Briere back at center as Flyers prepare for Bruins

TIME IS FLEETING. But this is a unique time for Danny Briere. He is thriving as the Flyers move along in the playoffs. And, he is embracing being a mentor and hero to his three hockey-loving sons.

Earlier this month, Briere and the Flyers had a two-game set against the New York Rangers to see which team would advance to the playoffs. Equally important to a father, Briere's three sons - ages 9, 10 and 11 - had their championship hockey games that same weekend.

Briere's children are old enough to watch him play and understand his situation. He talks to his sons about the pressures of sports and life, and his kids have been able to watch him put the talk into practice.

Briere, 32, has relished both opportunities to play hero - to his kids, the fans and his teammates. Starting tomorrow, Briere has a chance to take that to a whole new level as the Flyers open the Eastern Conference semifinals in Boston.

"This is the best time of the year," Briere said. "Yes, there is pressure. But this is what I love. This is what I play hockey for. I wish we could be playing playoff hockey all year, even though I know my body would have a hard time sustaining that."

Briere did not score often - or early - in the Flyers' first-round series against New Jersey. He was held scoreless, with just one shot on goal, through the first two games.

But his goals have been timely, starting with that weekend against the New York Rangers. Briere, and not Jeff Carter or Mike Richards or Simon Gagne, was picked first to shoot in the Flyers' season-deciding shootout competition against the Rangers.

Briere beat Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist in the shootout. As the next shooter, Claude Giroux said Briere's goal took all the pressure off.

Carter and Giroux received much of the ink for the Flyers' final two wins of the first round. But the scoresheets showed that Briere had the winning goal in both of those games.

Playoff contributions are nothing new for Briere. He has five points in five games this postseason and 25 points in 28 playoff games since coming to the Flyers in the summer of 2007.

In his two playoff runs to the Eastern Conference finals with the Buffalo Sabres, Briere finished with 34 points in 34 games.

Few players have been criticized in Flyers history like Briere, mainly due to his 8-year, $52 million contract. Statistically, this regular season was his worst as a Flyer with 53 points (not including an injury-plagued 2008-09 season). Since arriving, Briere has 175 points in 211 games, including regular season and playoffs.

That's nothing to sneeze at, considering Briere has played out of position his entire time here.

Tomorrow, he will be back at center - his natural position - for just the third time all season with an injured Carter out.

"It's been an interesting situation here," Briere said. "When Richards and Carter are both playing there, it was tough to get ice-time. One of [the centers] would have to get their ice-time slashed. Somebody had to make a sacrifice to move to the wing.

"I don't think Jeff wanted to move to the wing. To me, it wasn't a big deal. I've played center my entire life. I am comfortable there. It's nice to get back there."

Does he like the added responsibility in the playoffs?

"Definitely," Briere said. "That's what we play hockey for. I play for more responsibility. I want as much as possible. At the same time, you have to perform and you have to make it happen. I know that you can't ask for more and then not perform. It goes both ways."

Briere said his kids are "as crazy about hockey" as he was growing up in Gatineau, Quebec. He has talked to his sons about every possible situation on the ice. But every parent knows it is not easy to coax a child to shoulder his or her team's success.

Briere said all three of his sons - Cameron (9), Carson (10) and Caelan (11) - lost in their final games this season. Caelan was in a similar situation in a shootout to get to the championship game.

"He was the third shooter," Briere said. "The first two guys scored, so they didn't need him, but I asked him after the game, 'So, what were you thinking?' He said, 'I was a little nervous.' All I want them to do is embrace that challenge.

"It's about trying to teach him that you have nothing to be nervous about."

Briere knows the stakes - at any level, but especially this one - are high. That doesn't stop him from yearning for the puck to be on his stick in an overtime pressure cooker.

"The worst thing that's going to happen is that you might miss," Briere said. "You have to welcome that. You have to embrace that. That's what going on now, for us, when you get to overtime now in the playoffs. You're not going to succeed every single time. I know that. But I think I'm going to succeed every single time, and that helps."

Lately, Briere has not had to do much talking at all. His kids have been watching him. *

For more news and analysis, read

Frank Seravalli's blog, Frequent Flyers, at http://go.philly.com/frequentflyers.