PREVIEW 8:15 AM EDT

If the Flyers are to salvage a split at home in the first two games of their Eastern Conference Semifinal series with the Boston Bruins, they will need to be much better tonight than they were on Saturday. Boston outworked the Flyers in laying a 7-3 drubbing on Philly, yet the Bruins did not even necessarily throw their A game at the Flyers that afternoon. The Flyers were just that bad.

The biggest order of business tonight is for the Flyers to keep their feet moving and stay with their check defensively. In particular, the line of David Krejci, Nathan Horton and Milan Lucic ran roughshod over Philly in Game 1. Additionally, Dennis Seidenberg created defensive problems for the Flyers every time he pinched. There is no reason for Boston to change its approach from the first game until the Flyers show they can adjust.

Even if the Flyers pick up on their defensive intensity, they will need Brian Boucher to avoid letting in stoppable shots. He allowed at least two soft goals in the first game, and helped dig a hole from which it would it would have been very tough to emerge even if everything else had been in synch. The Flyers did a good job of blocking shots in Game 1, but they were in trouble whenever the puck got through.

Offensively, the Flyers need to get more pressure on Tim Thomas. Although Philly generated a healthy 34 shots and 3 goals in the first game, 16 of the 34 shots came off the sticks off two players (Mike Richards and James van Riemsdyk). More consistent pressure is needed tonight from the other lines.

PROJECTED LINEUPS (subject to change)

FLYERS

JVR - Giroux - Zherdev
Hartnell - Briere - Leino
Carcillo - Richards - Versteeg
Shelley/Holmstrom/Rinaldo - Betts - Powe

Pronger - Carle
Coburn - Timonen
Meszaros - O'Donnell

Boucher
[Bobrovsky]


BRUINS

Lucic - Krejci - Horton
Marchand - Bergeron - Recchi
Kelly - Peverley - Ryder
Paille - Campbell - Thornton

Chara - Seidenberg
Ference - Boychuk
Kaberle - McQuaid

Thomas
[Rask]

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