Flyers vs. Bruins Scouting Report

FORWARDS

Flyers: With Jeff Carter and Simon Gagne in the lineup, it would have been easy to hand the Flyers the edge at the forward position. The Flyers clearly have more top-end talent than the Bruins. But in order to win this series, the Flyers will need depth scoring from all lines to remain competitive. Danny Briere scored two goals in the first round while Scott Hartnell and James van Riemsdyk were both blanked. Claude Giroux and Mike Richards will need to continue to carry the load.

Bruins: Boston has one of the most balanced offensive attacks in the NHL. With no clear-cut star, the Bruins - who had 10 players notch 30 points in the regular season - come in waves. Still, Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci finished in a tie for 87th in the NHL in scoring with 52 points and they were the Bruins' leading scorers. Former Flyer Mark Recchi, 42, had five points in the first round. Marc Savard (33 points) played in just 41 games this year because of three different injuries and missed the last 24 games with a severe concussion. But Savard has been cleared for the second round. That will help.

EDGE: Bruins

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DEFENSE

Flyers: Chris Pronger and Kimmo Timonen - on two different defense pairings - shut down a New Jersey attack that was far more lethal than what Boston presents. Pronger more than lived up to his big-game billing. But Boston presents a different problem. Unlike New Jersey, the Bruins do not have one or two set lines that require more focus than the others. Every line can contribute. That will put more of an onus on the Flyers' third pair - likely Ryan Parent and Lukas Krajicek - to limit chances and goals.

Bruins: Zdeno Chara, who won the 2009 Norris Trophy as the NHL's best defenseman, is more than just a 6-9 presence at the blue line. In his own zone, he is a shutdown defender. But Chara is everywhere. He consistently - and dangerously - joins the offensive rush, which has netted him 145 points over the last three regular seasons. Former Flyer Dennis Seidenberg is a big loss for the Bruins, out for the rest of the season with a lacerated forearm tendon. Dennis Wideman, Johnny Boychuk, Andrew Ference, Matt Hunwick and Adam McQuaid round out the Bruins' defense.

EDGE: Flyers

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GOALTENDING

Flyers: On paper, Brian Boucher will not win many goaltending matchups in this series - but that's nothing new. Boucher thoroughly outdueled Marty Brodeur in each of the Flyers' five games against the Devils. He allowed eight goals against (1.59 per game average) and stopped 94 percent of the Devils' shots, giving the Flyers more than a chance to win like they had asked him to do. Boucher has been in the second round before, just not since 2000. That didn't seem to make any difference last round.

Bruins: Similar to Boucher, Tuukka Rask topped an opponent few picked him to beat in the first round in Buffalo's Ryan Miller. Miller is a virtual lock to win the Vezina Trophy this year. Rask, a seemingly unflappable 23-year-old rookie from Finland, posted a 2.18 GAA and .927 save percentage in Round 1. Rask beat out Tim Thomas, a former Vezina winner, for the starting job during the regular season with a stunning 1.97 GAA in 39 starts. This is Rask's first run in the playoffs.

EDGE: Pick 'em

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COACHING

Flyers: Peter Laviolette's aggressive, attack-first system won out against Jacques Lemaire's famous trapping and defensive style in the first round. With all of the Flyers' injuries this year, Laviolette has juggled the lines to keep his team competitive and balanced. He also limited the Flyers' liability in the first round by managing his third defensive pairing efficiently. Laviolette proved he wasn't afraid to try new things, such as moving Chris Pronger to a forward position on the power play to distract Marty Brodeur. His 2006 Stanley Cup championship cannot be dismissed.

Bruins: After capturing the top seed in last year's Eastern Conference playoffs, Claude Julien was awarded the Jack Adams Trophy as coach of the year. His team was bounced in the second round in 2009. In his seven seasons as an NHL head coach, Julien has never advanced past the second round. He also lost in the conference semifinals in 2004 with Montreal. Julien has won just 24 less games in his career than Laviolette but it's the big one that counts.

EDGE: Flyers

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SPECIAL TEAMS

Flyers: The Flyers' penalty kill was a big reason for their success in the first round. They held the Devils to just four goals on 32 chances. This time, the Flyers will be without half of what might be their best penalty-killing tandem in franchise history, Ian Laperriere (brain contusion). Blair Betts will shoulder most of the penalty-kill responsibility. Darroll Powe, Mike Richards, Claude Giroux and maybe even Scott Hartnell will be called upon for support. The power play also scored at least one goal in every game last round, clicking at a 27 percent rate.

Bruins: Boston's power play was a pedestrian 23rd in the regular season but turned it around in the playoffs. The Bruins will enter the next round with one of the best success rates in the first round, second only to the Flyers. They scored six times on 22 chances against Buffalo. More impressive, Boston was the only team to not allow a power-play goal in the first round. Tuukka Rask turned aside all 19 of Buffalo's power plays. In the regular season, Boston had the NHL's third-best penalty kill.

EDGE: Bruins

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INTANGIBLES

Flyers: The Flyers will have had 8 complete days off between games when Round 2 begins tomorrow in Beantown. They played some of their best hockey in the regular season before the Olympic break and floundered after a 2-week layoff. Rest might be what the Flyers needed. The Flyers have said all along they are a team built for the playoffs. Having Kimmo Timonen, Chris Pronger and Mike Richards well-rested could go a long way.

Bruins: Getting veteran Marc Savard back for the second round will be a huge boost. Savard, 32, is a former two-time 90-plus-point scorer. This is just his third time in the playoffs, though. The Flyers might even have the home-ice advantage, despite opening on the road. Boston was just 18-17-6 in the regular season at TD Garden, where the Bruins have won just two playoff series since 1999.

EDGE: Flyers

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KEYS TO THE SERIES

1. Power play. The Flyers' power play was outstanding in Round 1 against the Devils. They scored two power-play goals in three of those five games. The Flyers' top unit will need to continue to contribute in the second round against a Bruins team that didn't allow a single power-play goal in the first round.

2. Shots. In five games against Marty Brodeur, the Flyers threw just 126 shots his way. It will take more than that to beat Tuukka Rask, who has put up an outstanding save percentage throughout the regular season and the playoffs. The Flyers' quality of chances was above average in the first round but more quantity never hurts.

3. Depth scoring. Two scorers alone, Mike Richards and Claude Giroux, cannot carry the Flyers through to the Eastern Conference finals. The Flyers need more goals from Dan Carcillo, Scott Hartnell, Danny Briere and Arron Asham to win. A goal from the fourth line - or a freshly added call-up from the Phantoms - could be one that puts the Flyers over the top.