The Boston Bruins took a 1-0 series lead Saturday afternoon with a 5-4 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers. Marc Savard scored the game winning goal for the Bruins in the first overtime period, giving the Flyers something to work at.
Savard had recently returned; this game being his first back since taking a blindside hit on March 7th. Savard scored with just over six minutes to play in the first overtime period. The goal came when the Flyers received a delayed penalty in their own end and Savard capitalized on this advantage.
Great shooting and aggressive stick work made this an exciting game 1. It’s safe to say that both the Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask and Flyers goalie Brian Boucher are going to have to rest their ankles for Monday’s game. On more than one occasion both goalies were caught committing to one side, only to be fooled and subsequently scored on.
Most notably Bruins center David Krejci took Boucher by surprise by digging the puck from the corner and leaving it for Milan Lucic to return the pass once the shot was set. As soon as Krejci hit the slot, Lucic sent a beautiful pass which connected and, following some impressive stick handling, the goal belonged to Krejci.
Although the Flyers never technically had “control” of this game, it was never completely out of sight. However, playing hockey like this will not get you into the conference finals nor will it help you bring home the Stanley Cup.\
If the Flyers want to take the Bruins by storm, it is pertinent that aggressiveness is stressed. The Bruins are an extremely aggressive team; take for example the series with the Buffalo Sabres in which leading forward Thomas Vanek was taken out of commission by Johnny Boychuk.
The Flyers have got to find it in themselves to play the kind of hockey the true fans despise: dirty hockey. This means they have to attack, attack, attack. As awful as it may seem, the Flyers have got to keep their eyes open for “cheap shots”; the Bruins always do. Without this aggressiveness, the Flyers will be back in Philadelphia counting the days until October.
Watch for a full on assault during Monday’s Game 2 in Boston. I know I will be.
