For the Flyers, this year's deficit to Bruins nothing like last season

BOSTON - Any resemblance to last year is nothing more than a mocking coincidence. Let us begin there, as the Flyers again contemplate history.

Twelve months ago, they fell into an 0-3 hole against the Bruins in the second round of the playoffs; same time, next year. And while they do not award style points in the NHL, especially not in the springtime, the reality is that the Flyers played very well in those three losses in 2010. By comparison, they have been thrashed in two of the three losses in 2011. Last night's loss was a deserved 5-1.

The identity of the more complete team is not currently in doubt. The probability that the Flyers could pull off another miraculous comeback, playing at their current level, is approaching nil - which is why they call them miracles, after all.

"I think it does get tiring," defenseman Sean O'Donnell said, when asked about this team's ridiculous penchant for falling behind in games and series. "But we have no one to blame but ourselves."

We will talk a lot about goaltending, because that is what we do. And, yes, Brian Boucher was pulled last night at 15:14 of the second period - the sixth time in 10 playoff games that the Flyers' starter was taken out of the game. It is worth a long discussion, clearly.

But the only howler Boucher allowed was the last one, when the score was already 3-0 and the Bruins were wringing the life out of the game, and the Flyers, with their neutral-zone trap. They lost this one long before Nathan Horton shot the puck through Boucher's legs and forced Flyers coach Peter Laviolette to go to his bullpen, again.

As O'Donnell said, "We really threw Boosh under the bus, unfortunately."

The only reason the Flyers struggled to beat Buffalo in seven games in the opening round was their goaltending. But this situation, in this series, is much more complicated than that. The Bruins, top to bottom, appear to be the sturdier and more persistent team. A Flyers team with scoring on three lines and more capable defensemen than most teams has begun to wilt.

The burden of coming from behind, again and again, has worn them down.

Defenseman Kimmo Timonen talked about how "it felt like we were skating in sand." He said, "We looked tired today, somehow." The Bruins really had their hitting shoes on, despite a stat sheet that awarded the Flyers 31 hits to the Bruins' 24. The Flyers have begun to wear, to fray.

Maybe they do miss defenseman Chris Pronger that much; another topic worthy of discussion. Pronger, with his mysterious series of undisclosed ailments, has played in only three games in the playoffs. They are 2-1 with him and 2-5 without him. Again, this is something that will be picked over at length, one would assume, after the season is over.

But it seems like more than that. It isn't just the goalie. It isn't just Pronger. It is the exhaustion, physical and mental, from all of the digging out of holes that they do.

The Flyers came out in the first period and had nothing. They had played very well in Monday's overtime loss in Game 2 and had reason to think there might be something to build on. But it was as if they expended everything on that big punch. They came out flat-footed for Game 3 and the Bruins ended up scoring twice in the game's first 63 seconds.

The first was a rocket launched by Zdeno Chara, the Bruins' mammoth defenseman. The second was scored by David Krejci. Neither was remotely Boucher's fault. That is just what Laviolette told his goaltender during the timeout that he called right after the second goal. It was an odd scene - the rest of the team gathered around assistant coach Craig Berube, and Laviolette and Boucher conversing, alone.

The Bruins, with a lead, with their trapping style when leading, and with their emphasis in this game on hitting, just seemed to keep the Flyers from skating at all. Oh, and they won a ridiculous 43 out of 55 faceoffs in the game, 78 percent. It is impossible to look good as a team when you lose that many, when you are always chasing just to try to regain possession.

For the Flyers, there were none of the breathtaking rushes in transition that marked Game 2. From the middle of the second period on, there was little doubt who was going to win the game - especially when you add in the fact that Tim Thomas is a better-than-pretty-good goaltender.

Little doubt. And now - and with all due respect to what the Flyers accomplished in 2010 - it would appear to be all over but the cliches. As forward Danny Briere said, "We have to take it one game at a time, try to win one game . . . We're not going to win four games on Friday."

All true enough. But it really isn't like last year.

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