UPDATE 12:30 PM EST
Per Tim Panaccio, Peter Laviolette indicated after practice this morning that rookie defenseman Erik Gustafsson will see playing time on the road trip this week.
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PREVIEW 11 AM EST
With their lead in the Eastern Conference having shrunk to a single point, the Flyers (42-19-7) will travel to south Florida tonight to take on the Panthers (28-32-0). The Panthers were sellers at the trade deadline and pared down their roster but they are also a club that has given the Flyers considerable trouble both historically and this season.
This is the fourth and final meeting between the teams this season. The Flyers narrowly escaped with a victory the last time the clubs played, barely hanging on over a dismal second and third period after coming out and dominating early. Previously, the Panthers humiliated the Flyers with a 5-0 shutout at the Wells Fargo Center in Philly's last game before the Christmas hiatus. Philly won the first meeting of the season series handily.
The Flyers are coming off a game in which they blew leads of 3-0 and 4-2 in the third period to lose in overtime to the Atlanta Thrashers. Given their problems protecting leads -- including in the last game against the Panthers -- it bears watching tonight not only how the Flyers play in the early going but how they carry it through later in the game.
With Chris Pronger (hand surgery) out for the next 3 to 4 weeks, Nick Boynton will get an extended look as a starter on the blueline. Erik Gustafsson has been called up as a reserve defenseman.
PROJECTED LINEUPS (subject to change)
FLYERS
Carcillo - Richards -Versteeg
Hartnell - Briere - Leino
JVR - Giroux - Carter
Shelley - Betts - Powe
Coburn - Timonen
Meszaros - O'Donnell
Boynton - Carle
Boucher/Bobrovsky
PANTHERS
Samsonov - Weiss -Bergfors
Booth -Santorelli - Bernier
Rissmiller- Reasoner - Repik
Hordichuk - Duco - Carter
Garrison - Weaver
Ellerby - Wilson
Kulikov - Callahan
Vokoun
[Clemmensen]
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A couple of people messaged me to ask what I thought about Chris Pronger undergoing hand surgery and the 3-week to 4-week timetable for his return.
First of all, I don't think Pronger was playing very effectively with the hand injury (he really hasn't had a great year by his standards, anyway -- but his real value is in the playoffs). I think the surgery was the right step and I'm glad they continued to run tests and have him see specialists after the initial x-ray and MRIs came back negative.
The timetable seems realistic, since the hand injury won't prevent Pronger from skating. Neither Pronger nor the team will ever admit it until the season is over, but I don't think I'm alone in suspecting that the knee that underwent arthroscopic surgery last summer has not been quite right all season. But I still think he'll turn up his game a notch or two in the playoffs.
The Flyers survived their toughest road trip of the season without Pronger. Obviously it would great to have him available with some tough games coming up -- especially next week's clashes with the Capitals and Penguins looming -- but his health for the playoffs is ultimately the bigger issue. I feel better about him having surgery now than trying to play through the injury.
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Today's
Daily Drop at Versus.com gives my take on the NHL's concussion study. I am all in favor of Rule 48, but to suggest that the rule has already made a huge impact (no pun intended) in reducing the risk of concussions through hits to the head is to strain credibility.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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