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1. Can Boucher Keep His Hot Streak Going?
Flyers’ netminder Brian Boucher is no stranger to streaky play. Back in 2004 while serving as Sean Burke’s backup in Phoenix, the Rhode Island native strung five shutouts together, a modern-day NHL record. Coming out of the lockout, however, Boucher quickly devolved into a struggling journeyman. He began 2006-07 with Chicago and proceeded to go 1-10-3 for the woeful ‘Hawks before taking his .884 Sv% to Columbus.
Fast forward three seasons. Boucher enters round two of the postseason with the top GAA and Sv% in the league (in the playoffs, of course). The 33-year-old veteran, just 9-18-3 during the regular season, stifled the borderline lifeless Devils, limiting New Jersey to just eight goals (four of which came in game two) in five tilts. Boucher is feelin’ it right about now. But, after a nine day layoff between closing out the Devils and opening up round two in Boston, will Boucher still be as locked in as he was in round one? The Bruins averaged more than eight shots more per game in round one than the Devils did. Can the Philly goaltender handle the extra action?
2. How Big of a Contribution Will Marc Savard Make?
Savard, sidelined since his encounter with Matt Cooke on March 7th, has been cleared to play in round two after flirting with a return against the Sabres in game six. The B’s leader in points for the past three seasons is set to get his feet wet with third line duties. Savard initially practiced with Michael Ryder and Vladimir Sobotka, but Dan Paille filled in for Sobotka on the left side in practice Thursday.
When both players are on their game, Ryder and Savard seem like a perfect match on paper. But the crafty pivot, always generous with the puck, has never had astonishing success when lining up with the former Hab. With the speedy, defensive-minded Paille essentially a non-threat offensively, Savard will likely be kept quiet at even-strength at the onset of the series. Savvy’s biggest hope of making an impact will be on the PP, where he will likely return to his usual spot along the half-wall, eager to thread the needle to an open teammate on the man advantage. Once he becomes reacclimated with the speed of the game and the ramped up physicality of the playoffs, Savard’s role and TOI should increase along with his production.
3. Will Pronger Dissuade Boston From Crashing the Crease?
The B’s benefited greatly from swarming Ryan Miller every chance they got, making things visually difficult on the Vezina candidate. While Tyler Myers is no midget, Chris Pronger possesses far more tenacity and experience, and will likely make things a living hell for any Bruin looking to set up shop in front of Boucher.
Mark Recchi is virtually immovable when parked in front of the net, but the other Boston forwards may get worn down by Pronger’s relentless punishment. This may hold true along the boards as well. Boston’s forwards, especially Recchi and Patrice Bergeron, were highly effective at knocking the smaller Sabres defenders off the puck. The 6’6” Pronger and 6’5” fellow blueliner Braydon Coburn won’t be pushed around as easily.
4. How Will the Flyers Produce Offense Without Carter and Gagne?
Mike Richards tortured the Devils and Martin Brodeur with eight points in round one, while sophomore winger Claude Giroux picked up four goals in the series. Seeing the NHL’s all time leader in wins bow out of the playoffs with the worst save percentage was a bit of a surprise, as the banged up Flyers struggled offensively down the stretch. Richards, the Flyers’ captain, had just four points in his last ten games. As a team, Philadelphia potted just 27 pucks in their final 13 tilts.
Carter and Gagne will be sorely missed, especially with Tuukka Rask manning the nets for the B’s. Sans their leading goal scorer, Carter, and the long tenured and playoff tested Gagne, the Flyers will need their few remaining big guns to step it up once more. Boston, for what seems like forever, has often struggled to shutdown small, elusive forwards. With that said, Danny Briere could be a major factor in replacing Carter and Gagne’s missing offense. With 36 points in 37 career games against Boston, the former Sabre may pose problems for the Bruins’ slow blueliners. Look out for 6’3” winger James van Riemsdyk (1g in last 25gp) as well. The B’s have a love affair with allowing snake-bitten shooters to snap out of funks.
5. Will Boston Continue to Use Home Ice to Their Advantage?
After finishing the regular season with the lowest home win total among Eastern Conference playoff teams (18-17-6), the Bruins proceeded to go 3-0 in round one against the Sabres at the TD Garden. It appeared as though a switch had been flipped as, after a number of subpar efforts in front of their home fans in 2010, the B’s unleashed a world of intensity on Buffalo, skating faster and hitting harder than at any other point in the campaign.
Boston likely never would have fathomed playing a lower seeded team in round two when the playoffs began. Matching up with the Flyers, who finished with the lowest total of road wins among the East’s top eight teams (17-21-3), could bode well for the Bruins. The bad news for Boston is, surprisingly enough, both Richards and Briere had greater individual success away from home. 18 of Richards’ 31 goals came on the road, while 15 of Briere’s 26 tallies came outside of the Wachovia Center. Wachovia was far friendlier to Boucher, however, who sported an unspectacular 3.01 GAA and .891 Sv% on the road.
JC
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