The early returns on the Daniel Carcillo-Scottie Upshall trade are not good.

    Far from it.

    Carcillo's acquisition freed cap space so the Flyers wouldn't have to yo-yo rookie sensation Claude Giroux to the minors. That's been the best part about the deal. Carcillo has three assists and no goals in 13 games and does not supply the energy that made Upshall such a fan favorite.

   In the last two games, Carcillo has spent most of his time on the fourth line. 

   GM Paul Holmgren has made several terrific deals in the last two years, and maybe one day this trade _ which also saw the Flyers give a No. 2 pick in 2011 _ will look like a positive.

    Maybe.

    But right now, it's a head-scratcher.

   UNIONDALE, N.Y. _ Outplayed for two periods, the Flyers rallied and avoided what could have been a disastrous loss Saturday night.

   They outlasted the New York Islanders in a shoot-out, 4-3, and maintained their slim lead in the race for the No. 4 seed in the East.

    A loss would have put the Flyers into the No. 5 spot, behind Carolina and tied with Pittsburgh.

    Instead, thanks to a rally that wiped out a 2-0 third-period deficit, the Flyers are one point ahead of Carolina and two ahead of Pittsburgh. (The Flyers have games in hand on both.)

   "If we don't take care of ouselves, it doesn't really matter what anyone else is doing," coach John Stevens said.

   The Isles have the fewest amount of points among the NHL's 30 teams. Yet, they have played solidly in the last few weeks and were coming off Friday's stunning 2-0 win at Detroit, the defending Stanley Cup champion.

    The Flyers scored three goals in a 3:56 span (two by Joffrey Lupul sandwiched around a Scott Hartnell goal) to take a 3-2 lead.

   They won the shoot-out thanks to goals by Mike Richards and Danny Briere and two saves by Marty Biron, who became the first goalie to ever register 11 straight wins against the Islanders.

    In the third period, Stevens primarily went back to the two lines he had been using until five games ago: Richards centering Mike Knuble and Simon Gagne, and Jeff Carter centering Lupul and Hartnell.

    The Flyers will face visiting Boston Sunday night; they will need to play like they did in the third period and OT if they expect another victory. Antero Niittymaki will start in goal for the Flyers.

   Notes. Matt Carle and Arron Asham were each plus-2, while Kimmo Timonen and Ryan Parent  were each a minus-2.....Each team won 32 faceoffs....Richards had six takeaways....Gagne and Carter each had six shots on goal....The Flyers are 5-0 against the Isles, who have lost 30 games this season either by one goal or one plus an empty-net score.

    The Flyers played well enough to win Thursday, but ran into a hot goalie and dropped a 4-2 decision to Florida at the Wachovia Center.

   For all intents and purposes, the loss almost assures that the Flyers won't catch Atlantic Division-leading New Jersey, which has a seven-point lead over Philadelphia with nine games left.

   In Thursday's game, Scott Hartnell, Jeff Carter and Danny Briere were each a plus-two to lead the Flyers, who had their three-game winning streak snapped because backup goalie Craig Anderson made 40 saves, including several outstanding ones.

    Another factor: Florida blocked 23 shots _ 16 more than the Flyers.

    The Flyers' fourth line _ Riley Cote, Darroll Powe and Arron Asham _ was a combined minus-six. Those players were on the ice for both of Florida's even-strength goals.

    Anderson was playing because Tomas Vokoun, Florida's usual starting goalie, blew a 3-1 lead in the third period of Wednesday's 5-3 loss in Buffalo.

   "We haven't been winning games and the other guy (Vokoun) hadn't been getting it done for us," Florida coach Pete DeBoer said. "We'd been in this position earlier in the year and made a change. The team responded, and Craig responded. So I give Craig Anderson credit. He's been sitting for a long time. To come in and give a performance like that was great from a confidence point for our team and also personally for himself."

    Florida, which iced the win with an empty-net goal, remained two points out of the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot.

    The Flyers, who visit the New York Islanders on Saturday, are still the No. 4 seed, and their magic number for clinching a playoff spot is eight points.

    * * * * * * * * 

    Notes. Florida's Jay Bouwmeester was a minus-2.....On Scott Hartnell Wig Night, Hartnell was all over the ice. The left winger scored his 28th goal and had seven shots on goal _ and another shot that hit the post......The Flyers had 22 hits _ nine more than Florida.....The Flyers also had a huge edge in faceoffs, winning 62 percent of the 55 draws.

    The Flyers' chances of overtaking the Atlantic-Division leading New Jersey Devils?

    Very slim _ unless the Devils resemble the New York Mets and fold down the stretch.

   The Flyers trail the Devils by seven points, but John Stevens' team has a game in hand.

   If the Flyers go 8-2 the rest of the way, they would win the title if the Devils went 4-5 _ or worse.

   If the Flyers go 7-3, they would need the Devils to go 3-6. Et cetera.

   The Flyers have 10 games left, including two each against Florida, the New York Islanders, the New York Rangers and Toronto. They also have games against Boston and Ottawa. Out of that group, only the Rangers and Bruins would qualify for the playoffs if the season ended today.

   The Devils have a more difficult schedule, but it would take a mini-collapse for them to finish behind the Flyers. New Jersey has nine games remaining, including five against current playoff qualifiers. New Jersey faces Chicago, Carolina (twice), the Rangers and Penguins, along with less-troublesome Tampa Bay, Buffalo, Toronto and Ottawa.

* * * * * * 

   Sizzling goalie Marty Biron, who is 6-2 with a 2.17 goals-against average and a .940 save percentage in his last eight starts, will face visiting Florida on Thursday. About 400 tickets remain, and it will be Scott Hartnell Wig Night. 

   Florida is a desperate team that is within an eyelash of a playoff spot. The Flyers defeated the Panthers, 3-2, in a Jan. 16 shootout, then dropped a 3-2 decision to Florida on Jan. 27. Both games were in South Florida.

   Simon Gagne leads the Flyers with two goals in the season series, The Flyers own a 35-19-7-2 record in 63 lifetime contests against Florida, including a 13-10-6-2 mark on home ice.

* * * * * * * * * * 

  Flyers prospect Mario Kempe has signed an amateur tryout contract with the AHL Phantoms, according to club general manager Paul Holmgren. 

  Kempe, selected by the Flyers in the fifth round (122d overall) of the 2007 NHL draft, will make his Wachovia Spectrum debut Friday when the Phantoms open a three-game weekend homestand against Toronto. They will have matchups with Grand Rapids on Saturday and Sunday.

The Flyers' 3-1 win in Pittsburgh today was arguably their most impressive victory of the season.

For several reasons:

** It was registered in a hostile environment against a team that was 10-0-2 in its previous 12 games.

** It moved the fourth-seeded Flyers two points ahead of the Penguins _ and Philadelphia has three games in hand.

* * The Flyers did a much better job defensively than in recent games. They had allowed an average of 40-plus shots on goal in their previous four games; today they allowed 28 shots, including just seven in the final period.

* * Unlike Tuesday in Detroit, the Flyers were able to play a strong third period and close out the win. They also sent a message that they can beat the Penguins if they meet in the playoffs. Pittsburgh had won eight of 10 against Philly since last year's playoffs.

* * The power play clicked. In their previous 12 games against current playoff qualifiers, the Flyers were 4 for 56 on the PP (7 percent). Today, they were 2 for 7, thanks to goals by Simon Gagne (29th) and the irrepressible Scott Hartnell (27th).

* * Goalie Marty Biron, the fans' whipping boy for most of the season, continued his remarkably strong March. It has become clear that Biron, who was primarily a backup in Buffalo, has problems pacing himself in the regular season. It has also become clear he gains extra focus and raises his game in the stretch run.

* * Mike Richards Jeff Carter and the defensive pairing of Ryan "Bernie" Parent and Kimmo Timonen shut down superstars Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby, who combined to have zero shots on goal. Zero! (They also combined to have six giveaways.) During one sequence, Parent saved a goal after the puck got past Biron and was headed into the net.

* * The Flyers showed great restraint and discipline (really), committing three fewer penalties than the Pens.

This win ranks up there with the consecutive early-season victories over New Jersey, along with the the 4-3 and 4-2 wins in Boston.

* * * *

After missing two games with a hip injury, Randy Jones retuned to the lineup. Danny Syvret was scratched.....The Flyers have scored two PP goals in each of the last two games. Before yesterday, the last time they had at least two PP goals in consecutive games was Dec. 13 (four PP goals vs. Pittsburgh) and Dec. 16 (two PP goals vs. Colorado).....The Flyers host New Jersey on Monday and Florida on Thursday.
 

     PITTSBURGH _ Sunday afternoon, at the Igloo in Pittsburgh, the Flyers and Penguins will meet in a nationally televised showdown for fourth place in the Eastern Conference.
     It’s good to see a percolating Philadelphia-Pittsburgh rivalry. It reminds me of when the Phillies’ biggest rival was the Pittsburgh Pirates.
     Remember?
     That, of course, was before Major League Baseball somehow put the Pirates into the NL Central.
     But I digress….
     In the NHL, the Flyers have nearby rivals New Jersey, Washington and the New York Rangers, but the rivalry with the Penguins is going to intensify in upcoming weeks.
     Who knows? Maybe it’ll get to the point of the Phillies-Pirates back in the days when Willie Stargell was saying, “Hitting Steve Carlton is like drinking coffee with a fork.”
     The Flyers don’t like the Penguins. And vice versa.
     And Flyers fans love to try to distract Penguins superstar Sidney Crosby with chants, boos and signs. (It hasn’t worked. Crosby has a mind-boggling 45 points in 25 career games against the Flyers.)
     Last year, the Penguins cruised past the Flyers in the Eastern Conference finals, winning in five games.
     There were extenuating circumstances, however. Most importantly, the Flyers played most of that series without their top two defensemen, Kimmo Timonen and Braydon Coburn, each of whom were injured.
    They’re healthy now _ and the Flyers, with a year of experience and the blossoming of young stars like Jeff Carter, are a stronger team than last season.
    The Penguins, meanwhile, have taken a step backward this season. They have lost several key players from last year, most notably Marian Hossa.
   That said, the Penguins are the NHL’s hottest team, having gone 12-1-3 in their last 16 games.

   The Flyers have been so-so in the season’s second half. They need to string together some wins and take some momentum into the playoffs _ like they did last year.
   The Flyers and Penguins are tied for the No. 4 seed in the East, but Philadelphia has three games in hand. The fourth seed gets home-ice advantage in the opening round.
    After Sunday’s showdown, the Flyers will play host to Eastern Conference power New Jersey on Monday at the Wachovia Center.
   “We’re in control of our own destiny,” said Danny Briere, who looked back in form with a two-goal performance Friday against Buffalo.
    The Flyers have won just one of five games (1-2-2) against the Pens this season. Since the teams are likely to meet in the first round of the playoffs, the Flyers need a victory Sunday to send a message….and gain some confidence.
   The last time the teams met, disaster struck the Flyers. In the closing minutes, goalie Marty Biron charged about 30 feet out of his net and tried to clear the puck.
    Bad move. Flyer-killer Crosby ended up scoring into a goalie-less net with 2:45 to go, giving Pittsburgh a 5-4 victory.
   On Sunday at 12:30 p.m., Biron will get a chance to make amends.

* * * * * * 

    Defenseman Randy Jones, sidelined by a hip injury the last two games, said he was almost 100 percent healthy after a productive practice here Saturday. It will be a game-time decision as to wheher he plays Sunday.

     Flyers coach John Stevens made changes on all four lines during practice Thursday in Voorhees, a move he hopes will pay dividends Friday in Buffalo, where they will face the desperate Sabres .

      The changes were made to get Danny Briere more involved in the offense and to create more balance among the lines.

      Here is how the lines will look:

    ** Scott Hartnell-Jeff Carter-Briere.

    ** Simon Gagne-Claude Giroux-Mike Knuble.

    ** Daniel Carcillo-Mike Richards-Joffrey Lupul.

    ** Riley Cote-Darroll Powe-Arron Asham.

    For most of the season, the Flyers' first two lines have remained intact _ Richards centering Gagne and Knuble, and Carter centering Hartnell and Lupul.

    All six of those players have more than 20 goals.

    In the new set-up, each of the top three lines will have a pair of 20-plus goal scorers.

     "I think it forces you to focus a little more," Stevens said of the line changes, "and maybe communicate a little more. And maybe while you're sitting on the bench, talk about things a little more."

     Briere has been playing mostly on the fourth line since he returned to the lineup four games ago. Sidelined by groin and abdominal injuries for most of the season, Briere started to show positive signs in Tuesday's 3-2 loss in Detroit as he created a handful of scoring chances.

    "Nothing says he won't go back to the old combinations in a couple games, but he's just trying to find something new," Lupul said. "And sometimes it's good to shake things up. Guys get a little too comfortable in one situation."

     The Flyers have lost three of their last four games, during which they have not spent much time in their opponents' end. In those three losses, they have scored a total of four goals.

       The Flyers are tied for the No. 4 seeding in the East, but were just six points ahead of No. 9 Florida heading into Thursday night.

     If they don't get their act together quickly, they might have to huff and puff just to qualify for the playoffs. Like last year.

    "We have to start winning games," Hartnell said. "It's crunch time for us." 

      DETROIT _ Captain Mike Richards said he thought the Flyers played a good game last night.

      Actually, goalie Marty Biron played a GREAT game, but most of his teammates allowed the Red Wings to skate around them as Detroit scored a 3-2 comeback win at the reverberating Joe Louis Arena.

     The final score was misleading. The defending Stanley Cup champion Wings outshot the Flyers, 48-26.

     If Biron wasn't at the top of his game, this could have been a 6-2 wipeout.

     Detroit fired 48 shots on net and took 35 other shots for a total of 83. Repeat: 83. The Flyers took 37 shots (26 on net).
    You cannot allow a team to take 83 shots and expect to win.

    In their last three games, the Flyers have allowed 41, 39 and 48 shots on goal.

   That's not acceptable if the team thinks it's a Stanley Cup contender.

   They are now tied with streaking Pittsburgh for the fourth seeding in the Eastern Conference, though the Flyers have three games in hand.

   Those games in hand will be meaningless unless the Flyers tighten their defense, stop taking foolish penalties and start producing on the power play. They are a horrid 5 for 47 on the power play in their last 10 games.

   The Flyers blew a 2-0 lead and missed a chance to register one of their few statement wins. They have won just 15 of 38 games against teams that are current playoff qualifiers.

     Braydon Coburn is in, Randy Jones is out.
     That’s the good news/bad news scenario for the Flyers’ defensemen.
     After reviewing the video today, the NHL did not suspend Coburn, who had claimed his high-sticking violation of the Rangers’ Nik Antroprov Sunday was in self-defense.
     But Jones, who sat out the last half of Sunday’s third period because of a hip/groin injury, will miss a handful of games.
     "In speaking with the trainers, we are probably looking at a week to a week and a half,” said Jones, when asked how long he expected to be sidelined.
     To replace Jones, the Flyers recalled defenseman Danny Syvret, 23, under emergency conditions from their AHL affiliate, the Phantoms.
    Syvret, an AHL all-star selection this season, has 11 goals and 37 assists and 42 penalty minutes in 65 games with the Phantoms.
     In 26 career NHL games with Edmonton, Syvret had one assist and 12 penalty minutes. The Flyers acquired him from the Oilers for forward Ryan Potulny on June 6, 2008.

* * * * * * 

   On Tuesday, the Flyers have a gargantuan challenge as they try to end a winless streak in Detroit that dates back to 1988. Since then, the Flyers are 0-13-2 in the Motor City.

    It is the longest current winless streak in the NHL.

    The defending Stanley Cup champion Red Wings lead the league with 101 points.

    Flyers winger Scott Hartnell is excited to face a Western Conference team.

    "Any time you play a team out West that you don't see very often and is having the success they're having, we want to play our best game and see where we match up," said Hartnell, adding that the Flyers need to play a physical game to offset the Red Wings' puck-controlling skills. "We have to hit them and take the time and space away and play Flyers hockey."