You Didn't Think The Bruins Would Lose At Home On St. Patrick's Day, Did You?

Since they were riding their longest losing streak of the season-four games-it wasn't hyperbole to say that today's game was the most important so far for the B's in 2011-12.

As always with the Philadelphia Flyers, it was physical, it got nasty and Boston (41-27-3) ended up on top with a 3-2 shootout win this afternoon at TD Garden.

The Flyers (41-22-8) gamely rallied from a 2-0 hole on St. Patrick's Day but the Bruins converted all their of their shootout attempts and Tim Thomas (30-18-0, 4th season of 30+ wins; 27 saves) stuffed Daniel Briere to end it. Thomas is a perfect 6-0 in shootouts this season and the Bruins wrapped up a 3-1 season series vs. the Flyers.

After no-showing last time out in Florida on Thursday, a game I admittedly didn't watch any of, the B's came out today with their best period in ages. It only took 1:55 for Gregory Campbell and Zac Rinaldo to fight, before many Bruins fans had probably sat down with their cups of Guinness.

For the first time in eight games, they scored the first goal (which always helps) as Chris Kelly (17th of the season) followed a Benoit Pouliot rebound at 6:23. Brian Rolston had the second assist.

Tyler Seguin (25th of the season) made it 2-0 at 17:07 thanks to a nifty goal-line feed from behind the net by Patrice Bergeron. Brad Marchand had the other assist.

Philadelphia goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov (31 saves) entered as the NHL's hottest goalie and he played more like that after the first period.

I wouldn't call it a fight, it was more like an ass-kicking when Johnny Boychuk absolutely demolished Max Talbot, who didn't return after that, early in the second.

Impressive Flyers rookie Matt Read (20th of the season) cut it to 2-1 at 9:16 of the second. He tipped in Briere's shot, Matt Carle also had an assist.

It looked like Boston might escape in regulation but Philly tied it up with 4:17 left on another tipped goal, this time by Jakub Voracek (14th of the season). Braydon Coburn and Read had the assists.

After no goals in overtime, shooters on both teams couldn't miss. In order: David Krejci, Read, Seguin, Claude Giroux and Bergeron all scored. Then Briere didn't, game over and Thomas rightly celebrated like it was a playoff game.

Two bits of good news from later in the day: 1) Toronto beat Ottawa 3-1 so Boston held its one-point lead in the Northeast Division (with two games in hand). 2) The Bruins signed a two-year extension with Shawn Thornton. It makes perfect sense for them to lock up one of their leaders both on and off the ice; you won't find many better teammates or tougher guys in the NHL. I'm pumped that Thornton will be around for two more years since he's one of my favorite Bruins.

The Maple Leafs come to the Garden on Monday. The B's will look for the very rare season sweep (six games) against their divisional rival. Two more points would be key before the Black and Gold head to the West Coast for three games (Sharks, Kings, Ducks) later in the week.

UPDATE 3/19: The Bruins announced Thornton's two-year extension today. Terms were not disclosed although reports peg it at $2.2 million.

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Bruins & Flyers Played A Hell Of A Game

If you call yourself a Boston Bruins fan, the last two days were as close to hockey porn as you'll ever get in the regular season.

The B's fell in an overtime classic yesterday to the Rangers 3-2 and then they came back today to win a wild one 6-5 in a shootout over the Flyers.

Boston's (31-13-2) second straight win over Philadelphia (28-14-5) at the Wells Fargo Center had a bit of everything: fights, a natural hat trick, great goals, an injury and crazy momentum swings.

Tim Thomas (33 saves; 20-9-0) had his worst game of the season but he was still able to grab two points thanks to two saves in the shootout-against Matt Read and Wayne Simmonds. Ilya Bryzgalov (32 saves) gave up shootout goals to David Krejci and Tyler Seguin on the only attempt he faced.

With three goals in the first period, it looked like the Bruins might roll over the Flyers again like they did in December. Patrice Bergeron (15th of the season) scored 50 seconds into the game from Brad Marchand and Seguin. Milan Lucic and Tom Sestito (some no-name goon) fought shortly after that and Philly used that momentum as Maxime Talbot (11th of the season) tied it up at one.

Seguin (18th of the season) made it 2-1 with a power-play goal from Bergeron and Benoit Pouliot at 9:02. Chris Kelly and Brayden Schenn fought less than a minute later. Then Lucic's wrister (17th of the season) increased Boston's lead to 3-1 at 12:30, from Krejci and Adam McQuaid.

Scott Hartnell scored a natural hat trick (3 consecutive goals) in the second period to give Philadelphia a 4-3 lead. Shawn Thornton also fought Jody Shelley after Shelley gave Kelly a cheap shot.

Krejci (11th of the season) and Gregory Campbell (6th of the season) gave the B's the lead once again, at 5-4 early in the third period but Talbot's second goal of the game tied it at 5 and sent it to overtime.

The B's have to be exhausted after the physical toll of the past two games but at least they're tied with New York for first-place in the Eastern Conference. They were taking the train after the Flyers game to Washington, D.C. Tomorrow is an off day but the team gets to visit President Obama at the White House as a reward for winning the Stanley Cup last spring. Their last game before the All-Star break is on Tuesday in D.C. against the Capitals.

Andrew Ference missed today since the NHL handed down a three-game suspension for his dirty hit in the Rangers game. Also, Steven Kampfer (who took his place), left the game after taking a huge (clean) hit. They'll have to see how Kampfer looks tomorrow to figure out if he'll play on Tuesday.

Unfortunately, Boston and Philadelphia will only meet once more in the regular season: St. Patrick's Day (1 p.m. start) at TD Garden. Can you say sloppy? Haha that should be a great atmosphere.

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Take That 24/7: Bruins Embarrass The Flyers 6-0 In Philadelphia

For Boston Bruins fans disappointed that the team isn't featured on HBO's wonderful 24/7 this season (Rangers-Flyers), they can take solace in the fact that Boston's 6-0 beating they threw against host Philadelphia this afternoon should guarantee that they get some face time next Wednesday night on HBO.

A showdown between the top two teams in the Eastern Conference never materialized at the Wells Fargo Center since the Bruins (21-9-1) hung four on Mr. Universe, Flyers (20-8-3) goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov in the first period.

It was basically 40 minutes of extended garbage time after that as Boston added a goal in the second period and third period to skate away with a very impressive road victory, their fourth consecutive win overall.

Tim Thomas (31 saves; 15-5-0) picked up his 30th career shutout with a through performance between the pipes which was juxtaposed with Bryzgalov's (15 saves, 5 goals allowed) nightmare that mercifully ended early in the second period.

With its top two players-defenseman Chris Pronger and NHL leading scorer Claude Giroux-sidelined with injuries, the Flyers were rudderless. 12 Bruins had points and six different players scored, led by Rich Peverley (3 assists), Joe Corvo (2 assists) and Tyler Seguin (1 goal, 1 assist).

Before the fans had even sat down with Yuengling in one hand and cheesesteak in the other, Benoit Pouliot (5th of the season) made it 1-0 only 27 seconds into the game. He tipped it in off a great feed from Peverley.

Daniel Paille (6th of the season, tying his goal output from last season) doubled the lead at 2:50 after following up a rebound. Dennis Seidenberg and Corvo had the assists.

Zdeno Chara (7th of the season) scored the first of Boston's three power-play goals at 8:08, from David Krejci and Peverley. Chara's blast from the point came only a few minutes after he got into a fight with Jody Shelley.

Milan Lucic (11th of the season) closed out the incredible first period for the Bruins with another power-play goal, at 17:10 from Corvo and Seguin.

As the game got out of hand, Philadelphia resorted to its usual tactics-starting fights-but while that might work against some weaker teams (ie. most Canadian squads), the Bruins relish the chance to get into a couple scraps. Johnny Boychuk stuck up for Brad Marchand (and received a 10-minute misconduct in the process) as he fought Scott Hartnell.

The last two goals for Boston will hopefully propel two of its coldest offensive players. Nathan Horton (9th of the season) had the final power-play goal, at 7:06 from Chara (completing the Gordie Howe hat trick-1 fight, 1 goal, 1 assist) and Peverley. Bryzgalov's juicy rebound to Horton signaled the end for everyone's favorite wacky Russian.

Lucic got a game misconduct late in the second for checking from behind. It was a dumb decision that could cost him a game (suspension) or a fine.

Seguin (team-leading 14th of the season) ended the rout with a tally at 12:12 of the third period past backup goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. Marchand and Andrew Ference had the assists.

Marchand was the third and final Bruin to get a misconduct late in the third period.

This sets up another big rivalry game on Monday night as the Canadiens-fresh off firing their head coach Jacques Martin this morning-visit TD Garden. So far, Montreal owns the season series 2-1 but Boston won the last game 1-0 on Nov. 21 at the Bell Centre (the game Thomas stole).

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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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