Chris Pronger

Carolina left wing Erik Cole will miss at least the rest of the regular season with a compression fracture in a vertebra in his neck caused when he was driven headfirst into the boards by Pittsburgh's Brooks Orpik during a 7-5 Hurricanes victory Saturday. Cole, 27, tied for second on the team in scoring with 60 points, will be out at least 6 to 8 weeks - a major loss for the team with the NHL's best record. Carolina has not ruled out Cole returning for the playoffs, which begin in mid-April.

ED BARKOWITZ   THERE ISN'T a team in the Eastern Conference that the Flyers can't beat. And, as they showed in their struggles against lowly Atlanta, there isn't a team they can't lose to, either. The inconsistency is maddening, but this team undoubtedly responds when it must. The most significant response will need to come from rookie goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, who was yanked in the regular-season finale. Nobody in the East has been better than Buffalo recently, so this won't be a quick, first-round walk like last season, when the Flyers disposed of New Jersey in five.

Chris Pronger has only been in Philadelphia a few months and he already notices a difference between Philly fans and Dodgers fans in Orange County, Calif. Pronger would know. He spent the last three seasons with the Anaheim Ducks. "It's certainly different," Pronger said. "Philly fans are very passionate about their sports teams. They really take to them. " Pronger saw the fans in Orange County, a non-traditional hockey market in Southern California, at their best and worst.

SEE IF YOU notice the pattern. Q: Why do the Flyers need a goaltender? A: Chris Pronger. Q: Why did the Flyers lose to the Bruins? A: Chris Pronger. Q: Who is the Flyers' most important health issue? A: Chris Pronger. You really don't have to read the rest if you don't feel like it. This is about the issue that should dominate the Flyers' thinking in the offseason. This is about Chris Pronger. The Flyers slumped down the stretch of the regular season when Pronger broke a hand, and they were bounced in the second round of the playoffs when he injured his back, and now he is a 36-year-old potentially facing surgery on a herniated disc, and now the Flyers had better be in more of a hurry than they were last summer.

THE COMPARISONS started on Sept. 17, 2008, when the "C" was first sewn on to Mike Richards' Flyers jersey. Heavy is the head that wears the crown in the Flyers' organization - where the iconic images of Bobby Clarke's blood-stained jersey linger in the minds of both fans and team executives. The "C" might even have been mistaken to stand for "Clarke" once or twice throughout team history, as each subsequent leader has tried to live up to the standard set during the organization's championship era. "I hate when people say this guy's the next Bobby Clarke," Chris Pronger said.

Is it too early for the Flyers to start targeting players who would upgrade their sad-sack offense? In a normal 82-game season, probably. In a lockout-shortened 48-game season, no. The Flyers have played only nine games, but that accounts for almost 20 percent of the abbreviated season. Heading into Saturday night's game against Carolina, the Flyers had two goals or fewer in seven of their first eight games. They had a total of seven in their six losses. Several unrestricted free agents this summer will draw the Flyers' attention, but those same players may be available in trades before then.

WHENEVER THIS salvaged (or savage) NHL season finally gets under way, after the votes are counted and the signatures dry on the contracts, the Flyers should name Claude Giroux the 19th captain in franchise history. Giroux is young. He turns 25 on Saturday, about the time training camp will open. He is the face of the Flyers. He is quickly becoming one of the most electrifying players in the league. He is well-respected and well-liked in the Flyers dressing room. And he will bring some much-needed stability to a leadership position which has changed more jerseys (six)

Chris Pronger did not hold back. Speaking Sunday night after Game 5's crushing loss, in which he was on the ice for six of Chicago's goals and in the penalty box for another, Pronger took his fair share of blame for the loss. Game 5 was the first time Pronger was a minus-5 in 169 career playoff games. "I don't really know what the reason was," Pronger said after the game. "I just don't think we played very well, to be honest. They got an awful lot of bounces to go their way. But they earned them.

For the first time in the franchise's 42-season history, the Flyers have started a playoff series with consecutive shutouts. Goalie Michael Leighton has done the honors, but he has received lots of support from defensemen Chris Pronger, Matt Carle, Kimmo Timonen, Braydon Coburn, Lukas Krajicek, and Ryan Parent, along with the backchecking forwards. "It's kind of twofold," Pronger said. "One, it's goaltending. Obviously, [Leighton is] doing a great job of making the first save.

SUNRISE, Fla. - Nobody knows Chris Pronger's body like Chris Pronger. And Pronger, holding himself out of the last two games because of a right-hand injury sustained on Feb. 24 when he blocked a shot against the Islanders, knew there was something wrong. Something that an MRI and multiple X-rays did not show. His intuition was spot on. Pronger will undergo surgery this morning in Cleveland by noted hand specialist Dr. Tom Graham to repair a small fracture found in a CT scan on Sunday.