Tuukka Rask, Bruins Ready for Date With Flyers in Game 1 of Semifinals

by

May 1, 2010

Tuukka Rask, Bruins Ready for Date With Flyers in Game 1 of Semifinals In a rematch of the Winter Classic and so many classic playoff battles from the 1970s, the sixth-seeded Bruins host the seventh-seeded Flyers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

The Bruins beat the Sabres in six games to get here, and the Flyers took care of the Devils in five. Now the longtime rivals will battle for the right to go to the Eastern Conference finals.

The Bruins will get an offensive and emotional boost with the return of center Marc Savard, who has been out with a Grade 2 concussion since March 7. They will also try to ride the brilliant goaltending of rookie Tuukka Rask, while the Flyers feed off the feel-good story of career backup Brian Boucher.

WHEN AND WHERE

Boston Bruins (0-0-0) vs. Philadelphia Flyers (0-0-0)
Game 1, Eastern Conference Semifinals
May 1, 2010, 12:30 p.m. (NBC)
TD Garden, Boston, Mass.

HEAD TO HEAD

The Bruins and Flyers will meet in the playoffs for just the fifth time in their postseason histories, and for the first time since 1978. Each team has won two of the previous four series, which all took place over a five-year span in the 1970s (1974, 1976, 1977, 1978).

The Bruins beat the Flyers 3-2 in overtime in the 2010 Winter Classic and were 2-1-1 against them this season. Philadelphia won 4-3 in a shootout at Wachovia Center on Oct. 22 and 3-1 at TD Garden on Dec. 14. Aside from the Winter Classic, the Bruins' other win over the Flyers was a 5-1 victory at Philadelphia on March 11.

GOALTENDING MATCHUP

Bruins
In the postseason, Tuukka Rask is 4-2 with a 2.18 GAA and a .927 save percentage. He was 22-12-5 this season with a league-leading 1.97 goals-against average and a .931 save percentage to go with five shutouts.

Tim Thomas
has not appeared in the playoffs so far. He was 16-18-8 with a 2.55 GAA, .915 save percentage and five shutouts in the regular season.

Flyers
Brian Boucher is 4-1. The Woonsocket, R.I., native leads the NHL in goals-against average (1.59) and save percentage (.940) in the playoffs. Boucher was 9-18-3 with a 2.76 GAA and a .899 save percentage in the regular season. He had one shutout.

Johan Backlund has not appeared in the playoffs. He was 0-1-0 with a 3.00 GAA and a .917 save percentage this season.

PROJECTED LINEUPS

Bruins
Forwards

Marco Sturm–Patrice Bergeron–Mark Recchi
Milan Lucic–David Krejci–Miroslav Satan
Daniel Paille–Marc Savard–Michael Ryder
Blake Wheeler–Vladimir Sobotka–Steve Begin

Defensemen
Zdeno Chara–Johnny Boychuk
Matt Hunwick–Dennis Wideman
Andrew Ference–Adam McQuaid

Goaltenders
Tuukka Rask
Tim Thomas

Flyers
Forwards

Dan Carcillo–Mike Richards–Claude Giroux
Ville Leino–Danny Briere–Scott Hartnell
James van Riemsdyk–Jared Ross–Arron Asham
Darroll Powe–Blair Betts–Andreas Nodl

Defenseman

Chris Pronger–Matt Carle
Kimmo Timonen–Braydon Coburn
Ryan Parent–Lukas Krajieck

Goaltenders
Brian Boucher
Johan Backlund

STAT SHEET

Bruins

  • Patrice Bergeron, Miroslav Satan, David Krejci and Mark Recchi are tied for the team lead in points with five.
  • Dennis Wideman and Matt Hunwick lead the Bruins' blue line with four points apiece.
  • The Bruins' penalty kill was perfect in the first round of the playoffs, killing off all 19 Buffalo power plays. Boston's power play was 6-for-22.

Flyers

  • Flyers captain Mike Richards leads the team with eight points.
  • Claude Giroux leads the team with four lamp-lighters.
  • The Flyers are 8-for-29 on the power play and have allowed four power-play goals on 32 power plays faced this postseason.

BLACK AND BLUE

Bruins

  • Mark Stuart has been skating the last two days and is close to returning from two surgeries for cellulitis on his arm.
  • Dennis Seidenberg had surgery for a lacerated flexor carpi radialis tendon in his left forearm and is out for three to four more weeks.

Flyers

  • Simon Gagne remains out indefinitely after foot surgery.
  • Jeff Carter is out indefinitely after foot surgery.
  • Mike Rathje is out for the season with hip and back injuries.
  • Ian Laperriere is out for the playoffs with a brain contusion and concussion.
  • Ray Emery is out for the season after hip surgery.
  • Michael Leighton is out for the season with a left ankle injury.

OUTLOOK

Everyone is expecting this to be a physical series, but with all the Flyers' injuries up front, they will need to be careful to not get caught in penalty trouble, and they must rely on a very solid defense lead by Chris Pronger.

The Bruins will do their best to utilize their speed around Pronger and pound away shots on Brian Boucher, who has been in the zone thus far but has always been a streaky goalie. The B's will also try to take advantage of some rust on the Flyers' part, as Philly is coming off a nine-day layoff.

Previous Article

Daisuke Matsuzaka Makes 2010 Debut as Red Sox Look to Avenge Friday’s Loss

Next Article

Kentucky Derby Downpour: Heavy Rains Cancel Pre-Derby Workouts

Picked For You