Tim Connolly was fine during practice today and Lindy Ruff was encouraged by what he saw from Andrej Sekera as well. But Sekera was taking a more cautious approach in his first practice with the team since suffering an upper-body injury while taking extra shots after practice last week.
"I'm just progressing every day and hopefully it will get better and better," Sekera said. "I'm doing everything I can to be ready for Game One. I felt pretty good. we'll see how it is tomorrow because this was my first day on skates today. ... I have to make sure to help this team and be 100 percent. I don't want to be a guy to go out there at 50 percent."
While Sekera appears to be a decent bet to play, the intrigue grows over Flyers star blueliner Chris Pronger. Daniel Briere said in an interview this morning on WGR Radio that he expected Pronger to be out for Game One. But this, of course, is the playoffs where the boundaries of truth are stretched to the max ("Danny wouldn't lie," deadpanned Ruff).
Briere told Philadelphia reporters after practice today he was kidding when he said Pronger would be out. Whatever the case may be, the Sabres continue to prepare for Pronger. They'll adjust if he's not on the ice Thursday.
"We're not playing Pronger," Drew Stafford said. "We're playing the Flyers. Obviously he's a big part of their team but they've got a lot more than just him."
---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington)
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Philadelphia Flyers | Sabres
