Sabres Edge

PHILADELPHIA -- Some audio from around the Flyers' locker room after their 5-4 win over the Sabres.

Danny Briere

Brian Boucher

Ville Leino

The News' Mike Harrington was a guest on Talk Radio AM 640 in Toronto Friday night. He discussed the Sabres' Game One victory and looked ahead at the rest of the series with the Flyers.

Click here to download the audio and take it with you

VORHEES, N.J. -- We've already got an early verdict on perhaps the key reason the media has all piled across the Walt Whitman Bridge to the Flyers' Skate Zone: Chris Pronger is not going to play in Game Two.

The Flyers defenseman just completed a 50-minute skate here but did only one stickhandling drill about halfway through the session. He had extremely limited puck work, taking it one time and pushing it against the boards before skating away and not touching it again.

The Sabres are set to practice in the 11:30 range and the Flyers will go at noon.

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington) 

PHILADELPHIA -- The Flyers have taken the ice at the Wells Fargo Center and Chris Pronger is NOT with them. So he's definitely a scratch for tonight. Mike Richards, who missed yesterday's workout with what he said is a head cold, is on the ice and should be good to go. 

Flyers GM Paul Holmgren confirms Pronger's absence via Twitter.

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington) 

PHILADELPHIA -- WIP, the Flyers' flagship radio station, reported yesterday that Chris Pronger would not play tonight and, in fact, might need until Game Five to play in this series.  The Philadelphia Daily News isn't going that far but the paper is also reporting this morning that Pronger is out tonight.

From the story: "Officially, Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren said Pronger would be a game-time decision tonight. Unfortunately for the Flyers, Pronger isn't going to go from no stickhandling and no shooting to ripping pucks from the point in the playoffs overnight."

The Flyers skate at 10:15. We'll see. Danny Syvret is expected to take Pronger's place on defense.

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington) 

PHILADELHPHIA -- Be sure to head to your newsstands for today's Sabres-Flyers preview section, a Buffalo News print exclusive. Today's paper also features the first edition of our Sabres poster series featuring S for Scorers.

Also in today's print edition, John Vogl reports on how newcomer Brad Boyes is pumped for what will bejust the fifth postseason game of his career. The Sabres spent a good deal of time at practice Wednesday working on odd-man rushes because they know the Flyers thrive on them.

Both teams will skate today at the Wells Fargo Center, with the Flyers taking the ice at 10:15 while the Sabres will be following in the 11:30 range. The Sabres have made their postseason media guide a downloadable PDF file at this link. Caution: It's big, over 21 MB.

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington) 

The Party in the Plaza is back for the playoffs and the Sabres are expanding the parties by adding a second video screen to accommodate more fans.

Pre-game festivities will begin at 5 p.m. for Games Three and Four, which will be on April 18 and 20. The parties take place in the plaza near Perry and Illinois Streets and will feature live music from Lance Diamond until 30 minutes before puck drop.

"Terry, Kim and I continue to be blown away by the extraordinary support of the Sabres Nation," said Sabres President Ted Black, referring to owner Terry Pegula and his wife, Kim. "The concept of hosting an outdoor playoff party originated in Buffalo and over the years has been copied in other NHL cities. We want to take it to another level by providing two outdoor screens so that as many fans as possible can experience ‘Hockey Heaven’ firsthand."

The parties are free and game tickets are not required. At game time, MSG’s feed will be shown on two 9x12-foot video screens. Food, beverages and merchandise will be available for purchase before and during the game and there will also be special guest appearances from several Sabres personalities.

The party for Game Six, if necessary, will begin at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Apr. 24 for the 3 p.m. game.

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington) 

It's starting to look more and more like Chris Pronger won't be playing in Game One but will be on the ice for the Flyers at some time in this series, probably sooner rather than later.

Pronger told reporters today after the Flyers' practice that he was "very confident" he would play in the series but would not commit to Game One. "I guess you will have to wait and see," he said.

Pronger, out with a broken hand since March 8, has not shot a puck in two weeks and will try some stickhandling today. GM Paul Holmgren continues to list him as day to day.

Daniel Briere told Philadelphia reporters he had "no clue" about Pronger's status after telling WGR Radio today that the big defenseman would be out for Game One and might miss the series.

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington)

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)

The Sabres have just opened practice in HSBC Arena and Tim Connolly and Andrej Sekera are both on the ice. Connolly was expected after yesterday's extra day off. But Sekera was quite a bit more iffy. So that's a good sign. More after practice.

Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Inquirer is reporting that Chris Pronger skated today before the Flyers' practice and not with the team. So it's not looking good for him to be on the ice for Game One.

The Sabres' current lines are: Vanek-Connolly-Pominville, Boyes-Ennis-Stafford, Mancari-Gaustad-Gerbe, Ellis-Niedermayer-McCormick. Roy-Kaleta-Grier are skating as extras.

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington)