Flyers fail to intimidate Bruins’ Paille, Marchand
Paille/By S. Bradley
PHILADELPHIA — It didn’t take long for Philadelphia defenseman Chris Pronger to get irritated with the Bruins.
But if the towering blueliner was trying to knock the Bruins off course when his team was down 1-0, he failed.
Boston went on to a 7-3 win in Game 1 of its Eastern Conference semifinal series with the Flyers at the Wells Fargo Center.
Most notably, Pronger slashed Bruins forward Daniel Paille while the winger was down on the ice in the Philadelphia zone 9:36 into the opening period. Paille and Pronger had been chasing down an icing, and Paille was about to be assessed a minor for tripping.
Paille kept his cool and it wound up being a 4-on-4, which was a positive until Philadelphia scored 1:26 later.
“He was angry, obviously. I know I wasn’t going there to hit him at all. I lifted his stick and he fell,” said Paille after the game. “I know how he is, he likes to get agitated. I just didn’t retaliate. It was good to see the ref, if he was going to give me a penalty, I’m glad he gave him a penalty too … until they scored.”
Later in the game, Pronger played peacemaker after he was tripped by Brad Marchand. James van Riemsdyk went after Marchand but Pronger intervened. More importantly, Marchand didn’t do anything to further hurt his team.
“I think they were just a little excited and maybe they didn’t know I had a penalty,” said Marchand of the incident.
The Bruins put the Flyers on the power play five times in the game. But all Boston’s violations were stick penalties rather than anything having to do with the agitating of the Flyers, who were playing from behind all night.
I think Marchand got under Prongers skin. You can really see the impact an agitator role plays on a team. The fact that Marchand is an excellent player is an added bonus. I loved the Bruins composure in game one. The stick work by the Flyers was horrible but the B’s totally out skilled them. I think that next game the Flyers will be loooking to play a more finesse game (as much as the Flyers can). I’d like the Bruins to come hard with the physical play. But what do I know.
Our boys played them well.Its all in the plan…let the BS Bullies have their breakdown in game 1 and watch the ref next game …..The B’s kept their cool and will more than be ready for game 2…BRING IT ON BS BULLIES.
GO BRUINS GO!!! ALL OF EM.
pierre mcguire is a low rent panger.
I want to see Lucic put a legal hit on pronger that leaves him in the stands. pronger gets away with everything.
Like i said yesturday pronger’s day has paased. But don’t tell NBC’s Pierre Mguire who would have his kids. Minus three for the afternoon and if it was Charra that made that slash he would be suspended with out a doubt. Just hit Pronger a few times and he will implode you can see in his face he is a mental midget. please play Pronger as much as possible, please.
What i want to know is, if the Flyers are going to run Krejci all night why aren’t the B’s running Briere? I know he’s small and quick but someone should remind him that hanging around the net has it price.
Somebody take that gutless Versteeg out to the wood shed.
I am not a Pronger fan and I think he gets by with a lot-although I do think he is a good player and appears to be strong on the leadership end of the spectrum, but I think he does take cheap shots (like slashing the guy who was already down because he was mad). I think Pronger’s game is trying to get inside the head of the opposing team’s players-I think he just takes it a little too far at times.
Can’t stand Pronger… he seems to get away with so much more than anyone else. Slashes, interference, you name it.
the euphoria of having a weakened pronger back has passed like a sugar high.
Pronger has lost a lot of credibility in my eyes since he left St. Louis. That was a pretty vicious slash he delivered to Paille, when Paille was prone on the ice no less. Classless move given that nothing was happening in that situation. I remember years ago seeing Pronger take a slap shot in the chest in a playoff game for the Blues, taking two strides forward, then collapsing. World of difference between those two displays of toughness.