After Two More Lifeless Periods, B's Wake Up Just In Time For A Wild 5-4 Shootout Win Vs. Flyers

    When they trailed 2-0 after two periods tonight in their pandemic home opener at TD Garden vs. the Flyers (3-1-1), I had little hope that the Bruins (2-1-1) would actually score a single goal, let alone rally for an incredibly entertaining 5-4 shootout victory. Somehow a team that hadn't scored an even-strength goal in its first three games (plus 2 periods) exploded with three of them in the third period along with a power play goal. Of course, they blew a late 4-3 lead but nobody will remember that after goaltender Tuukka Rask (22 saves) was spectacular in overtime and struggling winger Jake DeBrusk scored the lone shootout goal as Boston won its second shootout of the young season. Please note how wretched they were in shootouts last season: 0-7. 

    For a long time, this had all the trappings of another frustrating loss, which would have been the third in a row for the Bruins. They dominated the first period (outshooting the Flyers 14-3) but they had nothing to show for it thanks to Philly's promising goaltender Carter Hart (39 saves). Philadelphia woke up in the second period with a pair of goals from center Claude Giroux and UNH product James van Riemsdyk. Setting up on the power play, Giroux whipped a snap shot over Rask's blocker shoulder at 6:17, a beautiful first goal of the game and his season that was assisted by Ivan Provorov (who played a game-high 30:46 after fellow defenseman Mark Friedman left early with a facial injury and never returned). van Riemsdyk's was almost a power play goal as well since it came a few seconds after another Boston penalty had expired. The B's were running around a bit and JVR was stationed in front to re-direct a pass from right wing Jakub Voracek (3 assists). BC's Kevin Hayes had the other helper that gave Philadelphia a 2-0 lead at 17:31. 

    A highly-touted rookie got the comeback started for the B's when forward Jack Studnicka went to the net and put in his own rebound 57 seconds into the third period for his first career NHL goal. Center David Krejci and left wing Nick Ritchie had the assists on the goal that finally kickstarted some life into Boston. Only 1:09 after that, it was tied at two as center Charlie Coyle got to a rebound and cleverly spun around his defender to screen Hart. His low shot was his first goal of the season and it all started with a great play by Craig Smith (1st assist/point as a Bruin) to keep the puck in the offensive zone and fire it on Hart. Defenseman Kevan Miller added his first helper of the season and it was also his first point in ages after back-to-back lost years due to injuries. The Flyers responded with a fluky play that resulted in a temporary go-ahead goal: defenseman Travis Sanheim accidently deflected Voracek's pass off his skate and somehow it found its way past Rask. His first goal of the season was also assisted by center Nolan Patrick at 7:13. 

    Take a breath, this is where things got extra weird on a Thursday night in an empty and silent building. Boston got another quick flurry of goals to regain the lead: Ritchie one-timed a nifty pass from center Patrice Bergeron to tie it at three. Krejci had the second assist on Ritchie's second goal of the season that came on the power play. If that was surprising to say the least, the next tally was doubly shocking as defenseman Brandon Carlo (not known for his offensive prowess either) blasted a rocket for a 4-3 lead and what should have been the game-winning goal. Defenseman Matt Grzelcyk and left wing Brad Marchand had the assists on his first goal of the season. van Riemsdyk scored the last goal as Rask stopped Voracek's one-timer but JVR was on the doorstep to poke in the loose puck. Hayes had the second assist at 16:28.  

    As you can guess-since they outshot the Flyers 22-10-the Bruins controlled the third but credit Philly for bouncing back in overtime and honestly, they should have won it multiple times if not for some top-notch saves by Rask. Smith and Voracek's shots were both saved in round one of the shootout. Coyle and center Travis Konecny each missed the net in round two. Finally, DeBrusk broke the deadlock with a beautiful deke then shot that settled just under the crossbar. Giroux went last to try to extend it for the Flyers but Rask denied him. What a great win for the Bruins after such a pitiful start, again. These teams will meet again on Saturday night (7, NESN) for what will likely not come close to measuring up to this thriller. Even after tonight's results, Philadelphia remains in first-place in the East Division. Rask earned a rest so expect Jaroslav Halak (0-0-1) to get the start likely against Philly's backup goaltender Brian Elliott (1-0-0) who is a decent journeyman. There's no playoff football on Saturday so that tilt should be on your radar while you're flipping around to different games and shows.

Ugh, Not Again: The Bruins Blow Another 3rd Period Lead & Lose 3-2 In Overtime to the Flyers

Right before their bye week, the Bruins (27-17-7) played like a team that was ready for a break. Since they have returned from nine days off, they have been the same team that cannot get out of its own way as they dropped to 1-2-3 in their last six games with a 3-2 overtime loss this evening to Philadelphia (22-23-6) at TD Garden. The Flyers have won six straight games including a pair against the Bruins eight days apart. Losing 4-3 to the Jets (33-16-2) in a shootout on Thursday also hurt but the gift point from that one combined with the point tonight meant that Boston pulled ahead of idle Montreal (28-18-5) for third-place in the Atlantic Division.

It started off as a nice performance for Boston's special teams as they scored a power play goal in the first period but it ended in flames as the Flyers scored a tying goal in the third period on the power play and then defenseman Travis Sanheim won it with a snipe on the power play in the extra session. Did I mention that Philadelphia entered with the worst power play in the NHL? Tuukka Rask (14-8-4) returned to action from his concussion and he made 38 saves so it's tough to pin this loss on him since his team was outshot 41-25 (28-15 in the last 2 periods and 5-0 in OT).

Boston's top line has not skipped a beat but just like earlier in the season, secondary scoring has become a major issue for the B's. David Pastrnak gave Boston a 1-0 lead just 3:05 into the contest as he slammed in a one-timer from Torey Krug. Brad Marchand (6-game point-streak) had the other helper on Pasta's 29th goal of the season. It feels like the Bruins have allowed way too many breakaways lately and that burned them as Claude Giroux got behind their defense and tied it up at 19:16 of the first period. Jakub Voracek had the lone assist on Giroux's 15th goal of the season.

With such elite stick skills not to mention plenty of speed, Pastrnak isn't known for getting too many greasy goals (ie. right in front of the net) yet there he was in the second period, tipping in Patrice Bergeron's shot past Flyers rookie goaltender Carter Hart (23 saves; 8-5-1). Zdeno Chara had the second assist on Pasta's 30th goal of the season. It's the third straight season that David has scored 30+ goals and he's the fastest Bruin to reach that mark since Cam Neely (30 goals in 27 games) way back in 1993-94. Pasta had 34 goals two years ago and 35 last season so I think it's a good bet that he'll surpass both of those marks and he has a very realistic shot at 40 for the first time in his NHL career.

I didn't think that it deserved a penalty let alone a penalty shot early in the third period but the referees disagreed as they awarded the latter to the immortal Scott Laughton after he got breathed on during a breakaway (or hooked by John Moore). Rask made it a moot point though with a blocker save on the penalty shot. Boston hadn't been called for a penalty all game until Sean Kuraly was nabbed for holding the stick later in the frame. Oskar Lindblom tied it at two with a power play goal that ticked off of Kevan Miller in front of Rask at 10:36. Voracek and Sanheim assisted on Lindblom's seventh goal of the season.

Take your pick which is the more depressing stat: the Flyers were 1-20-3 when trailing after two periods this season or the fact that they were 1-6 in overtime? Philly always seems to go on these crazy win streaks at various points of every campaign but then again, they are just as liable to lose six games in a row. Marchand was called for tripping in overtime and he was one second away from stepping back on the ice when Sanheim ripped in his fifth goal of the season at 2:56. Sean Couturier (who was 16-7, 70% on faceoffs) and Travis Konecny had the assists on Sanheim's memorable tally in his 100th NHL game. For the Bruins, it was David Backes' 900th NHL game and Brandon Carlo's 200th.

No practice for the B's tomorrow as they try to regroup mentally. They'll be back on the ice for practice on Saturday morning before flying out to our nation's capital. They play Washington (27-17-6) on Sunday afternoon (12:30, NBC), a nice appetizer before Celtics-Thunder and Super Bowl LIII (Patriots vs. Rams) later that night. Boston has lost roughly 54 consecutive games to the Capitals so I would say that they are long overdue for two points against the defending champs. What better way to get out of this rut than by clearing that hurdle that has dogged them for years now ? Boston returns to its home ice next Tuesday (7, NESN) vs. the Islanders (29-15-5) who lead the Metropolitan Division and have the second best record in the Eastern Conference. Who saw that coming?

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B's Stay Hot As Stafford Scores the Game-Winning Goal With 5.6 Seconds Left to Sink the Flyers 2-1

In any sport, to be considered a true contender and more than just a fringe playoff team at best, you have to win games in many different ways (low-scoring, high-scoring, etc.). Boston (36-26-6) outlasted Philadelphia (31-28-8) 2-1 this afternoon at TD Garden in a staring contest that fittingly ended with a very fluky goal. The newest Bruin-Drew Stafford-threw the puck at the net and Flyers defenseman Brandon Manning ended up deflecting it past his own goaltender Steve Mason (25 saves). That game-winning goal was Stafford's sixth tally of the season and second as a Bruin, he has four points (2 goals, 2 assists) in four games with the black and gold. In other words, nice trade deadline pickup by GM Don Sweeney.

Getting the two points and also not letting Philly have any (when they probably deserved at least one) was a huge result not just for the B's but many other Eastern Conference clubs. It brought Boston closer to a playoff berth, keeping them solidly in third-place in the Atlantic Division. For now, Boston is four points ahead of Toronto (30-22-14) who is playing tonight at Colorado (19-44-3) but the Leafs have two games in hand on the Bruins. Boston is three points ahead of the Islanders (32-23-11) who are in St. Louis (34-27-5) and also have two games in hand. Finally, the Lightning (31-26-9) and Panthers (29-26-11) meet tonight in Tampa Bay in essentially an elimination game. If either club loses in regulation (particularly Florida), you could cross them off the list of teams with a reasonable shot to sneak in the top-eight in the East.

This being a Bruins-Flyers game, even with a family friendly start time of 1 pm, you knew that there would be some physical play. Manning and Matt Beleskey ended up dropping the gloves just 2:02 into the contest. The hard hits continued throughout and Boston gained some serious momentum by killing a 5-on-3 Philadelphia power play that lasted for 1:43 in the first. A few minutes later, the Bruins jumped ahead 1-0 on David Pastrnak's power play goal (his 28th of the season). It was a picture perfect set up as he dumped the puck in and Brad Marchand won a battle behind Philly's net which allowed Patrice Bergeron to feed Pastrnak on the doorstep for the one-timer.

Philly had outshot Boston 14-11 in the first period but it was a relatively even frame despite the 1-0 Bruins advantage. The second period was dominated by the Flyers (outshooting the B's 9-4) but luckily for the home team, Tuukka Rask (26 saves) came to play. The Flyers tied it at one at 1:27 as Jordan Weal tapped the puck through Torey Krug's legs after some chaos around Rask (Brandon Carlo had fallen down). Head coach Bruce Cassidy (who is 10-3-0 by the way, 7-1 at home) challenged the play for a possible offside on Wayne Simmonds but it stood as Weal's third goal of the season, from Simmonds and Claude Giroux.

The black and gold turned up the pressure and started to look much better in the third period (after Cassidy had changed some lines with Austin Czarnik and Jimmy Hayes disappearing for all intents and purposes) as they outshot the Flyers 12-4. Beleskey was stuffed after a juicy rebound allowed by Mason early on and it looked like it would be decided in overtime or a shootout. Luckily, Stafford saved his team and their fans from more hockey on this day (keep in mind the Bruins are only 4-4 in OT and 2-2 in shootouts). Kevan Miller had the lone assist on the game-winning goal which came in truly bizarre fashion but the Bruins will obviously take it with a smile and move on.

Another reason why it was such an important result is because the Bruins are off to Canada for a four-game excursion: at Vancouver (28-30-9) on Monday (10:00, NESN), at Calgary (37-26-4) on Wednesday (9, NESN), at Edmonton (35-23-9) on Thursday (9, NESN) then wrapping up in Toronto (30-22-14) a week from Monday (7:30, NESN). The Bruins are still a great road team (17-12-6) and other than the Canucks, those other three teams have a good shot at reaching the postseason. Needless to say, that meeting with the Maple Leafs should be enormously important to both clubs.

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Serious Question: Will the Bruins Win a Home Game Before Halloween?

After dropping their first three games of the season-all at TD Garden-in humiliating fashion, the Bruins found some life on the road with a pair of wins in Colorado and Arizona last week. Boston (2-3-1) returned home to face the Flyers (3-2-1) who lost 2-1 to Dallas (5-1-0) in Philadelphia last night. For whatever reason, the B's continue to struggle at the Garden as they choked away another two-goal lead (this time in the third period) and fell 5-4 in overtime on Claude Giroux's power-play strike.

Once again, Boston's defense was a mess and Tuukka Rask (32 saves) didn't exactly help matters as he gave up another soft goal. He's allowed 19 goals in his first four starts at the Garden this season. Former Flyer Zac Rinaldo is likely headed for a suspension as he predictably took a run at an old teammate-Sean Couturier-and was called for charging with a game misconduct at the end of the first period. You could argue that it was a clean hit (something that he kept repeating in the dressing room after the game like he was Marshawn Lynch) but this seems to be a case of a bad reputation catching up to a dirty player. I'll never understand why the Bruins traded a third-round pick for this clown and actually thought that he'd change (he's been suspended three times in his NHL career).

The Flyers jumped ahead 1-0 at 9:28 as Canadiens wannabe Pierre-Edouard Bellemare poked in a rebound that Rask dropped right at his skates. Michal Neuvirth returned the favor as he allowed a rebound right to Brett Connolly at 13:28 for a goal after Patrice Bergeron took the initial shot. Connolly's first goal of the season was also assisted by Brad Marchand. Sam Gagner caught Boston on a bad line change and he used Kevan Miller's screen to beat Rask at 15:04. Believe it or not, the Bruins currently have the best power play in the NHL and once again, it came through as Bergeron batted a puck out of mid-air at 17:24 on the man-advantage. Loui Eriksson and David Krejci (who leads the NHL with 11 points) had the assists on Papa Bergeron's fourth goal of the season (his wife had their first child, a boy named Zack earlier in the day).

Neuvirth must have tweaked something on Bergeron's goal because Steve Mason replaced him to start the second period. Mason initially looked like a goaltender who had started last night and expected to have tonight off. Boston killed Rinaldo's five-minute penalty and also scored another special teams goal, this time a shorthanded goal that went off Chris Kelly's skate at 4:31. His second goal of the season was assisted by Eriksson and Zdeno Chara. The Bruins doubled the lead at 8:49 as BC's Jimmy Hayes scored his first goal on his new home ice (2nd of the season). He beat Mason shortside on a shot that many good high schoolers would have stopped, Krejci had the lone assist.

Everything was lined up for Boston to pick up its first home win and ditto for Rask. Instead, they suffered another terrible meltdown. David Pastrnak appeared to make it 5-2 with a one-timer but Mason stopped him with one of the best saves that you'll see all year (his glove snagged it right before it went totally over the line, or so said the replay officials). Giroux cut it to 4-3 at 7:48 after Kevan Miller coughed the puck up behind his net and Jakub Voracek fed him in front for an easy goal. Wayne Simmonds tied it less than three minutes later with a laser over Rask's shoulder into the far corner.

Ryan Spooner was called for hooking in overtime and even before that, you had a feeling that this wouldn't end well for Boston. Sure enough, Philadelphia's stars got it done as Giroux one-timed a pass from Mark Streit (3 assists) and Voracek. A loss is a loss and Boston got the cheap point out of it but make no mistake, this was extremely bitter for the Black and Gold. There is no reason that they should have fallen apart like that to an overmatched opponent like the Flyers (given their injuries and that they had played a good team the night before).

The B's head out on the road again, three of their last four games in October are all away from the Garden which is probably a good thing. They make their first trip to see the Barclays Center on Friday (7:30, NESN) to play the Islanders (4-1-1) who look like one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference. Boston returns home to meet the Coyotes (3-2-1) on Tuesday (7, NESN) before they spend Halloween weekend in Florida: at Panthers (3-2-1) on October 30 (7:30, NESN) and at Lightning (4-2-1) on Halloween (7, NESN).

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David Pastrnak Scores His 1st 2 NHL Goals, Bruins Beat Flyers 3-1 for Their 3rd Straight Win

You might have missed it but some significant things happened in Boston's routine 3-1 win over Philadelphia this afternoon at Wells Fargo Center. The headline of the victory for the Bruins (22-15-6) was that rookie David Pastrnak scored his first two career NHL goals. Seeing his skill and talent on the ice is a breath of fresh air for a team that has needed a boost of energy all season.

Tuukka Rask (24 saves) almost had a shutout and Chris Kelly scored a shorthanded goal as Boston put together its first three-game win streak since before Thanksgiving (third overall). I don't know what it is about the Flyers (16-19-7) but the B's typically dominate them and this season they happen to be pretty down. Boston beat them 2-1 on Opening Night and now they finish the three-game season series on March 7 in Boston.

You knew it was going to be a weird game when Adam McQuaid fought Nick Schultz seven seconds into the proceedings. McQuaid was being a good teammate and standing up for Daniel Paille who got crushed on a hit by Schultz in the neutral zone. McQuaid got a 10-minute misconduct and also an extra two minutes for instigating but Boston was able to kill the penalties.

That was nothing compared to Philadelphia goaltender Steve Mason getting hurt later in the frame and having to be replaced by Ray Emery. Pastrnak's first goal wasn't anything special (in terms of showcasing his ability), it was just a simple tap-in following a rebound. Torey Krug and Zdeno Chara assisted on the power play strike.

After a blah Saturday afternoon second period where nobody scored and nothing happened, things thankfully picked up in the third. Boston broke it up and put it away with a one-timer by Pastrnak (from David Krejci and McQuaid) at 4:58 followed by Kelly's top-shelf shorty (his 5th goal of the season) at 9:51 from Loui Eriksson and Chara.

The only time all game that the Flyers showed any real signs of life came on Giroux's power play goal at 14:13. It was his type of move and low shot from the slot that beat Rask, assisted by Mark Streit and Jakub Voracek (the leading scorer in the NHL).

Boston returns to the Garden for the next week as they host Tampa Bay (27-12-4)-the top team in the East-on Tuesday (7, NESN), the hottest team in the league the Rangers (24-11-4; 9-1-0 in their last 10 games) on Thursday (7, NESN) and then Columbus closes it out on Saturday (7, NESN). Those are three Eastern Conference clubs that Boston will be competing with for a playoff spot, OK maybe the Blue Jackets not so much but this is still a time to put a real good stretch together for the Black and Gold.

After the game, Patrice Bergeron was named to the first All-Star game in his career (10 years in the NHL). It'll be great to see him enjoying the festivities, he's earned it. Sadly no other Bruins made it (at least before replacements come in for injuries and what not).

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Bruins Own the Flyers, Except for that World-Famous Choke Job in the 2010 Playoffs

I don't know what exactly it is about the matchup but I feel like at least once every season when the Bruins and Flyers meet, Boston skates away with a blowout victory. In their first meeting this season, Boston (32-15-3) destroyed Philadelphia (25-22-6) 6-1 this afternoon at Wells Fargo Center. The six goals matched a season-high for the B's (6-2 win Dec. 23 at Nashville).

The B's efficiently tore the Flyers apart with two goals in each frame and big offensive games for Jarome Iginla (2 goals, 2 assists), David Krejci (3 assists), Zdeno Chara (2 goals) and Torey Krug (2 assists). In total, eight Bruins found the scoresheet and Tuukka Rask (25 saves) set a new career-high with his 23rd win of 2013-14.

Two things that always seem to plague the Flyers came back to bite them today: bad goaltending and undisciplined play (especially in the back end). For some reason, Steve Mason got a three-year extension last weekend but if you are delusional enough to think he's a legitimate No. 1 goaltender, I don't know what to tell you.

Chara made it 1-0 just 6:30 into the game when his intended pass deflected off a Philly stick (that sounds like a gross food product) past Mason. Iginla and Krejci assisted on Chara's 10th goal of the season. With that, Chara became the eighth Bruin and second defensemen (Krug, 11) to score 10+ goals this season.

Iginla scored a backbreaking goal with 17.1 seconds left in the first period. His 14th goal of the season was assisted by Milan Lucic and Krug. I don't think it would have mattered either way but I'm pretty sure that tally shattered any confidence that Philadelphia had going into the intermission.

Sure enough, Reilly Smith scored at 6:59 of the second period on a breakaway. His team-leading 16th goal of the season (tied with Brad Marchand) came on a backhander that went off the post, off Mason's back then barely over the line before the Flyers could get to it.

Bergeron ended Mason's outing with a goal at 13:10 off of his juicy rebound. Marchand assisted on Bergeron's 13th goal of the season.

Claude Giroux was about the only Flyer with any pride and not surprisingly, he scored their only goal-a power play strike at 7:55 in the third period that cut it to 4-1. I can see why Team Canada passed him over. Unfortunately for Philadelphia, Iginla answered with a power play goal 26 seconds later and Chara added his second of the game as well less than a minute later (both came on a double-minor for high sticking on Nicklas Grossmann).

Boston's brief tour of the Tri-State area concludes on Monday (7, NESN) against the Islanders (21-25-8, 8th in Metropolitan Division), who have played well lately but have still been one of the biggest disappointments in the NHL this season. John Tavares is playing at an MVP level, Kyle Okposo should be on Team USA and Thomas Vanek hasn't skipped a beat since getting traded from Buffalo but New York's defense and goaltending are terrible hence their under .500 record.

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Bruins Raise Banner, Drop Season Opener 2-1

In a night filled with pageantry and emotion, the Bruins let their foot off the gas late in the first period, allowing two quick goals en route to a 2-1 loss on Opening Night to the Philadelphia Flyers at TD Garden.

New Flyers netminder Ilya Bryzgalov made 22 saves and got the win thanks to two goals in 47 seconds for the new look Flyers (1-0). Both Flyers goals came in the last minute of the first period, when the Bruins became a bit lackadaisical on defense.

The Bruins began the game with a jolt of energy, earning several scoring chances and dictating the pace of the action. They got on the board early in the first as Brad Marchand scored on a beautiful backhand during the Bruins first power play.

He was set up by a beautiful feed through the entire neutral zone by Tyler Seguin, who I thought had a hell of a game. Although the Bruins (0-1) would have several other scoring chances, especially on the power play (1 of 5), that is all that the B's would get. New defenseman Joe Corvo had the other assist on Marchmont's tally (interesting note: he had the last goal in Game 7 at Vancouver and the first goal of this season).

The Flyers got on the board when Claude Giroux took a pass from the returning Jaromir Jagr and then proceeded to undress Zdeno Chara before beating Tim Thomas (27 saves) on a nifty breakaway move.

Just 47 seconds later, new Flyer Jakub Voracek corralled a loose puck, pirouetted to his right and lifted a wrister past Thomas to give the Broad Street Bullies a 2-1 lead with what turned out to be the game-winning goal.

The Bruins had a few legit scoring chances after that including a botched 2-on-1 that saw Chris Kelly unable to capitalize on another crisp dish from Seguin in the first, and an open net opportunity for Nathan Horton that was quelled by Kimmo Timmonen's stick.

Overall it was an entertaining game but the Bruins left a lot on the table, especially on the man advantage. Unlike last year however, the Bruins' man advantage actually looked pretty good. They did a great job moving the puck and getting a lot of chances from different areas on the ice. However, they could not capitalize on their opportunities throughout the night.

Boston gets back to work on Saturday night as they host another team they beat in last season's playoffs, the Tampa Bay Lightning (who they defeated in an epic seven-game Eastern Conference Final).

Game Notes

* The raising of the banner was one of those sports moments that I will never forget. The ceremony itself started with a montage of the Bruins' magical playoff run on the jumbotron, accompanied by a cylindrical canvas that was placed over the center ice circle, displaying images from the season while the video played. After the montage was complete, the canvas dropped, revealing the championship banner. Really well done.

* The Bruins got a chance to show the home crowd the Cup on the ice afterwards, as each member briefly raised the cup for the people in attendance. As someone who hates seeing a team win a championship at the visitors arena/field, I thought this was a cool moment for the team as well as the fans. They also inserted "the sheriff" Shane Hnidy into the celebration along with former alternate captain Mark Recchi, both of whom were in uniform.

* After a few words from Jeremy Jacobs (yes fans still booed him), Cam Neely, Peter Chiarelli and Zdeno Chara, Andrew Ference took the mic and presented Recchi with the revered Bruins ' Starter jacket. Great stuff.

* When it came time to raise the Banner, the B's were joined by former Bruins like Pie Mackenzie, Bobby Orr, Derek Sanderson, Kenny Hodge, Johnny Bucky and the 93-year-old Milt Schmidt. They alluded to it on the Versus broadcast, but you really never see a passing of the torch like that anymore. Just a perfect ending to the ceremony.

* I thought Corvo looked really good in his first game with the B's. He skated with the first PP unit, alongside Chara and really did some nice things. Rather than posting up at the blueline, he carried the puck towards the high slot and even set up on the halfwall, looking for passing lanes down low while simultaneously looking towards Chara for the big bomb.

* Seguin looked good too and will certainly get more time on the PP unit if he keeps playing like he did tonight. His feed to Marchand in the first was beautiful and hopefully it will only be a matter of time before he's skating on the second line. He also set up Chris Kelly in the first and brought a more physical presence to his game tonight. Good to see.

* After the game, I started to watch the Vancouver-Pittsburgh game on Versus and what I saw was hilarious. Just like the Bruins had the Stanley Cup at center ice, the Canucks had some hardware as well. Only it was their individual awards that they won last year, just days after being humiliated by the Bruins. Good to know that their heads are still in the right place.

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Bruins get off to a perfect start in Game 1 vs. Flyers

In my Black and Gold tinted world, I honestly can't imagine a much better start to the Eastern Conference semifinals against Philadelphia than the one submitted yesterday by the Boston Bruins.

The Bs embarrassed the Flyers 7-3 at the Wells Fargo Center.

The only real advantage Boston has over Philadelphia is in goaltenders but as my buddy who likes the Flyers said, "goaltending in the playoffs is the great equalizer." His name isn't Nostradamus but damn, that was pretty prophetic.

After their offense was shackled up for most of the quarterfinals vs. Montreal, Boston exploded for seven goals with two in the first period, three in the second period and two in the third period.

Brian Boucher (18 saves, 5 goals allowed) got the start between the pipes for the Flyers but he was pulled in the second period for rookie Sergei Bobrovsky (8 saves, 2 goals allowed). Good luck trying to figure out who starts for Philly in Game 2.

Boston goaltender Tim Thomas (31 saves) gave up three goals and had some sketchy moments as he flopped around but the difference between him and the Flyers goalies was immense. Thomas looks like Dominik Hasek compared to those two graduates of Philly's goaltending clown college.

The Bruins power-play carried over its misery from the first round as it went 0 for 5 yesterday with the Flyers committing numerous dumb penalties. In total, Boston is now 0 for 24 on the power play and getting worse by the game if that's possible.

David Krejci's value was underscored in the playoffs last season when he broke his wrist in Game 3 vs. the Flyers. Not saying it was only because of him but we all remember how the next four games went.

Yesterday, Krejci was all over the ice as he scored two goals and had two assists. Brad Marchand added two goals and an assist, Patrice Bergeron notched three assists while Nathan Horton had a goal and assist while Dennis Seidenberg had two assists.

Claude Giroux was the only Flyer with multiple points as he had two assists.

Krejci (2nd of the playoffs) scored 1:52 into the game as he put a backhander past Boucher. Horton and Seidenberg assisted on that one.

Danny Briere (7th of the playoffs) tied it up at 11:02 as Thomas gave a rebound right to him and Horton failed to cover him properly. Braydon Coburn and Ville Leino assisted.

Horton (4th of the playoffs) gave Boston a late lead, scoring with 36 seconds left in the first period. Krejci and Seidenberg assisted as Horton was able to just flip it by Boucher, who helped out by knocking it into the net with his glove.

Boston came out on fire in the second period, pumping in three goals before Philadelphia could respond.

At 2:34, Mark Recchi (2nd of the playoffs) got his own rebound and squeezed it past Boucher. Bergeron and Marchand had the assists.

Krejci tipped in a shot from the point by Adam McQuaid at 15:26 for a 4-1 Bruins lead. Marchand's (2nd of the playoffs) snipe at 17:14 from in close, signaled the end of the day for Boucher. Bergeron and Andrew Ference assisted.

16 seconds later, James van Riemsdyk (5th of the playoffs) stopped the rally with a goal from Sean O'Donnell and Giroux.

Mike Richards' power-play goal (1st of the playoffs) at 13:02 from Kimmo Timonen and Giroux gave the Flyers a glimmer of hope that maybe they could comeback.

Psyche, not happening with their nightmare of a goaltending situation. Marchand snuck to the post and scored again at 14:59 from Bergeron. Then Gregory Campbell (1st of the season) closed it out with his first of the playoffs at 17:39 after a nice pass from Krejci. Daniel Paille also assisted on Campbell's goal.

No doubt about it, the Flyers will play much better in Game 2 tomorrow night. They can't afford to go back to Boston down 0-2 so they'll throw everything they have at the Bruins. Conversely for the Bruins, there's no way they'll perform as well as they did yesterday but if they can somehow manage another win, they'll be in great shape moving forward.