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NHL STANLEY CUP FINALS: FLYERS v BLACKHAWKS

May 27, 2010

Chris Pronger

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS: Practice Day

Q. Chris, so much has been said, and they'll talk about you and Buff hanging out in front of the crease.
CHRIS PRONGER: Really? This is like the fifth time today.

Q. What do you expect out there? He's huge.
CHRIS PRONGER: Wow!
I don't know. I guess we'll find out.

Q. This could be your biggest challenge to date. 257 pounds, 6'5."
CHRIS PRONGER: Sure. Whatever. Okay. Wow, I guess so. I don't know. I didn't really look at it like that. Kind of put me on the spot here.

Q. No, I'm not. It's a little different than hanging out with Gionta?
CHRIS PRONGER: Lucic is pretty big, I guess. He's probably not that small. But I don't know. Who's looking?

Q. You faced these guys in March in the Wachovia Center. It's a long time ago. Do you remember anything about them you can kind of take into this at all? Other than you got a game-winner with a second to go?
CHRIS PRONGER: 2.1. But who's counting.

Q. You are.
CHRIS PRONGER: I'm just helping you with your stats. There is a lot, actually. It wasn't that long ago into the eight or nine games left in the regular season.
I think both teams are a little bit different. Right now you're in the Finals for a reason. You're playing with a lot of confidence. You're playing your system probably as well as you will.
And, you know, they're obviously a team that skates very well. They play an aggressive system. They reload very quickly, the defense, and you've got to get the puck to the net.

Q. Do you see similarities between both teams?
CHRIS PRONGER: Both teams, yeah. Both teams like to skate. Both teams play with a physical edge. And both teams want to get on the attack without sacrificing defense. Defense wins championships, as we all know. I think that's something that both teams pride themselves on.

Q. Chris, underdogs, favorites, when you get to the Stanley Cup Finals, does it make any difference whatsoever?
CHRIS PRONGER: I don't think it really matters. I think you just want to go out there and give yourself the best chance to win. If people aren't picking you, well, there's a reason I guess you're there and they're there.

Q. Bobby Clarke said your captain's heroics in Game 5 go down in history as some of the best moments ever in Flyers history. Can you comment on that? That's big praise by a captain who won it 35 years ago.
CHRIS PRONGER: Well, I think it was another game where we wanted to close out a team that had been very resilient throughout the course of the Playoffs and is a very dangerous team.
We didn't want to give them any life. I think Richie's play and obviously Clarke's statements speak for themselves. He kind of took it upon himself to help seal the deal and close off a very dangerous team.
That first goal was pretty special. Obviously diving for a loose puck and getting back up and throwing it in the empty net to tie the game and kind of get us some momentum back in the game that kind of got off to a quick start the first five minutes. We were able to counter that with that play. It was a huge step for us in that game. And obviously, you know, the reason why he's one of our leaders.

Q. Chris, you played for Joel Quenneville in St. Louis. What was that experience like, what kind of coach was he? What was that experience like?
CHRIS PRONGER: A lot like you see here. He's a coach -- coaches similar to the way he played. He's a very defensive-minded coach. But I think with the players and personnel he has here, doesn't take away from their creative abilities and their offensive capabilities.
He allows them the freedom to make plays and be creative, but as you can see over the last three series, they play very well defensively and don't give up much in their own zone. But they have a good transition game and get in the attack very quickly.

Q. A backup goalie that comes in and plays as well as Leighton, how much of a boost is that for the rest of the team?
CHRIS PRONGER: He was actually our starter before he got hurt. Then our backup came in and turned into our number one goalie. And then our number one goalie came back from injury when our former number one came back and got hurt. So it's kind of been a revolving door for them.
He's played extremely well. Taking over from Boucher in Game 5 in the Boston series. Shows you the hard work he put in to try to get become and get healthy and try to stay as sharp as he could. You never know what's going to happen in the Playoffs. I'm sure he probably didn't think he would be getting thrown in. That was the first game he was actually on the bench for any of the games in the Playoffs and just happened to be the one that we needed him in.
So it was pretty important and obviously we're happy he's there.

Q. (Question off Microphone).
CHRIS PRONGER: I don't think it's anything we haven't already fixed through the course of the year with all our ups and downs. Really it's just knowing in the locker room you're going to win every game you go out for, having that sense, that feeling that you can win.
It's just a matter of playing to your potential and your capabilities. I don't think we've ever felt we've been out of any game; no matter what the score, we always feel like we have a chance to win and we play that way. Whether we're up 4-0, or down 4-0, we're going to play the same way and continue to fight.

End of FastScripts

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