The breakout started after Marc Savard dropped a pass back to the left point, but no one was at the point, allowing Richards to gain control and lead the rush down the ice in the closing seconds.
Overtime, 3:05, 1-1: The Bruins dodge another bullet, as van Riemsdyk breaks in behind the defense, gets spun around and leaves the puck in front for Claude Giroux, but Thomas is able to cover it before it crosses the goal line.
Overtime, 1:06, 1-1: Jeff Carter nearly ends it for Philadelphia with a turnaround shot from the left slot, but Thomas scoops it up with the glove.
End Regulation, 1-1: And this one will go to overtime.
Lucic nearly ended it in the final minute, as he plastered Nodl into the boards, then got the puck back, but sot wide.
The Bruins have a 34-26 edge in shots despite Philly's pressure in the third.
Third Period, 18:30, 1-1: The Bruins put out the fourth line in the final two minutes of a tied game, and the energy guys respond with the best shift Boston has had in a while, finally putting some pressure on Boucher for a change.
Third Period, 15:20, 1-1: The sides are back at even strength, but it sure looks like it's still a power-play for Philly as the Flyers continue to ste up shop in the Bruins zone and pepper Thomas with shots.
Third Period, 13:17, 1-1: The Bruins are able to kill the penalty off, but not without some scary moments as the Flyers had plenty of quality chance on the man-advantage.
Third Period, 12:24, 1-1: Ville Leino crashes through the crease and bowls over Thomas, but the netminder keeps the puck out.
Third Period, 11:17, 1-1: The Bruins will have a huge penalty to kill here as Mark Recchi is sent off for hooking.
That came after McQuaid took another rough hit into the boards, this time courtesy of Nodl, though no penalty was called on that.
Third Period, 9:43, 1-1: And the Bruins have pulled even, with Nathan Horton providing the goal.
After Chara got away with popping Carcillo, Krejci poked the puck away from Pronger to Horton in the slot, and he wristed one into the top right corner to tie it.
Third Period, 7:40, Flyers 1-0: Ryder with another chance from the slot that Boucher blocks. The Bruins now hold a 27-19 edge in shots, but remain behind 1-0.
Third Period, 5:14, Flyers 1-0: Kampfer with a nice rush down the middle, then dropping a pass to Krejci, but Boucher snares his shot from the right wing.
Third Period, 1:24, Flyers 1-0: Bergeron gets a chance from the high slot when he one-times a loose puck that gets to him, but Boucher again makes the save.
Third Period, 0:00, Flyers 1-0: The final frame is under way at the Garden, where another sellout crowd hopes it will be the Bruins pulling off the comeback against the Flyers this time around.
End Second Period, Flyers 1-0: The Bruins will have their work cut out for them, as they head into the third period down a goal against a Flyers team that is 12-2-2 when scoring first and 15-0-2 when leading after two periods this year.
The Bruins are 2-7-2 when trailing after two and just 4-8-2 when giving up the first goal.
Second Period, 18:39, Flyers 1-0: The Flyers strike first as former UNH star James vanRiemsdyk one-times a shot from the right slot just off the outstretched glove of Thomas.
Claude Giroux and Jeff Carter pick up the assists on the first goal of teh night.
Second Period, 16:52, 0-0: Carcillo just absolutely flattened Milan Lucic with a huge hit that sent the Bruin flying. Lucic had just finished leveling Darroll Powe, and then came down the other end to nail Blair Betts, but don't be surprised if Lucic and Carcillo come together again in this one.
Second Period, 15:33, 0-0: The Bruins are all over the Flyers now, as they've taken a 20-15 edge in shots. But Boucher has stood up to the onslaught and the game remains scoreless.
Second Period, 13:00, 0-0: McQuaid has returned to action, back playing alongside Ference after getting a scare on Shelley's dangerous hit from behind.
Second Period, 11:19, 0-0: The Bruins threaten as Bergeron fires in a shot from the slot and Wheeler follows up with backhand rebound, but neither shot finds the back of the net.
Second Period, 10:08, 0-0: The Bruins fail to convert on the major penalty, a huge opportunity missed that could come back to haunt them in this one.
The good news is that McQuaid has returned to the Bruins bench.
Second Period, 7:23, 0-0: Ryder just got robbed in front on a rebound at the top of the crease, as Boucher dove to snare the shot. Bruins halfway through the five-minute power play with nothing to show for it yet.
Second Period, 5:08, 0-0: Things just took a nasty turn, as Adam McQuaid was shoved from behind into the boards behind the Bruins net on a dirty, dangerous hit by Jody Shelley.
McQuaid remains down and appears injured. The hit occurred at almost the exact spot Randy Jones drove Patrice Bergeron into the boards three years ago.
Shelley has been given a five-minute major for boarding and a game misconduct, while McQuaid got off the ice under his own power with help, and went straight to the locker room.
Second Period, 4:44, 0-0: After Carcillo and Marchand were jawing at the faceoff, Thornton tracks down Carcillo and grabs him, but Carcillo wants nothing with the Bruins tough guy.
Second Period, 3:52, 0-0: The Bruins had a chance with a 2-on-1 with Ryder and Savard, but Chris Pronger intercepts Ryder's pass to break up the chance.
At the other end of the ice, Thomas stones Hartnell on a blast from the right side as this one remains scoreless.
Second Period, 0:54, 0-0: Thomas flirts with disaster as he comes out to play the puck in the high slot, barely keeping it away from an onrushing Scott Hartnell.
Second Period, 0:00, 0-0: The second period is under way at the Garden, with both teams still searching for that key first goal. The Bruins have been almost unbeatable when scoring first at 12-0-1.
End First Period, 0-0: The first period comes to a close with neither side able to get on the scoreboard.
Tim Thomas has now blanked the Flyers for four striaght periods this year, while Brian Boucher was also strong at the other end. The Flyers actually held a slim 10-9 edge in shots in a relatively even period.
There was some good pressure late again by Boston's fourth line, as Brad Marchand made a nifty move to create an odd-man break and Shawn Thornton stole a pass from Jeff Carter to create another chance.
First Period, 17:00, 0-0: Thomas is performing his magic act once again, robbing Nodl in the slot, then scrambling across the crease to block the rebound from the right side.
First Period, 15:57, 0-0: Zdeno Chara comes up big on that shift, beating a Flyer to the puck when it got away from Thomas behind the net and bounced out in front of the open cage, then breaking up a shot attempt by Danny Briere in the slot.
First Period, 14:35, 0-0: Carcillo up to his usual tricks, trying to draw a penalty on Krejci by reaching for his face after a hit along the boards, then bumping Horton away from the play. Amazingly, he somehow managed to stay away from Lucic on that shift.
First Period, 11:33, 0-0: The Bruins can't get much going on that power-play chance. Andreas Nodl in particular with some impressive work up front for the Flyers on the PK.
First Period, 9:33, 0-0: The Bruins get the game's first power play, as Carcillo is called for interference on a dangerous hit on Savard that popped his helmet off as he went down along the boards.
First Period, 8:25, 0-0: Good pressure from the Bruins' fourth line that shift, and rookie Steven Kampfer nearly scored his first NHL goal with a blast from the point that had Boucher ducking for cover.
First Period, 7:05, 0-0: Timonen seems to be wearing the target on him tonight, as Johnny Boychuk just lined him up with big hit coming across the middle of the ice in the Bruins zone.
First Period, 6:24, 0-0: Ference makes up for that earlier miscue with a hustle play, winning a race with Shelley to touch up an icing.
First Period, 4:40, 0-0: Andrew Ference has a shot blocked at the point by Jeff Carter, who collects the puck and breaks down the right wing, but Thomas turns aside his bid with a toe save.
First Period, 2:52, 0-0: The physical play starts early, as Adam McQuaid lays a big hit on Kimmo Timonen, then Jody Shelley drives the net and gives Tim Thomas a snow shower, drawing the ire of the Bruins for a brief scrum.
First Period, 2:02, 0-0: Daniel Paille is taking Seguin's spot alongside Marc Savard and Michael Ryder. The rest of the lines remain unchanged from Thursday.
First Period, 0:00, 0-0: And we're under way here at the Garden as the Bruins take on the Flyers in the first game of the post-Sturm era.
7 p.m.: The scratches are in, with Tyler Seguin (flu) and Mark Stuart (hand) out for Boston and Nikolay Zherdev and Oskars Bartulis out for Philadelphia.
Chiarelli also just spoke about the Marco Sturm trade, admitting that the future considerations are in reality "nothing," but the value of the deal is it gets the Bruins out of their cap problems. They are now cap compliant and even have some room for potential moves in the future. Plenty more on the deal to come later on NESN.com.
6:30 p.m.: The teams have taken the ice for warm-ups, with Tim Thomas and Brian Boucher leading them out.
That will be the goaltending matchup as expected.
The bigger news is that Tyler Seguin is not on the ice for the Bruins. The rookie will be a scratch for this one with what the team has termed "flu-like symptoms." Daniel Paille gets back in the lineup in his spot.
Also, if you missed the news, the Bruins and Kings have finally made the Marco Sturm trade official. Sturm goes to the Kings for future considerations, though he must still pass a physical with L.A. Peter Chiarelli will speak about the team up in the press box here at 6:50.
5:30 p.m.: The Bruins and Flyers will renew their rivalry just a little later this evening.
The Bruins opted not to skate this morning, with just Tuukka Rask, Daniel Paille, Tyler Seguin and Marco Sturm taking the ice in an optional workout. Rask's presence would indicate that Tim Thomas is likely to be back in net in this one.
Philadelphia will counter with Brian Boucher, while agitator Daniel Carcillo could finally be getting back in the lineup for the Flyers. He hasn't played in 12 games, missing time with a knee injury and as a healthy scratch. But Nikolay Zherdev stayed out for extra work after Philadelphia's skate this morning, indicating he might be the odd man out in this one, which would open a spot for Carcillo.
One Flyer who definitely will be in the lineup is forward Scott Hartnell, who discussed his memories from last year's playoff clash, his family ties to the Boston area and the reception he expects in this game as the Flyers return to Boston for the first time since last spring's playoff clash.
For more on this matchup, check out our Facing Off feature.
11:15 a.m.: The Bruins will look to close out a key three-game homestand in style when the Flyers pay their first visit to the Garden this season on Saturday.
It will be Philadelphia's first return to the scene of the crime since the Bruins blew a 3-0 series advantage and a 3-0 lead in Game 7 in the second round of the playoffs last spring. Boston earned a very small measure of revenge earlier this month with a 3-0 win at Philadelphia behind a 41-save effort by Tim Thomas, but last year's historic collapse requires more payback than that.
Another regular-season win on Saturday won't get the job done either, but it's the least the Bruins can do for the home fans who have stuck by them, and this Boston club is plenty motivated to give the Garden faithful that much.
"It will be huge, especially for the fans," said center Marc Savard. "Obviously what we went through last year was tough and we'd like to come out tomorrow with a strong effort."
Bruins coach Claude Julien though is hoping to "turn the page" on last year's bitter ending, and is more worried about the Flyers coming in fired up to avenge their loss from Dec. 1.
"We played a good road game in Philly, that's all I can say," said Julien. "We played hard. We played smart. It was a battle. Not to say it was an easy win because it wasn't. It was a battle and I expect an even bigger battle [Saturday]. Now you have a team coming back wanting to redeem themselves and get that win back that we stole from them in their own building.
"We always seem to have good games against Philly," added Julien. "They're an easy team to get up for. It's almost a national rivalry there where both teams seem to pull out their best for those games."
The puck drops at 7 p.m., so check back here throughout the day for updates on all the action.
