Avoiding Pronger not easy on or off the ice for Hawks

PHILADELPHIA - It's hard to ignore 6-foot-6, 220-pound Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger, but the Blackhawks spent most of Thursday trying to do just that.

While there's no denying Pronger has been a force in the first three games of the Stanley Cup Finals, particularly his physical work against Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Dustin Byfuglien, the Hawks wanted no part of acknowledging it.

"Next question," Hawks defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson said when asked if Pronger was getting into anyone's head.

"I don't know how he would be getting into our heads, whether it's vocally or what not," Toews said. "He's not talking a lot out there. He's playing and doing his job the way he knows he can do it. He's just one player, so I don't think it's that big of a deal."

Several Hawks, including Kane and Byfuglien, already have said they believe referees let Pronger get away with more stick work than other defensemen because of who he is.

Byfuglien took exception to a whack from Pronger in the second period on Wednesday and got the only penalty for slashing back.

"He's going to go out there and be physical, but it doesn't matter how many whacks you're going to take from a guy in front of their net, the second you turn around and give him one you've got to be careful because that's what they're looking for is the retaliation," Toews said.

"It's that type of thing we have to try and accept and take from him because that's the way he plays. He's done his job and we can still do more to try and take him off his game."

Pronger makes no attempt to hide the fact he is trying to be as physical as he can, whenever he can, against Toews, Kane and Byfuglien.

"We all know the playoffs are a battle of attrition and a war," Pronger said. "With each game you try to wear on them and grind on them more and force them into situations they're not accustomed to."

Byfuglien, so dominant in the series against San Jose and Vancouver, has 1 assist so far in the Finals and has waged a constant battle with Pronger in front of the Flyers' net.

"You've just got to continue deny him easy access to the front of the net and make him work for every inch out there," Pronger said.

Does Pronger see Byfuglien getting frustrated?

"I don't know, you'll have to ask him," Pronger said.

Byfuglien said there is no frustration on his part.

"It's an ongoing battle and I'm enjoying it and it's something I can learn from, too," Byfuglien said. "He's smart and you just have to battle with him and find a way to get your space out there. You've got to go with what you've got."

Part of what Byfuglien is learning is to be smarter when tangling with Pronger.

"He's definitely one of the better guys at it," Byfuglien said of the things Pronger does without getting penalized by the referees. "That's something I've been noticing and trying to get smarter with.

"They kind of let it go a little more (with him), and that's something that you've got to find a way to keep going."

The Toews line has scored only 1 goal when Pronger has been on the ice, that being by Ben Eager in Game 2.

Kane scored his first goal of the series in the 4-3 loss in overtime in Game 3 on Wednesday with an assist from Toews, but it came against Flyers defensemen Braydon Coburn and Kimmo Timonen.

"Pronger's a great defenseman who has been around and has a lot of experience, but we've had some chances against him," Kane said. "To be honest, when we have the puck we're not skating around thinking, 'Here's Pronger.' We're just playing hockey and trying to make plays.

"To say you're worried about him all the time, that's just going to mess up your game."

Even if Hawks coach Joel Quenneville wanted to split up his top line and get either Byfuglien or Toews and Kane away from Pronger, it would be a tough thing to do.

"He's out there for more than half the game so that's easier said than done if you're looking for that matchup to be avoided," Quenneville said. "Sometimes you mix and match. We've had Benny (Eager) on that line a few times. You can mix as best as you can, but at the same time we're pretty comfortable with the success our lines have had."

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