The More Things Change . . .

The Flyers went to North Jersey Saturday night and, by all accounts, played well enough to win. Unfortunately, they came away with a 3-2 loss. Such is the state of the team these days. The wins are hard to come by -- they have just one in five games -- but Ed Moran points out that, despite what every pundit -- including There It Is -- thought, the Flyers are back to being a one-line team and the younger players just aren't producing. The problem is that it is a one-line team right now, and most NHL teams can deal with that. What the Flyers need is for the up-and-coming stars to find the net. No intentional disrespect here to Jeff Carter or Mike Richards. They play hard every game, especially Richards, who does more shift to shift to lift this team than six forwards together. Carter likewise is going hard and taking shots. But they are not scoring, and that has to start happening. For the Flyers to play the fast-paced team game Hitchcock wants, they need four lines and at least three of them have to be scoring from game to game. I wonder what could be done to get these guys going? Could the answer possibly include allowing linemates to gel as a unit instead of switching off after every game -- sometimes even during a game? Team chemistry doesn't form on a two-day trip to Annapolis, let alone overnight. These are still young players who are learning how to play in the NHL. Hitchcock needs to give these guys the time and space they need to grow into their roles, instead of forcing it on them as if they were (playoff) battle-tested veterans. The talent is clearly there, but it needs to to be nurtured and not pushed. Notes: Defensemen Lars Jonsson skated yesterday for the first time this season, while Mike Rathje should begin skating today. Both players will accompany the team to Buffalo for tomorrow night's game, though it's not certain that either player will play . . . also banged up is captain Peter Forsberg, who is nursing a bruised shoulder. Forsberg injured the should on an awkward fall after being hit by Devils' defenseman Brian Rafalski . . . only four teams have scored fewer goals than the Flyers (11) -- Boston (10), Ottawa (10), Colorado (10) and Calgary (9).