Well, things fell apart quickly there. The Bruins scored three times in the second to take a 5-1 lead before James van Riemsdyk brought the Flyers back to within three. Brian Boucher was pulled after the 5th goal in favor of Sergei Bobrovsky, the fourth time in eight games this postseason the starting goalie has been pulled.
And really, this was not a bad game by Brian Boucher. Could he have played better? Absolutely. But the NBC announcers got it right – it even feels weird typing that – when they said that Peter Laviolette is continually getting the wrong matchups on the ice. Claude Julien has effectively kept his first line away from the Flyers’ best defensive line all game, and that’s the difference so far.
The officiating once again proved poor when Johnny Boychuk was called for a high-stick on a follow through, which is not a penalty. The Flyers, however, were unable to convert on the resulting power play, which came right on the heels of another failed power play opportunity.
It isn’t the start the Flyers wanted, but they have gotten plenty of chances. Tim Thomas has had a great game so far, stopping James van Riemsdyk, Kris Versteeg, and Mike Richards all from in close. Through two periods, Thomas has 21 saves.
Now, the Flyers look to come back from a 3-goal deficit in only twenty minutes, which won’t be easy. The defense has made far too many mistakes so far and they will only have to get more aggressive in the third. In a game where so much has gone wrong – both behind the bench and in their own zone – Sergei Bobrovsky is the better goalie to have, as he can use his athleticism to make up for the poor play in front of him.
Only twenty minutes left as the Flyers look to avoid dropping the first game of a series on home ice for the second straight series.