Chris Pronger

CHRIS PRONGER'S name came up again on Monday, at Paul Holmgren's predraft media availability, the same way it always comes up. Those asking about him seek an update, maybe in search of a sliver of hope that Pronger's career might be able to resume following concussionlike symptoms that began after he took a stick to the eye last October. The only problem is that Holmgren — like any doctor who has treated concussionlike symptoms — has no firm answer. No person, not even Pronger, has an answer as to his status for next season.

MATT CARLE kept his head down, carrying a bag of ice to melt away pain from a lingering, undisclosed injury. Tuesday night's Game 5 could have been Carle's last game in a Flyers uniform. Carle, 27, one of the Flyers' most steady and underrated defensemen, finished off his 4-year, $13.75 million deal this spring. He is set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1. Due to salary-cap tagging restraints, restricting teams from exceeding this year's cap figure before next year's number is announced, the Flyers cannot possibly sign Carle before July 1. That means Carle's team, with Denver-based agent Kurt Overhardt, will be able to field offers from all 29 other teams when the clock strikes noon on the first day of July.

CALGARY, Alberta - When star defenseman Chris Pronger went down with a season-ending concussion in November, it seemed logical that the Flyers would not replace him with an interim captain. "Leadership by committee" became their mantra. By not handing the "C" to anyone else, it was a way to honor Pronger, insinuating he was irreplaceable. The Flyers would play the season for their injured captain and, besides, there were enough veterans who could band together and help keep the team in step.

Chris Pronger is on the verge of reaching out to former Flyer Keith Primeau to help him get through the most difficult period of his career - and perhaps his life. Pronger, the Flyers' star defenseman, whose Hall-of-Fame career may be over, has been sidelined by a concussion and has not played since November. Primeau's career was shortened because of a concussion. "That has been brought up lately; there are a lot of parallels between the two," Lauren Pronger, Chris' wife, said during the Flyers Wives Carnival on Sunday at the Wells Fargo Center.

Flyers goalie Ilya Bryzgalov, who has allowed one goal or less in five of his last seven starts, missed Thursday's game against Toronto because of the flu. General manager Paul Holmgren wasn't sure whether Bryzgalov would be ready for Saturday afternoon's key matchup with the visiting New York Rangers, who are 4-0 against the Flyers this season. Sergei Bobrovsky started Thursday against the Maple Leafs. He had a 4-2 win over Toronto earlier this season. Jason Bacashihua was recalled from the Phantoms to be Bobrovsky's backup.

Just three days after he turned down an invitation to watch the Super Bowl with his teammates because he was battling headaches, defenseman Chris Pronger showed up at the Flyers' practice facility in Voorhees on Wednesday sporting facial hair. "Maybe he's growing his playoff beard already," left winger Scott Hartnell quipped. It was the first time Pronger, a future Hall of Famer whose career is in jeopardy because of post-concussion syndrome, had been with his teammates since a Christmas party about six weeks ago. Pronger, who declined a request to speak with the media, isn't expected to return for this year's playoffs.

ISAAC NEWTON was so right. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. And this certainly holds weight when referring to the science of sports. Here's a few examples of Newton's theory within the local sports realm this week alone - and it's only Thursday. Pro: Penn State's new football coach, Bill O'Brien, has 19 verbal commitments,the most recent from a top high school lineman from New Jersey, despite the child abuse scandal that has rocked the school since November.

Veteran right winger Jaromir Jagr reiterated Thursday he would like to remain with the Flyers next season. "That's good to hear," coach Peter Laviolette said before Thursday's game against the New York Islanders. "He seems like he's been enjoying his time back here. There's a lot of smiling coming from him. His play on the ice, I think, shows that. " General manager Paul Holmgren has talked with Jagr's agent, Petr Svoboda, about re-signing the future Hall of Famer. "We'll see how it goes," Holmgren said, adding that he would like to retain Jagr.

THURSDAY WAS giveaway night at the Wells Fargo Center, but the only thing fans received was a Hefty bag full of doubt. An offseason of retooling, of trading two of the team's leaders, adding a slew of prolific rookies and spending lavishly for an established goalie have not changed this team's personality one iota. The Flyers are once again a fastbreaking basketball team on ice, so in a rush to pepper the other net with the puck that they tend to forget to bring it with them. They have won 11 of their 19 home games, a pace that will mirror the modest regular-season marks of the previous two seasons.