorer. JEFF CARTER Carter, a force to be reckoned with when he is skating well, has quietly scored five goals in his last six games. He has 12 points in his last 11 contests and figures to be a key cog in the Flyers' playoff plans. BRAYDON COBURN Sure, Kimmo Timonen has played well in Chris Pronger's absence.

The Flyers re-signed restricted free agent Braydon Coburn to a two-year deal for a $3.2 million cap hit per season on Thursday. That means the Flyers' top five defensemen have a combined $21.8 million cap hit for 2010-11 - or $4.4 million per player. They also acquired 6-foot-2, 223-pound defenseman Andrej Meszaros by sending a second-round draft pick in 2012 to Tampa Bay. Meszaros, a physical player, has a cap hit of $4 million. Drafted in the first round (23d overall)

After a day of hope, the decision came down yesterday morning that Braydon Coburn, who took a 50-stitch cut around his left eye in Game 2, would not be able to play in Game 4 last night. "We were hopeful [Wednesday]," Flyers coach John Stevens said after yesterday morning's pregame skate. "He got on the ice a little bit, but he's still not ready to play. I think he's getting closer, but definitely not playing tonight. " Later, Stevens added, "I mean, we're not going to put anybody back in the lineup if we don't feel they're ready to play, and clearly that's the case right now. He's a young kid that wants to play.

Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren spent much of his time yesterday negotiating with current Flyers who are restricted free agents before the annual signing frenzy begins leaguewide tomorrow. Braydon Coburn, Darroll Powe and Dan Carcillo are the Flyers' notable restricted free agents. Powe and Carcillo should be due small raises - and were already offered the mandatory 110 percent salary hike. Both players could be looking for more. Coburn, on the other hand, could be due a lot more.

The Chicago Wolves spoiled Kjell Samuelsson's debut last night as coach of the Phantoms, who rallied before falling, 3-2, in an AHL game at AllState Arena. The Phantoms struck first on a power play, getting a goal from David Printz at 17 minutes, 3 seconds of the first period. Ryan Potulny and Marty Murray provided assists. Chicago tied it 20 seconds later on a goal by Stephen Baby. Braydon Coburn gave the Wolves a 2-1 lead when he netted a power-play goal at 14:07 of the second period.

It is a long, grotesque cut that caresses the top and side of Braydon Coburn's left eye, accompanied now by a line of stitched railroad tracks and a bounty of nature's colors. The eye remained swollen shut, more than 36 hours after a deflected puck did its awful work. Coburn, the Flyers' best remaining defenseman once Kimmo Timonen went out with a blood clot in his left foot, did not play in Game 3 last night against the Pittsburgh Penguins. But he says he feels OK, and that he remains hopeful.

HUMBLE AND unassuming, Flyers defenseman Braydon Coburn does not like to talk about himself. Ask him about his confidence, the minutes he chews up nightly in the Stanley Cup playoffs, and the tough assignments he draws, and Coburn is more likely to deflect praise to his teammates. Ask Flyers coach Peter Laviolette, though, about Coburn and he will tell you about one of his team's unsung heroes through the first five playoff wins this spring. "Since I got here, Braydon Coburn has been a rock," Laviolette said.

Flyers Notes TAMPA - Defenseman Braydon Coburn and the Flyers agreed to a four-year contract extension Wednesday that will pay him $18 million, a $4.5 million yearly salary-cap hit. Coburn, 26, could have been an unrestricted free agent after this season. He has a $3.2 million cap hit this year. With the deal, the Flyers have more money committed to next season's cap - nearly $58.9 million for 20 signed players - than any other NHL team, according to capgeek.com.

The way he was flying up ice early in the third period, Alexander Ovechkin must have felt like someone who had been on death row and had just gotten a last-minute pardon from the governor. Except for his winning goal in Game 1, Ovechkin had not been able to drop a bead of sweat without it landing on a Flyer. Until last night. Washington extended the Eastern Conference quarterfinal series to the limit with a 4-2 win over the Flyers at the Wachovia Center. Whether it was Kimmo Timonen or Braydon Coburn or Mike Richards or Jeff Carter, they all had held the keys to the jail cell in which they locked Ovechkin, the NHL's most dynamic scorer.

HUMBLE AND unassuming, Flyers defenseman Braydon Coburn does not like to talk about himself. Ask him about his confidence, the minutes he chews up nightly in the Stanley Cup playoffs, and the tough assignments he draws, and Coburn is more likely to deflect praise to his teammates. Ask Flyers coach Peter Laviolette, though, about Coburn and he will tell you about one of his team's unsung heroes through the first five playoff wins this spring. "Since I got here, Braydon Coburn has been a rock," Laviolette said.

Humble and unassuming, Flyers defenseman Braydon Coburn does not like to talk about himself. Ask him about his confidence, the minutes he chews up nightly in the Stanley Cup playoffs, and the tough assignments he draws, and Coburn is likely to deflect praise to his teammates. Ask Flyers coach Peter Laviolette, though, about Coburn and he will tell you about one of his team's unsung heroes through the Flyers' first five playoff wins this spring. "Since I got here, Braydon Coburn has been a rock," Laviolette said.

BOSTON - The Flyers could move a step closer toward a franchise record for road wins in a season on Saturday, but the fact the game is in the afternoon doesn't work to their advantage. They meet the free-falling Boston Bruins at TD Garden at 1 p.m. In games that have started between 1 and 3 p.m. this season, the Flyers are 3-8-1. "Maybe it's because we usually take a nap at 1 o'clock," veteran right winger Jaromir Jagr joked after Friday's practice at Boston University.

This story has been corrected from the version that appeared in the print edition of Wednesday's Inquirer. The Flyers' youngest and oldest players were instrumental in one of the team's best all-around efforts of the season Tuesday, a 5-1 win over the free-falling Minnesota Wild at the Wells Fargo Center. The special teams produced three goals, including a shorthanded tally by the sizzling Sean Couturier, the Flyers' 19-year-old rookie. "I think we played a complete game tonight," 39-year-old winger Jaromir Jagr said after a two-assist night.

In what sometimes seemed more like a comedy routine than an impromptu news conference in the Flyers' locker room at Citizens Bank Park on Sunday, Ilya Bryzgalov revealed that backup Sergei Bobrovsky would be the team's starting goalie in Monday's Winter Classic against the New York Rangers. "I have great news and even better news," said Bryzgalov, who has lost four straight and struggled through most of the season. "Great news: I'm not playing [Monday]. And good news: We have a chance to win the game.

Monday's Winter Classic was moved to 3 p.m. - it was scheduled to start at 1 p.m. - because organizers said there will be better weather conditions at that time. According to weather.com, it's supposed to be 41 degrees and partly cloudy at 3 p.m., with a 20 percent chance of precipitation. It could be warmer at 1 p.m. if the sun is out, and that could affect the ice surface. Most of the Flyers said the ice was in good condition after they skated at Citizens Bark Park for the first time Sunday.

Flyers Notes Flyers defensemen Chris Pronger , suffering from a virus, and Braydon Coburn , who has an upper-body injury, were sidelined Monday, allowing Marc-Andre Bourdon and Kevin Marshall to make their NHL debuts against the Carolina Hurricanes. Pronger may be able to play Wednesday against the New York Islanders, and general manager Paul Holmgren said he hoped Coburn would return "within a game or two. " Holmgren said he would have a better idea of Pronger's status "once we get some tests done on him. " Pronger, the Flyers' captain, is listed as day-to-day.

THE TRAIL of crumbs began in the Flyers' locker room yesterday morning when Chris Pronger missed an optional morning practice - with his jersey not hung neatly in his stall like the players who skipped the skate. The curiosity continued when rookie Kevin Marshall's nameplate appeared in a locker in the team's room - only to be quickly removed when its presence was questioned. The mystery was solved when emergency replacements Marshall and Phantoms teammate Marc-Andre Bourdon briskly walked into the arena with their equipment bags just a few hours before puck drop last night after a scenic trip down I-87 from Glens Falls, N.Y. In the meantime, the Flyers completed a bevy of roster moves that became necessary with defensemen Chris Pronger and Braydon Coburn unable to play against the Hurricanes.

Flyers Notes TAMPA - Defenseman Braydon Coburn and the Flyers agreed to a four-year contract extension Wednesday that will pay him $18 million, a $4.5 million yearly salary-cap hit. Coburn, 26, could have been an unrestricted free agent after this season. He has a $3.2 million cap hit this year. With the deal, the Flyers have more money committed to next season's cap - nearly $58.9 million for 20 signed players - than any other NHL team, according to capgeek.com.

TAMPA, Fla. - More than 4 years later, it remains the best trade Paul Holmgren has made in his tenure as the man in charge of shaping the Flyers franchise. To Atlanta: Alexei Zhitnik, 34, spare-parts defenseman. To Philadelphia: Braydon Coburn, 22, raw lottery pick prospect. Today, the Atlanta Thrashers no longer exist. Their general manager who made that deal, Don Waddell, who gave up on a prospect in a desperate attempt to make the playoffs, is out of a job. And Coburn is a rich man. Yesterday, the Flyers signed Coburn - who is their longest-tenured player from that Feb. 24, 2007, trade - to a 4-year extension worth $18 million.