After managing just one point in seven games against Montreal, David Krejci collected four points in Game 1 against Philly with a pair of goals and two assists. Five Bruins had multiple-point games and 10 different Bruins picked up points as Boston reclaimed home ice with a convincing victory.
The Bruins won't celebrate too much. They lost the first two games at home against Montreal and rallied to win that series, and of course still remember what happened to last year's lead on the Flyers. They will look to build off the momentum of this win when they play Game 2 here on Monday night.
Third Period, 17:39, Bruins 7-3: The Bruins add another as Gregory Campbell bangs one home at the left post off a feed from behind the net by David Krejci.
Third Period, 15:29, Bruins 6-3: The Bruins will get another chance to get something going on the power play as Andrej Meszaros is called for slashing. Milan Lucic and Zac Rinaldo both get misconducts for a shoving match after the whistle.
Third Period, 14:59, Bruins 6-3: The Bruins answer right back as Brad Marchand scores his second of the game.
Mark Recchi tried to tried to center the puck and it was cleared away, but it bounced off Patrice Bergeron to Marchand at the right post and Marchand fired it home.
Third Period, 13:02, Bruins 5-3: The Bruins kill off the first penalty, but the Flyers strike on the 5 on 4 as Mike Richards beats Thomas short-side at the right post from in close.
Third Period, 12:01, Bruins 5-2: The Bruins will be down two men now for 56 seconds as Brad Marchand takes a bad tripping penalty in the offensive zone after the Bruins had relieved the pressure.
Third Period, 11:22, Bruins 5-2: The Bruins are lucky not to be down two men, as Chara goes to cross check van Riemsdyk and catches Briere with a high stick, but no penalty is called. The Flyers use their timeout to set up the remainder of their power play.
Third Period, 10:57, Bruins 5-2: The Bruins will have to come up with another penalty kill, as David Krejci is now sent off for slashing.
Third Period, 10:30, Bruins 5-2: The Bruins do an excellent job on that penalty kill, not even letting the Flyers set up in the zone for most of the power play, which draws boos from the hometown crowd.
Third Period, 8:30, Bruins 5-2: The Bruins will have a big penalty kill here as they try to prevent the Flyers from getting back in this one after Andrew Ference was sent off for hooking.
Third Period, 5:37, Bruins 5-2: Danny Briere swoops in around the net and tries to fire one home as he comes out front at the left post, but Thomas flashes the glove to deny him.
Third Period, 3:32, Bruins 5-2: Mike Richards launches a shot from the left circle that Thomas gets just a piece of with the glove and the puck trickles just wide of the far post.
Third Period, 1:55, Bruins 5-2: The sides will play 4 on 4 for the next two minutes as Rich Peverley is sent off for cross-checking and Scott Hartnell goes to the box for slashing.
That came just after Thomas lost his stick, but the loose goal stick behind the net actually helped break up the Flyers' play.
Third Period, 0:00, Bruins 5-2: The final frame is under way here in Philly, with the Bruins looking to close out what has been an impressive showing so far in Game 1. They have 12 seconds left on the power play to start this period.
Second Intermission Notes: The Bruins have turned in two very strong periods here in Philadelphia. Now they just need to maintain that focus and effort through the third.
Boston has gotten contributions throughout the lineup with eight different players with points, but the most encouraging sign is the play of the first line. David Krejci has two goals and an assist, Nathan Horton a goal and an assist and Milan Lucic is a plus-3 with four hits. They've combined for nine shots, seven hits and a plus-7 rating.
Dennis Seidenberg, Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand each have two points, while Tim THomas has come through with some big stops in net when needed. The Bruins still trail 20-7 in blocked shots and 19-16 in hits, but there hasn't been much to complain about with this effort so far.
End Second Period, Bruins 5-2: The first 40 minutes are in the books, and the Bruins extended their lead with three more goals in the second. They did get a little sloppy late, as the Flyers answered back with one and nearly scored another shorthanded when Kris Versteeg picked Krejci's pocket in front, but the Bruins survived and take a 5-2 lead into the third.
Second Period, 18:12, Bruins 5-2: The Bruins get another power-play chance as Claude Giroux is sent off for slashing.
Second Period, 17:30, Bruins 5-2: The Flyers answer right back with Jame van Riemsdyk beating Thomas with a rocket.
Second Period, 17:14, Bruins 5-1: The Bruins add yet another, with Brad Marchand scoring on a rebound at the right post.
Andrew Ference fired in a shot from the left point that Patrice Bergeron tipped in front. Boucher made that stop, but Marchand fired in the rebound. Boucher is pulled after the goal for Sergei Bobrovsky.
Second Period, 15:26, Bruins 4-1: The Bruins add another one, as Adam McQuaid sends in a floater from the right point that was tipped in front by David Krejci.
Krejci won the faceoff cleanly back to McQuaid, who fired through traffic in front, where Krejci made the redirection for his third point of the game.
Second Period, 14:37, Bruins 3-1: The Bruins survive that penalty as well with some strong work from the PK units.
Second Period, 12:37, Bruins 3-1: The Bruins kill off that penalty thanks to some strong work by Tomas, but the Flyers stay on the power play as Johnny Boychuk is sent off for slashing.
Second Period, 9:58, Bruins 3-1: The Flyers now get their chance on the man-advantage as Brad Marchand goes off for high-sticking.
Second Period, 9:42, Bruins 3-1: The Bruins had some better movement on that power play, but the result was the same as they are now 0 for 24 in the postseason.
Second Period, 7:42, Bruins 3-1: The Bruins will get to try yet again to score on the power play, as Danny Briere is sent off for tripping. Ryder was back on the ice when that penalty occurred, so he appears OK after the slash from Versteeg.
Second Period, 7:11, Bruins 3-1: The Bruins fail again to generate anything with the man-advantage, and the sides are back at even strength.
Second Period, 5:11, Bruins 3-1: The Bruins get another power play chance as Kris Versteeg goes off for slashing after a nasty whack on the legs from behind on Michael Ryder in the Boston zone. Ryder was shaken up on the play.
Second Period, 2:34, Bruins 3-1: The Bruins add another, with Mark Recchi getting on the board with a rebound of his own shot.
Recchi fired in a shot from the right circle, collected the rebound himself and his second effort trickled through Boucher's pads and over the line. Bergeron and Marchand pick up the assists.
Second Period, 0:00, Bruins 2-1: The second period is under way here in Philadelphia, with the Bruins looking to build upon their solid effort in the opening period.
Also feel free to send a question in to NESN analyst Andy Brickley, who is on hand here in Philly and will be answering a question between the second and third periods. Questions can be left for Brick here.
First Intermission Notes: The Bruins did what they needed to do in the first, getting net-front presence and turning it into a pair of goals for a 2-1 lead.
Both goals also came from the top line, which is a good sight after that unit's struggles against Montreal. David Krejci had just one point in seven games against Montreal, but had two points in the first period alone against Philly. He got the scoring started with a goal in front and added an assist on Nathan Horton's late strike. Horton was the one member of that line to have a strong opening round, and he continued the momentum of his Game 7 OT winner with another big goal here. Milan Lucic doesn't have a point, but he is a plus-2 with two hits and has looked a little more involved than he was against the Canadiens.
Dennis Seidenberg spoke this morning about how excited he was to face the team that drafted him a decade ago, and it has shown so far as he has assists on both goals and is a plus-2 with a shot, a hit and a blocked shot in a team-high 8:54.
The Bruins have a 12-8 edge in shots, but still have struggled to get their shots through at times. The Flyers have 12 blocked shots to Boston's three, and Philadelphia also has a 14-9 edge in hits.
End First Period, Bruins 2-1: The first 20 minutes of the second round are in the books, and it was a strong opening frame for the Bruins, who scored twice to take a one-goal lead into the break.
First Period, 19:24, Bruins 2-1: The Bruins pull ahead again, this time with Nathan Horton getting the goal.
Dennis Seidenberg went in deep and flipped a backhand pass from behind the net to Horton at the top of the crease, and his second shot went off Boucher's glove and in.
First Period, 16:06, 1-1: The Bruins don't show much improvement on that power play, as they only shot they get is a dump-in on net from center ice by Tomas Kaberle with five seconds left in the power play.
First Period, 14:06, 1-1: The Bruins will get the game's first power play as Zac Rinaldo is sent off for goalie interference after driving the net hard on Thomas.
The Bruins were 0 for 21 on the power play against Montreal, and will have to get some production on the man-advantage in this series.
First Period, 13:45, 1-1: The Bruins now threaten with Seidenberg firing in a shot from the right point and Gregory Campbell getting a shot at the rebound at the top of the crease, but Boucher holds the fort.
First Period, 13:00, 1-1: Thomas keeps it tied as the Flyers threaten again with a rush, making a huge pad stop on James van Riemsdyk from the left wing.
First Period, 11:02, 1-1: The Flyers answer back to tie it on a goal in front by Danny Briere.
Braydon Coburn sent in the puck from the left point. Briere gathered it and flipped it in with Thomas down.
First Period, 9:36, Bruins 1-0: After Darroll Powe just missed on a chance in front, we have our first bit of nastiness at the other end of the ice, with Daniel Paille tripping Pronger and Pronger retaliating with a slash to Paille, who was on the ice. Both go for two minutes as we get some 4 on 4 play.
First Period, 7:22, Bruins 1-0: The Bruins with another chance as Adam McQuaid's shot is blocked and goes right to Horton, but he rips a one-timer way wide from the left circle.
First Period, 4:55, Bruins 1-0: Thomas faces his first big test and comes through with the stop on Mike Richards on a bid from the left slot.
First Period, 1:52, Bruins 1-0: The Bruins strike for a quick lead in this one, with David Krejci coming through with the goal in front.
With Dennis Seidenberg pinching in, Nathan Horton covered at the right point and fired a shot in, which Krejci corralled in front and flipped in a backhander past Boucher.
First Period, 0:00, 0-0: After the traditional God Bless America here in Philly, we're under way with second round action at the Wells Fargo Center.
3:15 p.m.: The Bruins will usual their usual starting lineup, with Patrice Bergeron between Brad Marchand and Mark Recchi to start this one. Andrew Ference and Johnny Boychuk open the game on defense, with Tim Thomas in goal.
The Flyers counter with James van Riemsdyk, Claude Giroux and Nikolay Zherdev up front, Matt Carle and Andrej Meszaros on the blue line and Brian Boucher in net.
3 p.m.: The Bruins have officially scratched Tyler Seguin and SHane Hnidy. They'll use the same lineup as they did against Montreal.
For Philly, Jeff Carter and Andreas Nodl remain out with injuries, while Matt Walker, Nick Boynton, Danny Syvret, Jody Shelley and Michael Leighton are all healthy scratches.
The Flyers had seven defnesemen on the ice for wramups, with Syvret joining the usual top six. They dressed all seven when Chris Pronger was limited to power-play duty in his return in Game 6 against Buffalo, but the fact they're going with six in this game shows Pronger is ready for a full work load.
But Syvret
2:50 p.m.: The Bruins skated with their usual line combinations in the warm-up. Just as they did in the Montreal series, Tyler Seguin and Shane Hnidy were on the ice, but not in the line drills.
Here are the line combinations from warm-ups:
Lucic-Krejci-Horton
Marchand-Bergeron-Recchi
Kelly-Peverley-Ryder
Paille-Campbell-Thornton
Defense pairs:
Chara-Seidenberg
Kaberle-McQuaid
Ference-Boychuk
2:40 p.m.: Tim Thomas and Brian Boucher lead the clubs onto the ice for the pre-game warmup.
That will be the goaltending matchup for Game 1 as anticipated.
2 p.m.: Just an hour to go before the Bruins get their first shot at a little revege on the Flyers here in Philadelphia in their playoff rematch.
Claude Julien stated there will be no lineup changes from the Montreal series, but the Flyers have several questions to answer with forwards Jeff Carter (knee) and Andreas Nodl (upper body) both day to day.
Philadelphia is also expected to insert either enforcer Jody Shelley or agitator Zac Rinaldo on the fourth line for some additional toughness against the Bruins in what promises to be a physical series.
8 a.m.: The Bruins have their shot at redemption
A year after blowing a 3-0 series lead against Philadelphia in the second round of the playoffs, Boston is back in the same spot facing the same team after finally dispatching Montreal in seven games. The Flyers also needed seven games to beat Buffalo in the opening round, setting up the rematch that opens Saturday afternoon at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
Last year's series casts a shadow that will hang over this year's matchup for as long as it goes. That can be a distraction to the Bruins who remain from last year's squad, or it can serve as an inspiration to atone for that collapse.
"For some of the guys that were here last year it should be a little bit of a motivating tool and a learning experience," Bruins forward Shawn Thornton said. "But that being said, last year was last year and this year is this year. Half of our team has been turned over. It's a whole new year. We have new players, they have new players. It doesn't really have a factor on this year's series expect for the fact that you guys are reminding us about it day in and day out and I'm sure you will for the next two weeks."
The Flyers are well aware of the lingering effects of last year's series. They know the Bruins will try to draw motivation from that outcome, but Philadelphia can also draw confidence from being able to come back like that.
"It goes both ways," Flyers forward Danny Briere told reporters on Thursday. "They are going to use it as motivation, but we know we are in their head and that is going to be with them this whole series, so we are using it to our advantage as well. We know that we can always come back. We want to get off to a better start this time around and not spot them a three-game lead though."
The Bruins deny that the Flyers have any psychological edge because of last year's series.
"They're not in our head at all," Bruins forward Brad Marchand said. "We have a lot of different guys on our team this year and it's a completely different situation. As much as they might think that, I think he's just saying that to try to get in our head, but in no way are they."
Beyond the head games, this is a very even matchup with the Bruins holding the edge in goaltending with Vezina favorite Tim Thomas and Philadelphia boasting a deeper attack up front led by Briere, Claude Giroux, Mike Richards and Co. The blue lines are relatively equal, but a key will be how strong Chris Pronger is after missing the last 16 games of the regular season and the first five games of the opening round with a hand injury.
The puck drops at 3 p.m., so check back here throughout the day for updates on all the action from Philadelphia.
