Esche: Bring on the heavy workload

Flyers: With Stevens, Esche has a fresh start

11/01/2006

PHILADELPHIA -- The view from the doghouse was not one Robert Esche enjoyed, but as long as Ken Hitchcock was the coach of the team, that's where he was going to stay. When asked what the former coach had said to him following the 9-1 embarassment at the hands of the Buffalo Sabres that eventually cost Hitchcock his job and brought other sweeping changes through the organization, Esche just cocked his head to one side, raised an eyebrow and said, "Hitchcock and I haven't spoken all season."

Yes, it was that bad.

But, now, things are different, and with John Stevens running the show, Esche has a new lease on life.

No more worries about a sour relationship with the coach. No more worries about where he falls in the pecking order. No more head games, and so far, no more emotional outbursts.

Instead, there is common ground, and Esche, while he hasn't yet been handed back the starting job from Stevens, has a better understanding of his role with the Flyers.

"I look at it as an opportunity to gain respect of new people," Esche said following his 3-0 shutout of the Chicago Blackhawks Monday. "There are people who left and now the new people, I have to regain their trust and respect. It is exciting. My practices in the last week with [goalie coach] Reggie [Lemelin] were some of the best I have had. That is main thing. Its' not a sprint, it's a marathon. It's a long season."

Esche is right, he has looked sharp and competitive in practice, something that had a tendency to wane under Hitchcock. And the results were there to prove his hard work was worth it -- his 10the career shutout with 26 saves.

It's a far cry from the 13 goals in two games he allowed under Hitchcock this season with a miserable save percentage of .776.

But, life under Stevens is a lot less stressful for Esche.

And Stevens is about as straight a shooter as they come and welcomes the open-door communication with Esche, something the goalie never really had with Hitchcock.

"I've known Esche a long time," Stevens said. "He laid things out for me. And I said if I see something I don't like, I am going to tell him right away and if I see something I do like, I will tell him. I won't dance around any type of conflict. His attitude in practice has been terrific and he needed to be rewarded for that."

Whether that reward means a start against Tampa Thursday remains to be seen.

Stevens has said he will announce his starting goalie today and that the team needed a day to regroup Tuesday after a tough week emotionally.

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Speaking of the day off, Stevens said Tuesday was a scheduled off day and not a reward for the victory against Chicago.

"It was a pre-planned day off. Important guys know when days off are coming so they can structure their lives outside the rink," said Stevens, who had the players take part in a post-game workout Monday instead of a practice Tuesday. "It eeally helps you plan everything. It's important to plan the rest. Sometimes you tend to pace yourself when you don't know when the time off is coming. When you know, then you know when it's time to work and when it's time to rest and can approach both accordingly."