VOORHEES, N.J. -- Philadelphia Flyers All-Star defenseman Chris Pronger skated on his own Friday prior to the team's practice, skating and doing one puckhandling drill in a session that lasted 51 minutes.
Pronger worked with injured teammate Oskars Bartulis and Ian Laperriere, who ran the drills. Pronger almost exclusively did skating drills. The only time he touched the puck was one drill where he carried the puck along the blue line to the middle of the ice, but rather than shoot, he just dumped it off to the side.
It was reminiscent of Tuesday's workout, when he went through a hard 50-minute skate prior to the team's practice, but never touched a puck.
With Game 2 of the Flyers' Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series against the Buffalo Sabres coming Saturday (5 p.m. ET, TSN), Pronger's availability remains a question.
Pronger's absence was felt most in Game 1 in a power play that went 0-for-5, including a 38-second two-man advantage in the second period of a scoreless game that saw the Flyers generate just one shot. Without Pronger over the final 16 games of the regular season, the power play scored just eight times in 46 attempts, but four of those goals came in two games.
Despite the Flyers getting 11 shots on their five man-advantages, they couldn't solve the Sabres' penalty-killing group and suffered a 1-0 loss. In eight previous playoff meetings between the teams, the club that won Game 1 had won the series.
"If Chris Pronger was available he could be a difference maker," coach Peter Laviolette told reporters following Thursday's game. "I think that speaks for itself."
Pronger initially injured his hand Feb. 26 when he was hit by a puck, and then he re-injured it in a game March 8. He had surgery March 14 with the hope he could return for the final few games of the regular season, but a setback in his recovery had kept him off the ice until last week.
The only time he's worked extensively on puck drills, including passing and shooting, was Wednesday.
Contact Adam Kimelman at akimelman@nhl.com. Follow him on Twitter: @NHLAdamK
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