Much has changed since the last time the Flyers and Bruins went at it in Boston.
For starters, the building. Then both goaltenders
Back on New Year’s Day the teams who once fought it out in the 1974 Stanley Cup Finals--won, of course by the Flyers in six games on Rick MacLeish’s first period goal and Bernie Parent’s stellar goaltending--faced off at hallowed Fenway Park in the NHL’s annual ``Winter Classic.’’ extravaganza.
With Michael Leighton in net the Flyers seemed on their way to riding Danny Syvret’s second period goal to victory, only to see former Flyer Mark Recchi tie it on a late powerplay goal with just 2:18 remaining in regulation. Then in overtime Marco Sturm beat Leighton at 1:47 for the 2-1 game winner, as Bruins’ goalie Tim Thomas turned aside 24 shots.
When they open play in an improbable second round of the playoffs Saturday afternoon, the venue this time will be Boston’s Bank North Garden. The opposing goalies will be Philadelphia’s Brian Boucher and Finnish rookie sensation Tuukka Rask.
And most unlikely of all, these two teams who had to battle for their playoff lives, No. 6 seeded Boston not clinching a spot until the next-to-last day of the season, while the No. 7 Flyers had to survive the ordeal of a final game shootout with the Rangers, meet in what has suddenly become a wide open East.
The road to the Cup has seen all three Eastern Division winners bulldozed out of the way, highlighted by Montreal’s stunning upset of the explosive Washington Capitals. With Jaroslav Halak turning into a stone wall vs. Alex Ovechkin and the Caps, the No. 8-seeded Canadiens rallied from a 3-1 series deficit to pull off the shocker. Right behind was the Flyers systematic five game dismantling of the Atlantic Division champion Devils, along with the less surprising Bruins’ six-game elimination of Buffalo.
The end result finds the reigning champion No. 4 seeded Penguins, who themselves were pushed almost to the limit before outlasting Ottawa in six, taking on surging Montreal in a 4 x 8 matchup, while Boston has to be astonished to have home ice in its series vs. the Flyers.
While there are clearly no gimmes at this point of the season—as Washington and the Devils found out—at first glance it seems like the Flyers couldn’t ask for more. First of all, they avoid Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and the rest of their bitter—and by most accounts, better—cross state rival Pemguins, who’ve knocked them out of the playoffs the last two seasons.
And had the Caps won, it’s likely Alex the Great, Alexander Semen, Nicklas Backstrom, former Flyer Mike Knuble, Mike Green and the rest would’ve taken advantage of their new lease on life the same way the Flyers have since that Ranger showdown just two weeks ago. We’ll never know for sure, but it’s doubtful the injury-riddled Flyers could’ve held off a team that amassed 121 points during the regular season, 10 more than anyone else.
Instead, the Flyers have drawn a Bruins team which also has gotten on a roll, yet has nowhere near the firepower of either Washington or Pittsburgh. While the Bruins should get a lift from the return of center Marc Savard to bolster an attack led by Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, Sturm, Recchi and hulking 6-9 defenseman Zdeno Chara, the fact remains Sturm (22 goals) was their only 20-goal scorer this season.
That should mean the Flyers, severely depleted by the loss of leading goal scorer Jeff Carter, Simon Gagne and shot-blocking specialist Ian Laperriere, won’t have to worry about getting in the kind of shootouts a series with the Pens or Caps might’ve dictated. In a tight checking series similar to what they faced against the Devils, the Flyers still have some big guns like Mike Richards, Danny Briere and Claude Giroux. Plus, they have two shutdown defensemen, who proved dominant vs. New Jersey, Chris Pronger and Kimmo Timonen.
Which means, as it usually does in playoffs, it could come down to the goaltenders. That’s the one variable which can tilt what appears to be even the most lopsided series—at least on paper. The Flyers and Bruins are here because of Boucher and Rask. The Caps are home because Halak did his Dominik Hasek impression and stopped everything in sight.
Home ice can often be the difference in these series. Except in the first round the favorites went just 4-4 with the road teams going 26-23 overall. In both series that went the distance the visitors—Detroit and Montreal—took Game 7.
Perhaps it means nothing as the second round gets underway. But the Flyers, who haven’t met the Bruins in the playoffs since 1978 when Boston won in five games to take the fourth head-to-head meeting in five years, have been a different team since Giroux’s shootout goal and Boucher’s subsequent save against the Rangers’ Olli Jokinen punched their post-season ticket.
Even undermanned everything seems to be breaking their way, meaning they could conceivably have home ice in the Conference Finals should Halak and surging Montreal maintain their form and knock off the Pens.
For now the cry around these parts is ``Bring on the Bruins!’’
Flyers in six.
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