Flyers' Pronger to miss time with foot injury

It seems likely that Chris Pronger, the leader of the Flyers' vaunted defense, will miss some time because of a foot injury he suffered Wednesday night in Montreal.

How much time will be determined on Friday.

Pronger, 36, had an X-ray and CAT scan on his injured right foot Thursday, and the results were not released. The defenseman's condition will be evaluated when he visits an ankle and foot specialist on Friday morning, general manager Paul Holmgren said.

After Friday's exam, "we will have a better idea of what we are dealing with," Holmgren said.

Pronger was injured during the second period of the Flyers' 5-3 win in Montreal. He did not play in the third period.

If Pronger is sidelined, Oskars Bartulis is expected to join the lineup. Bartulis has played in just three games this season, none since Nov. 1.

Including Thursday's off day, the Flyers have just two games in a 12-day stretch. They play the New York Rangers on Saturday afternoon at the Wells Fargo Center, then host Florida on Monday before going seven days without a game until Dec. 28 in Vancouver.

Pronger, who quarterbacks the Flyers' power play, has four goals and 11 assists. He missed the season's first two games because he was recovering from knee surgery.

The Flyers (21-7-5), who have an NHL-best 47 points and sit atop the Atlantic Division, will carry a four-game winning streak into the meeting with the Rangers. They beat the Rangers, 4-1, on Nov. 4 as Pronger contributed a power-play goal in the teams' only meeting thus far this season. Sergei Bobrovsky made 20 saves in that win.

Jody Shelley's two-game suspension is over and he is eligible to play Saturday against his ex-teammates, but the defenseman may be a healthy scratch.

It's doubtful that coach Peter Laviolette will bench Dan Carcillo. The Flyers are 14-2-2 with Carcillo in the lineup, and 7-5-3 without him.

Breakaways. The Flyers did not practice Thursday but visited hospital patients at Virtua in Voorhees. Pronger did not make the trip. . . . Defenseman Matt Walker underwent surgery on his left hip Thursday. . . . The Flyers' 3-2 win over the Penguins on Tuesday was the most-watched regular-season game ever on Versus, averaging 750,000 viewers. . . . The Flyers have one regulation loss in their last 13 games (9-1-3).