Chris Pronger an imposing force for Flyers in Stanley Cup finals

From Chicago — — 

Chris Pronger has taken command of the Stanley Cup finals as firmly as he has wrapped his long arms around Blackhawks forward Dustin Byfuglien, stamping his imprint on the Flyers’ success as defiantly as he applies his stick to the backs and shoulders of anyone brave enough to invade Philadelphia’s crease.

The towering defenseman has averaged a league-high 29 minutes 2 seconds of ice time in the playoffs while leading the Flyers back from a 3-0 series deficit in the second round and now to solid ground as the finals resume Sunday at the United Center even at 2-2.

Playing in his third finals in five seasons — he lost with Edmonton in 2006 but won with Anaheim in 2007 — Pronger has delivered 17 hits in four games, blocked 13 shots and compiled a plus-7 defensive rating to raise his playoff plus/minus to plus-9.

Above all, he has gotten in the Blackhawks’ faces and into their heads, leading Coach Joel Quenneville to break up the prolific line of Byfuglien, Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews to free at least one of them from Pronger’s stranglehold.

“I saw him game in and game out and the way he plays and the minutes he plays. It’s amazing,” teammate Ian Laperriere said Saturday. “It’s not like he’s a little guy out there who skates and doesn’t touch anybody. He plays 30 minutes and he runs everybody over. Everybody runs into his elbows, I should say.

“But he’s amazing. He’s one of a kind and we’re lucky to have him on our team.”

In a series that has produced 29 goals and is the highest-scoring finals through four games since 1981, it might seem odd to say a primarily defense-oriented defenseman should win the Conn Smythe trophy as the most valuable player in the playoffs.

Not when it’s Pronger, who brings a potent blend of strength, skill, experience and a just-beneath-the-surface hint of mayhem. He’s the obvious MVP choice.

“I would agree,” said Ducks General Manager Bob Murray, who traded Pronger to Philadelphia last June. “I hope so. Good for him.”

Murray didn’t want to lose Pronger, but the Ducks’ salary-cap constraints and Pronger’s desire for a long contract extension at age 34 forced Murray’s hand.

Murray did well to get first-round draft picks this year and next, a conditional third-round pick, young defenseman Luca Sbisa and winger Joffrey Lupul, but the Ducks missed Pronger’s bite and muscle and missed the playoffs. Pronger got a seven-year, $34.9-million extension from the Flyers and a chance at another Cup title.

“We knew it weakened the hockey team and would set us back this season. But in the cap system some decisions you make for the best of the organization are not the best for the team the next year,” Murray said.

“We traded for him to win the Stanley Cup. Paul Holmgren traded for him to win the Stanley Cup. Good for him.”

Pronger downplayed his role in shutting down Kane, Toews and Byfuglien, saying the Flyers’ line of Ville Leino, Daniel Briere and Scott Hartnell deserves much of the credit.

“That line has done a great job of controlling the tempo of the game and controlling the puck and making them play in the areas where they don’t want to,” Pronger said. “This game is five-man units on the ice having chemistry.”

Still, the Blackhawks are constantly aware of what Pronger has done — and what he has not. He is aggressive and has overstepped the rules once or twice or 12 times, but he has gained some impulse control since 2007, when the NHL suspended him for dirty hits twice during the playoffs.

He has gotten eight unpaid vacations during his career, but none since 2008.

“That definitely might be his longest streak,” Blackhawks defenseman Brent Sopel said, laughing. “But he plays on the edge. He plays hard every single night and he’s a big body, big stick. He can shoot the puck. He’s won the Norris. He’s been there for those reasons.”

Patrick Sharp said the Blackhawks aren’t intimidated by Pronger, but it is clear that they are reacting to him instead of making him respond to them.

“He’s a good player. He’s one of the best of all time, I guess you can say,” Sharp said. “He has managed to do it in the old rules before the lockout. He has changed his game a little bit and is still a dominant defenseman today.”

And an obvious playoff MVP.

helene.elliott@latimes.com

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