Flyers' Carter frustrated by lack of production

At first, it was difficult to tell if center Jeff Carter, the Flyers' top scorer with 33 goals this season, was annoyed by the questions or by his own play as he talked about his scoring slump.

At first, his answers were short, his attitude bordering on sullen.

And then he let down his guard.

"I'm frustrated," Carter said after Saturday's practice at the Skate Zone in Voorhees. "I mean, the guys battled their [tails] off to get in the playoffs, and I come back and obviously I'm not playing the way I want to, so it's definitely frustrating."

Carter, who missed eight games because of a broken left foot, gallantly returned to the lineup to face the New York Rangers in the last two regular-season games.

He has yet to score in the four games since he returned, including the first two contests of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals against New Jersey, a series that resumes Sunday at 6 p.m. at the Wachovia Center. The teams are tied at one game apiece.

Carter was minus-3 in Friday's 5-3 loss to the Devils, and he has just one goal in his last eight playoff games over the last two seasons.

His healing foot, which is protected by cumbersome padding, is not giving him any problems, Carter said.

"There's no limitations. The foot's not an issue," he said in a low, barely audible tone. "You go to the playoffs, and you play. You play hockey, and it doesn't matter what's wrong with you."

Carter started Friday's game centering wingers Scott Hartnell (three goals in his last 38 games) and Danny Briere. Later in the game, James van Riemsdyk replaced Hartnell.

At Saturday's practice, Carter was between Hartnell and Briere.

Briere and coach Peter Laviolette downplayed Carter's lack of production.

"There are always games where things are not going to go your way," said Briere, whose team has scored two even-strength goals in the series. "I thought the first game, we had a hard time getting into the game; there were lots of penalties and different issues going on. But [Friday], our line created chances, and we just couldn't finish or we missed the net on a lot of occasions. There are going to be nights like that.

"To blame it on his foot, I'm not ready to do that."

Laviolette pointed out that Carter had eight shots (five on goal) in Friday's loss.

"When you take three weeks completely off the ice, it's going to take a game or two to get your feel back under you," Laviolette said. "I thought his game was much improved [Friday] from the game before. When you play at the highest level and you're the leading goal scorer, you have an expectation of yourself, and he wants to contribute."

Laviolette said he thought Carter had "more jump" in Game 2 than in Game 1.

"I saw a lot more opportunities from him and his line," he said. "Like I said, when you're off three weeks, it may take a little bit of time, and things from last night tell me he's going in the right direction."

Added Laviolette: "When a goal scorer gets his stick on the puck in the slot where he knows he's capable of scoring and he doesn't get the shot off that he wants, I'm sure he's frustrated. My message is to just keep working hard and stay positive. Your timing and your skill set will set in."

Reducing turnovers, improving the forecheck, and spending more time in the Devils' end are among the Flyers' goals for Sunday.

That and containing left winger Zach Parise, who has been New Jersey's best player.

"In our building, we've done a pretty good job of generating offense and making it difficult for teams to get out of their end," Laviolette said. "Their rush is dynamic. They have some players who have a lot of speed and skill on those first two lines. If we can play more of our game here, that might eliminate some of their chances."