Gostisbehere trying to get used to being a lefty again

PHILADELPHIA >> Although he used to be a accustomed to launching shots from the left side of the ice, Shayne Gostisbehere said Monday it’s taking a little time to get used to doing that again.

Gostisbehere, the usual top-pair right-side defender, played his second full game as a second-pair defender Monday night against the Colorado Avalanche. He’s playing with newcomer Christian Folin, and as a result, was moved from the right side to the left. Winding up on his forehand is always convenient for speed’s sake, but Gostisbehere admits it’s taking some getting used to.

“Seemed easier (on the right) because I’ve been playing the right so much lately,” Gostisbehere said. “Even in the offensive zone, when you get pucks up top, you can one-time them at right defense. So just little things here and there seemed easier. There’s things I like to do on the right. But it is what it is.”

One of those things is a patented Ghost move, when he pivots on the right side to crank his lethal one-timer from a good spot above the slot.

While he’s on his forehand on the left, he doesn’t seem to get as much power. That said, by pairing him with the right-handed Folin and putting Robert Hagg with top-pair lefty Ivan Provorov, Flyers coach Dave Hakstol now has three defensive pairs of one lefty and one righty on the blue line.

Gostisbehere said that has added effective balance to the Flyers defense, which had a big challenge against Colorado’s top line of Nate MacKinnon centering left wing Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen.

That trio clicked on the power play just 3:23 into the game to give the Avs a nice jumpstart. And in the third period, Landeskog blocked a Claude Giroux semi-shot and went on a breakaway, beating the chasing Provorov and then beating goalie Brian Elliott to give the Avs an insurmountable threegoal lead.

Otherwise, um, the Flyers’ defense played well.

What might have been even more effective was that the once dynamic pairing of dual lefties Gostisbehere and Provorov going against that No. 1 Avs line every time out. But Hakstol felt last weekend he had to break them up. Gostisbehere had a theory as to why.

“We didn’t win a lot of games, so we had to switch something,” he said flatly.

Asked to rate how he and Provorov were playing early on, Gostisbehere said, “Mediocre, probably. I know they expect a lot out of me and Provy, but I mean, we’re a good team defensively. It’s not just about us and it showed Saturday (in a win over the Devils).

“For us, it’s a change of rhythm. We can’t get into this routine where we’re waiting for something to happen ... because you don’t have that much time. So for us, it’s a fresh start, something new. And I do think it did show. We played a really good hockey game (Saturday), and hopefully we can keep that going.”

As for his new partner, Gostisbehere said Folin has been “very steady. He let’s me do my thing out there.

“We’re building chemistry every day,” Gostisbehere said. “I haven’t played with Foles at all, and I’m sure Provy hasn’t played with (Hagg) too much. So it’s working right now. It looks good and hopefully we can keep building on it.”

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NOTES >> While that top Colorado line was certainly a challenge for the defense, it was all that and more for the Flyers’ top line, especially for No. 1 center Sean Couturier. He said the MacKinnon-Landeskog-Rantanen connection brings “a little bit of everything. Some speed, some size, some skill, some toughness ... It’s a tough line to go up against.” ... Hakstol scratched rookie center Mikhail Vorobyev again, but don’t be surprised to see him in Boston when the Flyers play there Thursday, if for no other reason than third line center Jordan Weal has been racking up way more penalties than points.