Matchup: Philadelphia Flyers vs. Boston Bruins at Fenway Park, 1 p.m. (NBC; 98.5 FM)

Records: Boston 20-12-7, 47 points; Philadelphia 19-18-2, 40 points

Past History: The Flyers prevailed 4-3 in a shootout in the first meeting of the season in Philadelphia on Oct. 22, and rallied with three goals in the third for a 3-1 win in Boston on Dec. 14. The Bruins still hold an 85-57-21-4 edge in the all-time series. All of those games were indoors though.

Bruins Connections: Flyers coach Peter Laviolette played and coached in the Bruins system, leading Providence to a Calder Cup while behind the bench in 1999, and also served as an assistant in Boston in 2000-01.

New England Ties: Laviolette hails from Franklin, Mass. and played his college hockey at Westfield State. Goalie Brian Boucher (Woonsocket, RI) had hoped to get a start in the ballpark where he grew up watching the Sox, but has been relegated to backup duties for this one. Rookie James van Riemsdyk is from New Jersey, but he did play his college hockey at UNH. Peter Luukko, the president and chief operating officer of Comcast-Spectacor, was born in Auburn, Mass.

Injury Update: The Flyers have goalie Ray Emery (abdominal surgery), Mike Rathje (back/hip) and Ole-Kristian Tollefsen (knee) on injured reserve, while Ryan Parent (back) is questionable. For the Bruins, Milan Lucic (high ankle sprain) practiced yesterday, but doesn?t expect to play, while Mark Stuart (broken sternum) is also on IR.

Fight Card: There has not been a fight in the first three regular-season outdoor games, but this matchup could change that. There was one scrap in the first meeting of the season (between unlikely combatants Tollefesen and Bruins callup Trent Whitfield), but the Flyers are third in the league with 35 fights, led by Ian Laperriere (11), Daniel Carcillo (8) and Arron Asham (6), while heavyweight Riley Cote has just three fights in limited action. Shawn Thornton would be the most likely sparring partner, as he leads Boston with nine of the team’s 20 fights. He’s also due, as he hasn’t had a fight in 10 games. Saving up his energy for the big outdoor stage perhaps?

Matchup to Watch: Man vs. Nature. The regular matchups are familiar by now ? Chara vs. Pronger in a battle of elite big men on the blue line, Bergeron vs. Richards in a clash of two of the top two-way players around who will soon be united on Team Canada, Thornton vs. Cote in an ongoing series of heavyweight bouts dating back to their days in the AHL. But what sets this game apart from every other one that will be played this season is the venue. Both teams will take on not only each other, but the elements in the league?s annual outdoor showcase. And judging from the forecasts, Mother Nature has plenty planned to make this one especially interesting.

Three Keys for the B?s:

1. Survive the elements ? The Bruins aren?t sure what Mother Nature will throw at them ? snow, rain, bitter cold. No matter how the forecast plays out, the one certainty is that the elements will have an impact in a game played outdoors. Both teams will have to deal with the challenges any bad weather will cause, and the squad that handles it the best will have a major advantage.

2. Don?t get caught up in the hoopla ? This game counts for two points in the standings just like any other, but it?s not like any other game. The distractions will be plentiful, but the Bruins must focus on the task at hand and not stray from their system regardless of the unfamiliar surroundings.

3. Play physical ? It?s not easy to take and deliver hits in the freezing cold, but both teams thrive on playing a physical game. The Flyers will come out hard as always despite the historic setting, and the Bruins will have to match that intensity and hit them right back at every opportunity.

The Lowdown: The wait is almost finally over, though like any event of this stature, the pre-game festivities will last a bit longer than the average night at the Garden. The Bruins come in having won four of their last five, including an impressive 4-0 shutout of Atlanta on Wednesday. But Philadelphia is even hotter. After hitting rock bottom with a 3-13-1 stretch that cost John Stevens his job as coach, the Flyers have bounced back with four straight wins. Philadelphia has outscored its opponents 17-6 in that span, including a 6-0 win over the Rangers in New York on Wednesday. The pageantry and historic nature of the game will take center stage, but neither team can afford to look past the two points at stake. Philly has climbed within two points of a playoff spot after their horrible start, while Boston is clinging to fifth place in the East.

BOSTON ? Everyone wanted to get in on the fun today at Fenway, even the coaches.

Assistant Doug Houda drew a loud chorus of cheers when he closed out a shootout drill when skating in on Tuukka Rask, then pulling up and blasting a slap shot by the Bruin netminder.

?That was impressive,? said defenseman Andrew Ference, who pondered trying to sneak Houda into Boston?s next shootout. ?I don?t know if we?re allowed to put him in, but that was pretty good. That was probably the best one of the whole works.?

Fellow defenseman Derek Morris was less impressed, and even questioned the legitimacy of the goal.

?I?ve got to talk to Tuukka about that,? said Morris. ?Tell Tuukka next time to get in the way of it. I think he was being nice to him, looking for some more ice (time) or something.?

Houda denied any collusion with Rask, but did admit there wasn?t too much strategy involved in his shot.

?No plan, it was just make sure I didn?t fan on it,? said Houda. ?I don?t think he let it in, but maybe the snow was in his eyes.?

BOSTON ? Since the Winter Classic was announced in July, Woonsocket, RI native Brian Boucher dreamed about playing in Fenway Park.

But barring a mid-game goalie change, Boucher will have to settle for dressing as a backup for the Flyers, as Philadelphia coach Peter Laviolette (Franklin, Mass.) has opted to start the red-hot Michael Leighton instead.

Claimed on waivers from Carolina on Dec. 15, Leighton has taken over the starting duties that initially fell to Boucher after Ray Emery was injured. Leighton (5-4-0, 3.13 GAA) has won the last four games for Philadelphia, allowing just six goals in that span, which included a 22-save shutout in a 6-0 win over the Rangers on Wednesday.

?I had a conversation with Bouch and certainly expect him to feel disappointed about not getting to start when he is from the area here at Fenway Park and the magnitude of the day,? said Laviolette. ?But the best explanation I could give him is if the shoe were on the other foot and you had won four in a row and done a pretty good job doing it, you would expect to be given the job again. So he understood. You always want to play, and you respect that about players, and certainly his case, the fact that he wanted to play, but I think he also understands, too.?

Boucher had to content himself with today?s practice at Fenway.

?Back then when it?s July it?s hard to imagine being here,? said Boucher, who is 4-10-1 with a 2.66 GAA this season. ?But now that we?re here and you get to see how it?s set up and all the excitement around it, it?s cool. It was great to practice outside. It brought me back to being a kid.?

Boucher also brought along his kid, skating with his son Tyler, who will turn 7 in January, as well as his wife, brother and two nephews for the family skated that followed practice.

?You could see the joy in their faces being out there at Fenway Park, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for them and for me,? said Boucher.

Like the rest of the family, it was Tyler?s first time skating at Fenway, but not his first visit to the historic ballpark. ?I?ve brainwashed him to be a Red Sox fan,? said Boucher, ?so he?s been here before and he understands.?

Tomorrow, all the Bouchers will have to understand that homecomings don?t always work out as perfect as planned.

BOSTON ? Playing a hockey game in Fenway Park may not be the only first Winter Classic fans could see tomorrow.

There?s a decent chance the sell-out crowd could also see the first outdoor fight in NHL regular-season history.

There was a pair of scraps in an outdoor preseason game in Las Vegas between the Kings and Rangers in 1991, but that took place in 85-degree weather in September. The Heritage Classic in Edmonton in 2003 was just slightly colder, as were the first two Winter Classics in snowy Buffalo two years ago and last year at Chicago?s Wrigley Field.

?It was minus-30 in Edmonton, so that kind of takes that game out of play,? said Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger. ?Your hands are not feeling very soft as it is. The Buffalo-Pittsburgh game was very close. It was 1-0, 1-1 and snowed and things of that nature. A lot of the times, you?re not just out there fighting to fight to kind of give the crowd something. There?s a reason and a method to it, and whether it be protecting a teammate or changing the flow of the game or whatever the case may be.

?So I?m sure this game will be the same,? added Pronger. ?If it needs to happen, it will happen, but I don?t think guys are going out there looking for it, and to kind of be the first one to do it, you know, it?s going to count within the context of the game and how things are playing out.?

The Flyers and Bruins may not go looking for fights, but they both have players who don?t mind dropping the gloves.

?I don?t think it will be any different (than any other game),? said Flyers forward Daniel Carcillo, who is second in the NHL with 104 penalty minutes and second on the Flyers with eight fighting majors. ?I know we?re outside and it?s cold, but it wasn?t too bad out there today, so I don?t think it will be too different.

?Both franchises have a pretty storied history,? added Carcillo. ?I think the last game in Boston was a pretty physical game. Everyone is going to play the same way. They?ve got physical guys and we?ve got physical guys. If everyone plays their game, I imagine it?s going to be pretty physical.?

The Bruins agree. ?I don?t think there?s going to be any holding back,? said Boston captain Zdeno Chara. ?I think it?s going to be totally opposite. It will be more like playoff game. For sure it?s going to be pretty intense.?

There isn?t much fighting in the playoffs though despite that intensity. So will anybody be hesitant to drop the gloves in this one?

?I don?t think so,? said Carcillo. ?It?s a hockey game. Just because it?s the Winter Classic and we?re playing outside doesn?t really matter.

?I?m not going out there looking for a fight, but it?s a hockey game,? added Carcillo. ?I?m going to play my games and whatever happens, happens.?

Fights tend to happen a lot when Carcillo and the Flyers play. Philadelphia is third in the league with 35 fights, with Ian Laperriere (11), Carcillo (8), Arron Asham (6) and heavyweight Riley Cote (3) leading the way. Cote will likely be scratched, but there are still plenty of candidates for the first Classic square-off.

?I guess it would be cool,? said Carcillo of possibly being in the first outdoor fight. ?A fight?s a fight though. It doesn?t matter if it?s outside or inside.?

Cool? Probably. Cold? Definitely. ?It?ll be pretty cold sitting there for five minutes though, that?s for sure,? said Carcillo.

The benches will be heated for the game, but Carcillo wasn?t sure about the penalty boxes.

?I haven?t checked that yet,? said Carcillo. ?I?m going to go check that out now. Hopefully it is (heated). Just in case.?

BOSTON ? The Bruins have just wrapped up a snowy practice at Fenway Park, and are now getting in a fun family skate before the locker room is opened to the media.

The snow made for a picturesque setting, but wasn?t so good for actual hockey playing. The puck was traveling far with the buildup of snow on the ice, making passes and clears a challenge.

The Bruins had to go back to their roots, as the players chipped in with the shoveling to clear the ice before starting. Another round of snow clearing came later as the players and coaches opened up a path for some breakaway drills. Claude Julien showed some possible plow experience in his background, expertly angling the shovel to clear a path far more efficiently than his players? attempts.

There was also plenty of fun being had, whether it was Derek Morris testing out the new boards by playfully chucking Marco Sturm into them, Andrew Ference and Marc Savard giving some young fans a snow shower with a few stickfuls tossed over the glass or assistant coach Doug Houda drawing a big cheer when he ended the shootout drill with a slapper past Tuukka Rask. David Krejci showed he was a trooper in one of the drills, getting dumped behind the net, shaking snow out of his gloves, then promptly putting the puck in behind Tim Thomas.

Check back for more throughout the day after the Bruins locker room access and the Flyers practice this afternoon.

BOSTON ? There?s nothing quite like standing inside the Green Monster and looking through the photographer?s holes and seeing a hockey rink.

That was the beautiful view afforded me moments ago thanks to a media tour of historic Fenway Park.

Even better was the sound of Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli?s weather update a few minutes later.

?I just spoke with (NHL ice guru) Dan Craig and he said an inch of snow and overcast, but no mention of rain,? said Chiarelli. ?That could change, but as of right now there?s no mention of rain. There will be an inch of snow from midnight to the morning, then a dusting tomorrow. That?s good.

?It?s pretty good out there now,? added Chiarelli. ?If we can get these same conditions tomorrow I?d be very excited.?

Chiarelli was also impressed with the ice conditions on the outdoor rink.

?The quality of ice is unbelievable,? said Chiarelli. ?Until you see it, you don?t think they can make ice like that outdoors.?

Chiarelli did admit that as good as the game will be for hockey in Boston and the Bruins, he can?t help but feel a little relief that it?s almost over as well.

?It?s a major undertaking and even from a manager?s perspective there?s a lot of things you?ve got to check off the check list,? said Chiarelli. ?It?s going to be a great game tomorrow, but I?ll be happy when it?s over.?

Final: Boston 4, Atlanta 0

Records: Boston 20-12-7, 47 points; Atlanta 18-17-4, 40 points

Revisiting the Three Keys for the B’s:

1. Don?t get caught looking ahead to Classic ? The Bruins clearly didn?t let any of the hoopla surrounding the upcoming Winter Classic distract them from taking care of business in this one. The Bruins jumped out to a commanding 3-0 lead in the first and never let Atlanta get back in the game. The Flyers put together a similar effort in New York, where they blanked the Rangers 6-0 in their final tune-up before coming to Fenway.

2. Score some goals ? After scoring more than two goals just once in the previous five games (against these same Thrashers last week), the Bruins topped that in the first period alone. Three different lines produced goals, while the first power-play unit also struck for a score. Four different players had goals and 11 players had points.

3. Keep the power off ? The Bruins didn?t stay out of the box as much as Claude Julien would have liked with Zdeno Chara picking up a pair of minors for hooking and Andrew Ference and Daniel Paille both whistled for tripping. But Boston?s top-ranked penalty kill successfully killed all four penalties, allowing just a single shot in the four opportunities combined while having four shots short-handed, several on strong scoring chances.

Key Play of the Game:

The Thrashers rallied to within a goal after falling behind by three twice last week, but tonight Steve Begin?s goal to make it 3-0 put the game completely out of reach before the first period ws even over. Begin drove the net and deftly redirected Derek Morris? shot from the right point for begin?s first goal in 30 games. That ended the night for Atlanta starting goal Ondrej Pavelec, but none of the Thrashers was really still in the game after that.

Fight Card:

There were no fights in this one despite the lopsided score. With the game well in hand early, none of the Bruins were going to risk injury this close to the Classic unless there was absolutely no choice, but Atlanta kept it clean and the gloves stayed on.

Flynn’s Finest:

Begin ended his goal drought with a nifty deflection and continued to add some physical spark to the top line with a pair of hits. Marco Sturm is definitely on one of his famous hot streaks, now having scored goals in three straight and four of the last five games. Marc Savard ran his point streak to five games with a pair of assists. He had just one shot, but it wasn?t for a lack of trying this time, as he had two other attempts blocked and four miss the net, including one off the post that led to Sturm?s goal. Byron Bitz also made a nice deflection for his first goal in 14 games. Credit has to go to Morris and Matt Hunwick for putting good, low, hard shots on goal that Begin and Bitz could redirect. Patrice Bergeron began his day by finding out he had been named to the Canadian Olympic team and ended it by scoring Boston?s final goal. Tuukka Rask showed no rust as he stopped all 18 shots he faced in his first start in five games.

Flynn’s Sin Bin:

Blake Wheeler did pick up an assist, but he still finishes December with a goal as he?s now gone 14 games since last scoring. He also accidentally took out David Krejci with an inadvertent hit at center ice in the first. The Bruins broke through with four goals, but could have had a lot more, but they missed several wide open shots at open nets. The most egregious came from Savard, who had the whole net open behind Johan Hedberg after Chara found him with a perfect pass in the right slot during a power play. Chara himself took a pair of bad hooking penalties. The worst showing of the night though belongs to the Thrashers, who literally looked like they wanted to give this one away. Beyond Pavelec?s porous goaltending, Atlanta also had eight giveaways, with Boston also credited with another six takeaways.

Next: The Bruins head over to Fenway on Friday to face the Flyers. You might have heard about that game.

BOSTON ? The Bruins played an uneventful third to close out a 4-0 win over Atlanta.

Tuukka Rask showed no rust as he stopped all 18 shots he faced for his second shutout of the year. Five of those shots came in the third, as each team had just five shots on goal in the final frame with the game long decided.

The Bruins avoided getting caught looking ahead to Friday?s Winter Classic with one of their better efforts of the year, jumping out to a commanding lead and cruising from there.

?All day long, we talked about our game tonight and what we had to do,? said coach Claude Julien. ?We put so much focus in the fact that we?re not the team that we want to be. We?re OK, but we can be better. I think because we talk about that so much, it was a situation where those distractions were put aside and we just focused on our game tonight.?

The Flyers managed to look past any distractions as well, blowing out the Rangers 6-0. So both teams appear to be finding their game just in time for the Classic matchup on tap at Fenway.

BOSTON ? The Bruins continued to dominate play throughout the second period, but only added one goal to their lead to head into the third up 4-0.

Fittingly, on the day he was named to the Canadian Olympic Team, Patrice Bergeron was the one who tallied for the Bruins. He banged home a rebound just after a Boston power play expired. David Krejci had the initial shot, which was deflected in front by Blake Wheeler. Atlanta goalie Johan Hedberg stopped that one, as well as Mark Recchi?s rebound, but Bergeron finally put it home from the left slot to make it 4-0 at 14:56.

The Bruins had plenty of other chances, but Hedberg made some key saves and the Bruins themselves squandered some other opportunities. Marc Savard missed an open net off a nice feed by Zdeno Chara on the power play, while Daniel Paille couldn?t cash in on a breakaway attempt after an Ilya Kovalchuk giveaway.

A slew of penalties robbed the second period of having too much flow, as Atlanta was whistled for four minor penalties and Chara was sent to the box for the second time tonight.

The Bruins have outshot Atlanta 25-13 so far, including a 12-6 edge in the second period.

BOSTON ? I guess you could call that progress.

Ondrej Pavelec lasted nearly 17 minutes and faced 10 shots before being pulled with Atlanta behind 3-0 tonight. Last Wednesday, he gave up three goals on eight shots and was pulled after 11 minutes.

Byron Bitz put Boston on the board at 6:33 when he tipped in a shot from the left boards b Matt Hunwick, then Marco Sturm shoveled in a rebound in front after a Marc Savard slap shot from the right circle clanged off the post. That one came on the power play at 12:56. Steve begin completed the outburst when he redirected a Derek Morris right point shot at 16:50, making it 3-0 and ending Pavelec?s night early again.

Of course, the Bruins should know better than to assume this one is over. Atlanta rallied to make it 3-2 and pulled within one at 5-4 in the closing minutes before Boston hung on for a 6-4 win last week. With Ilya Kovalchuk and Co., the Thrashers can scores goals in bunches.

Atlanta also starts the second with 17 seconds left on a Zdeno Chara hooking penalty, the Boston had the only three shots in the first 1:43 of that power play, including a breakaway by Blake Wheeler that was stoned, along with the rebound follow-up, by new goalie Johan Hedberg. It was a tough first for Wheeler, who delivered a rare hit. Unfortunately, he accidentally leveled his own linemate, David Krejci.

At the other end, Tuukka Rask hasn?t been tested often, but is perfect so far with seven saves.