Lines had been shifted around and there was a sense of excitement among the players.

And defenseman Braydon Coburn's left eye has opened up enough that he is a possibility for tonight's Game 4.

That was the state of the Flyers yesterday as they sat perched on the ledge, one loss away from the end of their season, or one win, one step, toward the seemingly impossible task of upending a very good Pittsburgh team that has them down 3-0 in the Eastern Conference finals.

"First of all," coach John Stevens replied to yet another "what's the mood of the team?" question, "I love the enthusiasm of our team, and then the questions come around, 'Oh no, we're down three-nothing.'

"It is what it is. We've been outplayed by Pittsburgh in the series and we need to play better. I think the effort has been there but the execution hasn't."

And that's the bottom line.

While there is no lack of desire, or heart, or any of the intangibles that carry a team to the conference final, what is lacking is an ability to break through Pittsburgh's stingy defensive strategy, get into the offensive zone with possession of the puck and score goals.

So to that end, the Flyers juggled two of their top lines and did drills designed to move pucks around and through the neutral zone that has been continually crowded with Penguins.

Vaclav Prospal was moved to center with Joffrey Lupul and R.J. Umberger on his wings while Mike Richards was moved to the wing with center Daniel Briere and Scott Hartnell.

Stevens said yesterday that he thought about making changes after Game 1 but reconsidered after seeing his team improve in Game 2. Now with nothing left to lose and both Prospal and Briere dormant on the score sheet, Stevens is going for the change.

" 'Richie' and Danny have had an awful lot of success together this year," Stevens said. "Mind you, mostly on the power play, but they're two of the best offensive players on our team and in the league. Two of the leaders on our hockey team for years to come, so we thought we'd give it a look and there's a good chance you'll see it tomorrow.

"[Prospal's] natural position is center ice. We played one of our best games of the year with him at center ice late in the year. He's a great distributor of the hockey puck. He's been very good on faceoffs. And he doesn't have to play the game from the standstill. I like what I saw today."

For both Richards and Briere, the change gives them something to build on going into tonight.

"Well, Danny and I have had success on the power play," Richards said. "Even at the beginning of the year when we were put up together it seemed like we had some chemistry, and not being together just because we're both centermen.

"I'm excited for the opportunity to play with Danny. We've got to find ways to get to the net, get more pucks to the net and find them. And, hopefully, we can do that together [tonight]," he said.

For the Flyers, the problem hasn't been goal scoring, it's been getting out of their zone. The Penguins have developed a knack for using a trapping system that has pinned the Flyers in and forced turnovers.

To get to the net, the Flyers have to get around the trap. They worked on it yesterday in practice.

"We have to make better plays," Richards said. "We have to make smarter plays. I think we've turned the puck over too many times in the neutral zone. We have to make their defensemen work a little bit more than we have so far."

Stevens, in keeping with his mood of the day, joked that he would try an "aerial" attack.

"Believe it or not, I went to a coaching clinic one time and one guy presented on the aerial attack. So I'm going to have to go get my notes out from that one, but I do think there are some things we can do from our tactical approach.

"I think there are some things we can do from an execution approach. But there is no question we have to do a better job of getting pucks in, and doing a better job of protecting the puck and working the cycle.

"We've done it at times. We've created some chances. If you look at the chances in the game there, they're almost even. But if you look at the puck possession time, I think, it's tilted in their favor."

Meanwhile, after missing Game 3 with his left eye swollen shut and ringed with more than 50 stitches, Coburn skated at practice yesterday and said he might be able to play tonight, depending on how much his eye improves. Yesterday he could see without difficulty.

"I'll see how it feels. I had a good workout [yesterday]," Coburn said. "I felt a little tired, I've had a couple of days off. My eye opened up a little but late [Tuesday night] after icing and [yesterday] morning it opened up a little bit more." *