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Chris Pronger’s Game 1 status remains a mystery

Edmonton Oilers v Philadelphia Flyers

PHILADELPHIA, PA - MARCH 08: Chris Pronger #20 of the Philadelphia Flyers stretches during warmups before an NHL hockey game against the Edmonton Oilers at the Wells Fargo Center on March 8, 2011 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Paul Bereswill/Getty Images)

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Even beyond the generally nebulous nature of making predictions, this year’s playoffs are even tougher to project thanks to a handful of stars’ murky injury situations. Teams might prepare as if those guys won’t be in the lineup, but it doesn’t take an expert to say that those clubs won’t have the same kind of firepower without them.

Yet that’s where we stand with Sidney Crosby, Henrik Zetterberg and Chris Pronger.

In the case of Pronger and the Philadelphia Flyers, I made a leap of faith that the game-changing defenseman will be able to play during the team’s fascinating first round series against the Buffalo Sabres. Without knowing every little detail of his injury, it’s tough to speculate how accurate that assumption might be.

CSN Philly’s Tim Panaccio caught up with the team regarding Pronger’s situation, but if the Flyers already know whether or not he’ll play in Game 1 on Thursday, they aren’t tipping their hand just yet.

Pronger, who is still in rehab from surgery on March 15, did not practice at Skate Zone but did take part in the team’s special teams meetings and did his other off-ice rehab. General manager Paul Holmgren said Pronger’s status remains day to day.

Some players say he’ll be ready to go Thursday in Game 1 against Buffalo while others are saying he won’t appear unless he is fully 100 percent and ready to go.

So the question is, how does coach Peter Laviolette prepare this week? Does he prepare as if he will have Pronger in the lineup? Or as if Pronger won’t be dressing?

If you take for gospel how things went today, then the Flyers are preparing as if Pronger won’t be available for Game 1.

Well, there you have it. He missed practice, but participated in meetings that would keep him informed of the team’s key strategies and information. In other words, his presence in Game 1 remains a toss-up. Naturally, we’ll let you know if the team gives a solid answer about his status as Thursday approaches, but don’t be shocked if he ends up being a dreaded “game-time decision.”