Flyers sit Gostisbehere

TAMPA, Fla. - Shayne Gostisbehere kind of had a feeling he might find himself the odd man out of the Flyers' lineup sooner or later.

After all, Gostisbehere could read Ron Hextall's quotes about him. Hextall made it abundantly clear last week that he didn't want Gostisbehere in the NHL yet.

Hextall even went as far as saying his top defensive prospect was only granted "day-to-day" status on the roster - a message that went well beyond any sort of "tough-love" style of development.

Gostisbehere, 21, just didn't know he'd find himself watching the Flyers after just two games. He was replaced last night by Phantoms call-up Brandon Manning.

"He's a young guy," coach Craig Berube said. "We just want to be careful with him. That's part of the process. To me, it's just about what's the best for tonight's game."

Berube gushed on Wednesday, before leaving for Tampa Bay, about Manning's significant experience compared to Gostisbehere. Last night was Manning's 11th NHL game.

But if Hextall didn't want Gostisbehere with the Flyers to begin with, and Berube is concerned about Gostisbehere's experience and nerves, why didn't the Flyers simply decide on Manning as the call-up last Saturday against Detroit?

"At the time, Shayne was the right guy," Hextall said. "Now, we've seen Shayne for two games and it's time to give Brandon a shot.

"I don't like having him up here and not playing. But we had to do what's right for the team."

The Flyers needed seven defensemen for their two-game swing through Florida - the standard six, plus one extra body for emergency purposes.

It would have sent a terrible message to send Gostisbehere back to AHL Lehigh Valley before a trip to the Sunshine State. Last week, he became the first-ever player born and bred in Florida to make it to the NHL.

Still, pulling Gostisbehere out of the lineup when he hasn't played poorly doesn't exactly send a confidence-inspiring signal, either. But he handled himself just fine.

"I wasn't bad," Gostisbehere said after yesterday's morning skate. "I'm going to make mistakes out there, especially the first couple games. I felt like I did some good things, but I do realize there are a lot of things I need to work on."

Gostisbehere spent yesterday morning going over his two games on video with assistant coach Gord Murphy.

The message from the coaching staff, perhaps surprisingly, was exactly what many knew about Gostisbehere's game before he even arrived in Philadelphia.

"Gord told me from the blue line and out, I'm fine. It's just from the blue line and in, on the defensive side, is where I need to focus all of my energy," Gostisbehere said. "I'm starting to realize what I'm doing wrong."

Murphy, who played 862 NHL games himself and has a son (Connor) who is the same age as Gostisbehere and playing full time with the Arizona Coyotes, stressed that Gostisbehere needs to be more active defending.

The coaching staff believes Gostisbehere is too slow getting to opposing forwards, that he is engaging too late. Particularly when the puck went to the point, the Flyers weren't happy with how Gostisbehere boxed out.

Part of that is Gostisbehere was "watching" the play too much. The other part may simply be nerves.

"I think I just got a little too nervous at times and didn't play my game," Gostisbehere said. "The more I play, the more I hang around the guys and gel a little bit more, the more confidence I will get."

The only way to truly shake the nerves is by playing, which Gostisbehere did not do last night.

"I guess it's a double-edged sword," Gostisbehere said. "There's not much you can do, it's the coaches' decision. If they call my name next time, I'll jump for the opportunity and hopefully I can make a difference."

The Flyers could well go with Gostisbehere tomorrow night, across the state in Sunrise, where he grew up playing for the Jr. Panthers. But it seems like a ticket back to Allentown is awaiting him when he returns to Philadelphia on Sunday.

"He's played fine for a young player who was forced into a situation," Hextall said. "The minutes reflect someone who probably isn't ready to be here. Then again, if Brandon was ready, he'd probably be here already, too. We'll see where this all goes. I would have liked to had Shayne down there for a much longer period of time before we got a look at him here. Shayne's had the puck on his stick his whole life. His whole life. He's got to adjust his game. Shayne can't come here and be a sixth guy and play low minutes and help this hockey team."

With Ray Emery making his fourth consecutive start, Craig Berube was pushed with questions by other members of the media as to whether he'd consider making Emery his No. 1 starter.

After answering on Wednesday by saying he was simply playing "a goalie who's going good right now," Berube wouldn't take the bait.

"It's not about [a No. 1]. We're a team," Berube said. "We're going to use both guys. Both guys will get their time, just like last year. They're both going to play."

Would he be open to using Emery and Steve Mason equally?

"I'm open to winning hockey games," Berube said. "I'm going to put the best guys on the ice, as a whole team, to win hockey games . . . You keep asking me that, but I'm not going down that road."