BOSTON, Mass – A few days ago it seemed inevitable the Boston Bruins were on their way to the Eastern Conference finals. But after the past two games it seems impossible the Philadelphia Flyers were ever down three games to none in this series.
Many things have changed over the past few days as the Bruins lost David Krejci and the Flyers gained Simon Gagne. But the sweeping change in the series is far behind the ebb and flow of a couple of players. Gagne’s game-winning goal in overtime in Game 4 carried over into Game 5, a 4-0 whitewash by the Flyers in front of a jeering Boston crowd.
Gagne paced the Flyers with a pair of tallies while Ville Leino chipped in a goal and an assist. To say the game was never close would be inaccurate. Leino started the scoring early in the contest, but the two clubs played evenly until Philadelphia netminder Brian Boucher went down with an apparent knee injury. Ironically it would be the Flyers who assumed control after losing their netminder.
Minutes after losing Boucher the Flyers opened the game up when they received a power play goal from Scott Hartnell. It would be all Gagne after that. The winger, who missed the first three games of the series with a broken toe, notched Philadelphia’s third goal when he accepted a pass from Mike Richards and fired the puck home, with the Flyers on the power play again. Gagne notched his second goal of the contest, and third in two games, when he broke in alone on Rask and defeated him to the short side.
Meanwhile Michael Leighton returned to action in the Philadelphia goal for the first time since March 16 after he suffered a high ankle sprain against Nashville. In his first game back Leighton turned aside 14 shots. Before being injured Boucher stopped nine Boston attempts. The pair became the first Philadelphia netminders to share a shutout in the playoffs and the first in the NHL playoffs since 1955 when Montreal’s Jacques Plante and Charlie Hodge combined to blank–you guessed it–the Bruins.
With the win the Flyers will head home to host the Bruins in Game Six on Wednesday night. Should Philadelphia take that game the Bruins will host Game Seven on Friday night.
Contact Tom.Schettino@prohockeynews.com
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