Can Pronger get Flyers past Pens?
If the Philadelphia Flyers are ever going to erase the shame of a Stanley Cup drought that could hit 35 years in the spring, it seems inevitable that the road to redemption will go through Pittsburgh.
On Thursday night in Philadelphia, the two bitter intrastate rivals will meet for the first of six regular-season meetings.
When last we left the two teams, the Flyers were watching the Penguins celebrate a first-round victory at the Wachovia Center this past April. Worse, perhaps, the Flyers had blown a three-goal lead in that sixth game and watched a possible Game 7 evaporate into another offseason of questions and longing.
The season before, the Flyers surprisingly had advanced to the Eastern Conference finals against the Penguins, but injuries and fatigue saw that series end in five games as Pittsburgh advanced to the 2008 Stanley Cup finals against Detroit.
With those two playoff defeats fresh in the Flyers' memory -- and the fact that the Penguins won last season's Stanley Cup championship -- this past offseason saw them making bold moves that on the surface seem designed specifically to prevent a third straight postseason loss to the Penguins.
The key alteration to an already impressive lineup was the acquisition of former Hart Trophy and Norris Trophy winner Chris Pronger. The veteran defenseman was brought in from Anaheim at a steep price (a collection of top draft picks, prospects and position players) but with the expectation that Pronger was that singular personality who could help a team move from the one left on the ice in April to one that could touch the stars.
Pronger's history shows he is such a player. The battle-hardened blueliner led Edmonton to a surprise trip to the 2006 Stanley Cup finals, then helped the Anaheim Ducks win their first Cup in 2007.
Even at age 34, Pronger remains one of the biggest minute-eaters in the NHL, finishing second in average ice time in the league last season. Pronger has three assists and is averaging 26 minutes, 58 seconds per night this season as the Flyers have jumped out to a 3-0-0 start heading into Thursday's eagerly anticipated clash with the Penguins.
In an interview with ESPN.com at the start of training camp, Pronger said he relished the challenge of facing the top players in the Eastern Conference (he is coming off a wild and woolly affair with Washington's Alex Ovechkin on Tuesday night, a 6-5 overtime win by the Flyers) and, specifically, the Penguins.
"From the time I came into the league until now, I always enjoyed playing against the top players in the league," Pronger said. "That's how you continually get better, is to challenge yourself and try to shut down the opposing team's top lines and top players.
"You're not always going to do it. Sometimes they get you, and sometimes you get them. You hopefully have more good days than bad and you're able to win your fair share of games. … It obviously runs through them [Pittsburgh] in the Eastern Conference."
Down the hallway, the Penguins, 2-1-0 after Wednesday's 3-0 loss to Phoenix, are trying to accomplish the rare feat of back-to-back championships. The Red Wings were the last team to achieve it in 1997 and 1998; before that, it was the Penguins in 1991 and 1992, led on the ice by current owner Mario Lemieux.
During the summer of '08, the Penguins were forced to look at a Plan B after winger Marian Hossa declined to re-up with them and signed with Detroit. Instead, the Pens began the season with Miroslav Satan and Ruslan Fedotenko playing with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, respectively. By the trade deadline, GM Ray Shero added Chris Kunitz and Bill Guerin, who ended up flanking Crosby throughout the playoffs. All but Satan return this season.
The reality of the Pens' salary structure is Shero is not in the market for an $8 million winger for Malkin or Crosby. But what he can, and has, added is grit and speed and veteran presence in the form of Kunitz and Guerin. Young defenders Kris Letang and Alex Goligoski both are being asked to do more after the departures of Hal Gill and Rob Scuderi.
Shero, of course, understands the significance of the Pronger addition.
"I think you have to pay attention to it. It was a dramatic move to get Pronger," he said. "It really makes their defense stronger. Do we react to that?"
Not really.
"I think you have to build your team the way you want it to look," he said.
As for Thursday's clash, even though it is one of 82 games on the schedule, Shero said he doubts there ever will be such a thing as "just another game" with the Flyers.
"They're probably our biggest rival," he said.
Bring it on.
Scott Burnside covers the NHL for ESPN.com.
