Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Posted: 3:02 p.m.
By Tim Panaccio and Sarah Baicker
CSNPhilly.com
Chris Pronger skated again on Tuesday, but he didnt shoot a single puck in 50 minutes of hard skating.
Of course, theres always tomorrow, right?
Pronger strongly hinted that Wednesday will likely indicate one way or the other his readiness to play in Game 1 of the playoffs against the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday.
He did say he was very confident hell play during this series, but wouldnt commit to Game 1. He hasnt shot a puck at a practice since April 4.
Youll have to wait and find out, he said of playing in the series opener.
NHL
One club source rated Pronger as doubtful for Game 1.
Pronger said he wasnt discouraged at not shooting pucks so close to the playoffs.
Come to practice tomorrow and see, he said. They might change. They change every day. Every day you feel better. Some days you have setbacks
Coach Peter Laviolette is preparing the Flyers as if Pronger wont be available, but then again, thats his only choice at this point.
Its tough, youd like to be out there prepping for all the drills and preparing properly, Pronger said of working out on his own. I have my own path and well use it for what it is.
General manager Paul Holmgren wasnt willing to speculate on Game 1, either.
Hes going to continue to be day-to-day here and hes coming along nicely, Holmgren said.
Only Pronger knows how he is feeling and whether he can play, so its entirely realistic that if Mr. Warmth shoots pucks tomorrow and there is no pain, then he will play. If there is, then hes going to wait.
Holmgren didnt feel that just because Pronger had not shot a puck in a while that it would matter at this point.
Hes played 1,154 games in the NHL or something like that, and 170 playoff games, and I think Ill give him the benefit of the doubt that he will be fine in that regard, Holmgren said.
Pronger went through a rigorous morning workout with assistant coach Kevin McCarthy and the Black Acesguys who are scratches.
Although he had a stick in hand during drills, Pronger didnt do any shooting.
Of course the Flyers would prefer to have Pronger in the lineup from the get-go, but theyre confident they can take down the Sabres even if hes unable to play.
I dont know exactly what our record was without Pronger, but I think that was the whole purpose of the additions in the offseason, Matt Carle said. Where if something like that happened, you cant replace a guy like Chris Pronger with one person, but as a D-core and as a group I think we all need to step up our games. Weve done that pretty well for the time being that hes been out
More aces
Ian Laperriere, who missed the entire season with post-concussion syndrome, was working with the Aces at Skate Zone on Tuesday in a coachs uniform, but he participated in hard skating drills. He will work with the Aces throughout the playoffs, according to assistant general manager Barry Hanrahan.
The Aces also included defenseman Matt Walker, who cleared re-entry waivers on Tuesday.
Threes a crowd
Goalie coach Jeff Reese now has three goaliesSergei Bobrovsky, Brian Boucher and Michael Leightonto work with at practicebut only two nets on the ice.
Three goalies is tough, but this will get sorted out, Reese said. Its my job to make sure that the three are ready to play when they play. And if that means going out an hour extra, a half an hour extra like weve done with Michael Leighton the last few daysall three of them went extra yesterdaythats my job.
Leighton, who returned to the Flyers after clearing re-entry waivers, finished his season with the Adirondack Phantoms with shutouts in his last two games. Hes looking much more like he did last year, according to Reese.
Leights has got his game back, Reese said. The beginning of the year after the back surgery, I didnt think it was there. It wasnt where it was, and understandably so. He played the one game in L.A., he ended up winning the game, but he just didnt look like himself.
Hes got close to a .930 save percentage with the Phantoms.That team really turned a corner after he got there. So you can tell how good he can play.
Loose pucks
Theres not much to dislike about Bobrovskys new helmet, which has Rocky on one side and Sideshow Bob from the Simpsons on the other.Pronger said his right knee, which was scoped in the offseason, feels pretty good. He only played 50 games this season, too.The Flyers spent the first part of practice working on special teams.Walker has not played an NHL game since Jan. 18 against Washington. He is a depth player at this point.Lindy Ruff said in Buffalo the Sabres are preparing as if Pronger will play.Sabres scoring depth is not as deep as the Flyersonly four players with 20 goals or more. Flyers had seven players. I think most of it is how diligent were going to be with the puck, how smart were going to be, Ruff said. Were a smart team when we do good things with the puck, and we had it a little bit more. Last game we got smoked in the faceoff circle, which meant a lot of chasing, trying to get pucks back.
Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times (Buffalo) contributed to this story.E-mail Tim Panaccio at tpanotch@comcast.netE-mail Sarah Baicker at sbaicker@comcastsportsnet.com
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