BOSTON -- Philadelphia Flyers center Jeff Carter will make his second straight playoff start on Friday against the Boston Bruins in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinal at TD Garden.
Carter was re-inserted into the lineup for the first time in 14 days in Game 3 after missing five games with a lower-body injury -- reportedly a sprained right knee ligament. He took five shots in 16:41 of ice time and won 2 of 6 faceoffs, but sat out practice on Thursday at TD Garden. Following Game 3, Carter admitted feeling "all right."
Coach Peter Laviolette thought Carter was one of his most effective forwards in a 5-1 loss.
"I actually thought Jeff was probably one of our stronger forwards," Laviolette said. "You know, for not coming back for five games, he had his legs. He's a big person in there and a big body, and he can skate well. As the game wore on, it seemed like we were lacking speed as a group out there, but where it's more natural for him, it's easier for him to stand out at that and he had a couple scoring chances."
Carter was obviously upset with the result in his first game back in almost two weeks.
"I don't think we were smart with the puck (on Wednesday) and I don't think we got a lot of traffic on (Tim) Thomas … there were not enough quality shots," Carter said following Wednesday's 5-1 loss.
Meanwhile, defenseman Chris Pronger, who has been off the ice since the final five minutes of Game 1, is out for Game 4. The Flyers list him as having a lower-body injury, but CSNPhilly.com reported that the 36-year-old veteran is suffering from back and hamstring issues. Pronger is with the team and has been at the arena during team skates.
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