Thursday, March 17, 2011
Posted: 11:23 a.m.Updated: 1:37 p.m.
By Tim PanaccioCSNPhilly.com
ATLANTA -- Chris Pronger, feeling better following surgery to repair a small fracture in his right hand, says he hopes to get a few games in before the end of the regular season.
The timetable for the defensemans return is three to four weeks. If Pronger utilizes the minimum three weeks of recovery, that takes him to April 5 with three games left.
Hes going to need games to get his hand working again and his shooting where it needs to be.
That'd be nice, Pronger said of a few games. Its never easy popping back in. The thing with this injury is that Im going to be skating and practicing and doing all the rest of that stuff while Im in the recovery stage, which helps.
Its a lot different than when I hurt my foot in December and wasnt able to skate or do anything on the ice. This is a little different. I shouldnt be that far off when I come back.
Noted hand specialist Tom Graham performed Prongers surgery in Cleveland on Tuesday. Pronger had missed a full month (13 games) between mid-December and mid-January with a fracture in his right foot.
NHL
Pronger has a timetable for recovery in mind, and he hopes for it to start this weekend when the Flyers return to Philadelphia.
I guess the timeframeI know you guys love your timeframeswould be to probably take the bandages off probably Sunday when the guys get back," Pronger said.
"Jimmy (mcCrossin) will probably take it off and Ill be able to move it around a little bit more then and probably be able to get a splint put on it or something like that, and probably be able to ride the bike a little bit more and probably start skating just to try to get my skating legs back, and start in on the rehab protocol that Dr. Grahams put into place.
Asked if hed be 100 percent for the playoffs, Thats the way it looks right now, Pronger said. My doctor is very happy with the way surgery went and the way everything looked when he went inside there to fix it
As far as we can tell Ill be ready, but none of us are Kreskin. We dont really know what is going to happen.
Pronger said he felt great and had just completed a workout prior to his conference call with reporters.
The Flyers are in a fierce battle with the Washington Capitals to maintain their No. 1-overall ranking in the Eastern Conference.
Its never easy being hurt and sitting out, Pronger said. You always want to be part of the team, part of the action and playing. From that regard, its tough. Ive got to use this time wisely. When I do get back, Im ready to go
He said at no point during the four games he played after injuring his hand on Feb. 24 against the Islanders, did his hand actually feel right.
The decision to have the CT scan was made last Saturday, the night general manager Paul Holmgren told reporters that something still wasnt right with Prongers hand and prior were had come up negative.
A player know his body, Pronger said. Ive been around the game long enough to know when something doesnt feel right and isnt responding to treatment. And it just kept lingering and wouldnt go away.
Nothing was showing up on the X-ray and it continued to stay weak and would progress with days off, then get weak after playing. We got an MRI and it showed something and the CT scan confirmed it and we got it fixed."
Loose pucks
Rookie Erik Gustafsson replaces Nick Boynton in the lineup and will be paired with Sean O'Donnell. ... Brian Boucher is in goal.
E-mail Tim Panaccio at tpanotch@comcast.net
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