BOSTON, Mass – Playoff hockey is full of amazing stories and another chapter was added on a beautiful spring day in Boston. After missing nearly two months of action due to a severe concussion, Marc Savard returned to action at just the right time. With a delayed penalty ready to be assessed to the Philadelphia Flyers, Savard controlled a bouncing puck and fired it past Flyers goaltender Brian Boucher with 13:52 expired in overtime. Savard’s goal gave the Bruins a 5-4 win in front of a large afternoon crowd in Boston and gave the Bruins the early lead in the series.
Actually for Boston it is a good thing overtime is sudden death as the home team specialized in giving up leads all afternoon. At different times during the contest the Bruins led 2-0, 3-1 and 4-2 before allowing the never-say-die Flyers to knot the game at four when Daniel Briere split the Bruins defense with just over three minutes left in regulation.
The game had the potential to be a blowout from the start as the Bruins used goals from Steve Begin and Patrice Bergeron to build a 2-0 lead. But Boucher was solid in the first period and as a matter of fact, all game long, as he kept his club in the contest. Through the course of the day Boucher would turn aside 41 shots by the suddenly offensively-potent Bruins.
Boucher’s play allowed the Flyers to pull within a goal thanks to a Ryan Parent slap shot. Boston answered with a power play goal by Miroslav Satan, but Philadelphia’s Chris Pronger made it close again with another slapper which eluded Boston’s Tuukka Rask. Pronger’s goal sent the two clubs into their respective locker rooms separated by a goal with the last twenty minutes of regulation to play.
The Bruins appeared to salt the game away on David Krejci’s magical move which took Boucher out of position. Krejci gathered a loose puck in front of the Flyers goal and then made a highlight-reel play faking this way and then that before wristing the puck past Boucher. But the Flyers would storm back on goals by Mike Richards and Briere to force overtime.
Boston controlled the play in the overtime period and had several chances to win, but it appeared the Flyers would steal the contest despite all odds. A poor defensive play by the Bruins allowed Philadelphia’s Daniel Carcillo to break in alone on Rask, but the rookie netminder stood tall and stopped the potential game-winning bid.
Notes….The season and the playoffs have taken some key performers out of each team’s lineup. The Flyers came into the series without the services of goaltenders Ray Emery and Michael Leighton and forwards Simon Gagne, Ian Laperriere and Jeff Carter. Meanwhile the Bruins are without defensemen Dennis Seidenberg and Mark Stuart. In addition the Bruins lost forward Marco Sturm during his first shift of the game and his status for Game Two is unknown at this time…Thanks to a three point game Richards (3-8-11) is tied for second in playoff scoring…Boston’s Johnny Boychuk started the season as the Bruins seventh defenseman.
How things have changed. Boychuk now plays on the Bruins’ top pairing and led all skaters with 33:29 of ice time in Game 1….The two clubs each posted 2-1-1 marks against each other during the regular season, but the Bruins won the last two games between the two clubs during the regular season. Boston won 2-1 in overtime in the Winter Classic and followed it up with a 5-1 win on March, 11….The two clubs have not faced each other in the playoffs since the 1978 season when the Bruins defeated the Flyers in the semifinals….Even though Boucher lost his only decision against the Bruins this year he had a .949 save percentage and a goals against average of 1.35 when in goal against Boston….Boston defenseman Dennis Wideman picked up three assists during the contest, including the primary assist on Savard’s winner.
Contact Tom.Schettino@prohockeynews.com
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