So much for that second round matchup between the Flyers and Washington Capitals, eh? With three straight wins, the Montreal Canadiens became the first number 8 seed to come back from a 3-1 hole against the top seed in the conference, and just like that, the Flyers are headed to Boston for a second round date with the Bruins. This is certainly an old school matchup, as these two had their scraps in the 1970s, and haven't met in the playoffs since 1978.
For both teams, the key to this series might be injuries and how each team responds to them. For the Flyers, Jeff Carter and Ian Laperriere are likely both out for the the entire series with injuries, while Simon Gagne might be able to make it back towards the middle of the series. In Boston, the Bruins are going to be bolstered by the return of Marc Savard, who has been out of action with a concussion for almost two months. Savard's return is going to give the Bruins a boost, as will the fact that they are the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference, yet they have home ice advantage in the second round, due to the seven and eight seeds winning their series. Things happen that way some times.
The Bruins are a lot like the Flyers in that they play a physical type of hockey, and they don't have one player that they lean on to help them win by himself. Boston didn't have a single player with over 55 points during the regular season, but Patrice Bergeron, Miroslav Satan, David Krejci and the ageless Mark Recchi all had five points in their series against Buffalo, and the Bruins also boast the biggest player in the NHL in 6'9" defenseman Zdeno Chara. Chris Pronger is going to have his hands full with that lineup, and the Flyers are going to have to play well to get past Chara. Rookie goaltender Tuukka Rask had some average showings against the Sabres, but came up big when he needed to, and can easily match Brian Boucher stop for stop in this series. He is one of the big reasons why the Bruins were able to come back in three of their four wins against Buffalo. Without Rask in goal, Boston doesn't make it to the second round, it's that simple.
For the Flyers to win this series, they are going to have to play just as well as they did against the Devils in the first round of the playoffs. Unlike their series against New Jersey, the Flyers don't have the regular season edge to lean on heading into this scrap, as the two teams split their season series this year, with Boston taking the last two, including the Winter Classic on New Year's Day. It is going to take a great effort from Mike Richards, Claude Giroux and Danny Briere on offense, as well as Chris Pronger on defense and Brian Boucher in net. I do think that the Flyers have enough to advance to the Conference Finals for the second time in three years, but I can also see the Bruins moving on as well. It's just a matter of which team can keep up their physical play longer.
Philadelphia just has to keep playing like they did against New Jersey, and that includes Brian Boucher in net. No one thought that Boucher could stop the Devils as well as he did, and there are still people out there that think he's going to go back to his old ways against the Bruins. Could it happen? Of course it could, that's what makes the NHL Playoffs so interesting. However, with the time off and the confidence that Boucher has now going into the second round, I don't think it's going to happen that way. In fact, I think the time off has done nothing but help the Flyers, as they've been able to rest and get healthy. Simon Gagne should be back for part of this series, which would be a big boost for the Flyers. For Philadelphia, the key is going to be winning one of the first two games in Boston, just as they did against the Devils in their last series. If they can take home ice away from the Bruins, then they have a very good chance to take the series. If they don't, then things could get very interesting. However, I think that Boucher will continue to play well, and the Flyers will continue their hot streak into the Conference Finals. They caught a break when the Caps went out, and they're going to take advantage of it.
Pick: Flyers in 6
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