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Flyers Renew Rivalry With Bruins Tonight In Boston

(Sports Network) - The Philadelphia Flyers will try to remain unbeaten in 2011 when they continue their road trip with a battle tonight against the Bruins at TD Garden.

The Flyers have won their first four games so far in January and they are currently atop both the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference with 59 points.

Despite leading the East, the Flyers surprisingly had just one player -- Claude Giroux -- named to the All-Star Game earlier this week.

Philly forward Danny Briere was one of the most notable snubs and he drew attention to the fact that he was left off the All-Star roster with his performance Tuesday night in Buffalo. Briere posted a goal and three assists to lead the Flyers to a 5-2 victory over his former team, the Sabres.

Briere, who was an All-Star during his time in Buffalo, leads the Flyers with 22 goals and is second on the team with 37 points.

On Tuesday, Briere turned in his first four-point performance in the regular season since he recorded two goals and two assists against Colorado on Nov. 23, 2009. However, he insisted the scoring outburst had nothing to do with being left off the All-Star roster.

"It didn't have much to do with that. It was just one of those nights where I was getting the bounces and a good effort from my linemates as well," Briere said.

Scott Hartnell added two goals and a helper for the Flyers, who trailed 2-0 midway through the first period, but were able to slowly take control of the contest.

Sergei Bobrovsky shook off a shaky first period and tied a career high with 38 saves for the win.

Tonight marks the second stop on Philly's swing, which will wrap up with stops this weekend in Atlanta and New York (Rangers). The Flyers have won eight of their last 10 on the road and have an impressive 14-4-3 record away from Philadelphia this season.

This evening's tilt also marks the third encounter this season between the Flyers and Bruins, who battled in a classic playoff series last spring.

Philadelphia pulled off a monumental comeback against Boston in last year's Eastern Conference semifinals, as the Flyers lost the first three games before winning four in a row to become just the third team in NHL history to rally from a 3-0 deficit to win a best-of-seven series.

The Bruins and Flyers have each earned a road victory so far in the 20010-11 season series. The clubs have split the last six regular-season matchups, but Philadelphia has won six of eight in Boston.

Boston enters tonight on its first win streak of 2011 after notching victories in recent tests against Pittsburgh and Ottawa.

Beginning with their furious comeback in the third period of the Penguins' game, the Bruins have scored 10 goals in their last four periods of action.

The B's pumped in four goals in the final 3:23 of the third period on Monday to shock the Penguins, 4-2, in Pittsburgh. The following night Boston was back home and destroyed the Senators, 6-0, as Patrice Bergeron notched his first career hat trick and Tim Thomas registered his league-leading sixth shutout of the season.

Bergeron now has 13 goals on the season and he has eight points (5 goals, 3 assists) in his last four games. Bergeron originally thought he had the hat trick when Boston scored late in the second period, but that goal was eventually awarded to Brad Marchand. He would later finalize the hat trick at 5:04 of the third period.

"Everyone is leaving the building with no hats on," Bergeron said. "I guess I wanted to get it because everyone threw their hats on the ice."

Marchand and Tyler Seguin registered a goal and assist each for the Bruins, who are two points ahead of Montreal for first place in the Northeast Division.

Blake Wheeler also tallied and Thomas made 31 saves for his first shutout since Dec. 1 in Philadelphia. Thomas, who along with Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara were named to the All-Star team, is 8-2-2 with a 2.05 goals-against average in 12 career games against the Flyers.

Milan Lucic missed Tuesday's game against Ottawa and the forward is questionable for tonight's contest. He leads the Bruins with 16 goals this year and is second on the club with 28 points.

Boston has won six of its last nine home games and is playing the second of four straight at TD Garden. The Bruins are 10-7-3 as the host this season.