But more than six months after experiencing an epic collapse against Philadelphia in last year's playoffs, the Bruins will finally get their first shot at a little bit of redemption against the Flyers as they visit Philly on Wednesday.
"There's a lot of bad memories for a lot of guys there," said Bruins defenseman Adam McQuaid. "We've got a chance to somewhat redeem ourselves, sort of. I mean, as much as you can from what happened last year."
What happened last year was the Bruins became just the third team in NHL history to squander a 3-0 series lead in a seven-game series. And they did it by blowing a 3-0 lead in Game 7 of the second-round series at the Garden.
No one in the organization has forgotten that debacle, but the Bruins have more than revenge for the past on their minds in this game. They also need to end the present slump, as Boston has won just one of its last five games.
"It still stings," said Bruins defenseman Mark Stuart. "Any time you play the team that beat you in the playoffs for the first time the next year it's a big deal. You want to get some revenge, but more than anything with where we're at right now, it's a game that we have to win."
The two goals could coalesce nicely, as the motivation to avenge last spring's embarrassment could be just what the Bruins need to snap out of their current funk.
"You try to find motivation anywhere you can," said Bruins coach Claude Julien. "And hopefully it's not just that. We need to find motivation elsewhere, and mostly in our game as far as how do we get our speed back that we had earlier on and kind of lost. Our game has slipped, there's no doubt about it. And when you notice it more damage has been done than you think and you need to work your way out of it and climb yourself back up to where you were before."
When and Where
Boston Bruins (12-8-2, 26 points) at Philadelphia Flyers (15-6-4, 34 points)
Dec. 1, 7 p.m. (NESN)
Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Penn.
Head to Head
This is the first of four meetings this season between the Bruins and Flyers. The Bruins were 2-1-1 against Philadelphia last year, including a memorable 2-1 win in the Winter Classic when Marco Sturm scored in overtime at Fenway. The postseason produced another memorable finish for all the wrong reasons for the Bruins, who blew a 3-0 series lead and a 3-0 lead in Game 7 in a historic second-round loss. Boston leads the all-time regular-season series 87-56-21-5, including a 38-33-10-2 mark in Philadelphia. The Bruins are 5-0-0-1 in their last six regular-season games in Philadelphia, with the Flyers' last win on home ice a 4-1 victory all the way back on March 10, 2007.
Goaltending Matchup
Tim Thomas is 11-2-1 with a 1.56 GAA, .951 save percentage and four shutouts, and has enjoyed success against Philadelphia with a 7-2-1 record, 2.27 GAA and .926 save percentage in 10 games.
Tuukka Rask has an identical 2.27 GAA against Philly to go with a 2-0-1 record and a .926 save percentage, but after giving up four goals to Atlanta on Sunday, he's just 1-6-1 this year with a 2.59 GAA and a .926 save percentage.
For Philadelphia, rookie Sergei Bobrovsky has emerged as the No. 1 goalie the Flyers have long searched for, as he is 12-3-2 with a 2.19 GAA and a .926 save percentage. Backup Brian Boucher is 3-3-2 with a 2.57 GAA and a .901 save percentage. Bobrovsky has never played against Boston, while Boucher is 6-4-1 with a 2.29 GAA, .917 save percentage and two shutouts.
Stat Sheet
Bruins
- The Bruins have allowed 40 or more shots three times this season, but have a winning record at 2-1-0 in those games. Conversely, they have had 40 or more shots themselves four times, but are just 1-2-1 in those games, including Sunday when they lost 4-1 at Atlanta despite outshooting the Thrashers 41-26.
- The Bruins' penalty kill has been a strength most of the season but has struggled of late. Boston has allowed four power-play goals on six opportunities in the last two games. Even with that hiccup, the Bruins still rank fifth in the league at 86.3 percent (11-80).
- While plenty of Bruins are slumping during the club's current slide, Nathan Horton has gone especially cold. After roaring out of the gates with 5-5-10 totals in his first six games and maintaining an 8-10-18 pace through 17 games, he has gone seven games without a goal and five games without a point.
Flyers
- While Boston's PK has struggled of late, the Flyers are even colder on the power play. They are just 2-for-33 over the last seven games, though they still rank 12th in the league for the season at 17.1 percent (19-111).
- Defense partners Sean O'Donnell and Andrej Meszaros have had a very positive effect on the Flyers in their first seasons in Philadelphia. O'Donnell leads the NHL in plus-minus at plus-17 and has been a minus in just two games. Meszaros is third in the league at plus-15 and has been a minus just three times. Neither player has been worse than a minus-1 in any game this season.
- James van Riemsdyk got off to a slow start this season, managing no goals and just four assists in his first 15 games and was even a healthy scratch three times. But he's caught fire of late with 3-3-6 totals over the last six games.
Infirmary Report
Bruins
- Center Marc Savard (post-concussion syndrome) has resumed practicing and is close to a return, but ruled out playing on Wednesday.
- Left wing Marco Sturm (knee surgery) is expected to be out until at least mid-December.
- Center Trent Whitfield (ruptures Achilles) could miss the entire year.
- Forward Jordan Caron (flu) missed the last two games, but returned to practice on Monday and should be fine to play on Wednesday.
- Center David Krejci (flu) missed Sunday's game but returned to practice on Monday and should be fine to play on Wednesday.
Flyers
- Forward Dan Carcillo (sprained knee) returned to practice on Monday but is at least a week away from playing in games.
- Forward Ian Laperriere (post-concussion syndrome) is on injured reserve and out indefinitely.
- Defenseman Matt Walker (hip surgery) is on injured reserve.
- Goalie Michael Leighton (back) is on a conditioning stint in the AHL.
Familiar Faces
Flyers coach Peter Laviolette hails from Franklin, Mass., and both played and coached in the Bruins organization, leading Providence to a Calder Cup in 1999 and serving as an assistant in Boston in 2000-01. Assistant coach Joe Mullen also played for the Bruins in 1995-96 and O'Donnell played three seasons in Boston from 2001-04. Boucher is from Woonsocket, R.I., and van Riemsdyk played at the University of New Hampshire.
Fight Card
The Flyers have just 16 fighting majors in 25 games, led by five each from heavyweight Jody Shelley and injured agitator Carcillo. O'Donnell and Scott Hartnell each have two and Darrell Powe and Mike Richards one apiece.
The Bruins ended a four-game fight drought with two bouts against Atlanta, as Matt Hunwick fought Evander Kane in his final game as a Bruins and Shawn Thornton had his team-leading fourth fight against Eric Boulton. Hunwick's departure puts McQuaid (three fights in 10 games) back in the lineup. Stuart and Greg Campbell also have three fighting majors apiece and Milan Lucic has two, as 11 different Bruins have combined for 21 fights in 22 games. Last year's series produced four fights, including the first outdoor fight in regular-season NHL history between Thornton and Carcillo at Fenway, as well as a Stuart doubleheader as he fought Laperriere and Carcillo in the same game.
Outlook
The Bruins have won just once in their last five games and limp in fresh from Sunday's 4-1 loss in Atlanta. The Flyers have also lost back-to-back games in shootouts, but they have earned points in five straight and finished November with a 9-3-2 record to take over the top spot in the Atlantic Division. They have the talent and depth to cause any team problems, but the Bruins might just be up for the challenge with the extra motivation they have from last spring's playoff humiliation.
