Until April 22, when the Flyers dispatched the Devils in the first round, it looked a bit foolish, a bit shortsighted. So many other things, Holmgren admitted, were missing.
No matter how many games Pronger played well - he put up 55 points, his most since 2007 - and no matter how many times Pronger said the right things after a loss, the Flyers looked like the same Flyers that coughed up home ice last season and lost in the first round.
And then something clicked.
"You could probably pick a couple different times, we were so up and down I don't think you could pick one part of the season that was any better than the rest,'' Pronger said. "We showed signs of starting to turn the corner and then for whatever reason we'd try to take a nap and lose a few.
"I think as the playoffs got closer, we started to come together as a team. The light bulb went off. Good things in life are never easy to come by. Everybody has to buy in, whether it's the guy playing 3 minutes or the guy playing 30. You all have to be on the same page and you all have to want it.''
Even at 35, Chris Pronger wants it more than anyone else. In the preseason, Pronger played almost 28 minutes a night. Tomorrow night, the puck will be dropped on his third Stanley Cup finals in five seasons, all three with different teams. All three came in the first year with that team.
Some would laugh. Call it a fluke. Call it a coincidence. But if you polled the Flyers' locker room, no player would say it's a coincidence that success follows Pronger.
