Remember how Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger made himself into more of a villain during last year’s Stanley Cup finals when he was stealing pucks from the Chicago Blackhawks after they won the first two games of the series? It turns out Philadelphia’s puck burglar extraordinaire isn’t a fully reformed hockey criminal at large as Pronger attempted to get in on Habs goaltender Carey Price’s celebration for his third shutout of the season by taking the game puck when leaving the ice.
Is it time to get up in arms about a brand new vulcanized rubber crime spree courtesy of the 6'6" defenseman with a host of priors anad a gruff demeanor? With apologies to ESPN’s Lee Corso: Not so fast my friends. Arpon Basu shares the details.As the game came to a close and the Montreal Canadiens were celebrating a 3-0 win against the Philadelphia Flyers, Chris Pronger grabbed the game puck before making his way off the ice, just as he did in last season’s Stanley Cup Final against the Chicago Blackhawks.
Brian Gionta and Scott Gomez went to see Pronger just before he stepped off the ice to get the puck back and give it to their goalie, who had just earned his third shutout and 11th win of the season with a virtuoso 41-save performance.
Carey Price took the puck, skated near the Canadiens bench, and flung it in the stands.
Better to have it in the hands of one of the home fans than in the hands of the notorious Chris Pronger. As for Pronger when he was asked about what happened tonight, well... Let’s just say you’re going to have a hard time not liking Chris Pronger after checking out this video courtesy of FlyersTV. (Zoom ahead to 0:48 for the question and Pronger’s answer)
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Obviously this is all in good fun here and Chris Pronger isn’t being an irascible jerk. Well, he may have been trying to be that but he’s at least embraced his role and is having some fun with everyone over it and we thoroughly approve of that. Everyone needs a villain after all and Pronger’s overwhelming sarcasm is fantastic. The lesson learned from all this is that if your team happens to beat the Flyers, you’d better get your hands on that puck... Or else.