Inside the Flyers: Flyers' Coburn back on track with assist from Pronger

"It was a lot of fun up there because they were pretty charged up," he said. "They were just giving it to [Yankees rightfielder Nick] Swisher, and it was hilarious."

As he and his girlfriend left the ballpark after the Phils' 8-6 win, Coburn was recognized by a handful of fans.

"I think the stitches in my face and the missing teeth gave it away," the 6-foot-5, 220-pound Coburn said, smiling.

Coburn smiles more easily these days. He seems to have his game back on track after a disastrous start. Witness the first two-goal game of his career against Carolina last Saturday.

Coburn credits veteran defenseman Chris Pronger, coach John Stevens, and assistant Jack McIlhargey for his revival.

Stevens gets flak from fans for being unemotional and not displaying a fiery personality behind the bench.

But his low-key nature works with the players and helps them get through difficult times.

Coburn is a prime example.

Now in his sixth NHL season at just 24 years old, Coburn said he "listens to the message John has for us. You don't want to get into a pattern of a roller-coaster thing, where you're real high or real low," he said. "You kind of want to keep it as even keel as you can and somehow keep the same positive attitude with whatever is going on."

That's not easy when you throw a puck out front and it goes in your own net - as Coburn did in a 5-4 loss to Pittsburgh last month. Or when you have a minus-9 rating after the first 10 games, as Coburn did.

Though a lot of hockey people will disagree, Stevens said the plus-minus ratings can be misleading - and in the case of Coburn and Kimmo Timonen, it was a case of bad luck.

Coburn, who said his off-season hip surgery had nothing to do with his poor start, put a more realistic spin on it.

"It's kind of weird. When you have a good plus-minus, you say, 'Look at that,' and when you don't, you say it doesn't mean that much," he acknowledged.

During his early-season struggles, Coburn was paired with Timonen, but Stevens broke them up for a game to get both players out of slumps. He put them back together after Ryan Parent reinjured his groin.

In his last two games before the weekend, Coburn was shooting the puck more and was a combined plus-three.

Coburn said Pronger has helped him look past his errors - the boneheaded passes, the bad decisions - and stay aggressive on the ice, taking scoring chances when the opportunity arises.

"As soon as you're afraid to make mistakes is when you get into trouble," he said.

Pronger, in his 16th NHL season and first with the Flyers, is an unofficial coach - on the ice and in the locker room. He is vocal but also extremely approachable.

Work through it and stay positive, he told Coburn.

"He helps to get us going and reinforces what we want to do," Coburn said. "Any time I want to pick Chris Pronger's brain . . . he's there. He's always got great advice, and it helps a lot when you have a guy like that to turn to."

When the Flyers practice in Voorhees, Pronger is usually counseling his fellow defensemen.

"He plays the game between his ears, definitely," Coburn said. "He's got the knowledge of how to play defense. . . . He's always got tips . . . about staying more balanced or using your stick more. Things maybe you've heard, but he reinforces it, and he's a stickler for details, so that really helps out."

Coburn gladly absorbs every word from the likely Hall of Famer.

"He's a great player, and he has a voice that, whenever he talks, everybody listens," Coburn said. "He knows what it takes to win. I don't think we have a lot of guys in here who have won the Stanley Cup and know what it takes. He knows what that is, and if he sees something that's not Stanley-Cup caliber, he's going to try to make a little change in the room."

This is an important season for Coburn. Two seasons ago, he was regarded as one of the league's up-and-coming defensemen. He seemed to regress last season and, after a shaky start this year, some wondered about his future.

A few talks with Pronger seem to have him headed in the right direction.

Inside the Flyers:

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

Blog response of the week

Subject: Flyers scout Ilkka Sinisalo checking out Peter Forsberg.

Posted by: solexy at 8:10 p.m., 11/03/2009

I'd rather have Ilkka Sinisalo out there than Forsberg. ... the whole toe/foot injury that magically healed in time for him to play for Sweden in the Winter Olympics really stuck it to us fans.

Contact staff writer Sam Carchidi at 215-854-5181 or scarchidi@phillynews.com.