For more on this series and the teams involved, visit our Flyers blog, Broad Street Hockey, and our Bruins blog, Stanley Cup of Chowder.
Game 1, 12:30 P.M.: 7th-Seeded Flyers Visit 6th-Seeded Bruins To Begin Round 2
(Sports Network) - A pair of first-round underdogs will face each other in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals today, when the Boston Bruins host the Philadelphia Flyers at TD Garden.
The sixth-seeded Bruins hold home-ice advantage at the start of this best-of- seven series, after defeating the Northeast Division champion Buffalo Sabres in six games during the first round.
Philadelphia, the seventh seed, also knocked off a division champ in the conference quarterfinals, ousting fellow Atlantic rivals New Jersey in five games. The Flyers haven't played since eliminating the Devils on April 22.
Boston and Philly’s upset wins set up the first playoff meeting between these clubs since 1978. All four of the postseason encounters between these clubs came between 1974-78.
Each team has won twice in the all-time playoff series. The Flyers won the most notable matchup, beating Boston in six games to win the Stanley Cup in 1974. The Bruins have won the last two encounters, including a five-game series win over Philly the last time clubs met in the 1978 Stanley Cup semifinals.
The Bruins will have a key offensive component back for this series in Marc Savard, who has been cleared to play tonight for the first time since suffering a concussion in early March. Savard, who had 33 points in just 41 contests during an injury-plagued season, hasn't played since March 7, when Pittsburgh's Matt Cooke delivered a vicious, blind-side elbow to the play-making centerman's head.
Without Savard, the Bruins lacked a go-to scorer in Round 1, but the club made do with a balanced scoring attack that was effective, if not explosive. Four players tied for the team lead with five points apiece. Mark Recchi, who is 42 years old, and David Krejci both had three goals and two assists, while Miroslav Satan and Patrice Bergeron added two goals and three helpers each.
But the way Boston is built, the club only needs a smidgen of offense to make things work. The Bruins thrive on winning close games, which was the case in the opening round when Boston outscored the Sabres by a combined margin of 16-15 over the course of the series. Three of the Bruins' wins in the six-game set were by just one goal.
In net, the Bruins appear to have a blossoming star in Tuukka Rask. The 23- year-old Finn was selected 21st overall in the 2005 draft and surprisingly supplanted Tim Thomas, last year's Vezina Trophy winner, as the team's No. 1 netminder. During the regular season, Rask went 22-12-5 in 45 games (39 starts) and led the NHL in goals against average (1.97) and save percentage (.931). He kept up the good work in his first playoff series, posting a 2.18 GAA and .927 save percentage.
The biggest question mark for Philadelphia heading into Round 1 was whether Brian Boucher could perform in the playoffs. After all, Boucher was third on the Flyers' goaltending depth chart just a few months ago behind Ray Emery and Michael Leighton. But, when both Emery and Leighton suffered serious injuries the Flyers had no choice but to hand the reins over to Boucher and the veteran netminder did not disappoint.
Boucher, 32, outplayed New Jersey's Martin Brodeur, a future Hall-of-Famer, in the opening round. He went 4-1 with a 1.59 goals against average and .940 save percentage in the series
Chris Pronger also had a strong series from the blueline for the Flyers, recording two goals and three assists.
In this round, the Flyers' biggest concern is injuries to key forwards Jeff Carter, Simon Gagne and Ian Laperriere. Carter and Gagne both suffered injuries in Game 4 against the Devils, with Carter sustaining a fractured right foot and Gagne breaking a toe in the same foot. Carter, who led the Flyers with 33 goals during the regular season, is not expected to be back in these playoffs. Gagne is still out indefinitely, but there is hope he could return later in this series.
The injuries to Carter and Gagne will put more pressure on forwards Mike Richards, Claude Giroux and Danny Briere to produce. All three had solid series against New Jersey, especially team captain Richards, who had eight points on two goals and six assists. Giroux added four goals and six points, while Briere notched five points (2 goals, 3 assists).
Philadelphia doesn’t count on Laperriere for scoring, but they will certainly miss him on the penalty kill. Earlier this week, the Flyers learned that Laperriere will sit out the rest of the playoffs after suffering a brain contusion and mild concussion in Game 5 against the Devils. Laperriere sustained his injuries, which also included a gash above his right eye that required more than 60 stitches to close, while blocking a shot in the final game of the series.
The key to Philadelphia’s success is on special teams. The Flyers had the NHL’s third-best power play during the regular season and the 11th-ranked penalty-killing unit. The club held New Jersey to four goals on 32 chances with the man advantage in Round 1 and was also 8-of-29 (27.6 percent) on the power play.
The Flyers and B’s split four games this year in a season series that included Boston’s 2-1 overtime victory in the Winter Classic at Fenway Park. Both the Bruins and Flyers had 2-1-1 records in the series, but Boston posted a 5-1 win in Philadelphia when the clubs last met on March 11.
The Bruins were 18-17-6 as the host during the regular season and will also stage Game 2 on Monday night. Philly was just 17-21-3 as the visiting team in 2009-10.
See More:
