Pronger optimistic as Flyers rest up for Game 6

PHILADELPHIA - Chris Pronger's wry smile and sharp tongue hardly suggest that he and the Philadelphia Flyers are shaken by Dustin Byfuglien and the Chicago Blackhawks.

Pronger is coming off the worst performance of his career - a shockingly brutal minus-5 rating in the Flyers' 7-4 loss in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals on Sunday night that put Philadelphia down 3-2 and on the brink of elimination again.

The Flyers have two days off before they have to deal with the Blackhawks again tomorrow. Philadelphia seems to have Chicago right where it wants, at home at Wachovia Center, where the Flyers are 9-1 in the playoffs and 2-0 in the Finals.

Said Pronger: "We have a couple of days to rally the troops. We have had a lot of tough losses in the playoffs thus far. We'll be all right."

If the Flyers don't find their mojo in Game 6, the Blackhawks will claim the Cup for the first time since 1961 and stretch Philadelphia's hockey title drought to 35 years. Game 7, if necessary, would be Friday in Chicago.

Philadelphia coach Peter Laviolette kept the Flyers mostly away from hockey yesterday after the club returned from Chicago. He was the only one to meet with the media. "Our guys are getting away today," he said. "We'll do work tomorrow."

There have been 20 other Stanley Cup Finals that were tied 2-2. Of those, only six teams that lost Game 5 rallied to win the series. The Pittsburgh Penguins did it last year. And the Flyers have been spitting in the face of history since claiming their place in the playoffs on the final day of the regular season by beating the Rangers in a shootout.

Philadelphia became only the third NHL team to erase a 3-0 series deficit and win when it knocked out the Boston Bruins in the second round.

As far as Pronger is concerned, all went well against Byfuglien until Sunday. Then he broke out - at the expense of Pronger, who at 6-6 and 220 pounds is one of the few players who can deal with the physical presence of the 6-4, 257-pound defenseman-turned-forward.

Pronger was on the ice for six of Chicago's seven goals in Game 5. He was hardly spared from the other goal, either, as it was scored while the defenseman sat in the penalty box. On top of that embarrassment, Pronger was sent flying off his skates and into the boards by a rattling hit by Byfuglien.

Said Pronger, "I guess he's well-rested."