For better or for worse, Flyers head coach Peter Laviolette has announced that Brian Boucher will be in net to start game two of the Eastern Conference semi-finals series.
There likely isn't much sweeter news for the Boston Bruins, who put five goals past Boucher in the first 38 minutes of game one on Saturday, finishing with two more against rookie Sergei Bobrovsky en route to a 7-3 triumph over the Flyers.
The Bruins know it won't be as easy the second time around, however. Philadelphia - whether or not they have an injured Chris Pronger, who's a game-time decision with a nagging hand injury - will surely tighten their defense up and not let David Krejci and Brad Marchand put together the type of nights they had in game one. Krejci had two goals and two assists in the game, and Marchand had two goals - perhaps the biggest of the game that made it 6-3 after a mid-period Flyers surge - and an apple to boot, drawing a couple key penalties on the Flyers' blue-liners.
The Black and Gold came into game one after a seven-game series win over Montreal in which they were forced to skate more and harder than they had all season long, and that approach carried over into game one against a Philadelphia team that's just not quick enough to keep up with the Bruins at top-speed. But coach Claude Julien isn't counting on a game one redux:
"Absolutely not, I don’t think we are hanging our hat on [the Flyers changing goaltenders in game one]. We are hanging our hat, I keep saying it, on how we are going to handle our own situation and that’s what is important right now."
Julien also noted that his team wasn't visibly affected by the news that Osama bin Laden was killed over the weekend by U.S. Navy SEALS. "Our guys this morning seemed fine...if one team is going through it, I’m sure the other team is as well."
Players to watch for the Bruins are Dennis Seidenberg, who was a force in game one, with two assists and a plus-four rating and Marchand again, who had no trouble creating space and getting to the net on Saturday. In addition, look for a big showing from the Bruins' third line, which was held point-less in game one.
For the Flyers, look for continued strong performances from Daniel Briere, James van Riemsdyk and Claude Giroux. But if the Broad Street Bullies want to head to Boston with the series tied, the real superstar is going to need to be Boucher.