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Chris Pronger is hoping to return to Flyers lineup before playoffs start

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When Flyers clutch defenseman Chris Pronger went out of the lineup with a broken hand, many around Philadelphia started to stress a bit. Why wouldn’t they? The Flyers had cooled off to a point where they were in a slump and the Capitals, Bruins, and Penguins were all hot on their heels in the race for the top spot in the Eastern Conference after being distant from the lead for so long.

There’s no doubt that Pronger is the lynchpin to the Flyers defense and as he goes so does their ability to keep opponents off the scoreboard. No offense to veteran Nick Boynton and AHL call-up Erik Gustafsson, they’re just nowhere near the same kind of player.

With those guys set to fill in for Pronger in his absence, you can’t blame Pronger for wanting to get back before the start of the playoffs which is just what he’s trying to do as Tim Panaccio of CSN Philly finds out today. Being ready for the playoffs is his main priority and the ever quotable Pronger said as much.

Asked if he’d be 100 percent for the playoffs, “That’s 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 [I’ll be ready], but none of us are Kreskin. We don’t really know what is going to happen.”


You can virtually see the disgust on Pronger’s face when addressing these questions, it’s fantastic. It’s also great news for the Flyers that he’s intent on getting back just before the start of the playoffs. With a targeted date of April 5 to get back, that would give him a handful of games in the regular season to get warmed up for the postseason.

As to who or even where they’ll end up in the first round is still up for debate. With the Capitals on fire and trying to catch them for the top spot and the Penguins right there threatening for the division lead, it’s possible they could end up the fourth seed and if Tampa Bay managed to get hot again, they could even end up fifth. It’s not likely that that could happen, but we’ve seen stranger things.