One of the biggest questions going into Game 1 of the Buffalo Sabres-Philadelphia Flyers series is: how will Sergei Bobrovsky play as a rookie with considerable pressure? That question seemed like a knee-jerk reaction to the traditional Flyers’ goalie questions, but it gained validity this morning.
Why? Because Chris Pronger won’t be able to suit up for the Flyers tonight, according to Tim Panaccio of CSN Philly as well as the Philadelphia Daily News.
While onlookers blamed lethargy or a too-big cushion in the Eastern Conference when explaining Philadelphia’s late season struggles, the biggest problem was not enough Pronger. He has been an absolute game breaker in recent playoff years, turning average goalies to good ones and good goalies to great ones. From Dwayne Roloson in Edmonton, Jean-Sebastien Giguere in Anaheim and the Brian Boucher/Michael Leighton duo in Philly in 2010, there have been quite a few netminders who benefited greatly from the big, mean defenseman’s presence.
Unfortunately, Bob will have to wait for such a luxury.
We’ll let you know if Pronger is expected to miss any more time. Anyone who picked Buffalo over Philadelphia must feel pretty good about their choice right now.