For the second time in the game, Kimmo Timonen moves up on the rush and is in the thick of a scoring chance, creating a rebound opportunity for Simon Gagne at about the 2:00 mark.
A puck narrowly eludes an open Glen Metropolit in front of the net.
Bruins 2 - Flyers 1: The Bruins score on another deflection goal. Shane Hnidy's shot off a draw is deflected home in traffic by David Krejci (19th of the season) at 5:48.
Bruins 3 - Flyers 1: Yet another deflection goal. Dennis Wideman scores his 12th from Wheeler at 6:23 as the puck deflected off Jeff Carter.
Claude Giroux off for charging at 7:28. The Flyers prevent any further damage.
As expected, Boston is suffocating the Flyers. The Bruins have held Philly to 3 shots through the first first 13:20 of the period.
Biron takes a shot up in the mask at 16:20. He's momentarily stunned and play is stopped, but the goaltender is OK.
Both clubs take their timeouts in the final minute with Biron pulled for an extra attacker.
2nd period synopsis
Boston comes out with a dominant first shift, pinning the Flyers deep in their zone. The Bruins buzz in the Philly zone again two shifts later.
Bruins 1 - Flyers 0: Michael Ryder gives the Bruins a 1-0 lead at 3:07 of the period. Ryder tallied his 19th goal of the season as he deflects a Dennis Wideman point shot past Biron from the circle.
Flyers 1 - Bruins 1: At 5:24, Joffrey Lupul takes the puck up the right wing and put it across the goal mouth from a side angle near the goal line. Hartnell collected the puck on the other side and buried it in open short side for his 19th tally on the season. Ryan Parent gets a secondary assist.
The Flyers generate a strong shift immediate after the Hartnell goal. At about the 6:50 mark, Mike Knuble rocks a Bruin with a good clean bodycheck in the offensive corner.
Matt Carle off for tripping at 7:28. The Flyers kill it off in good shape.
A turnover by Martin Biron and a failed clear lead to a heap of trouble, as Boston presses the attack. The shift ends with a holding penalty on Joffrey Lupul at 10:36. On the ensuing kill, the Flyers narrowly miss connections on a pass that would have sent Simon Gagne off on a shorthanded breakaway.
Biron comes out to challenge and flashes the leather to glove a Michael Ryder shot from the left circle at 14:38.
Hartnell catches a stretch pass at the Boston blueline and moves in to fire a shot on net from the deep slot. Thomas read it all the way.
Darroll Powe gets sent off for tripping at 18:22, but the disadvantage is negated 34 seconds later by a goaltender interference penalty on Blake Wheeler. In the waning seconds of the period, Mike Knuble takes a bank pass off the boards from Simon Gagne and moves in. His shot from the left circle squeezes through Thomas but goes wide of the long side.
Shots were 12-6 Boston (Flyers ahead 20-19 overall), faceoffs were 10-8 Flyers (Flyers ahead 16-15), hits were 11-6 Flyers (Flyers ahead 18-14), Flyers had 8 giveaways to one by Boston (16-3 overall).
1st period synopsis
Byron Bitz goes off for a delayed goaltender interference penalty at 2:28. On the ensuing powerplay, Tim Thomas makes a spectacular save to rob Jeff Carter on the rebound of a Joffrey Lupul shot. Carter had the whole short side open as the puck came to him.
The Fyers have 7 of the game's first 9 shots through the first 7:30 of the game.
At 7:47, Mike Knuble gets an offensive zone penalty for tripping Andrew Ference on a faceoff. On the kill, Simon Gagne makes a nice diving clear. Shortly thereafter, Martin Biron hugs the post to prevent a stuff-in at the right post.
Kimmo Timonen joins the rush and takes a feed from Jeff Carter at the 11:30 mark. Thomas stops the attempt from the left circle.
On a nicely conceived little play, Matt Carle takes a pass from the half boards as he moves in from the point. His shot ends up getting tipped out of play. It's nice to see the Flyers getting the D involved in the attack, though.
At 16:19, Martin Biron comes out to challenge and turns a potentially tough stop on Phil Kessel into a routine one.
Biron makes a good stop in the final minute of the period, denying Shawn Thornton as he came out from behind the net.
Shots were 14-7 Flyers, faceoffs 7-6 Boston (Marc Savard was 4-for-5), hits were 8-7 Boston, giveaways were 8 by the Flyers to 2 by Boston. Scoring chances were 9-4 Flyers.
Update 6:30 PM
Mike Richards is not out for warmups. He reportedly has the flu. Jared Ross is dressed.
Confirmed-- Richards is out tonight. Big loss for the Flyers, along with Coburn. Scottie Upshall is also out with the flu.
Preview (3:15 PM, EST)
The Flyers (26-14-9) face a tough test tonight when they take on the Eastern Conference leading Boston Bruins (37-8-6) at the Wachovia Center in the front end of a home-and-home set. A rusty Martin Biron will get the call in goal tonight.
Boston has been very stingy defensively this season and has been nothing short of dominant at even strength. They are also a deep team with balanced scoring. Eight Boston
players have tallied double-digt goals this season led by Phil Kessel's 24 goals and Marc Savard's 20 goals and 61 points. The club has also received stellar goaltending all season from Tim Thomas and Manny Fernandez, forcing opponents to earn their goals.
Philly has struggled of late even when scoring first, but it's crucial for the Flyers not to chase the game tonight. Boston is 22-4-3 when scoring first. When leading after two periods, the Bruins have routinely slammed the door (to the tune of a 25-0-2 record). Staying out of the penalty box would also help, as the Flyers' tendency to take needless penalties can have the effect of wearing down the club's top players.
The Flyers, who are often vulnerable to other teams' offensive defensivemen, need to pay special attention not only to Zdeno Chara but also to Dennis Wideman (who has racked up five of 11 goals and 16 of his 24 assists on the powerplay).
Boston player to watch: Phil Kessel has yet to score his first career goal against the Flyers in seven previous games. He also enters this game without a goal in his last six matches and just one in his last eight games.
Flyers player to watch: Call it a hunch, but in a game that figures to be nasty and intense with several fights, I suspect tonight might be a night where Mike Richards drops the gloves to set a tone. He has had pretty good success against Boston in his still-young career, tallying five goals and nine points in 11 games.
Timonen - Väänänen
One of Parent or Kukkonen - Carle
Alberts - Jones
Biron
[Niittymäki]
****
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