Sbisa, whom some are calling "Speed-sa" because of his quickness and length-of-the-ice rushes, can expect more minutes in tonight's matchup against the visiting Montreal Canadiens.

"We really didn't know what to expect from young Sbisa in a regular-season game . . . but he can probably handle more minutes as we move along," coach John Stevens said after yesterday's practice at the Skate Zone in Voorhees, Camden County. "We initially thought he'd get spot duty as a fifth, sixth defenseman, but he's shown an ability to play a little more."

In their season-opening, 4-3 loss to the New York Rangers on Saturday, Kimmo Timonen and Ossi Vaananen were together on defense, along with Braydon Coburn and Steve Eminger, and Sbisa and Lasse Kukkonen.

Stevens shuffled the defensive pairings at yesterday's practice, moving Sbisa to the second duo alongside Coburn. Eminger and Kukkonen, each of whom made mistakes that led to Rangers goals, were on the new third pairing, while Timonen and fellow Finn Vaananen remained the top pairing.

Sbisa played 16 minutes, 27 seconds and was on the ice during crucial late-game situations.

"As the game went on, he got better and better," said Stevens, adding that changing defensive partners may be an ongoing thing.

"I played a couple preseason games, but I got the feeling that it's way different here in the regular season," Sbisa said. "It's a lot faster, it's more intense, but I'm just happy I've played my first NHL game. I've been dreaming of this moment since I was a little kid, and my parents came down [from Switzerland] . . . It was an unforgettable feeling for me."

And an exhausting feeling for Timonen, who played a staggering 30:19 - a statistic that figures to be reduced by about five minutes in future games. "I think the whole team was one or two steps behind, and as for the defense, I think we can do a better job of moving the puck quicker," Timonen said.

Tonight, the Flyers - who are wearing pink "Hockey Fights Cancer" decals on their helmets in October games - will face a Montreal team they eliminated in the Eastern Conference semifinals last season.

After tonight, the Flyers will go on a difficult road trip to Pittsburgh, Colorado and San Jose.

Breakaways. Stevens said injured defenseman Derian Hatcher (knee) is not skating yet and "isn't close" to getting back into the lineup. . . . With Randy Jones going on the long-term injured list, the Flyers' payroll will drop to about $53 million - $3.7 million under the NHL's salary cap. General manager Paul Holmgren is searching for defensive help, but it gets tricky because Sbisa will count as the 50th player on the organization's 50-man roster once he plays 10 games. . . . The Flyers will host Cancer Awareness Night tonight and will donate a portion of ticket sales to Living Beyond Breast Cancer and Breastcancer.org. Fans are encouraged to wear pink or lavender in support of the cause.

Read his Flyers blog, Broad Street Bull, at http://philly.com/sports.