'Different' Flyers to meet Thrashers

When the Flyers meet Atlanta tonight at the Wachovia Center, they will be a different team from the one that was blanked by the Thrashers, 1-0, in their last meeting.

That Nov. 28 contest in Atlanta was during a stretch when the team's offense had vanished. The Flyers were also shut out by Vancouver in their next game, and coach John Stevens was sent packing.

Fast-forward two months, and the Flyers' offense has been revived. Ditto their season.

Tonight when they host the Thrashers, they will be riding an 11-4-1 wave in which they have averaged 3.6 goals per game.

In addition, wily Chris Pronger, a veteran defenseman who says he has learned to pace himself during games, has raised his play lately. At 35, Pronger could win his first Norris Trophy - awarded to the defenseman who shows the greatest all-around ability - since 10 years ago in St. Louis.

"He's really been effective in all three zones," Flyers coach Peter Laviolette said after yesterday's practice in Voorhees.

Pronger's plus-20 rating is a testament to that.

The 6-foot-6 defenseman has also contributed 37 points and is on pace for 59. That would equal the second-highest total of his 16-year career, topped only by his 62 points in 1999-2000.

That season, Pronger became the second defenseman in history to be named the league's MVP. (The other was a guy named Bobby Orr.)

"What makes a defenseman throw in 50 points? I'm not sure. Gifts from God. Hard work," Laviolette said.

"He brings it every day in practice and every day in games. I'll tell you, the last 15 games or so, he's been rock-solid back there. He's been a constant at both ends of the ice."

Tonight, Pronger will frequently be matched against Atlanta's gifted 6-2, 220-pound left winger, Ilya Kovalchuk, who is among the NHL's top scorers with 30 goals, including 10 on the power play.

"He's a dangerous player one-on-one," Laviolette said. "He and [Alex] Ovechkin are right up there as a couple of the most dangerous wingers in the league because of their speed and skill - and the pace they play the game. It makes it difficult to defend off the rush, and they both have a really big shot."

Kovalchuk, who can become an unrestricted free agent after this season, is expected to be dealt before the March 3 trade deadline.

"I'm sure if he's somewhere else, where the market is bigger, he's even a bigger star," said defenseman Kimmo Timonen, who will also see time against Kovalchuk. "But I think he's a big star already. He's like Ovechkin; he doesn't need much space to make a play or shoot the puck, and that's a skill. You don't find that too often."

The Flyers are tied for sixth in the crowded Eastern Conference, which has just one point separating the sixth- and 13th-seeded teams. Atlanta is tied for 10th with 54 points, one point behind the Flyers.

"We don't have to worry about anybody else. We have to worry about ourselves," Timonen said. "Everybody knows the standings and how tight it is. I don't care who we play. Every game matters to us. Every point matters."

"There's a logjam of teams in both conferences and that speaks to the parity - and what one loss and one win can do for you in the standings," Pronger said.

That makes tonight's game critical.

"There are so many teams clustered up in that 54- and 55-point range that when you play one of them, you've got to beat them," Laviolette said. "It's pretty simple."

Breakaways. Defenseman Danny Syvret, sidelined since Jan. 12 because of a separated left shoulder, skated but didn't take contact at yesterday's practice. Syvret said he was a "little frustrated" because his progress has come to a standstill. "I'm having trouble making a quick movement with my shoulder, so shooting a puck or anything involving an explosive moment, I have a tough time doing," he said. Syvret had hoped to play before the Olympic break starts Feb. 14 but that is in question. . . . Goalie Ray Emery will make his sixth straight start tonight. . . . About 1,500 tickets remain.