Flyers lose Boucher, beat Bruins

BOSTON - When goalie Brian Boucher crumbled to the ice with an apparent leg injury early in the second period Monday night, the Flyers' season was on life support.

So it was only natural, then, that Michael Leighton - dressing for the first time since he suffered a high ankle sprain on March 16 - came to the rescue.

Again.

Leighton saved the Flyers' season by going 16-5-2 while filling in because of injuries to Ray Emery and Boucher.

And he saved it again last night, stopping 14 shots in relief of Boucher, and helping the Flyers defeat the Boston Bruins, 4-0, before a stunned sellout crowd at TD Garden.

The Flyers, who had a 1-0 lead when Leighton entered the game, notched their first playoff shutout against Boston since May 19, 1974, when Bernie Parent blanked the Bruins, 1-0, in the Stanley Cup-clinching win.

Leighton had a strong supporting cast, led by Simon Gagne, who scored two goals in his second game after returning from a broken foot, and Ville Leino, with a goal and an assist.

The win, the Flyers' second straight, cut Boston's series lead to three games to two.

Game 6 in this intriguing Eastern Conference semifinal series will be Wednesday at the Wachovia Center.

According to the Elias Sport Bureau, the Flyers are the 11th team out of 155 to force a Game 6 after losing the first three games.

The Flyers, trying to become the third team in NHL history to win a series after losing the first three games, also lost the services of Claude Giroux during the game. Giroux was injured when he was boarded by Steve Begin with three minutes left in the second period.

Boucher had to be helped off the ice by Chris Pronger and trainer Jim McCrossin with 15 minutes, 25 seconds left in the second period.

Flyers defenseman Ryan Parent and Bruins right winger Miroslav Satan fell atop Boucher, who was writing in pain as he crumbled to the ice with an apparent leg injury.

Late in the period, Gagne, who scored in overtime to win Game 4, one-timed a Mike Richards pass past Tuukka Rask to end the Flyers' 0-for-14 power-play funk and give them a 3-0 lead.

"We have to match their desperation," Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron said after the morning skate.

But the Bruins did not, and they were booed loudly as they left the ice facing a 3-0 deficit after two periods.

Before the game, coach Peter Laviolette said the first five minutes would be critical. He wanted the Flyers to set the tempo and play an aggressive style. They did just that and nearly took the lead on a slick play by Arron Asham and Giroux after a little less than two minutes.

Asham, skating down the left side, made a perfect cross to Giroux for a redirected shot in front. But Rask made a sliding save to thwart Giroux.

With 13:19 left in the period, Leino scored on a rebound of Pronger's point drive. It was Leino's second goal of the series and it gave the Flyers their first lead in the three playoff games in Boston.

Boucher, meanwhile, had a solid first period, making his best save on a Satan tip-in attempt midway through the period. A few minutes later, he also denied Milan Lucic from just beyond the right circle.

Boston's Vladimir Sobotka was assessed a four-minute penalty for high-sticking (and bloodying) Scott Hartnell with 6:17 left in the first. But the Flyers' power play again looked disorganized, and it didn't help that 2:38 later, they were called for a too-many-men-on-the-ice penalty.

The Bruins nearly scored on their power play, as Satan, alone in front, backhanded the puck under the arm of an on-charging Boucher, only to see the shot slide wide of the left post with 1:55 left in the first period.

A short time later, the Flyers' power play finally found its rhythm, but Rask made a nice save on Giroux to keep the Bruins within 1-0.

The Bruins killed the power play as it carried into the second period. That made the Flyers 0 for 13 with the extra skater in the last three-plus games.

The Flyers took a 2-0 lead with 8:44 left in the second period. Leino didn't get an assist, but he kept the puck alive in the zone and helped set up the score. Danny Briere, to the left of the goal, made a gorgeous touch pass to Hartnell, who knocked the puck out of the air and into the net for his first goal in 22 games.

"It's nice to chip in," said Hartnell, who had an assist and was plus-2 in Game 4.

The Flyers were headed to a victory that would get them back in the series . . . and start the Bruins thinking about the ghosts of the 1942 Red Wings and '75 Penguins.

Those are the only teams in NHL history to lose a playoff series after winning the first three games.