2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs: Bruins vs Flyers: B's Win Game 1, 1st Line Awakens

The Boston Bruins continued where they left off...a win with no power play goals.

After the game, I read a post made by a hockey fan in the "Orange Crushed" article on TSN.ca.

"I thought the NFL was locked out? A touchdown beats a field goal any day! Go Bruins!".

The post was referring to the final score of 7-3 for the B's to take the early series lead.

Some folks where writing about how the Flyers got them right where they want them if they lose two more times (referring to the 3-0 lead the Bruins had only to lose the series 4-3 in last year's Eastern Conference Semifinals).

While some where kidding, there are others that think that actually think the same thing will occur.  Time will tell.

The Game

First Period

The B's scored quickly.

David Krejci picked up the first goal just 1:52 into the game.  Nathan Horton ripped a shot from the point, and Krejci caught the pass with his stick to deke and backhanded it in Boucher's right side.

Daniel Briere scored on the pass from Coburn.  It looked like it was a shot on net, but Briere intercepted it to get Tim Thomas off balance and got past his left side.

Horton put the Bruins back in the lead as Dennis Seidenberg passed the puck in front of the net right to Horton.  Horton made a quick redirect to Boucher only to have it rebounded right back to him and he alertly made it count in the last minute of play.  2-1 Bruins.

Second Period

With less than three minutes of play gone by, Mark Recchi made a hard wrist shot at Boucher and it came right back at him.  He did it again, but this time it lit the lamp.  3-1 B's.

Later in the frame, the Bruins win the draw in the Flyers' zone right back to Adam McQuaid. McQuaid fired it at the net, and it was tipped by Krejci for his second of the day.  4-1 Bruins.

Less than two minutes later, Brad Marchand popped in his first of the game.  Andrew Ference fired one from the point and it was redirected by Patrice Bergeron.  Boucher was able to stop that shot, but Marchand was all alone to Boucher's left side and he made the rebound count.  5-1 Bruins, and that was it for Boucher, as he was pulled to have Sergei Bobrovsky stand between the pipes.

It seemed to make a difference, as 16 seconds later, James van Riemsdyk got one back.  The Flyers win one off the faceoff and van Riemsdyk ripped one from the  point to make it a 5-2 game.

Third Period

With seven minutes left, the Bruins were down two men, and the Flyers were on a five on three.  The first penalty on Krejci was done, and Mike Richards was out to the front left of Thomas to wrist one short side and made it a 5-3 game.  With Krejci out of the box, it was a five on four, but it was a defacto five on three, as Krejci was out of the box and nowhere near the play to do anything about it.

The Bruins regained the three goal lead on a strange chain of events.

Recchi fired at the net on a bad angle to hit Chris Pronger right on the tape. Pronger instinctively fired it away from the net right at Matt Carle who tried to field the puck, but Bergeron was right behind him and whacked at his stick blade to force it back...right at Marchand, who quickly one-timed it from Bobrovsky's immediate left side and somehow got in for his second of the night.  6-3 Bruins.

The Bruins finished the scoring with Krejci passing it from behind the Flyers net right to Greg Campbell, who buries it on Bobrovsky's right side to make it a final score of 7-3.

The Good

The Bruins played the game extremely well.  The puck support was very good, and they played in the quiet areas and pinched in at the right time to get scores with players untouched. The Bruins also crashed the net to get the rebounds to make it count.

The Bruins' first line is clicking.  Krejci, Horton and Lucic had a combined three goals and three assists, and Lucic did not get a point but was a plus-three.

The Bad

Seven goals on two goalies.

The Flyers were not playing their game, and they were being outplayed and outcoached in their own barn.  If the Flyers expect to win their games, they need to abandon the hacking and slashing that they were committing through out the game.  

The Bruins were at it as well, but not as much.  That being said, if they keep it up, they are going to find themselves in the Sin Bin more than they need to be.

The Ugly

The Bruins are 0-26 on the the power play. That is ugly....very ugly.

If the Bruins are scoring all seven goals five on five, imagine what the scores can be if their power play were clicking.

Flyers goaltending.  This equation had better wake up and wake up real soon, or the series will be over in quick fashion.  The reason for the Bruins to go the distance with the Montreal Canadiens?  Carey Price.

My Take

That is just one win.  The Bruins are in need of three more and the Flyers are in need of four. You can bet that the Flyers are not going to play in the same manner in Game 2, as these two are very evenly matched in terms of size and physical play.  For their sake, they'd better not, or the Bruins will look take every advantage they can muster.

I think the Bruins will win this series in six at this point, but it will depend on the goaltending of the Flyers and how the team members from the blue line out responds to this game.

Bob Cole's Montreal Canadiens are now out, so it seems that he is now rooting for the Flyers, as he seemed much more jubilant when good things were happening with Philadelphia.  Must be still sore that his team was knocked out by the Flyers' opponents.

When you are a professional sports commentator, the bias needs to be left at the door and call it down the middle.

With that said, I look forward to Game 2.

This is Cory Ducey saying "Hit Hard, But Keep It Clean".