The wait is finally over. Tim Thomas and the Boston Bruins return to the ice for the first time since winning the Stanley Cup in Game 7 of the finals in Vancouver last summer as they host the Philadelphia Flyers in the season opener at 7:00 p.m. EDT on Thursday night at TD Garden (TV/Radio: Versus/98.5 The Sports Hub).
Prior to the game, the Bruins will celebrate their Stanley Cup title for the last time (officially) as they raise the sixth banner in team history to the rafters at TD Garden, commemorating the fantastic season that was last year.
Boston is coming off of a shortened offseason, for obvious reasons, of which a good deal of time was spent celebrating. Yet the Bruins insist that they have put all that behind them and will snap back into form Thursday.
The Bruins finished the preseason with a record of 4-1-1 and are coming off a 3-2 win over the New York Islanders last Saturday. Boston trailed 2-0 in the second period but rattled off two second period goals to tie the game and scored the game-winner on Dennis Seidenberg's tally at 11:53 in the third period.
Philadelphia was 4-2-1 in the preseason and outscored its opponents 20-15. In its most recent game, the Flyers lost a close one to the New Jersey Devils, 2-1, on Saturday. Scott Hartnell put the Flyers up early with his goal at 16:29 in the opening period, but the Devils scored twice in the second period to claim the victory.
Boston is favored over Philadelphia tonight, with a moneyline of -150.
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