If the Flyers defend the Sabres in Game 5 on Friday at the Wells Fargo Center as closely as the club guards secrets, they should win easily.
The Flyers offered no details on the apparent knee injury suffered by Jeff Carter late in the first period of Wednesday’s 1-0 loss in Buffalo. Carter obviously was in pain and favoring his right leg as he limped off the ice after a collision with Sabres defenseman Tyler Myers. He is listed as day-to-day.
With the best-of-seven first-round series tied at two games apiece and growing more contentious, defenseman Chris Pronger may return for Game 5. Then again, he may not. On a day when most of the regulars rested, Pronger practiced Thursday with a group consisting mostly of players on the list of scratches. Out with a broken right hand since March 8, Pronger snapped off a few wrist shots but took no slapshots.
Asked whether Pronger could play a limited role and still be a factor, Flyers coach Peter Laviolette repeated the question and said, “Yes.”
Will he play a limited role? “Next question,” he said.
Laviolette also said the Flyers have the confidence and strength to succeed even if they have to play without Carter, their leading goal scorer during the regular season.
“We dealt with injuries last year in the playoffs, and we did it through the course of this year,” he said. “All teams go through it, and I believe if your team is strong enough _ and I believe our team is _ then injuries come and go, and you make the adjustments.”
Replacing Carter
With Carter unlikely to play and Andreas Nodl injured, Ben Holmstrom is a possible replacement. The 25-year-old rookie center played in only two games during the regular season and would make his playoff debut. After completing his senior year at Massachusetts-Lowell, Holmstrom had three goals in 13 games with the Adirondack Phantoms of the American Hockey League.
Great PK
The Flyers held the Sabres to two shots while killing off a major penalty against Mike Richards for elbowing Patrick Kaleta. The penalty-killing effort was made more impressive because Buffalo had a clean sheet of ice for 4 minutes, 58 seconds of the five-minute penalty.
“It might have been the best job our penalty kill did all year,” Laviolette said. “They did a tremendous job. I thought once it was over and we were able to get through without giving up another goal, I thought our guys got right back on the attack. We just couldn’t get it done.”
Laviolette said the Flyers generated 26 scoring chances in the 1-0 loss, the most of any game so far in the series.
Roy back?
High-scoring Buffalo center Derek Roy, sidelined since December because of a torn quadriceps that required surgery, participated in Thursday’s optional skate at HSBC Arena, and there is a chance he could play in this series.
“We’re just trying to get power back in the leg and trying to get my first quick steps in,” Roy told the Buffalo News. “I think that’s the hardest part, coming out of turns and fighting off opponents and whatnot, so I’m going to have to work on that.”
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