Inside the Flyers: Krajicek is a surprise on Flyers' back line

ST. PAUL, Minn. - If the first two games with their new-look defense are an indication, the Flyers' blue-liners will be in good shape for the stretch run.

Give much-maligned general manager Paul Holmgren credit for adding free agent Lukas Krajicek last week and giving the Flyers some needed defensive depth.

The smooth-skating defenseman was impressive in his first two Flyers games, during which his new team allowed a total of one goal. If he keeps it up, he could make it difficult for Ryan Parent and Danny Syvret to get back in the lineup when they return from injuries.

OK, Krajicek isn't Dion Phaneuf, who is a younger version of Chris Pronger.

Holmgren, however, landed the real Pronger in the blockbuster off-season deal with Anaheim. That move was supposed to make the Flyers one of the league's Stanley Cup contenders.

Instead, the Flyers are huffing and puffing just to make the playoffs. If they don't, Holmgren could be seeking employment elsewhere.

But, based on the defense's growing stability and goalie Ray Emery's return from abdominal surgery to show flashes of his early-season form, the Flyers seem to be on the right track.

They still desperately need a sharpshooting winger - perhaps Holmgren can maneuver around the salary cap and land one before the March 3 trade deadline - and their offense has been spotty.

That said, defense wins games when there's more close-checking action late in the season and in the playoffs.

Krajicek, of all people, has solidified the defense.

Critics point out that Krajicek, 26, is playing with his fourth team in six-plus seasons - a sign there are major flaws in his game. In addition, Tampa Bay sent him to the minors earlier this season and eventually placed him on unconditional waivers.

The Flyers hope a change of scenery jump-starts the 6-foot-2, 196-pound Krajicek and shows why Florida made him its first-round selection in the 2001 draft.

When the Flyers signed Krajicek, coach Peter Laviolette planned to pair him with rookie defenseman Oskars Bartulis. A few hours before Krajicek's Flyers debut - Monday's 3-0 win in Calgary - Laviolette had second thoughts.

Wanting more experience on the third pairing, he decided to split up Kimmo Timonen and Braydon Coburn on the second defensive unit. Timonen was paired with Krajicek on the No. 2 pairing, and Coburn joined Bartulis on the No. 3 pairing.

"I actually thought I was playing on the third pair, and the coaches told me a half hour before the game I was playing with Kimmo," Krajicek said.

Combined with the top defensive duo of Pronger and underrated Matt Carle, the three units have a good balance of speed and size - and a veteran matched with a younger player.

"Kimmo," Krajicek said, "makes things easy for me."

Krajicek gives the Flyers much more speed than his predecessor, Ole-Kristian Tollefsen, and Laviolette plans to play him 16 to 18 minutes a game. That's a lot more time than Tollefsen was logging, and it should lessen the 35-year-old Pronger's load and help keep him fresh for the late-season run.

"I like the way he's fit in," Laviolette said of Krajicek. "Defensively, he hasn't done anything wrong. Offensively, he's been involved. He's been a real good fit."

After a slow start, Bartulis is also becoming a good fit. Entering last night in Minnesota, Bartulis was plus-7 in his last eight games.

"I'm still a young guy, and I'm learning from every game," he said.

Coburn, though just 24, is in his fifth NHL season and said he and Bartulis were "starting to develop a little chemistry."

Ditto Timonen and his new partner, Krajicek. Pronger and Carle, partners for most of the season, already had been working well together.

"Kimmo and Pronger are obviously our leaders on the D corps," Coburn said. "We kind of all make sure we're solid back there, because we have the talent up front to score goals."

That offensive talent has not produced like last season, so the burden has fallen to the revamped defense. So far, it looks capable of doing the lifting.

Read Sam Carchidi's Flyers blog, Broad Street Bull, at http://go.philly.com/sports.

Subject: Flyers' pursuit of Ilya Kovalchuk.

Posted by cnova000: 1:28 a.m., Friday

Kovalchuk is a good player, but doesn't have a lot of playoff experience. Besides problems with D last year, Flyers offensive players all put up impressive regular-season numbers, but disappeared in the playoffs. No reason to believe Kovalchuk will have all the answers in the playoffs, and it's not worth mortgaging the future or taking a huge cap hit to find out.EndText