Krejci scored the winner, but Tim Thomas was the biggest factor in this victory as he finished with 52 saves, stopping all 32 shots he faced in the third period and overtime.
The Bruins head back to Boston with a 2-0 series lead with Game 3 set for Wednesday at the Garden.
Overtime, 12:18, 2-2: The Flyers now hit iron as a Danny Syvret shot from the right point is deflected in front and goes off the outside of the near post.
Overtime, 10:53, 2-2: The Bruins almost end this one as Rich Peverley rips a sneaky wrister from the high slot past Boucher, only to hit the post.
Overtime, 8:31, 2-2: The Bruins get away with using the fourth line for a shift in overtime. That should give the other lines a needed rest to press the attack from here.
Overtime, 4:40, 2-2: After the Bruins surged early in overtime, the Flyers are carrying the play and creating chances now as this see-saw battle continues.
Overtime, 1:27, 2-2: Seidenberg hits iron on a shot from the right point off a feed from Chara, who had gone in deep behind the net.
Overtime, 0:00, 2-2: Sudden-death overtime has begun here in Philly. The next goal means either a 2-0 lead for the Bruins going back to Boston or having this series knotted at a game apiece.
One thing to watch is the Bruins defense, which has been down a man since Adam McQuaid was hurt in the first. Dennis Seidenberg has already played 29:15.
Third Intermission Notes: Once again, the Bruins will need extra time to decide a playoff game. After three games went to overtime, including one in double-OT, against Montreal, the Bruins and Flyers find themselves heading to sudden in Game 2 tied at 2-2.
The Bruins are fortunate to reach the extra session, as Philadelphia had a 22-7 edge in shots in the third and had a golden chance to end it in regulation when Zdeno Chara was called for roughing with 2:39 left. But the Bruins penalty kill, and Tim Thomas in particular, made sure the Flyers didn't get the go-ahead goal. Thomas has 42 saves through three periods, with many of them of the highlight-reel variety.
Brian Boucher didn't face many shots upon his return in the third, but did come up with some big stops when needed as well.
End Regulation, 2-2: And we're heading to overtime, but not without a heart-stopping last couple of seconds as the Flyers threatened after a Bruins icing with 4.2 seconds left.
Third Period, 19:21, 2-2: The Bruins kill the penalty off and get the puck out of the zone as the sides are back even in the final minute.
Third Period, 17:21, 2-2: The Bruins will face their biggest penalty kill of the night, and they'll have to do it without their top defenseman as Zdeno Chara is called for roughing after getting mixed up with Danny Briere in the neutral zone.
Third Period, 15:38, 2-2: Thomas comes up with another big stop, robbing Mike Richards on a one-timer from between the circles.
Third Period, 14:13, 2-2: The Bruins with their best chance of the period as Milan Lucic keeps the puck in at the blue line, drives down the left wing and centers it to Nathan Horton, who is robbed by Boucher with a pad save on a point-blank bid.
Third Period, 11:45, 2-2: The Flyers continue to put pressure on the Bruins. Philly has a 16-4 edge in shots in the third period, 38-33 overall.
Third Period, 8:43, 2-2: Thomas with two more big stops, one after his own clear was picked off and sent back in, the other on a shot from the right boards as van Riemsdyk was crashing the net.
Third Period, 6:15, 2-2: Andrej Meszaros delivers a huge hit on David Krejci, which leads to a break the other way, but the Flyers can't quite convert on a pass in front.
Third Period, 5:24, 2-2: The Bruins kill the penalty, but Danny Briere breaks in alone behind the defense as it expires, forcing Thomas to make another spectacular save.
Third Period, 3:21, 2-2: The Bruins face a big penalty kill as Brad Marchand gets called for cross-checking as he gets caught retaliating after Kris Versteeg was holding him deep in the Boston zone.
Third Period, 1:52, 2-2: James van Riemsdyk creates another golden chance, firing in a backhand all alone in front, but Tim Thomas makes the huge save and Seidenberg clears the rebound out of the crease.
Third Period, 0:27, 2-2: The remainder of the penalty to Scott Hartnell has expired and the sides are back even.
Third Period, 0:00, 2-2: The third — and final? — frame is under way here in Philly, with the games tied at 2-2 and the Bruins beginning the period with 27 seconds left on the power play. They finally appeared to have a decent power play going at the end of the second, and will look to continue that here.
Brian Boucher has returned to goal for the Flyers after leaving midway through the second.
Second Intermission Notes: The Bruins turned in a much better effort in the second period, outshooting Philly 13-8 (29-22 overall) and coming within inches of scoring the go-ahead goal when when David Krejci hit the post.
The Flyers had their chances as well, with James van Riemsdyk a threat every time he's on the ice. Both sides have lost a player to injury, with Adam McQuaid gone for the Bruins after crashing into the boards in the first and Brian Boucher leaving in the second for the Flyers. Sergei Bobrovsky didn't have a shot for over six minutes, but made six saves in the closing minute as the Bruins peppered him late.
Dennis Seidenberg continues to pile up the ice time at 19:01 through two periods. He's plus-2 with two shots and two blocked shots. Zdeno Chara has played 18:09 with a pair of blocked shots and Johnny Boychuk is at 14:25 with four shots and three hits, including the hit of the night on Braydon Coburn.
End Second Period, 2-2: No scoring in the second, but plenty of action with the Bruins picking up the pace late with several good chances. That should set up quite a third period here in Philly.
Second Period, 18:27, 2-2: Johnny Boychuk with the hit of the night as he goes in deep and nails Braydon Coburn. That draws some attention from Scott Hartnell, who takes a slashing penalty to put the Bruins on the power play.
Second Period, 17:28, 2-2: Great shift from the top line plus Chara and Kaberle, keeping the Flyers pinned in their zone and putting the first three shots on Bobrovsky. All were quality chances, but the Bruins can't get the go-ahead goal.
Second Period, 15:25, 2-2: James van Riemsdyk continues to create chances. He has both Philly goals in this one and just missed completing the hat trick as he gets behind the defense and drives the net, but his shot goes just wide.
Second Period, 13:13, 2-2: The Bruins come within inches of the lead as David Krejci has an open net in front on a 2 on 1, but hits the near left post with his turnaround shot.
Second Period, 11:01, 2-2: With the Flyers on the attack in the Bruins zone, play is halted as Brian Boucher is hurt back in the Philly net. He has headed to the locker room and Sergei Bobrovsky is now in goal for the Flyers.
Second Period, 8:27, 2-2: The Flyers come within inches of going back ahead as van Riemsdyk at the right post and Nikolay Zherdev at the top of the crease both have chances to bang it home, but Thomas somehow keeps the puck out.
Second Period, 7:08, 2-2: The Bruins have announced that Adam McQuaid has been taken to Jefferson Hospital in Philadelphia for evaluation.
Second Period, 6:34, 2-2: Patrice Bergeron is being treated for a cut to the head on the bench after making a diving breakup in the defensive zone.
Second Period, 5:15, 2-2: Nice play in front by Seidenberg to break up a bid as the Bruins got caught in a change and the Flyers had numbers coming into the zone.
Second Period, 1:28, 2-2: The Bruins have started the second strong with the first three shots of the period, but Boucher has been up to the task so far.
Second Period, 0:00, 2-2: The middle frame is under way here in Philadelphia, with the game deadlocked at 2-2.
Adam McQuaid will not return to the game after suffering an undisclosed injury crashing into the boards late in the first period.
First Intermision Notes: The Bruins survived the early surge they were expecting from the Flyers, battling back to even the game at 2-2 after giving up two early goals.
But it certainly looks like the scoring isn't done in this one as both teams are producing plenty of scoring opportunities. The Bruins need to clean up their defensive-zone play a bit and limit those chances. They did a better job of creating their own opportunities as the period wore on, but Philadelphia was still getting too many clean chances on Tim Thomas.
Of more long-term importance will be the condition of Adam McQuaid, who was injured after crashing head first into the boards when he missed a hit on Mike Richards. He stayed down for several minutes but was able to skate off with help. He went right to the locker room and did not return after the incident took place with 2:29 left in the period.
Dennis Seidenberg continued his strong play with a plus-2 rating in 9:23 in the first. His minutes will likely increase even moreif McQuaid can't return. Brad Marchand also continued his solid playoffs with a goal on three shots. On a less optimistic note, the power play came up empty again as the Bruins are now 0 for 27 on the man-advantage in the playoffs.
End First Period, 2-2: The first 20 minutes are in the books, and the Bruins have to be happy to be back even after falling behind by two goals early.
First Period, 17:31, 2-2: McQuaid is able to skate off the ice with some help, but heads to the locker room. The always classy Philadelphia fans enhance their reputation by cheering the injury when the replay is shown on the jumbotron.
First Period, 17:31, 2-2: Bad sight here for the Bruins, as Adam McQuaid goes for a big hit on Mike Richards by the Bruins net. He misses and goes head first into the boards. He remains down as the training staff checks on him.
First Period, 17:03, 2-2: Both sides nearly break the tie, as Thomas robs Kimmo Timonen on a golden chance from between the circle. That save leads to a clean breakaway for Dan Paille, but Boucher stones him.
First Period, 15:04, 2-2: The sides will play some 4-on-4 hockey as David Krejci goes off for roughing and Kris Versteeg for holding.
First Period, 14:15, 2-2: The Bruins come all the way back as Brad Marchand ties it with a wrister from the high slot.
Mark Recchi and Patrice Bergeron get the assists as that line continues to produce this postseason. The Bruins have weathered the early storm by the Flyers and are back even, with Boucher starting to look a little shaky again.
First Period, 12:50, Flyers 2-1: The Bruins answer back to cut the lead to one with some strong work by the third line.
Chris Kelly gets the goal as he crashed the net for a rebound at the left post. Rich Peverley started the play with a drop pass to Tomas Kaberle, who sent in the initial shot from the right circle. Michael Ryder had the first rebound chance at the top of the crease and Kelly came in to bang it home after that was stopped.
First Period, 9:31, Flyers 2-0: The Flyers show it is actually possible to score on a power play as James van Riemsdyk gets his second of the night to double the lead.
He banged home a third chance from the top of the crease after Danny Briere was denied on the initial rebound at the left post.
First Period, 8:49, Flyers 1-0: The Bruins will have to kill off another penalty, as Gregory Campbell is sent off this time for holding Dan Carcillo on a rush down the left wing.
First Period, 6:50, Flyers 1-0: The Bruins are starting to generate some chances, but Brian Boucher looks much sharper than he did in Game 1. He robbed Chris Kelly on a rebound bid in the low slot as the Bruins now lead 5-4 in shots.
First Period, 5:37, Flyers 1-0: The Bruins fail again to convert on the man-advantage and are now 0 for 27 in the postseason.
First Period, 3:37, Flyers 1-0: The Bruins now get a power-play chance as Jody Shelley is sent to the box for boarding Adam McQuaid. Boston is still looking for its first power-play goal of the playoffs.
First Period, 2:48, Flyers 1-0: The Bruins kill off that penalty and at least stem the Flyers' momentum a bit.
First Period, 0:48, Flyers 1-0: The Flyers now go on the power play as Tim Thomas is called for delay of game after clearing the puck over the glass. Milan Lucic will serve the penalty.
First Period, 0:29, Flyers 1-0: The Flyers get the start they were looking for, scoring on the game's first shot just 29 seconds in.
Claude Giroux misfired on a 2-on-1 from the right side, but the puck went right to James van Riemsdyk, who popped it home at the left post.
First Period, 0:00, 0-0: After an especially emotional rendition of God Bless America here at the Wells Fargo Center, the Bruins and Flyers are ready for action in Game 2 with Boston looking to take both games in Philly and Philadelphia trying to even the series.
7:30 p.m.: The Bruins will start Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and Mark Recchi up front as usual, with Andrew Ference and Johnny Boychuk on defense and Tim Thomas in goal, the same starters as Game 1.
The Flyers counter with James van Riemsdyk, Cluade Giroux and Nikolay Zherdev up front, Braydon Coburn and Kimmo Timonen on the blue line and Brian Boucher in net.
7:25 p.m.: Chris Pronger is officially scratched, along with Zac Rinaldo. Danny Syvret is in on defense for Pronger, while Jody Shelley replaces Rinaldo on the fourth line.
Matt Walker and Ben Holmstrom skated in warm-ups, but remain scratches.
Tyler Seguin and Shane Hnidy remain out for Boston as expected.
7:15 p.m.: The Flyers had a couple extra skaters on the ice for warm-ups, but Chris Pronger was not out there.
Defensemen Danny Syvret and Matt Walker were on the ice, along with forwards Jody Shelley and Ben Holmstrom, all of whom did not play in Game 1. Zac Rinaldo, who did play on Saturday, did not skate in warm-ups. Shelley could take his spot on the fourth line, or the Flyers could dress seven defensemen with both Syvret and Walker getting the nod with Pronger out.
7:10 p.m.: The Bruins skated with their usual lines in the drills in warm-ups. As usual in the playoffs, Tyler Seguin and Shane Hnidy were on the line, but not in the drills. They'll remain scratches.
Here's how the lines looked in warm-ups:
Lucic-Krejci-Horton
Marchand-Bergeron-Recchi
Kelly-Peverley-Ryder
Paille-Campbell-Thornton
Defense pairs:
Chara-Seidenberg
Kaberle-McQuaid
Ference-Boychuk
7 p.m.: As expected, Tim Thomas and Brian Boucher lead the teams out for warm-ups.
That's the goaltending matchup for this one, at least to start. the Flyers have pulled their starter in our of their first eight playoff games, so there's no guarantee Boucher will be around to see the end of this one.
6:45 p.m.: It appears that the Bruins won't have to face Chris Pronger in Game 2.
The Flyers' top defenseman is now not expected to play in this game with an undiclosed injury. It's not known whether it is realted to the hand injury that kept him out of the last 16 games of the regular season and the first five games of the opening round o the playoffs or a new injury suffered in Game 1.
6:30 p.m.: The Bruins and Flyers will take the ice for Game 2 in just about an hour.
It promises to be an electric atmosphere here at the Wells Fargo Center, where the spine-tingling rendition of "God Bless America" will be even more emotional in the wake of the Sunday night's news that the Osama bin Laden had been killed during a U.S. raid in Pakistan.
Players from both teams spoke about the relief of finally bringing bin Laden to justice and their appreciation for the U.S. armed forces that performed the mission.
The Bruins aren't expected to make any lineup changes after winning Game 1 in a 7-3 rout. The Flyers will also stick with Brian Boucher in goal, but could be without Chris Pronger, who missed the end of Game 1 and did not participate in Monday's morning skate.
8 a.m.: The Bruins had their way with the Flyers in Game 1, rolling to a 7-3 victory on Saturday.
They expect to face a much tougher challenge in Game 2 on Monday at the Wells Fargo Center.
"We know that Philly is a really good team," Bruins captain Zdeno Chara said. "They have all the elements to win, so we just have to be on top of our game. We are pleased with our Game 1, but we have to be ready for Game 2 because we know they are going to be better."
The Bruins jumped on the Flyers quickly, with David Krejci scoring 1:52 into play in Game 1. And that was just the start of the scoring, as 10 different Bruins collected points, led by Krejci's two-goal, two-assist effort.
By comparison, the Bruins didn't score their seventh goal of their opening round series with Montreal until Game 4. Still, one victory, not even one as convincing as Saturday's, is going to make the Bruins overconfident. After all, they lost the first two games at home against Montreal and came back to win the series, not to mention remembering how these same Flyers rallied from a 3-0 series deficit against Boston last spring.
"They're going to be ready to play, that's for sure," Bruins forward Nathan Horton said. "After losing a game like that in the playoffs, you don't want to do that, so I'm sure they're going to be ready to play. We have to be prepared to play, too. We can't relax. It's going to be a good game."
Philadelphia coach Peter Laviolette pulled starter Brian Boucher after he allowed five goals on 23 shots. It was the fourth time in eight games this postseason that Laviolette has changed goalies during a game. On Sunday, he wouldn't reveal who would get the start in net in Game 2, stressing instead that the changes the Flyers need revolve more around how they play than who they play.
"There were a lot of things on video that I think were revealing, but most of it had to do with attitude and competitiveness," Laviolette said.
"Listen, nobody feels good about what happened [Saturday]." Laviolette added. "Because you didn't do what you wanted to do in Game 1, that's not an indication of Game 2. … Each game in a series is a chapter and [Saturday] was not a good chapter for us."
The Bruins liked how the first few pages of this book were written, but they know they have a lot of work left if they are to enjoy a happier ending to this story than a year ago.
"We know they are going to come out a lot better," Bruins coach Claude Julien said. "There is no doubt there. There is no secret to that and we just have to be ready for it. I think we are anticipating it, we know it's coming and as a hockey club you have to be ready to face that and we are going to have to be as good as we can be [Monday] and come out there the better team."
The Bruins were the better team in Game 1, but they think they can elevate their game even further, and will need to in order to win the series.
"We had a strong game, but there are things we need to correct and do a little better," Chara said. "Because we know they're going to be better."
The puck drops at 7:30 p.m., so check back here throughout the day for updates on all the action from Philadelphia.
