Couturier's transition to scorer for Flyers evident in playoffs

PITTSBURGH -- Sean Couturier heard the praise all season.
About how flawlessly he's adapted from being a third-line checking center to a top-line scoring center. About how much more impactful he now is for the Philadelphia Flyers.

"You see Anze] Kopitar and those guys, [Patrice] Bergeron," Flyers captain Claude Giroux said. "He's in that mix."
[RELATED: [Complete Penguins vs. Flyers series coverage]
High praise. And it's not wrong.
But it seems the only person who doesn't think Couturier has changed much this season, one in which he scored 76 points (31 goals, 45 assists), two points shy of doubling his previous career high, is the 25-year-old center himself.
"My role is different," Couturier said.
Not him.
"I'm still playing the same type of minutes, where I'm going to go against top lines and limit their offense," he added. "Now it's about outscoring them as well."
Couturier did that in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference First Round, a big reason why the Flyers defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-1 at PPG Paints Arena on Friday to even the best-of-7 series 1-1 after losing 7-0 in Game 1.

He played 27:15, more than nine minutes more than every other Flyers' forward. He scored what proved to be the game-winning goal, and had two assists, including a blind, backhanded, between-the-legs pass to set up rookie center Nolan Patrick for a tap-in power-play goal at 5:10 of the third period that gave the Flyers a 4-0 lead.
His defensive play in the offensive zone led to defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere's power-play goal at 19:23 of the first period. Couturier also played a key role in the Penguins going 0-for-4 on the power play with 5:01 of shorthanded ice time, the most among Philadelphia's forwards.
Game 3 at Wells Fargo Center on Sunday (3 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, TVAS).
"Everyone ups their intensity when they see our leaders going like that," Patrick said.
The Flyers did see offensive upside to Couturier when he arrived. That upside was evident by his back to back 96-point seasons with Drummondville in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League..
"In his first camp, he was outstanding, both defensively and offensively," former Flyers assistant Joe Mullen said. "He reminded me of a young Ron Francis the way he got the body position and separated guys from pucks and was so good in the defensive zone and moved the puck. In his first camp, he was shooting the puck a lot. He impressed a lot of people with just his shot and how he was shooting. Once he turned pro we were waiting for that same thing to happen. He played well defensively his first season and didn't put up the numbers quite like we wanted, but he always showed potential."
Ironically, for Couturier to successfully transition to first-line center with Giroux on his left wing, he had to stay true to the principles that got him pigeon-holed as a checking center during his first six seasons.
Why?
Look no further than his 15-game goal drought from Feb. 18-March 18.
Couturier was bothered by it, because who wouldn't be after scoring 29 goals in the first 58 games. But if anything, he realized he could elevate the rest of his game to counter his lack of scoring, so he did.
He had 10 assists, 44 shots on goal and a plus-7 rating in those 15 games. He won 53.4 percent of his faceoffs (his season average was 52.8 percent) and had a 53.88 shot attempts percentage (his season average was 53.17). The Flyers went 8-6-1, good enough to stay in the hunt for the playoff berth they secured in their last game of the regular season, a 5-0 win against the New York Rangers that was aided by Couturier's two assists.
"You can't be a guy who is hurting the team when you're not scoring," Couturier said. "That's the worst thing, so you try to help in any other way you can when that happens. I take pride in that."

In another instance of irony, Couturier said he felt more pressure to score playing in his old role as a checker than he does now as a No. 1 center.
"I was playing against top lines and doing all right, but then you get [fewer] chances offensively, so when you get one you feel the pressure," Couturier said. "If you want to show an offensive side of your game, you've got to capitalize right away. I felt this year, mentally, it was a little easier, where if you miss one or two chances, you know you're going to get three or four more. Before, it was if you get one or two, you better bury one or it's going to be tough."
He buried enough for the perception of him around the League to change.
"You have to be responsible defensively [against him]," Penguins center Sidney Crosby said.
It's unlikely Crosby would have said that and meant it with the same purpose in previous years, not with Couturier having never produced more than 15 goals or 39 points in any of his first six seasons.
"He doesn't cheat for offense and he still puts up great numbers," Patrick said. "He's a great guy to learn from."
It's easy and, to a degree, accurate to say Couturier wouldn't have had the season he had if Giroux, his linemate for all 82 games, didn't have his best season too.
Giroux finished with 102 points (34 goals, 68 assists), second behind Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid (108 points) in the Art Ross Trophy race.
"Playing with [Giroux] this year, I knew I'd get a lot of chances," Couturier said.

But it works both ways. That much was evident in Game 2, when Couturier was at his best.
Giroux didn't help him make the pass to Patrick on the power play or make key plays on the PK. It was Couturier who made the defensive play and the diving play along the wall to help set up Gostisbehere's power-play goal. Giroux played 18:06. Couturier played 27:15.
"In everybody's mind he's gone through a big transition this year, in everybody's mind except his," Hakstol said. "I don't think he's changed as a person or a player and I don't think he's changed his perception of the player that he believes he is."