Flyers, Bruins get what they wanted - each other
Flyers, Bruins get what they wanted - each other
Sam Carchidi, Inquirer Staff Writer
They won’t come out and say it, but this is the matchup the Flyers wanted.
The Flyers learned Wednesday night that they will meet the Boston Bruins in the Eastern Conference semifinals. The Flyers would have played explosive Washington, but the Caps became the first top-seeded team to blow a three-games-to-one lead to an eighth-seed since the current playoff format started in 1994, losing a shocking 2-1 decision to Montreal on Wednesday.
And so, it’s a no-frills Flyers-Bruins series. The muckers against the grinders. It starts Saturday afternoon in Beantown, the first time the Flyers are playing in Boston since the Winter Classic at Fenway Park on Jan. 1.
Will this series become known as the Spring Classic?
Perhaps. But I think it will be a defensive struggle, a matchup that will feature more hard hits than goals. It will be a low-scoring series that won’t get a lot of style points, but WILL get one team closer to the Stanley Cup.
The Flyers, coming off an impressive quarterfinal win over New Jersey, are trying to maintain their momentum despite injuries to Jeff Carter, Simon Gagne and Ian Laperriere. For them to advance, they need their Chris Pronger-led defense and goalie Brian Boucher (1.59 goals-against average in the first round) to continue to shine.
Oh, and they need Mike Richards, Claude Giroux and Danny Briere to show their regular-season performance against Boston was a fluke. The three had zero points as the Flyers went 2-1-1 against Boston during the season.
All three forwards played well in the seventh-seeded Flyers’ stunning dismantling of the second-seeded Devils, four games to one.
Boston, seeded sixth, moved to the semifinals by beating third-seeded Buffalo _ and Ryan Miller, arguably the NHL’s best goalie _ in six games.
Like the Flyers, this is the matchup the Bruins wanted. For one, they don't have the firepower to match the Pittsburgh _ the team they would have faced if Washingtion had won. For another, they get the home-ice advantage despite being a sixth seed.
The Bruins, who should get a boost with the return of star center Marc Savard (recovered from a concussion), have struggled to score goals all season. They have lived on their Zdeno Chara-led defense and the standout goaltending of Tuukka Rask (2.18 GAA in the first round).
Because of injuries, the Flyers don’t have as much firepower as earlier in the season and, from here, look to be similar to the Bruins. The Bruins and Flyers both depend on team play and solid work on special teams.
Speaking of which….
Special teams will probably decide this series, much like they determined the quarterfinals for both teams.
The Flyers’ power play (8 for 29, 27.6 percent success rate) and penalty kill (28 for 32, 87.5 percent) were outstanding against the Devils.
Special teams also carried Boston to its playoff win. The Bruins were perfect on the PK against Buffalo, killing all 19 penalties. They were 6 for 22 (27.3 percent) on the power play.
And then there are the intangibles to consider.
The Flyers are trying to rally for Ian Laperriere, their fearless winger who had nearly 70 stitches administered, suffered a broken orbital bone, a brain bruise and a mild concussion while blocking a shot in the last round. He is expected to be sidelined for the rest of the playoffs, and the Flyers will miss his leadership and penalty-killing skills.
Will Laperriere inspire the Flyers in Round 2?
Will Pronger’s playoff experience and leadership continue to show? Will ex-Flyer Mark Recchi, who was brilliant in the upset of Buffalo, trump Pronger with HIS playoff moxie?
Stay tuned. This series has all the makings of a seven-game classic.
Pick: Flyers in seven.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Here is the schedule:
Date Time (ET) Network
Saturday, May 1 12:30 p.m. Philadelphia at Boston NBC, TSN
Monday, May 3 7 p.m. Philadelphia at Boston TSN, VERSUS**
Wednesday, May 5 7 p.m. Boston at Philadelphia TSN, VERSUS**
Friday, May 7 7 p.m. Boston at Philadelphia TSN, VERSUS**
Monday, May 10 * 7 p.m. Philadelphia at Boston TSN2, VERSUS
Wednesday, May 12 * TBD Boston at Philadelphia TSN, VERSUS
Friday, May 14 * 7 p.m. Philadelphia at Boston TSN, VERSUS
* if needed.
> are some of you just reposting but replacing devils with bruins. i can't wait for the flyer to kick beantowns (yea i said it) a**. flyers in 5 and when its over all the haters can suck it!— poorcarole- I have no life is either blind or doesn't know hockey...maybe both! And I bet Boston badass is really a wuss! Go Flyers!!— Gus L.
- BostonBadAss (riiight)...guess what? we don't live in Boston, so i guess we'll keep on using "Beantown."— mbphilly
- Let's go, Flyers! Beat Legumetown!— Flyskippy
- Flyers are going to have to hit with the Bruins. I don't see that happening. Bruins are bigger, faster, and have a better PK. The Flers have a couple of guys that will hit anything that moves. The Bruins have the entire team. Ryder was the hardest hitter for the entire series...enough said...Plus everyone knows Flyer fans chew it!!— dropthedamnpuck
- @dropthedamnpuck: You said, "Bruins are bigger, faster, and have a better PK." Um, could it be that the Sabres simply had a worse PP? I think so. This will be a quick series because the Flyers will be underestimated, as they were in 2008. Flyers in 5.— Flyskippy
- Hey skippy, check out the B's PK #'s for the year...Oh wait a minute skippy, they had the best in the league, Ooops! Who the hell calls themself Skippy anyway???— dropthedamnpuck
Comment removed.- Hey dropthedamnpuck who are the Flers. Why don't you go out and play with your bean head friends and quit posting here, or I'll tell your mom and she'll ground you for the playoffs!!— Gus L.
- Anything idiotic out of Flyer fans come as no surprise to the rest of US. The worst fans in the league! They boo there own team consatntly, a PP with no shots...thats good for a bunch of boos. I suppose if you had to live in Philly you'd have no choice but to be generall miserable anyway.— dropthedamnpuck
- Jinx, schminx, bradco. Pendulums swing.— PhillyGrog
In my eyes this series will be quite similar to the quarterfinals with the Devils. Boston, though, has a star D-man in Chara, something the Devils didn't have, and the Bruins have a younger goalie who has yet to prove he can be nearly as good as Marty Brodeur. If Giroux, JVR, Leino and Hartnell manage to fill in the void left behind by injuries, the Flyers should have a fair chance. I'd say that on the whole the Flyers' two top defense pairings are better than the Bruins ones, who have lost Seidenberg to injury. This will be crucial - depth on D rather than on offense, and therefore I predict the Flyers will take it in six.- Low scoring series? They just averaged three goals a game against the best goalie to ever play the position. I think not. By the way: gotta love other city's d*ckheads who actually have the time to come to another sports teams' article blog sites to post their garbage that none of us really care about. Cheesesteaks suck, huh. Great diss on us, you are a real winner, bubba. Well, you seem to not like our sports or our culinary contribution (which most people seem to enjoy, by the way) so I've got one reeeeeeaaallly simple solution for you "Badass" - DON'T COME HERE: it really is that simple!! Then again, I wouldn't expect idiots who can't seem to grasp the English language when they've apparently been here the longest to understand much...or whose football team needs to cheat. Laughable that town and their "championships." Flyers in 6.— dr.elektrika
- Who calls other people "themself"? Regular season numbers mean nothing now, dropthedamnpuck. Nothing. Pronger & Co. will send the folks who cannot order the iPad because it sounds like they're saying iPod home crying.— Flyskippy
- As long as the Flyers adapt to counter Boston's style of play, they can take them. I anticipate this being more of a defensive battle, but if the Flyers keep pressure in Boston's zone they will wear out their defense. Even with the injuries, this team can rally and keep going. Other people will have to step up even more and fill those voids. Honestly, we can't expect someone to jump in and do what Laperriere does--thats a rare kind of person. Let's face it, there wasn't anyone else this year who blocked a shot using his entire face. Even he admits it wasn't the best move and almost can't explain why he did it. If more players just block shots or get their sticks in to break up or deflect passes/shots, they can keep going. Its going to be a tough series, a physical series, and I say Flyers in 6. Let's just hope there is no repeat of the officiating seen in the Winter Classic.— ena1977
