Luca Sbisa, the Flyers' 18-year-old defenseman, is staying with the club, general manager Paul Holmgren said tonight.

 After he plays in his 10th game Thursday, Sbisa would have to remain on the club's 50-man roster. There had been conjecture he would go back to juniors after Tuesday's game, but Holmgren said that's not going to happen.

Sbisa has improved with each game and is now on the power play. The Flyers could still send him to juniors during the season, but he would count against their 50-man roster and limit their flexibility.

Look for Sbisa to stay here until at least December, when Randy Jones and Ryan Parent could return from injuries.

And don't be surprised if he's here all season.

_ Sam Carchidi

    General manager Paul Holmgren gave coach John Stevens a vote of confidence _ deservedly so _ before the Flyers ended their season-starting, six-game winless streak with an impressive 6-3 win over the New Jersey Devils in Newark tonight.

    “I think if things continue to go like they’re going, we have to start changing some people around,” Holmgren said prior to the elusive win. “I don’t mean coaches; I mean other people. Changing the coach sends the wrong message. I believe we’re a good team. I believe that we lost three and (tied) three is a little misleading…I think we’re better than that.”

    The Flyers (1-3-3) then made Martin Brodeur look like an average goalie instead of a future Hall of Famer. They dominated the game after the first period and were led by Mike Richards' career-high four assists and Scott Hartnell's two goals, including an empty netter.

   Another positive: The power play was 2 for 4 and is 4 for 7 in the last two games.

   The Sarah Palin Curse is over.

   So is the New Jersey Curse. The Flyers had been 0-11-1 in NJ since March 9, 2004.

   * * * * * * * *

    Before the game, the Flyers learned that their leading scorer, Danny Briere, would have abdominal surgery Saturday and will miss three to four weeks.

    Glen Metropolit stepped into Briere's spot on the top line and played admirably, especially on defense.

   Goalie Marty Biron allowed three first-period goals _ one deflected off teammate Braydon Coburn _ and then shut down the Devils (5-2) the rest of the way.

   _ Sam Carchidi

    This is Philadelphia, so there's already a buzz that Flyers coach John Stevens' job security could be in trouble if the club's losing streak reaches eight games after weekend games with the New Jersey Devils.

     Puh-leeeeeeze.

    Stevens should NOT be on the hot seat. Last year's strong regular-season finish and the team's drive to the Eastern Conference finals has to count for something, right?

   The Flyers are 0-3-3 because their goaltending and defense have been lousy, their power play has been inconsistent, and they miss some of last year's players (R.J. Umberger, Jason Smith, Sami Kapanen, the injured Derian Hatcher and Jim Dowd) more than they expected.

   That said, relax. Take a deep breath. It's early. The Flyers have played mostly strong teams thus far and they've been competitive in every game except for their horrible effort in a 5-2 loss at Colorado.

    Give the four new defensemen time to play together and hold the fort until the injured Randy Jones and Ryan Parent return in December.

    This team is short on defensive talent right now, but the effort has been there in five of the six games. So don't blame Stevens.

     If the losing continues, GM Paul Holmgren will probably deal some prospects/draft picks/veterans for a proven defenseman. That's a much more logical solution than firing a man who was the Hockey News' Coach of the Year last season.

   * * * * * *

    Goalie Marty Biron needs to step up tomorrow when the Flyers play at old nemesis New Jersey. Biron (5.00 GAA) needs to stop the bleeding. He will be matched against the NHL's hottest goalie, the ageless Martin Brodeur (1.30 GAA).

    * * * * * * *

   Kudos to Brian "Nostradamus" Startare, who does the Flyers' pre-game, between-periods and post-game shows on WIP radio.

   Following a Flyers home game last week, I was sitting next to Startare at a Wachovia Center bar when he shouted: "Two-run homer on this pitch. Do it for Grandmama, Shane!"

   A milli-second late, the pitch was thrown and Shane Victorino, whose grandmother had died recently, slammed a two-run homer to tie the score at 5-5 and help the Phils defeat the Dodgers, 7-5, in the clinching game of the NLCS.

    Startare was mobbed by half the people in the bar _ as if HE was the reason for the homer.

   Hey, there's good karma coming off the guy, and before the World Series started, he told me the Phils would win in six.

    After his call last week, who am I to disagree?

_ Sam Carchidi

    Flyers coach John Stevens insists there's no goalie controversy, insists he's playing Antero Niittymaki tomorow as a reward for his fairly strong performance in San Jose Saturday.

   But just the fact that he said he expects Marty Biron to "carry a lot of the load" this season suggests that Nitty is going to get more starts than anyone could have expected.

   Biron, of course, was brilliant in the first two playoff series last season _ and was the main reason the Flyers advanced to the conference finals.

   But he has gotten off to a shaky start in three games this year. So far, Nitty has been the sharper goalie.

    “It’s always fun when you get the call, especially back-to-back games,” Niittymaki said after today's practice at the Skate Zone in Voorhees, Camden County. “It probably means that you’ve been doing something right.”

  Biron is 0-3 with a 5.74 goals-against average and a dismal .824 save percentage. (But it says here he deserves a chance to straighten himself out. If the Flyers are going to be a major player in the playoffs _ I know, I know, it'd be nice if they won a game first _ they need to ride Biron.)

   Niittymaki (2.84 GAA) has played well, though he did allow a bad rebound leading to a late San Jose goal that tied the score Saturday and keyed the Sharks’ 5-4 overtime win.
   In a game that was played mostly in the Flyers’ defensive end, Niittymaki made 40 saves.
   “I just felt he really earned us a point with his play and, with any player on your team, I think you reward that,” Stevens said. “There’s really nothing more than that. Marty’s going to get back in net this weekend, and I expect him to carry a lot of the load this year and do good things for us.”
   Stevens was asked if one of the goalies would play most of the games if he went on a hot streak.
    “At this point, we need to worry about winning our first game; that’s really my focus right now,” Stevens said. “I just felt like Nitty made some goal-saving saves and made a lot of saves on effort (Saturday) and I just feel you reward that type of effort and give him a chance to win the game this time.”
    The Flyers (0-3-2) play three games in the next four nights, including Friday night in New Jersey and Saturday at 4 p.m. against the Devils at the Wachovia Center.
     “We’re going to need both of our goalies to play and play well,” Stevens said.
   * * * * * *

   Here's how the lines are expected to look tomorrow against San  Jose (5-1):

  Gagne-Briere-Knuble.

  Hartnell-Richards-Lupul.

  Upshall-Carter-Nodl.

 Cote-Metro-Asham.

  * * * * * * * * * * *

   Oddity Dept.: The Flyers haven't received a goal from a RW all season.

  * * * * * * * * * * *

  Will the Sarah Palin Curse end tomorrow night?

  Stay tuned.

   The Flyers today demoted forwards Steve Downie and Jared Ross to the AHL Phantoms.

   Downie played only a little over five minutes Saturday in San Jose and apparently was in coach John Stevens' doghouse after taking an early penalty.

   Andreas Nodle is expected to be the fouth line RW Wednesday against visiting San Jose.

   The lines were juggled again in practice today. They will probably look like this on Wednesday:

   Gagne-Briere-Knuble.

   Hartnell-Richards-Lupul.

  Upshall-Carter-Asham.

 Cote-Metro-Nodl.

    SAN JOSE, Calif. _  At this morning's skate, coach John Stevens decided to put his No. 1 defensive pairing together for the first time this season.

    Kimmo Timonen and Braydon Coburn have been reunited for tonight's game in San Jose (4-1). Ossi Vaananen and Luca Sbisa will be the No. 2 defensive pairing, while Steve Eminger and Andrew Alberts will be the third pairing.

     Having Timonen and Coburn together should give the defense more cohesion, and Stevens is confident that Vaananen, who has played well thus far, will be a mentor of sorts to the 18-year-old Sbisa.

    Antero Niittymaki will be in goal tonight.

   Yesterday, in a move that was somewhat expected, Stevens changed the lines for tonight's game.

     Hey, when you start the season 0-3-1, a change can't hurt.

    At practice yesterday, Stevens unveiled three different lines than he had been using this season; he did use them last year.

    Tonight, Danny Briere, returning to center, will be back with wingers Simon Gagne and Mike Knuble. Richards will center Scott Hartnell and Steve Downie; and Jeff Carter will center Scottie Upshall and Joffrey Lupul.
Briere had been playing right wing with Richards (center) and Gagne (left wing) this year. Carter had been centering Knuble and Upshall. On Thursday, the third line had Lupul centering Downie and Hartnell.
     The moves give the Flyers strong centers on their first three lines. Like last season.
   “We started last year with Danny, Gags and Knuble before Gags got hurt,” Stevens said. “We just don’t seem to have the continuity on our lines right now. Richie has played very well with Hartnell and Downie before, and Carter, Upshall and Lupul have played together, so hopefully it’ll give us a little more depth and more continuity through our first three lines.”
    “We read off each other well,” Richards said of his “new” linemates. 
   In Thursday’s loss to the Avalanche, the Flyers’ offense was sporadic. They were outshot, 34-18 and they committed 12 penalties _ four more than Colorado _ and allowed three power-play goals in 11 chances.
    * * * * * *

    The Flyers have changed the starting time of next Saturday’s game against the visiting New Jersey Devils, moving it from 7 p.m. to 4 p.m. to alleviate some of the World Series traffic. The Phillies play in the Series that night at Citizens Bank Park at 8 p.m.
   Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren said the club also wanted “to give our fans the opportunity to view Game 3 of the World Series.”
  The Flyers’ game will be telecast by Comcast SportsNet.

  In case you were wondering, 4 p.m. is the earliest the Flyers can play the game next Saturday. They can’t play earlier because of an NHL Players’ Association rule that requires a certain amount of time between games on back-to-back nights. On Friday, the Flyers play in New Jersey.

    DENVER _ The Flyers should be grateful that the city has turned its attention toward the World Series-bound Phillies.

     The Phillies' surge has taken the spotlight from a Flyers team that played its most listless game of the season tonight, dropping a 5-2 decision to Colorado _ which had been 0-3 _ and raising the ire of normally mild-mannered coach John Stevens.

    After the game, Stevens met with captain Mike Richards and alternates Kimmo Timonen and Simon Gagne and voiced his displeasure with the club. He will meet with many other players Friday in San Jose. They will not be touchy-feely conversations.

 “There’s no secret, we got outworked,” Stevens said. “When you do all the little things so poorly, we ended up being a very easy team to play against and they took advantage of it. They’re a desperate team; they hadn’t won a game yet, either. And they come out and get every loose puck, every board battle, every puck recovery. It was lopsided tonight and you can’t win a hockey game like that. Period.”

   The Flyers are now 0-3-1, matching the worst four-game start in their history. And they play talented San Jose Saturday.

    In tonight's game, the Flyers were outshot, 34-18, and they won just 20 of 50 faceoffs (40 percent). The Flyers were guilty of 12 of the 20 penalties called, and they allowed three goals in 11 shorthanded situations. The Flyers were 1 for 7 on the power play and are just 3 for 26 on the season.

    And, remember, the Flyers have most of the core players back from the team that reached the conference final last season _ plus a healthy Gagne.

     If you saw this poor start coming, you're in the minority.

     Richards plans to talk with his teammates Friday. He said he has to play better and set a better example. Richards (three goals), however, hasn't been the problem. Neither has Simon Gagne (four goals, including tonight's penalty shot). They have scored seven of the team's 10 goals.

   The rest of the offense needs to wake up. Quickly.

   And while the Flyers' top line (Richards, Gagne and Danny Briere) has been very solid, one wonders if Stevens will shift Richards to the second line and bump center Jeff Carter to the third line. That might give the club three effective lines _ two more than they've had in the first four games.

_ Sam Carchidi

     DENVER _ The Flyers received good news on defenseman Randy Jones today: Jones' hip surgery yesterday revealed that his injury isn't as severe as it was feared.

    As a result, Jones will miss seven to nine weeks _ not the 12-to-16-week time frame that had been projected, general manager Paul Holmgren said.

    * * * * * *

   At today's morning skate, Flyers coach John Stevens juggled the lines for tonight's matchup with Colorado.

    Steve Downie went from being the fourth-line center to the third-line right wing. Joffrey Lupul, who had been at RW, will center the third line, with Scott Hartnell at LW. Lupul will be playing C for the firt time since juniors.

   The move was made to get Lupul and Downie untracked.

   Center Glen Metropolit was shifted from the third line to the fourth line.

   In another development, goalie Antero Niittymaki was ill and missed the morning skate. There had been indications that Nitty was going to start tonight. Instead, Marty Biron will get the call _ and he needs a strong game to boost his confidence.

   Here is how the lines will look tonight:

  Gagne-Richards-Briere

  Upshall-Carter-Knuble

  Hartnell-Lupul-Downie

  Cote-Metropolit-Asham

     The Flyers (0-2-1) have a golden opportunity to get their power play (2 for 19) going tonight; Colorado (0-3) has allowed goals in five of its 12 shorthanded situations.

    The Flyers may move their Oct. 25 game against the visiting Devils from 7 p.m. to 4 p.m. because the Phillies have a home World Series game that night.

   Downie, a big baseball fan, is hoping Matt Stairs _ the hero in Game 4 of the LCS _  gets some time as a DH in the World Series. Downie followed Stairs' career when he played for Toronto.

  The Flyers dropped a 3-2 overtime decision in Pittsburgh last night, but they put together their best effort of the season and there were lots of positives.

  Backup goalie Anetero Niittymaki looked sharp _ no, he shouldn't moved ahead of Marty Biron, as some have suggested _ and so did the peanlty kill. And Simon Gagne scored for the third time in three games - and is looking like his old self,  pre-concussion.

On the flip side, the power play went 0 for 6 and is now 2 for 19 on the season.

There's too much passing and not enough shooting on the PP, simple as that.

But at least the Flyers managed a point and, as most of them said after the game, it's something they can build on.

In notes, the Flyers downplayed more changes on the defensive pairings.

* * * * * *

Center Steve Downie played just 3:53 against the Penguins....Defensemen .Kimmo Timonen (27:56) and Braydon Coburn (26:49) and center Mike Richards (25:16) played the most minutes.....The Penguins won 36 of 60 faceoffs (60 percent).......The Flyers have outshot all three opponents _ but have not scored first in any game.