Flyers Notes

By the time Holmgren shipped Alexei Zhitnik to Atlanta for the 6-foot-5 Coburn late last season, the Flyers were playing out the string as the worst team in the NHL and had become an afterthought on the city's sports scene.

Yet the Flyers have learned during the playoffs that Coburn was a steal.

While Kimmo Timonen, Mike Richards and Jeff Carter have received much of the credit for containing Washington's Alex Ovechkin in the first round and Montreal's Alexei Kovalev in the second round, deservedly so, the smooth-skating 23-year-old Coburn has played a critical role.

Going into last night's Game 5 at the Bell Centre, the Flyers had held Kovalev without a goal since the series opener. The Canadiens struggle to win when Kovalev is kept off the board. He led the Habs with 35 goals, and his 47 points on the power play were tops in the NHL.

Coburn said Kovalev poses a different challenge than Ovechkin, who is more physical and has a more powerful shot. Kovalev combines artistry with his strength and is just as likely to shoot as pass.

"They're both unbelievable players, and their skills are tremendous," Coburn said before last night's game. "Ovechkin is so explosive and has quickness and power. I think Kovalev is a very powerful player, but his hands in tight space are unbelievable. His one-on-one skills are tremendous. They're both scorers, but Ovechkin is more of a shooter. I think Kovalev looks to pass more."

Second chance. The Flyers were not surprised goalie Carey Price was back in the net for the Canadiens last night. But they were surprised that Montreal coach Guy Carbonneau didn't keep them guessing, going public with his decision the day before the game.

Danny Briere said Carbonneau had caught the Flyers off guard in Game 4 by starting Jaroslav Halak in net.

"He surprised us," Briere said. "We really didn't know what to expect from Halak. On Price, we obviously had a lot of visuals, and we'd done our homework."

Price had been having trouble with his glove hand, leading to speculation he was injured. He wore a new glove last night, saying the old one had become too floppy. The 20-year-old Price admitted he needed a break after playing 13 consecutive games.

Loose pucks. The Canadiens have eight players remaining from the team that overcame a three games-to-one deficit against Boston in 2004, including Kovalev, Saku Koivu and Andrei Markov. . . . Flyers goalie Marty Biron went into last night's game with a .934 save percentage going back to Game 7 of the Washington series. He had stopped 171 of 183 shots.

- Ray Parrillo