I will preface this blog by reminding everyone that Stanley Cup playoff hockey is not just a matter of one side imposing its will on the other. There are two teams, each with its own collection of talent. The Boston Bruins played a solid first game of the Eastern Conference Semifinal and made life tough on the Flyers. They were well-prepared and took advantage of their opportunities by showing grit, tenacity and execution. On a few occasions, Boston made their own good luck.

That said, the Flyers' all-around effort yesterday afternoon was a disgrace. The compete level just was not there. When the Bruins asserted themselves, the Flyers wilted rather than matching Boston's effort. Philadelphia is a tough team to play against when they keep their feet moving and focus on supporting one another. When they don't, they tend to lose ugly.

When your team musters 34 shots and three goals against Tim Thomas and it doesn't even come close to mattering (except for Danny Briere's goal that made it a 1-1 game in the first period), you know something was seriously wrong. To give up seven goals is unacceptable in a preseason game, much less a playoff match.

You can look at pretty much any aspect of the game yesterday, and justifiably say that the Flyers stunk. This includes the decision-making by the forwards, the defensive coverages and the impunity with which the Bruins were able to go to the net, the subpar goaltending of Brian Boucher and the job that Peter Laviolette did in setting lineups, in-game matchups and making adjustments.

Behind the bench, there was no excuse for having a physical mismatch in defending the top Bruins line at even strength. There was also no excuse for intentionally sending your fourth line out against that unit and to fail to shorten the bench when it was very quickly clear that the fourth line just didn't have it on this day (the Blair Betts line wound up being out for three even-strength goals against).

On the blueline, the puck management and coverages by the defense -- Chris Pronger included -- were atrocious. Did anyone clear the porch the entire game? And where was the backchecking support from the forwards? Every time a Bruins' defenseman pinched, Boston was able to wreak havoc. The Flyers made Dennis Seidenberg look like Brian Leetch in his prime yesterday.

The Flyers did a good job of blocking shots yesterday. However, once the puck got through, they were at the Bruins' mercy.

In goal, Brian Boucher let in two goals -- arguably three -- on plays where he could have made the save. Honestly, I don't think the goaltending was the primary culprit in the loss yesterday, because I think the Flyers would not have won no matter who was in goal. But the Flyers needed excellent goaltending yesterday to keep them close, and they simply didn't get it. The Flyers were chasing the game early, equalized it and then gave up a goal late in the first period on a shot Boucher couldn't glove. Then they quickly found themselves in a two-goal hole early in the second period. That makes it very, very hard to get the rest of your game on track.

Up front, nearly half (16 of 34) of the Flyers' shots came from Mike Richards and James van Riemsdyk, who also scored in the game. I also thought that Kris Versteeg played a strong game. Other than that, apart from a few strong shifts here and there from the Danny Briere and Claude Giroux lines, the Flyers didn't get enough pressure to turn around the territorial play and relieve pressure from the defense.

Special teams were a non-factor in the game. Boston's power play remained AWOL and the Flyers failed on back-to-back chances in the second period when they still had a shot at climbing back into the game. Philly finally potted one after it no longer mattered.

In terms of lineup decisions, I kind of understand the decision to put Zac Rinaldo in the lineup. Although undersized, he thrives on contact, skates well and loves to stir the pot. But I question starting someone in the playoffs after he spent not so much as a single day in the NHL during the regular season. If Jody Shelley is still unable to play, Ben Holmstrom or Mike Testwuide would have seemed to be more versatile options. But none of these players would have a made a difference.

It's back to the drawing board for the Flyers in Game 2. The Bruins will continue to do the same things -- as well they should -- so Philly had better come out ready to work twice as hard and execute about 300 percent better than they did in the series opener.

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