Shelley likes Flyers' grins

The Flyers' brass used Tuesday's preseason opener against the New Jersey Devils at the Wells Fargo Center to assess their prospects.

The Flyers' veterans and off-season acquisitions used the game to get back into the groove.

In the end, Flyers center Mike Richards and backup goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky were the difference in a 4-3 shoot-out victory.

Richards scooted the puck past goaltender Mike McKenna to put the Flyers up by one in the shoot-out. Then Bobrovsky, who entered the game in the third period, blocked Jacob Josefson's shot to clinch the victory.

Unlike Bobrovsky, the Flyers' new enforcer, Jody Shelley, was not bombarded with questions after the game. But the contest against the Devils was still gratifying for Shelley.

That's because the 10-year NHL veteran loves everything about being associated with the Orange and Black.

"You look at the history of the team," said the left winger, who signed a three-year deal for $1.1 million as a free agent on July 1. "It's the reputation and pride with the emblem that you read about, talk about."

He said he found what it means to be a Flyer on the walls of the team's practice facility in Voorhees.

"It's work ethic. It's pride," said Shelley, 34. "There's a lot of pictures with guys with no teeth and smiling. And that's what it's about. That's hockey."

He tried to knock out a few teeth during his days as an enforcer for the Columbus Blue Jackets, San Jose Sharks and New York Rangers. Shelley averaged 17.2 fights a season through his first nine campaigns.

He made his imprint against the Devils. He was penalized two minutes for roughing and another five minutes for fighting New Jersey winger Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond.

Shelley said he fights to jump-start teammates or when an opponent crosses the line.

"People know coming into the building on the other team what they are going to get away with and what they are not," he said. "And that goes as far as the whole group. We've got a lot of big guys.

"There's a lot of pride and there's a way to act when you are wearing a Flyers uniform."

The Flyers will look to him as an unofficial protector for Richards, Danny Briere and Jeff Carter.

"When you've got a guy like that in the lineup, you feel a bit tougher," Flyers right winger Ian Laperriere said. "You go into buildings and you know that you've got somebody, if they mess around with our skill players and they start bullying you around, he's there to answer the bell."

Shelley said he is elated to contribute on a team looking to make its second straight Stanley Cup Finals appearance.

"Like I said, the pride of walking into these rooms and hallways, these pictures might not mean much to many people," he said. "But you can tell everyone in the room and everyone around here notices them and knows what they mean. That's nice."