Pronger time for Game 5?
Daily News Flyers blog
Pronger time for Game 5?
BUFFALO -- Glued to a television showing replays inside the Flyers’ locker room, Chris Pronger had a smile on his face on Wednesday night.
“A physical series... I love it!” Pronger said.
So, with the Flyers’ opening round series knotted at two games a piece, the question bears asking: is it time for Pronger to get involved in the nastiness? That would be a big trump card for coach Peter Laviolette to play.
Game 5 is Friday night at the Wells Fargo Center.
Pronger skated again on Wednesday morning in Buffalo - and at this point, it looks like he may be a serviceable addition to the Flyers’ lineup. That wasn’t so just a week ago.
Make no mistake: Pronger is not going to be firing rockets from the blue line if he returns at any point in this series with the Sabres. His low powered shots on net this week have looked more like muffins than missiles.
However, Pronger can now make a strong enough first outlet pass out of the Flyers’ zone. And while he has not been able to test how his fractured right hand will react with physical contact from opponents, especially opponents that know it’s the right hand and not the left, Pronger is one of the savviest skaters in the NHL.
He knows exactly when to push an injury. And with his team now tied, Friday night’s Game 5 may be the first time to do that since undergoing surgery on March 15 for an injury that happened on Feb. 26 against the Islanders.
Still, no member of the Flyers’ management team will push Pronger into doing something he doesn’t want to or doesn’t feel comfortable doing. He has missed 20 straight games with good reason.
There is a good chance that if the Flyers were to have taken Game 4, to take a 3-1 series lead, we would not have seen Pronger skate in this series. At the very least, any return would have likely been delayed until Game 6. That is all out the window now.
The Flyers have a series on their hands, a physical one at that. And Pronger is probably licking his chops.
The Flyers’ scratches are scheduled to skate on Thursday morning at the Skate Zone in Voorhees. It isn’t immediately known whether the Flyers’ regulars will skate. Either way, it shouldn’t be too long before we know more - and more about Jeff Carter's apparent knee injury.
For the latest updates, follow Frank Seravalli on Twitter: @DNFlyers
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silrock27 i agree with you. all they have in buffalo is snow & 2 teams(Bills & Sabres) that have never won any championships in their history.oh & lindy ruff the andy reid of the nhl.what is it now,14yrs?— lfran55- Total penalty minutes in the series so far: Buffalo 63, Flyers 62. It isn't the penalties, its the lack of scoring, especially on the power play.— randy23
- I think after the farce officiating in game 4 it's definitely Pronger time. You want to see an elbow that's worth 5 minutes then let Mr Pronger introduce you to HIS elbow. It'll be lights out for you when he does. It's definitely redemption time. Hopefully the refs can be just a tad unbiased next time.— Kanayd
- If he plays, a dirtbag like Kaleta or Gaustad will break his hand all over again in the first period with a 2-handed slash, and they dirty refs will assess Pronger a 5 minute major for bleeding on the ice.— Pelti
- Rest Pronger until game 6. Start the Carcillo line game 5 and drop the gloves with the first drop of the puck.— BZI
- how pathetic is it that fans from other teams always come to OUR sites to comment on OUR teams?— silrock27
- Equally as bad as they Buffalo fans pelting the Flyers with bottles and trash. And people have the nerve to comment about our fans. At least we don't throw stuff at the other teams, except insults and boos. — ena1977
- What you've seen is a talented team vs. a decent team with a great goaltender. He stole his games. After 4-5 games, the Sabres won't be able to maintain the pace or physical play. I mean, when JVR is punching the lights out of The Giant Gaustaud after the game ends, you know BUF is in trouble. We will be back to scoring on Miller again, 4,5,6 goals and series will be over.— MichaelZoe
- Not sure what you are watching NMS - Buffalo is knocking the snot out of the Flyers.— Newsreader55
- The Flyers outplayed the bruins in the 2nd and thrid period by a WIDE margin. it wasnt even close. but a fluke goal will kill ya everytime
— Verse1234 - Have to admit, I was wrong yesterday. I predicted a physical game, but I also predicted the Sabres wouldn't be able to match the Flyers hit for hit. I thought they were more worn down, not having the depth the Flyers have, than they showed. Or were the Flyers lulled into thinking they had taken control of the series already? It was a fine hockey game and, had Zherdev picked up Pominville before he slid into the crease and took the pass from Niedermayer for the only goal, would have ended in a tie in regulation. But whether I was wrong or not is of little consequence. What about Laviolette? Was he taken by surprise by Buffalo's new lines at the start of the game? He said he wasn't? Then what about the players? Were our Flyers ready to keep up the steady rain of blows to Buffalo's midsection or were they taking a little time off, like they got used to doing toward the end of the season?— NMS
- i would like to see an article about who the game 4 refs are--some background to explain the terrible officiating. i see no Pronger in this series, but i thought he'd be back sooner, so what do it know. great game by the Flyers and Sabres. i look forward to Fri. night.— stonelamb
- we knew that the Buff's would be tough to eliminate...but we will Pronger or not!— PHILLYMARK
- They need a leader, a Captain....its the playoffs let the dog off his leash— JohnnyN
- Pronger hasn't played in 20 games and has barely skated, it's also obvious his shot won't be there yet, and with the way the officiating is going he'll be in the penalty box as soon as he gets physical with someone, I mean the Sabres can pound you on the back while you are one the ice and punch you in the face and receive next to nothing in penalties, therefor I see no reason to rush Pronger back, just sayin!...— DJ
I cant remember the last time I saw a game that was that one sided (at least for the final 50 mins) that the better team didn't win. The Flyers completely dominated play and in my opinion deserved to win that game. The officiating was not good....Miller (and Boosh!!) was excellent. Buffalo caught MANY breaks last night. The Buffalo announcers (along with Bobby "the chief" Taylor in Tampa)may be the worst in the league and are definitely the most annoying.
If the boys play like they did last night.... they will win Game 5.- No. If he's not healthy enough to fire shots, then he's not healthy enough to give & take hits and get into scrums. They already have a fire lit, it's not worth risking Pronger's health and ending the momentum we gained from our play in the 3rd period if he reinjures it.— porscheblack
- time to deploy the SS pronger. these guys are killing us right now physically. gaustad & kaleta are chopping us up out there. we need pronger and his ability to dish out pain without the refs calling it in the playoffs style. but only if he's ready.
- The refs were clowns. You could see the frustration with us in the 3rd period when call after call wasn't made. You could see the guys wanting to retaliate but having enough discipline not to because they knew they would get the only call. This series is turning into a joke and the NHL should be embarrassed. I understand having more class than the other guys but not at the expense of losing a series. Sabres are young and dumb and if the refs would do their job, we would be taking full advantage of that.— Hank69er
- poppin the collar is sooooo 80's. you look like david hasselhoff— spittooncj
Comment removed.- Pronger would be a help, but we will never win a game that is called so bad by refs. THEY were the game changers last night. The refs were the #1 star of last night. Way to go NHL leaugue office, let's put yet another biased, flawed, and little-experienced crew on the ice. There should be suspensions handed out for the non-calls, missed calls, and wrong calls throughout this whole series. Homer should put a plea in to the leaugue office simply asking for a fair game. If it were a 3-0 blowout I wouldn't even complain, but at 1-0 and the way it was called...surely you can find better qualified officials than this. Flyers in 6 after this!— Pocono Phlyer
- Let me channel my inner M.C. Hammer and say:
"STOP.....Pronger time!" Send him in if he's ready, because Dan Carcillo had it right when he said "What can you say about Chris Pronger? HE'S A MAN BEAST!"
Release the BEAST!— Savage Smurf 
Kinda hard to win when you can't score a goal. D was pretty solid last night. Sure buffalo got in the zone but rarely were they able to set up and take anything but an outside perimeter shot.- Good article, Frank.
... We need writers like you in Buffalo.
Sabres in 7.— maxwelledison - I'd have no problem waiting until game 6 for Pronger. Make sure that he can actually fire the puck effectively first. You know that punk Kaleta will be swinging his stick at Pronger's wrists every time they're on the ice together, so might as well allow it to heal as much as possible.
- I agree, the defense wasn't the problem. Why rush him back if he's not really ready to shoot?— NYluvsPhylers
- I don't think you see him before game 6, but regardless defense wasn't the issue last night and unless he can shoot he's not going to help the scoring.— Jack Burden
- Pronger or it could be season over— shawnmac
