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Briere responds to Laviolette's message

Danny Briere has stepped up his game since his meeting with Peter Laviolette. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Danny Briere has stepped up his game since his meeting with Peter Laviolette. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)Read more

Less than 2 weeks ago, Peter Laviolette called Danny Briere into his office for a meeting.

Briere, 34, didn't question the purpose of the meeting. Perusing the stat sheet on a daily basis, Briere had a feeling one of those meetings might be coming.

Briere had only 10 goals at the time and he had been a relatively quiet contributor to the offense, with a feeling that he was more of a complementary piece in the lineup rather than the nightly scoring threat he had proved himself to be last season.

"It's been an up-and-down season," Briere said. "I think the first half was OK. I wouldn't say it was good, I wouldn't say it was all that bad. I know that I can be better."

Laviolette's message was that he wanted to see the same fire and emotion that made Briere such a successful player both last season - his best since 2007-08 - and in the Flyers' Stanley Cup finals run in 2010.

"When players give you a certain bar or a certain level of play, and even in the toughest of circumstances and the highest of stakes, you've kind of set a benchmark for how you can play for a coach," Laviolette explained. "[Briere] still had 25 points. But for us to continue to improve, to push to be the top team in the regular season, you want to see players near their benchmark."

The reaction was almost instantaneous.

Passion? Briere exploded last Saturday against Ottawa with the third fight of his career, and then proceeded to score three goals, in a 3-2 win, for his fifth career hat trick.

"What you want is to be inspired by your players and the way you play," Laviolette said. "He's taken the initiative. Over the last couple of games, I've really seen him try to take control of the game."

Briere followed that hat trick with an assist the next day in Ottawa. Even though he's gone the last two games without a point, that one offensive outburst - in the first 7 days of the month - matched his goal total from the Flyers' 13 games in the month of December.

And it's left him feeling that he can surpass last season's 68-point, All-Star performance. As it stands now, Briere is on pace for 28 goals and 35 assists for 63 points in 79 games.

"I really think the last couple weeks, I think the results are about to come," Briere said. "I've started to play with more energy, more emotion. I'm starting to feel better. Really excited."

So why would Laviolette decide to sit down Briere now, having just passed the midpoint of a long, 82-game grind? Both he and Briere know that, as the games get tougher to win in February and March, Briere can single-handedly transform the Flyers from a one-trick pony to a two-pronged attacked.

"Claude's [Giroux] line will need some support offensively," Briere said. "In the second half, when games get tighter, it's going to be my responsibility to provide a little bit more help."

That help, with Jakub Voracek and Max Talbot beside him, would change an opponent's game plan.

"Danny is a smart guy," Laviolette said. "The purpose of meeting with players is to push players to where you think they can be or where you've seen them be.

"He can be dynamic. He's not big, but he's a dangerous guy. He's got to fight for his space and what he gets out there. Our team would really benefit for him to continue where he's at right now."

The kids are all right

Twelve rookies were selected by the NHL's hockey operations department to send to Ottawa for the Rookie Skills competition. Sean Couturier, 19, is 11th in points among rookies. Nineteen rookies have more assists than he. His offensive numbers are not flashy.

Yet, Couturier was still selected, a tip of the cap to the completeness of Couturier's suave game. Only one rookie, Ottawa's own Jared Cowen, has played more minutes shorthanded than Couturier. He is third in plus/minus rating and fourth in faceoff win percentage.

Matt Read, 25, will join Couturier in Ottawa for the skills competition, where they will be participating in the same drills as the bona fide All-Stars on international television. Read is tied for the league lead in goals among rookies.

"I think it's great," Laviolette said. "You get to go to an event with the best players in the league. It's well deserved. We've used these guys in [big] roles all year and we count on them and trust them. Not only do we recognize their talent, but it looks like other people do, as well."

Both Couturier and Read have come a long way in the last calendar year. With Drummondville in the QMJHL, Couturier was just finally getting adjusted to the season after a slow start because of mononucleosis. Read was in his senior season at Minnesota's Bemidji State.

Couturier said he still sometimes doesn't believe he's in the NHL. Read said he would have told his friends to "get real" if they would have predicted this.

"Actually, I got a text from Claude Giroux after practice with 'Congratulations,' " Read said. "I said, 'For what, what are you talking about?' I'm still shocked I'm going."

Slap shots

Sergei Bobrovsky is likely to earn his third straight start tonight in Nashville . . . Erik Gustafsson, who skated in a pair with Andrej Meszaros during yesterday's practice in Music City, could replace Andreas Lilja in the lineup . . . There was no fine or suspension handed out by the NHL for Steve Staios' high hit on Max Talbot on Thursday night. Staios could see retribution this week when the Flyers and Islanders meet again.

Send email to seravaf@phillynews.com