Bruins (l-r) Daniel Paille, Johnny Boychuk, Michael Ryder and Mark Stuart line up dejectedly for the post-game handshakes with Danny Briere and the Flyers. (photo: Getty)

Final: Philadelphia 4, Boston 3

This one will hurt, and hurt for a long, long time. This is a franchise-changing failure of epic proportions. All the positive strides the club had made in the last three years – the valiant effort against Montreal in the 2008 playoffs, the first-place finish in the regular season last year, the Winter Classic win in overtime and upset of the Sabres in the first round this spring – will all be overshadowed by this historic collapse. The Bruins didn’t just become the third team in NHL history – and fourth in all major pro sports leagues in North America – to blow a 3-0 series lead. They did it in an equally embarrassing fashion in Game 7, blowing a 3-0 lead. The Bruins will now be back off the radar of the average Boston sports fans, except of course when they need a punchline for a joke about incompetence, while the die-hard hockey fans will now have a wound that may never completely heal as the scab will be picked at every time another team has a seemingly insurmountable lead in a playoff series.

Series Status: The Flyers win, 4-3, and advance to the Eastern Conference finals against Montreal.

Revisiting the Three Keys for the B’s:

1. Get shots to the net – The Bruins continued to pound pucks into shinpads and dent the boards all night, as they put shots just about everywhere except on net. They did manage 25 shots on goal, but that was less than half their attempts, as the Flyers blocked another 18 shots and 14 more missed the net. In the final three games, the Bruins managed to put just 79 of 192 attempts on goal (41.1 percent). The Flyers once again didn’t have nearly as much trouble, peppering Tuukka Rask with 27 shots while the Bruins blocked just 12 and only seven missed the net. For the last three games, the Flyers were on target with 85 of 134 shot attempts (63.4 percent).

2. Set the tone early – The Bruins did this perfectly, jumping all over the Flyers in the opening minutes. They took advantage of two early power plays with Michael Ryder and Milan Lucic each scoring, then got an even-strength goal from Lucic to make it 3-0 just 14:10 into play. The Bruins were in complete control and appeared on their way to winning in a laugher. Then they stopped skating, fell into a shell and let the Flyers back into the game. Once Philadelphia answered late in the first, the Bruins’ fragile psyche shattered and the Flyers took over.

3. Get the offense rolling again – Again, for the first 15 minutes of the game the Bruins played as well as they have all season offensively, attacking relentlessly, pressuring the Flyers into mistakes and capitalizing on their opportunities. Then, just as suddenly, it all disappeared, and the floundering attack that finished dead last in the regular season in scoring and managed just one goal in the previous two games reemerged. The Bruins scored three goals on 13 shots in the first 14:10, then managed only 12 shots – and no goals – over the final 45:50. The Flyers had four goals on 23 shots after the Bruins made it 3-0.

Flyers coach Peter Laviolette (center), of Franklin, Mass., settles his troops in a timeout after Philadelphia fell behind 3-0 in the first period of Game 7. (photo: Getty)

Key Play of the Game:

The Bruins had everything going their way and the Flyers were on the ropes after a three-goal explosion in the first 14:10. But Boston let Philly get up off the canvas and get right back in the game with a late first-period goal that completely changed the complexion of the game. UNH product James van Riemsdyk scored it with a shot that actually appeared to be heading wide, but took a strange hop of Mark Stuart’s broken stick and hit off the inside of Rask’s leg and trickled over the goal line. Instead of going into the first intermission down 3-0 and demoralized, the Flyers had new life and all the momentum, which they carried into the second period for two quick goals to even the game. It really never was even after that first Philly goal though, as the Flyers had the Bruins back on their heels the rest of the way and never doubted their ability to complete their historic comeback.

“The goal at the end of the first gave them some life,” said Bruins forward Mark Recchi. “We didn’t come out as sharp in the second, but if we could have kept it at 3-0 that would have been a big boost to us. (Being) 3-1 made a big difference.”

Flyers coach Peter Laviolette (Franklin, Mass.) agreed on the importance of that first Philadelphia goal, which came less than three minutes after he took a timeout to settle his club down after falling behind 3-0.

“The timeout was just to try and slow things down, to get us back in there,” said Laviolette. “I think that the biggest message there was to just score one goal, get us on the board. I think it was really important to just get in the game. That first goal for me was huge. You go in three to nothing, it’s a little bit of a different feeling. You go in 3-1, then you just have to win the second period. Second period was good. The guys came out real strong and we got back into it. I thought we took the lead on that one play.”

Fight Card:

Amazingly, a series between the Bruins and Flyers went the full seven games and did not feature a single fight. Maybe it’s not that amazing, considering the Bruins showed little fight – literal or figurative – after going up 3-0 in the series and playing like they could coast to the fourth win without having to outwork the Flyers.

Quotes of the Night:

A sampling of the reaction from a stunned and morose Bruins post-game locker room:

“I’m not going to stand here and find excuses,” said Bruins coach Claude Julien. “The bottom line is we had a 3-0 lead in the series and we had a 3-0 lead tonight and we blew both. So there is no excuse. We have to take the responsibility that goes with it. Everyone.”

“You don’t get too many chances like this,” said forward Mark Recchi. “This is two years in a row now, and you don’t get too any chances to get to the third round. … This is what we play for. This is what I play for. It’s just really disheartening.”

“It’s up there,” added Recchi when asked if this was the toughest defeat he’s suffered in his 22-year career. “I’ve had some Game 7 losses, but this one hurts a lot. … But what are you going to do? It’s over now and we have a long summer to think about it. It’s disappointing. … The feeling right now is awful, and if you don’t feel awful, then you’re playing for the wrong reasons.”

“It was more so us,” said forward Milan Lucic of the reasons for Philadelphia’s rally from three goals down. “We just sat back. We didn’t keep going and that’s why we lost.”

“There was definitely some complacency, that is for sure,” added Lucic of the team’s performance after building the 3-0 series lead. “It’s something that we are going to have to deal with for the whole summer.”

“It’s going to be a while, that’s for sure,” said Bruins defenseman Johnny Boychuk when asked how long it will take to recover from this loss. “I’m going to be thinking about it for quite some time. I’m kind of in shock right now that we’re not going to be playing anymore.”

“I’m more disappointed,” said forward Shawn Thornton. “Nothing really shocks me anymore. I have been around too long, but I am pretty disappointed at the way things ended here.”

Bruins captain Zdeno Chara (right) shakes hands with the man whose goal ended his season - Flyers forward Simon Gagne. (photo: Getty)

Flynn’s Finest:

How do you find positives in a historic collapse that will have huge repercussions for the franchise for years to come? The first 15 minutes were amazing, a tantalizing tease of what the Bruins were capable of doing when they played an aggressive, attacking style with passion and intensity. But it was just a tease, as that style disappeared for good after they took a 3-0 lead and opted to sit back and try to passively hold on to the win. … Milan Lucic scored two of Boston’s goals and played with a passion absent from too many of his teammates, setting a tone early by giving himself up to block a Chris Pronger point shot. He also came within inches of a hat trick, hitting the left post from the slot just 13 seconds before the Bruins were called for too many men. That’s how close the Bruins came to avoiding the disaster to come. Even his game had warts though, as he still wasn’t the physical presence he was in the past with just one hit, and he had just one shot after scoring his second goal and none in the third period. … Michael Ryder had the other goal for the Bruins, cashing in on an early power-play chance with a rebound from the right circle. He finished with three shots and three hits in 16:02. … Mark Stuart had his best game since returning from injury in Game 4, as he had five of Boston’s 12 blocked shots and a team-high four hits in 19:43. … Zdeno Chara did his best to shed his reputation as a Game 7 failure, picking up an assist on the first goal as his point shot got the play started. Don’t be surprised if Chara reveals some serious ailments he was playing through this postseason now that the season is done, as he was in obvious pain while talking to the press post-game, grimacing noticeably with the effort it took to stand after his interviews. … Mark Recchi had an assist and three hits in 19:08, leading by example with passion and purpose as he did all season long. And that continued long after the game was over, as an emotionally distraught Recchi nevertheless stayed at his stall in the locker room for more than 20 minutes to answer every question the assembled media had, trying to put the defeat into perspective with his usual class and dignity. … Steve Begin hobbled painfully through the locker room after the game, having played with his usual passion and tenacity. That included a painful block of a Kimmo Timonen slap shot that briefly sent him to the locker room, as well as dishing out a pair of hits. … The power play converted 2 of 3 chances to stake the Bruins to their early lead.

Flynn’s Sin Bin:

The Bruins made history with their epic collapse, and there were plenty of parties to share the blame for this utter failure. … Vladimir Sobotka had no shots and won just 3 of 7 face-offs, so he certainly didn’t have a great game (though he did play physical with three hits despite a banged-up body of his own). But he’ll no doubt get unduly blamed for jumping on too soon in the third for the too-many-men-on-the-ice penalty that led to the game-winning goal for Philadelphia. But the fault actually should go to Marc Savard, who signaled for a change, then circled back to rejoin the play, leaving Sobotka hung out to dry after hopping over the boards to replace him. Savard didn’t do much else positive on the night, as he also took a hooking penalty, won just 3 of 10 draws and was a minus-1 in 15:53. There’s little doubt that Savard still wasn’t himself coming back from his concussion, and not having a full-strength Savard clearly hurt the Bruins. … The blame for the bench minor also has to fall on Claude Julien, whose club committed that miscue with way too much regularity in the regular season and the sloppy changes came back to haunt the Bruins with a season-ending mistake here. … Daniel Paille was demoted from the top line and did not to make Julien regret the decision as he had no shots and no hits despite playing 19:20. … Moving Blake Wheeler up to that top line, however, is probably something Julien wishes he had done differently, even though the available options were limited. Wheeler had just one shot and no hits in 13:22, and was once again a complete non-factor in a huge playoff contest. He now has just one goal in 21 career postseason games. … Miroslav Satan remained invisible without David Krejci to set him up, finishing with no points for a fourth straight game and managing just two shots and no hits in 17:01. … Matt Hunwick was a minus-1 with just one shot in 14:37, and Danny Briere’s game-tying goal on a wraparound late in the second period went in off Hunwick. … Tuukka Rask was one of the main reasons the Bruins even reached the playoffs and upset Buffalo in the opening round. But he struggled mightily in these four losses to the Flyers. Rask allowed four goals on 27 shots, and while deflections of Stuart’s stick and Hunwick’s body led to two of those goals, Rask didn’t make the game-saving stops a goalie needs to come up with to close out a game of this nature. He allowed just 21 goals in his first nine playoff games, but surrendered 15 in the final four.

Next: The Bruins will have a long wait until their next game, which won’t come until next fall. They’ll open the 2010-11 season in Prague, which still might not be far enough away from an irate Boston fan base after how this playoff run flamed out.

Flyers forward Daniel Briere (left) celebrates his second-period power-play goal that stood up as the game-winner as Tuukka Rask fishes the puck out of the net. (photo: Getty)

Final: Philadelphia 2, Boston 1

Well, so much for that commanding 3-0 series lead. The Bruins and Flyers are now even in their best-of-seven series, with one game left to decide the final spot in the conference finals. The Bruins will have home ice in Game 7 on Friday, but all the momentum is on the Flyers’ side after Philadelphia won its third straight over Boston tonight. It was a better effort than what the Bruins showed in Game 5 at home, but it was still not enough. Boston’s scoring woes have returned in full force and the Bruins simply haven’t been able to match Philly’s speed and skill since Simon Gagne returned to the Flyers lineup and David Krejci was lost for the postseason. They have one final chance to find an answer and avoid the ignominy of becoming the third team in NHL history to blow a 3-0 lead.

Series Status: Tied, 3-3.

Bruins defenseman Johnny Boychuk (55) lands a hit on Mike Richards, but the Flyers slipped past Boston to tie the series at 3-3. (photo: Getty)

Revisiting the Three Keys for the B’s:

1. Get offense from the defense – After managing just two combined shots from their six defensemen in Game 5, the Bruins did a better job of generating shots from the blue line. The defense had 15 of Boston’s 31 shots, led by Zdeno Chara, who had five shots after finishing with none in the previous two games. But the Bruins still had trouble getting shots through from the point, as the defense had 16 other attempts blocked and seven miss the net, and most of the ones that did get through were perimeter shots that didn’t present much of a challenge for Flyers goalie Michael Leighton.

2. Stop Gagne – The Bruins kept Simon Gagne from scoring a goal for the first time in three games since he returned from a broken toe in Game 4, but he still assisted on Philadelphia’s first goal and had four shots in 17:59. He remains on ongoing concern and a matchup problem every time he’s on the ice that the Bruins will have to pay special attention to in Game 7.

3. Stay out of the box – The Bruins did a slightly better job of avoiding penalties, but after committing 10 penalties for 22 minutes in Game 5 there was really nowhere to go but up. They still committed four penalties, plus a fifth that resulted in a penalty shot, and Philadelphia’s winning goal came on the power play. That came on a 4-on-3 with both Marc Savard (high-sticking) and Daniel Paille (elbowing) in the box. Mark Stuart also took an elbowing call for an overly rambunctious hit and Blake Wheeler took a bad holding penalty in the final minute of the second period. Vladimir Sobotka’s hook on Ville Leino led to the penalty shot in the third, but Tuukka Rask made the stop to keep it a 2-0 game.

Key Play of the Game:

It was during Boston’s first penalty – Stuart’s elbowing call – that the Bruins had a chance to change the complexion of the entire game. The Flyers dominated the early going, scoring 6:58 in and having a chance to double that lead with the game’s first power play at 11:02. But the best chance to score on that power play was by the Bruins, as Steve Begin made a nifty backhand pass to Trent Whitfield, who had snuck behind Chris Pronger and was in alone on a clean breakaway. Whitfield’s shot was right into Leighton’s chest though, and the Flyers dodged that bullet and remained in control.

Fight Card:

Still no fights in the series, and none should be expected at this point as the stakes are too high to risk any extra penalties in an elimination game. Both sides continued to play a strong physical game with plenty of hitting and intensity, but neither side had anyone come close to dropping the gloves.

Quote of the Night:

Bruins coach Claude Julien on the club’s struggles to finish chances:

“We didn’t probably get enough scoring chances in the second (period), even though we had the puck in their end quite a bit,” said Julien. “But in the third we got a few more scoring chances, hit a few posts and the pucks just weren’t going in for us tonight. I’m not going to criticize my players’ effort. I thought we were ready. But somehow we’ve got to find a way to score goals.”

Flynn’s Finest:

Tuukka Rask looked a little uncomfortable early, playing deeper in the net than usual and scrambling around a bit, but he settled down as the game went on and came up with some big stops to keep the Bruins in the game. His biggest save was a glove snare of Leino’s backhand on the penalty shot to keep it 2-0 with 7:21 left in the third. It was a nice rebound effort after letting in nine goals in the previous two games. … Milan Lucic finally got Boston on the board – after a scoring drought of 134:12 – when he banged in a shot from out front with a minute left. He had three shots in 16:20, but had just one hit. It was his third goal of the series to go along with two assists, a welcome addition to Boston’s floundering offense, but the Bruins need him to be more of a physical presence as well. … Zdeno Chara had an assist on Lucic’s goal and five shots and four hits in 27:36, while Dennis Wideman also had an assist and was plus-1 in 23:49 with four shots and three hits. Those hits included a crushing shot on James van Riemsdyk in the neutral zone early in the second period. … Johnny Boychuk chipped in three shots, four hits and a blocked shot in 21:22. … Trent Whitfield only played 8:43, but he created one chance with the short-handed breakaway and also hit the near post with a shot from the left boards. He had two hits and won 8 of 11 face-offs (73 percent). … The Bruins as a team outhit Philadelphia 33-20 and won 39 of 64 draws (61 percent). Patrice Bergeron won 15 of 27 draws (56 percent0 and also hit a post from in close and Marc Savard won 8 of 12 face-offs (67 percent).

Flynn’s Sin Bin:

The Bruins outshot Philadelphia 31-27, but they could have put a lot more pressure on Michael Leighton as many of those shots were from the perimeter and the majority of their attempts never even made it on net. The Bruins attempted 79 shots, but 30 were blocked and 18 missed the net. By comparison, the Flyers put 27 of their 43 attempts on net, with the Bruins blocking just 10 and only six missing the net. The Flyers’ 30-10 advantage in blocked shots shows which side really wanted this one and was willing to make the sacrifices necessary for the win. … Blake Wheeler didn’t have a shot and committed a bad holding penalty in the final minute of the second period. … Daniel Paille had just one shot and also took an elbowing penalty that put Boston down two men briefly and led to Danny Briere’s goal on a 4-on-3 power play. … That penalty came on the heels of Marc Savard high-sticking call. Savard had just two shots in 17:28. … Miroslav Satan has picked a horrible time to go ice cold. After scoring nine points in a six-game point streak, he has no points in the last three games, all Boston losses. He hasn’t scored since Krejci was injured and has struggled to find similar chemistry with Savard. Satan was one of just two Bruins to finish a minus on the day at minus-1 in 16:06. … Matt Hunwick was the only Bruins defenseman without a shot on goal, as both of his attempts in 19:18 were blocked. … The Bruins power play was 0 for 4 with just three total shots.

Next: It all comes down to one game now, with a winner-take-all Game 7 on tap back in Boston on Friday.

Bruins forward Milan Lucic skates away as the Flyers celebrate a goal in Game 5 at the Garden. Philadelphia won 4-0 to stave off elimination again. (photo: Getty)

Final: Philadelphia 4, Boston 0

Who would have thought that Boston mayor Thomas Menino’s gaffe that had Jason Varitek scoring “ionic” field goals for the Patriots in Menino’s speech during the unveiling of the new Bobby Orr statue outside the Garden would be the least offensive miscue of the day? The Bruins once again let a chance to close out their series with the Flyers slip away as Philadelphia outworked, outhustled and outdid the Bruins in just about every aspect of the game. The Flyers now take that momentum back to Philadelphia, where they will look to even the series on Wednesday after handing the Bruins their first loss on home ice this postseason.

Series Status: Bruins lead, 3-2.

Revisiting the Three Keys for the B’s:

1. Strong start – The Bruins came out inexplicably flat in this one. They didn’t manage a shot on goal for the first 4:30 and the Flyers struck first just 6:41 into opening period. Philly was off and running and the Bruins never came close to catching up.

2. Get Stuart up to speed – No one in Black and Gold could be happy about their performance in this one, but Mark Stuart did look more comfortable in his second game back after missing over a month following finger surgery and a serious infection. He was a minus-1 and didn’t have a shot, but he did have three hits and four blocked shots in 14:44. He even got into a shoving match with Flyers villain Dan Carcillo late in the third in a rare show of pride for the Bruins in this one. He still has a ways to go to get back to his normal self, but he’s at least moving in the right direction.

3. Rask rebound – Rookie goalie Tuukka Rask had a rare off-night in Game 4 when he allowed five goals. He didn’t have much help from the team in front of him in Game 5, but he didn’t show a lot of improvement either as he allowed four more goals on 31 shots. He actually was very good in the opening period, as he was about the only reason it was still a 1-0 game after 20 minutes. But the rest of the club never picked up its play, and Rask eventually succumbed. He’s now allowed nine goals in the last two games, and needs to get back to his previous stellar form if the Bruins are to get out of this tailspin in time.

Key Play of the Game:

It wasn’t so much an individual play as a sequence of non-plays. After Philadelphia starting goalie Brian Boucher suffered injuries to both knees in a pileup in his crease early in the second, the Bruins had a chance to jump on replacement Michael Leighton, who was seeing his first action since suffering a high ankle sprain of his own on March 16. But the Bruins managed just six weak shots during the rest of the second period, while Philadelphia scored two more goals to stretch its lead to 3-0 and put the game away.

Fight Card:

Still no fights in the series, though there were a few close calls in this one and a brawl or two might have woken the Bruins up, or at least salvaged some pride. Shawn Thornton and Carcillo had a staredown by the benches in the first period, with each shaking their gloves in invitation before they both opted not to risk any extra penalties and skated off for line changes. In the third, Marc Savard took exception to a Mike Richards hit and went back after him, popping his good with a stick to the chops. Milan Lucic jumped in and grabbed Richards, but didn’t attempt to do anything but hold on. Everyone else on the ice also piled in, but nothing developed. Trailing 4-0, that would have been a perfect opportunity for Lucic to get some payback on Richards, who ended David Krejci’s season with a clean but viscous hit in Game 3 and delivered several other borderline shots throughout the series, but Lucic let him off the hook. There was 5:26 left to play, so the automatic suspension for an instigator in the final five minutes wouldn’t have applied, and the Bruins certainly weren’t going to score four goals in 5:26. If ever there should have been a green light for a beatdown this was it. The five-minute rule probably explains the lack of escalation in another minor melee in the final minute, as Stuart and Thornton both went after Carcillo but nothing more than some shoving resulted.

Quote of the Night:

We’ll ignore the Bruins forgettable performance from this one, and give his honor the spotlight all to himself:

“In Boston, we have an amazing set of remarkable athletes whose actions in the moment have become ionic in sports,” said Menino at the Orr statue ceremony. “Havlicek stole the ball. Fisk waving the ball fair. Flutie launching the Hail Mary pass. Varitek splitting the uprights. Today we honor the most brilliant moment: Bobby Orr flying through the air. Who could forget that play against St. Louis as the Bruins beat the Blues to bring a Stanley Cup to Boston?”

Flynn’s Finest:

There weren’t many highlights in this one. One positive was the Bruins’ willingness to sacrifice their bodies to block shots, as Boston blocked 21 shots on the night, compared to just six for the Flyers. Johnny Boychuk led the way with five, while Mark Stuart and Zdeno Chara each had four. … The Bruins also fared well in the face-off circle, winning 31 of 53 draws (58 percent). As usual, Patrice Bergeron led the way there with 14 wins in 22 draws (64 percent), while Trent Whitfield won 5 of 7 (71 percent). … Bergeron also chipped in two blocked shots, two takeaways and three shots and was one of the few Bruins not finishing a minus despite playing 18:31. … Vladimir Sobotka didn’t have a strong overall game, but he made the highlight reels with a crushing hit on Danny Briere at center ice in the first period. … The penalty kill was overworked by Boston’s parade to the penalty box, but they held Philadelphia to just one goal on nine chances, allowing just a total of 10 shots in 14:20 of power-play time. The Bruins are 18 of 19 on the PK over the last four games.

Flynn’s Sin Bin:

Where to begin? Might as well start in the penalty box since that’s where the Bruins spent most of their night. Boston was called for 22 minutes on 10 penalties, almost all of which could easily fall in the unnecessary category. These weren’t hooks or trips to prevent scoring chances or even roughing to stand up for a teammate. Vladimir Sobotka started things off with a careless high-stick that cost him four minutes for cutting Scott Hartnell. Marc Savard added a foolish roughing penalty for mugging Kimmo Timonen along the boards less than a minute after Philadelphia went up 2-0 in the second, Steve Begin took a bad boarding call that was lucky to get him just two minutes when he ran Claude Giroux from behind into the boards and Andrew Ference took a bad cross-checking penalty in the final minute of the second. Add in tripping calls to Miroslav Satan and Blake Wheeler and the Bruins managed to commit just about every bad penalty possible. … The Bruins defense excelled at blocking shots, but wasn’t nearly as effective at getting their own shot on net. The six Boston blueliners combined for just two shots on goal – one each by Dennis Wideman and Ference. Zdeno Chara didn’t even attempt a shot, nor did Matt Hunwick, while Johnny Boychuk’s only attempt missed the net and Mark Stuart missed all three of his attempts. Wideman also had two misses and Ference had one blocked. … The Bruins had two power plays of their own and didn’t even manage a shot on goal on either. … In addition to his tripping call, Wheeler was also charged with three giveaways and was a minus-1 in 12:32, while Hunwick, Sobotka and Michael Ryder were each a team-worst minus-2. Sobotka struggled once again in an expanded role since Krejci was sidelined, managing two shots and two hits (including the huge one on Briere), but created little offensively and won just 1 of 4 draws. … Wideman was a minus-1 with a giveaway and also contributed to Philly’s last goal, as he broke his stick trying to keep the puck in at the right point. Simon Gagne gained control and broke in down the right wing. Without a stick, this was one time the Bruins could have been excused for taking a penalty, but Wideman let Gagne go and he scored to make it 4-0 and end any hopes of a comeback. … Tuukka Rask didn’t have a lot of help, but he has to do more to keep his team in the game, especially when the team is struggling. He’s allowed nine goals in the last two games. The Bruins won’t be winning many games when they have to score five or more.

Next: The series shifts back to Philadelphia for Game 6 on Wednesday, with a late start time (8 p.m.). The Bruins hope the third time is the charm to get that elusive fourth and final win, while the Flyers will try to even the series on home ice.

Marc Savard is left crumpled on the ice after a hit from behind by Flyers forward Darroll Powe (left) in OT. Savard stayed on for the power play, but the B's still fell. (photo: Getty)

Final: Philadelphia 5, Boston 4 (OT)

Well, the good news is that if the Bruins can close out the Flyers we’ll at least get to hear what Jack Edwards can come up with for the call at the final horn. He’s already referenced the Revolutionary War and New York maritime tragedies in series wins over Montreal and Buffalo, so he’ll surely have something special lined up for a potential Game 5 win over Philadelphia after sitting out the first four games of the series with NBC and VERSUS holding exclusive broadcast rights. Tonight it was the Flyers who enjoyed the special finish, with Simon Gagne doing his best Marc Savard impression with the overtime winner in his first game back from a broken foot. That erased another late Bruins rally, as they overcame a 3-1 deficit, then pulled even at 4-4 with 31.5 seconds left as ageless wonder Mark Recchi scored his second of the night with Tuukka Rask pulled for the extra attacker. The Bruins had their chances to carry that momentum into the extra session, but failed to convert a power-play chance before Gagne kept the Flyers alive. Now Boston will try to close it out in Game 5 at the Garden, where the Bruins are 5-0 this postseason.

Series Status: Bruins lead, 3-1.

Revisiting the Three Keys for the B’s:

1. Finish it now – The Bruins are still in control with a 3-1 series lead and Game 5 at home, but they won’t get as much rest now even if they close it out in five games. They’ve also given Philadelphia a little bit of life with their first win coming in such dramatic fashion, so they will have to come out strong early on Monday to dash any hopes of a miracle comeback for the Flyers.

2. Replacing Krejci – Savard moved between Milan Lucic and Miroslav Satan with David Krejci out for the playoffs, but the chemistry for that combination is still a work in progress. Lucic did score a goal with Savard getting a secondary assist, but that came on the power play. That was Lucic’s only shot, while the red-hot Satan cooled considerably with no points and just one shot. Savard did his best to keep things going with eight shots, but he often seemed to be trying to force the perfect play rather than taking simpler passes that were open, which led to several missed scoring chances and three giveaways officially charged to Savard. Vladimir Sobotka didn’t do much with the increased opportunity with Krejci out, as Sobotka was a minus-2 with just one shot and no hits. Trent Whitfield filled the roster spot with Krejci out but was largely invisible with no shots and no hits in 8:29.

3. Closing statement – The Bruins continued their domination of the third period in the postseason, scoring early to tie it 3-3, then answering a late Flyers tally with Recchi’s last-minute strike to force overtime. Boston has now outscored opponents 15-6 in the third despite holding just a 98-91 advantage in shots in the final frame. But Boston couldn’t maintain its success in overtime, falling in sudden death for the first time in OT games this postseason.

Key Play of the Game:

Gagne’s goal provided the storybook ending for the Flyers, but the key sequence for the Bruins was the failed power-play opportunity that came just four minutes earlier. Darroll Powe was sent off for boarding after a dangerous hit from behind on Savard. Lucic did a good job of containing his protective instincts and not retaliating immediately and negating the power play. Savard was not injured and actually stayed out for the power play, but strangely Lucic did not as he was replaced by Michael Ryder despite Lucic having scored on Boston’s previous power-play chance. Boston had control in the Philadelphia zone for much of the man-advantage, but the Flyers did a good job of keeping the Bruins on the perimeter and prevented any really strong scoring chances. Philadelphia then feed off the momentum of that kill and finally ended it just over two minutes after Powe came out of the box.

Fight Card:

Four games in and still no fights, and with the Flyers facing elimination it’s unlikely we’ll see any in this series as the message-sending portion of the series has passed. Both sides played a strong physical game with plenty of hitting and intensity, but neither team wants to risk taking any extra penalties by dropping the gloves at this point.

Bruins veteran forward Mark Recchi finds an opening upstairs to beat Brian Boucher with the game-tying goal with 31.5 seconds left in regulation. (photo: Getty)

Flynn’s Finest:

Mark Recchi continues to amaze with his smarts and savvy. He always manages to be in the right place at the right time, as he was in following up Patrice Bergeron’s shot for Boston’s first goal and in getting open along the goal line for Bergeron’s pin-point pass on the last-minute tying goal. But as good at anticipating as Recchi is, he still has to execute when he gets those chances, and it’s a testament to his fitness and dedication that he still has the hands and legs to convert the opportunities his brain creates. He finished with four shots and three hits in 23:39, while Bergeron had two assists, six shots, two takeaways and two blocked shots in 22:56. … Johnny Boychuk was a monster defensively with eight blocked shots, along with two shots and two hits in 31:58. … Fellow blueliners Dennis Wideman and Zdeno Chara also logged huge minutes, with Wideman a plus-1 with two assists, five shots, two hits, two takeaways and no giveaways in 33:13 and Chara adding four blocked shots, four hits and two takeaways in 33:04. … Even without Krejci and Marco Sturm, the Bruins penalty kill continues to shine. Boston killed off both Philly power plays tonight and is 10 for 10 in the last three games. … A hat tip to a pair of opposition players, with Simon Gagne earning respect for netting the winner on his seventh shot of the night in his early return from a serious foot injury and Matt Carle enjoying quite a night with four assists, including the primary helper on Gagne’s winner, and finishing a plus-5 in 32:35.

Flynn’s Sin Bin:

Tuukka Rask has been the Bruins MVP throughout the second half of the season and the playoffs, but he showed he’s human tonight. He appeared to be fighting the puck for much of the night, scrambling around his crease and getting caught out of the net several times. The winning goal that Gagne slipped under him is no doubt one he would like back. … Mark Stuart earns praise for returning from a serious hand injury that still requires IV antibiotic treatment, but he showed his rust in this one as he was a minus-2 with no shots and no hits in just 9:46. He should improve as he gets his strength and timing back though. … Vladimir Sobotka needs to be a lot better than he was tonight if the Bruins are to overcome the loss of Krejci. Sobotka provided few positives in this one as he was a minus-2 with just one shot and no hits in 14:36. He needs to be far more physically involved to be effective, but the one time he tried to get physical he was sent off on matching roughing minors with Scott Hartnell and the Flyers took advantage of the open ice as Daniel Briere scored while the clubs skated 4 on 4. Sobotka was also just 7 of 15 on face-offs, but he was far from alone in struggling in that category. The Bruins were 36 on 74 (49 percent) as a team, with no player holding a winning record on draws after Boston dominated in the face-off circle the previous two games.

Next: The Bruins will come back to Boston looking to close out the Flyers in Game 4 on Monday.

Mark Recchi (far left) celebrates with Bruins teammates Blake Wheeler and Patrice Bergeron after scoring a power-play goal in the third period. (photo: Getty)

Final: Boston 4, Philadelphia 1

The Bruins expected the Flyers to throw everything they had at them as the series shifted to Philadelphia, and the Flyers certainly tried in the early going. But the Bruins weathered the early storm and struck back for two quick goals. Despite losing two regulars to injuries in the opening period, the Bruins appeared to wear down Philadelphia, taking the crowd out of the game and taking complete control of the series as they move within one win of reaching the conference finals for the first time since 1992.

Series Status: Bruins lead, 3-0.

Revisiting the Three Keys for the B’s:

1. Slow down Briere and Richards – The Bruins kept Philadelphia’s top biggest threats off the scoresheet, as Briere was held without a point after posting 4-5-9 totals in his previous four games and Richards was scoreless after coming in with 4-8-12 totals through seven playoff games. Briere had four shots, though another attempt was blocked and two missed, while he was just 2 of 8 on face-offs (25 percent) and a minus-2 in 19:49. Richards managed just one shot while three other attempts were blocked and one missed, and he was also just 11 of 25 (44 percent) on draws and a minus-2 in 24:44. Richards did have an impact though, as he landed three hits, including one that knocked David Krejci out of the game – and maybe many more – with an upper-body injury in the first period. That hit took Richards out of position and allowed the Bruins a scoring chance, which Miroslav Satan converted for the eventual game-winner.

2. Draw up a plan – Even with the Flyers having home-ice advantage, the Bruins dominated the face-off circle, winning 31 of 53 draws (58 percent), once again thanks largely to Patrice Bergeron (12-6, 67 percent). No Bruin had a losing record on draws in the game, with Marc Savard going 8-6 (57 percent), Steve Begin (7-7) and Vladimir Sobotka (3-3) both even and Krejci winning the only draw he took before his injury.

3. Turn the power back on – After going 0 for 5 on the man-advantage in Game 2, the Bruins bounced back tonight with a key third-period power-play goal. Mark Recchi banged in a rebound at the right post 2:30 into the third to give the Bruins some much-needed breathing room with a 3-1 lead. Boston finished 1 for 2 on the night with three shots, while the Flyers were 0 for 4 on the power play despite the Bruins being without two of their main forwards on the penalty kill with Krejci injured and Steve Begin in the box for two of the four Philly power plays. Recchi came up huge here as well, leading all Bruins with 5:09 worth of short-handed ice-time.

Key Play of the Game:

After answering Philadelphia’s early goal with the equalizer at 4:11 of the first, the Bruins took a lead they would never relinquish just 94 seconds later. Krejci began the play by getting the puck up to Milan Lucic while absorbing a clean but brutal hit from Richards. Lucic then found Miroslav Satan in the slot and Satan broke in alone and tucked the puck in at the right post for his fifth goal of the playoffs. The Bruins were on their way to a commanding 3-0 series lead, but the play came with a hefty cost as Krejci did not return.

Fight Card:

The teams kept the gloves on once again, as fights have been as rare as Flyers wins in this series. Tempers did flare a bit when Andrew Ference and Richards exchanged shoves in front of the Bruins net. Dan Carcillo tried to jump in, but Shawn Thornton cut him off and took him down behind the net. The linesmen didn’t allow that to develop into anything further and Ference received the only penalty with a cross-checking minor. Ference also drew the ire of Arron Asham later when he leveled the Flyers forward when he tried to whack at Tuukka Rask as the goalie tied up the puck at the right post.

Steve Begin squares to block a shot in Game 3. The Bruins had 21 blocked shots to just eight for the Flyers. (photo: Getty)

Flynn’s Finest:

Blake Wheeler has drawn plenty of criticism for his struggles late in the year and in the postseason, but he deserves to lead off this side of the ledger after a solid all-around game. He put Boston on the board, answering Philly’s early goal with a perfect deflection, reaching out to redirect a Matt Hunwick (assist, plus-2 in 22:11) shot headed wide left back on goal and past Brian Boucher. It was the first career postseason goal for Wheeler, who also picked up an assist on Mark Recchi’s power-play goal to make it 3-1 and contributed on the penalty kill. … Tuukka Rask came up without another strong effort, especially early as he made 26 of his 34 saves in the first two periods. … Miroslav Satan continues his torrid playoff scoring, potting the eventual game-winner as he broke in alone and tucked a backhander around Boucher at the right post. He even showed off some defensive skills as he added two takeaways and a blocked shot and was a plus-1 in 16:55. … Mark Recchi keeps on turning back time, banging home a rebound for a huge power-play goal in the third while also leading the team in short-handed ice-time (5:09). … The Bruins had a 21-8 edge in blocked shots, with Johnny Boychuk leading all players with five. He was also a plus-2 in 28:20. … Zdeno Chara added two blocks, as well as four hits and an assist while finishing plus-2 in 26:00. … Patrice Bergeron capped the night with an empty-net goal, while also continuing his dominance on face-offs (12-6, 67 percent). … Andrew Ference added some snarl to the blue line, trading shots with Richards in front of the net and decking Arron Asham when he tried to poke the puck free from Rask. … Shawn Thornton played a limited role, but he did his job well when needed, cutting off Carcillo and taking him down behind the net when Carcillo tried to get at Ference. Sometimes it’s not always about getting in fights for an enforcer, sometimes it’s keeping your teammates out of them, especially with Boston’s already short one defenseman. … Milan Lucic followed up his game-winner in Game 2 with a nice pass to send Satan in alone for his goal, while Marc Savard picked up an assist and was a plus-2. … The penalty kill was excellent again, killing all four Flyers power plays despite losing Krejci and having Steve Begin in the box for two of them.

Flynn’s Sin Bin:

The biggest negative of the night was clearly the injuries. Losing David Krejci will be a huge loss, especially if reports of a broken wrist requiring surgery are accurate and he is out for an extended time. Adam McQuaid went out with a knee injury as well. His lose would hurt the depth on defense, but isn’t nearly as catastrophic as losing Krejci, especially with Mark Stuart close to returning. … Steve Begin had a rough night, finishing a minus-1 with no shots and taking two bad penalties with a tripping call and a delay of game call for clearing the puck over the glass. That was a problem for Boychuk as well, as he was also charged with delay of game in the third. … Vladimir Sobotka was a minus-1 with no shots and just one hit in 13:53. He’ll need to play a lot better than that to replace Krejci. Fortunately, he has played far better throughout the postseason. The Bruins will still miss Krejci greatly, but a return to form for Sobotka should mitigate the damage somewhat.

Next: The Bruins will look to complete the sweep in Game 4 in Philadelphia on Friday.

Philadelphia forward Scott Hartnell can't bear to look as the Bruins celebrate Miroslav Satan's goal in the second period of Boston's 3-2 win in Game 2. (photo: Getty)

Final: Boston 3, Philadelphia 2

It was another nail-biter (and possibly a full finger-biter), but the Bruins squeaked out a second straight one-goal win to open up a 2-0 series lead. The Bruins were brutal at home for much of the regular season, but they’re a perfect 5-0 at the Garden in the postseason.

Series Status: Bruins lead, 2-0.

Revisiting the Three Keys for the B’s:

1. Protect leads – The Bruins still can’t seem to stand prosperity. They squandered a pair of leads in this one, jumping out 1-0, only to see the Flyers tie it late in the first. Another goal in the second was answered with a last-minute Danny Briere strike in the middle period. The best thing about Milan Lucic’s eventual game-winner was that it came with just 2:57 to play, leaving little time for the Bruins to blow that lead.

“It’s certainly something we’ve got to get better at,” said coach Claude Julien of protecting leads. “I think both goals they scored tonight, not to take the credit away from them, I thought we could have done a better job of preventing that. The second one tonight, I didn’t think we had a great line change and the first one, twice we should have had the puck out of our own end. If we want to battle for loose pucks, better in the neutral zone than in our own end, and that’s where we got ourselves in trouble. Definitely for a team that takes some pride in being good defensively, I think our game without the puck can be a little better.”

2. Get shots through – The Bruins continue to struggle getting shots through to the net against the Flyers. Boston outshot Philadelphia 27-26, but the Bruins also had 13 shots blocked and eight more miss. Johnny Boychuk had the right idea when he fired off a quick snap shot for his first-period goal, rather than trying to wind up for a slap shot. The Bruins need to get their shots off quicker and find shooting lanes through the Flyers defense.

“Bergie (Patrice Bergeron) won the draw and I just wanted to get it off quick,” said Boychuk. “There were guys everywhere so I just wanted to get it off quick because they’ve been doing a good job of blocking shots.”

3. Slow the Flyers transition game – The Flyers showed they can still strike quickly in this one, with Briere scoring the tying goal with 24.8 seconds left in the second period with a quick rush down the right wing and a pinpoint shot to the top far corner. The Bruins did do a better job of preventing the Flyers from getting behind them for home run passes and breakaways, limiting the odd-man rushes overall. Still, the Bruins know they have work to do to keep the Flyers’ high-flying attack in check.

“Yeah, they come. They come, and they are not scared to come,” said center Marc Savard. “They bring everybody, so we have to get back hard and turn the puck up ice we quicker. We had a couple times where we were a little slow getting the puck up and I think it cost us. I think if we work on as a team getting the puck up, then we will be fine.”

Bruins forward Milan Lucic (17) celebrates with his teammates after scoring the winner with 2:57 left in Boston's 3-2 win. (photo: Getty)

Key Play of the Game:

Milan Lucic’s goal with 2:57 left won the game, but the key play was the entire sequence leading up to that shot. Johnny Boychuk began it with a dump-in with 3:25 to play before going for a change. Lucic then delivered a big hit along the end boards to force the defenseman to quickly get rid of the puck. Andrew Ference pinched in to keep the puck in along the left boards, pushing it back behind the net, where Lucic w0n a lengthy battle for control of the puck with a little help from David Krejci. Lucic got the puck over to Miroslav Satan. He lost control, but Dennis Wideman blocked a clearing attempt at the right point and got it back to Satan, who then found Lucic along the right wall. Lucic put it down to Krejci behind the net. Krejci’s centering attempt was blocked by Lukas Krajicek and the puck popped up in the slot. Ryan Parent took a swing at the fluttering puck but missed, and it fell at Lucic’s skates in the high slot. Lucic had his back to the net with James van Riemsdyk bearing down on him, but got off a quick turnaround that got through the defense and past a screened Brian Boucher for the score.

Quote of the Night, Part I:

Marc Savard on Dan Carcillo’s accusation that he bit him during a second-period scrum:

“I mean he embellishes stuff so obviously under the pile, you try pull out my front teeth, so if that’s a bite then I don’t know what to say,” said Savard. “His glove tried to yank them out. I don’t know if he wanted me to look like him but he pulled on them, that’s for sure.”

Quote of the Night, Part II:

Carcillo’s response:

“Oh yeah, that’s what I try to do when I get into a scrum is try to pull people’s teeth out,” said Carcillo. “Whatever. He bit me. … Guys don’t bite. Men don’t bite.”

Quote of the Night, Part III:

Milan Lucic on scoring his first non-empty-net goal at home this season, which proved the game-winner:

“It’s great to be able to contribute and score a big goal like that,” said Lucic. “It’s a little bit of a monkey off my back, and now I’ve just got to try to build off it. I knew if I put too much pressure on myself I’d just make things harder on myself, so I just wanted to stick with it and try to win puck battles and when I got opportunities try to make sure I got the puck on net.”

Fight Card:

Two games into this series and still no fights, but things did get more heated in Game 2. Not surprisingly, Dan Carcillo was in the middle of most of it. He started one scrum in the first when he delivered a high hit on Steve Begin. When Begin came back after him and cross-checked him, Carcillo went down like he was shot to draw a penalty. In the second, Savard took an extra swipe at Boucher’s glove hand as the goalie tied up the puck, igniting another scrum. Carcillo went after Savard and threw several punches at him while everyone else piled in. Somewhere in that melee, Carcillo claims Savard bit him. Savard got the only penalty, a slashing minor for the swipe at Boucher’s glove, but the refs ignored Carcillo’s punches and the rest of the ensuing extracurriculars.

Flynn’s Finest:

Milan Lucic picked a perfect time for his first non-empty net goal at the Garden this year, scoring the winner with just 2:57 to play on a nifty turnaround shot in the slot. He finished with two shots and three hits and was a plus-1 in 15:49. … Miroslav Satan continues his torrid scoring with another goal and an assist. He’s now a team-best 3-4-7 and a plus-3 in seven games this postseason. … Patrice Bergeron also had an assist and was a plus-1, but his biggest contribution came in the face-off circle. He was 16 of 22 on draws (73 percent), including going a perfect 9-0 in the first period. … One of those first-period face-off wins went right to Johnny Boychuk, who snapped in a quick shot for Boston’s first goal. He also had a blocked shot, a takeaway and a hit and was plus-1 in 25:05. … Dennis Wideman picked up another assist – his fourth in the series – and had two blocked shots and a takeaway – and no giveaways – in 24:40. … David Krejci chipped in an assist as well and was a plus-2. … Tuukka Rask continued his strong playoff run with 24 saves and his sixth win in eight games. … The penalty kill bounced back after allowing two goals on Saturday by killing off all four Philadelphia power plays, allowing just four shots.

Flynn’s Sin Bin:

As good as the penalty kill was, the power play was equally bad. The Bruins were 0 for 5 tonight, managing just seven shots, while the Flyers often had better pressure short-handed than Boston did with the man-advantage, including one sequence where Matt Carle slipped a shot through Rask’s pads that went wide, and Claude Giroux’s follow hit the post. … Steve Begin was a minus-1 with no shots and just one hit in 9:32, and also took a retaliatory penalty after being hit by Carcillo. … Vladimir Sobotka was also a minus-1 with just one shot and took a holding the stick penalty, as he continues to struggle whenever playing wing instead of center. He was moved back to center on the fourth line later in the game. … Blake Wheeler had a nice assist on Satan’s goal, but also took a hooking penalty and had just one shot. … And a final thumbs down to referees Bill McCreary and Chris Lee, who somehow managed to miss the punches Dan Carcillo was throwing at Marc Savard, and possibly the bite Savard put on Carcillo’s finger.

Next: The Bruins now head to Philadelphia for the next two games, starting with Game 3 on Wednesday.

The Garden faithful salute the return of Bruins center Marc Savard in Game 1. (photo: Getty)

Final: Boston 5, Philadelphia 4 (OT)

They nearly let it slip away, but in the end that just set up an even more dramatic finish. The Bruins led by two goals on three different occasions, but Philadelphia scored twice in the final 7:23 to force overtime. Brian Boucher then nearly dashed the Bruins’ hopes completely as he stopped shot after shot early in the overtime. But he couldn’t deny Marc Savard’s bid at 13:52 as the Bruins star center tallied the game-winner in his first game back after missing nearly two months with a severe concussion.

Series Status: Bruins lead, 1-0.

Revisiting the Three Keys for the B’s:

1. Strong start – The Bruins did exactly what they wanted early on, striking first just 2:39 in when Steve Begin scored his first career playoff goal, then Patrice Bergeron made it 2-0 at 12:54 as the Flyers were still shaking the rust off from their extended layoff, as Philadelphia hadn’t played since wrapping up their opening-round series back on April 22. The Bruins couldn’t sustain that effort for the full game though, as they seemed to lose their way a bit midway through the second, and the Flyers roared back once they found their legs again.

2. Traffic in front – The Bruins did an excellent job of driving hard to the net, and set the tone for that right away. Begin’s goal came on a rebound in close at the left post, and later in the first period Vladimir Sobotka barreled into Boucher and knocked the net off its moorings, while Milan Lucic also crashed the crease looking for a rebound. Bergeron and Miroslav Satan both scored on rebounds in front, while David Krejci’s goal came when he was left all alone out front and patiently waited for Boucher to commit before slipping it home.

3. Stand up to the bullies – This one wasn’t nearly as physical as most expected. The Flyers did outhit the Bruins 44-28, but the Bruins stood up for themselves when needed. That included Savard getting in a shoving match with agitator Dan Carcillo, while Mark Recchi engaged big Chris Pronger in a nasty battle out front. The Bruins survived the first round, but expect the intensity to only increase as the series goes on, and the Bruins still need to do more of the initiating instead of just reacting in the physical game.

Key Play of the Game:

Is there any doubt about this one? Savard celebrated his return to the lineup by lifting the Bruins to victory in sudden death. Savard’s strike came on a delayed penalty to the Flyers. Everyone on the ice seemed to freeze for a second as the referee’s arm went up, but before Tuukka Rask could even get off the ice for the extra attacker as Savard sprang into action when the puck popped up in the air after Dennis Wideman pinched in and it landed at Savard’s feet. Savard then fired in a quick shot from the right circle past Boucher and the celebration – which included Savard tossing his stick up into the stands and leaping up against the glass – was on.

“It’s been a whirlwind for me,” said Savard. “Obviously I went through a lot of tough days and I don’t know what happened. I felt like when they tied it and we went in the room I felt like, ‘Jeez, I think this is how it’s supposed to be right here.’ I mean, everybody played great tonight. I kept it as short as I could. Obviously I did a couple circles and then came back off. But when Wides (Dennis Wideman) pinched, Wides made a nice pinch there and kept it alive, I was just thinking, ‘As soon as this thing lands, I’m shooting it.’ And it found a way in.”

Key Play of the Game, the Prequel:

Savard wouldn’t have had his change to become the hero if not for a huge save by Rask earlier in the overtime. The Bruins outshot Philadelphia 15-4 in the extra session and dominated play in the opening minutes of overtime. But after weathering that early storm, the Flyers counterpunched with the best scoring chance of OT when Carcillo came in alone on a clean breakaway, but Rask was up to the task and made the pad save to keep the Bruins alive.

“He came in kind of from the side and made a move across,” said Rask. “He tried to go 5-hole and it just hit my pad. In OT, you got to make those saves sometimes.”

Quote of the Night, Part I:

Patrice Bergeron, on Savard getting the game-winner in his first game back:

“I’m not surprised,” said Bergeron. “He’s such a great player. He doesn’t need that many practices anyway. He showed that today. He can just come into a playoff game and be fine and score a big goal.”

Quote of the Night, Part II:

Dennis Wideman weighing in one Savard’s OT heroics:

“Oh, that was great, what a great job for Savvy,” said Wideman. “He was pretty excited, huh? That’s good for him. He worked hard tonight. Obviously there was some rust on his game. His legs weren’t quite totally underneath him, but he made some good plays, some heads-up plays. And he got that one chance to score and made no mistake.”

Quote of the Night, Part III:

Marc Savard, wrapping up his thoughts on the goal while trying to figure out how he ended up with his stick back after tossing it into the stands:

“Yeah well, you know, I thought it was a treat for somebody because they’d been great all night, but that person threw it back,” said Savard. “I went off to do the three stars and all of a sudden I had my stick and I thought, ‘Jeez, is it my head? Something’s wrong here.’ But no, I got it back. They probably thought I made a mistake, but that was actually a gift for somebody. So thanks for giving it back.”

Fight Card:

There were no fights in this one and not much nastiness at all. Savard had a brief scrum with Carcillo that brought everyone else on the ice into the fray, but nothing further developed. Recchi and Pronger also had a good battle in front that left Recchi without his helmet, but with an extra minor as he was called for cross-checking as well as roughing and Pronger received just two minutes for roughing. Both coaches teased fight fans by having heavyweights Shawn Thornton and Riley Cote skate in warm-ups, but both players were healthy scratches.

Marc Savard leaps up against the glass as he celebrates his overtime game-winner. (photo: Getty)

Flynn’s Finest:

What do you think, will Marc Savard make an appearance on this list? Yep, scoring an overtime game-winner in your first game in nearly two months after a severe concussion certainly earns a guy the right to lead off this side of the ledger. Savard had been relatively quiet before the goal, as he was eased back into action and played just 15:16 and had only two shots. But a game-winner in OT more than makes up for a slow start in regulation. … Patrice Bergeron continued his stellar postseason with a goal and an assist, helping set up the first goal and scoring the seconds and he drove to the front of the net for a rebound. Bergeron also won 14 of 25 face-offs (56 percent) and has three shots in 23:01. … Miroslav Satan also had a goal and an assist with a team-high six shots in 24:58. Satan was underwhelming for much of the regular season after joining the team in January, but he has really elevated his game in the playoffs and is averaging a point a game with 3-4-7 totals in seven games. … Dennis Wideman is another surprising point-a-game performer in the playoffs after picking up three more assists today. He now has 1-6-7 totals in seven games, and also chipped in four shots and four blocked shots today. … Steve Begin was called upon to jumped up to the first line when Marco Sturm was injured on the opening shift, and he responded by opening the scoring on his first shift with Bergeron and Mark Recchi. Begin also had four hits and won 5 of 7 face-offs (71 percent). Reechi, meanwhile, had an assist and was a plus-2 with five shots and two hits. He helped set the tone with his battles against Chris Pronger in front. … Johnny Boychuk was only credited with one assist as Satan banged home a rebound of his point shot, but he also started the play that led to Boston’s first goal as he kept the puck in along the boards and fed it down to Recchi behind the net. Boychuk added four shots and five blocked shots while logging a game-high 33:29, beating defense partner Zdeno Chara (assist, 4 shots, 2 hits) by three seconds. … With Shawn Thornton out, Milan Lucic needed to be at his best physically. While it wasn’t quite a vintage Lucic performance, it was certainly a step in the right direction as he led all players with six hits and added an assist while finishing a plus-1 in 23:37. … Tuukka Rask would probably want a couple of the goals he allowed back, but he also came up big when needed, especially in overtime when he stoned Dan Carcillo on his breakaway chance.

Marco Sturm (16) is helped off the ice by teammates Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci after Sturm suffered a leg injury on the first shift of the game. (photo: Getty)

Flynn’s Sin Bin:

For the second straight game, the Bruins led by two goals on three different occasions but struggled handling the prosperity as each time the Flyers came back with the next goal. That included two goals in the final 7:23 of the third to force overtime. The Bruins need to do a better job of not only protecting leads when they get them, but of continuing to attack and add to that lead to put teams away. … By far the biggest minus of the day was the sight of Marco Sturm going down to an apparent right leg injury on the very first shift of the game. he did not return and the Bruins did not have an update after the game, but it didn’t look good and Sturm might not be back on the ice for a while. … Dennis Wideman earned praise for his offensive work, but his defensive play did slip back into some bad habits at times. The biggest mistake was when he and Matt Hunwick were both back for Daniel Briere’s rush down the middle for the tying goal. Neither player took the body and Briere fought off their attempts at poke-checks before beating Rask with the equalizer. … It was a rough day for rookie Adam McQuaid, who took back-to-back penalties late in the second. The Flyers scored after his hooking call, then McQuaid went right back into the box for interference after colliding with Briere in front of the net. McQuaid didn’t play in the third period after those miscues, but did bounce back with several solid shifts in overtime. … Blake Wheeler got the nod over Shawn Thornton for the final forward spot, but did little to show he warranted it. He was a minus-1 with no shots and just one hit in 14:06. He now has no goals in 14 career playoff games. … Tuukka Rask made some timely saves, but the goals he gave up to Chris Pronger is one he has to stop. Pronger has a booming shot, but that one came in from the point with no deflections or screens and Rask just missed it. A very rare miscue for the rookie netminder, but he rebounded nicely the rest of the way. … The Bruins penalty kill was a perfect 19 for 19 against Buffalo in the opening round, but Philly struck twice on five power-play opportunities in this one.

Next: The Bruins will look to take a 2-0 lead in the series as they host the Flyers again at the Garden on Monday.

Bruins players celebrate on Garden ice after completing a 4-2 series win against the Buffalo Sabres with a 4-3 victory in Game 6. (photo: Getty)

Final: Boston 4, Buffalo 3

It was a much rockier road getting there, but this year’s Bruins squad has matched last year’s first-place club by reaching the second round of the playoffs. And despite their stumbles earlier in the season, they might be in a better position to advance even further. But before addressing that, it’s time to take a look back at how they’ve come this far, with a dramatic win at home in Game 6 as Boston reversed the script from its previous wins, jumping ahead early, then (barely) hanging on late for the deciding victory.

Series Status: Bruins win, 4-2.

Revisiting the Three Keys for the B’s:

1. Don’t let Buffalo bring this one home – The Bruins avoided the need for another trek to Buffalo by holding serve at home. After struggling so mightily at the Garden in the second half of the season, the Bruins finally seem to be taking advantage of home ice, winning all three games at home in the series and five straight at the Garden overall. How important was closing this one out now rather than risking a game 7 in Buffalo?

Milan Lucic can answer that one: “It’s huge,” said Lucic. “It would have been real tough if we had to go back up to Buffalo. That’s a tough building to play in and the momentum would have been on their side. It was huge that we were able to do it at home in front of our fans.”

2. Reinforcements ready? – Buffalo benefited from the return of Thomas Vanek. Even though he wasn’t at full strength, he provided an offensive presence with four shots and a goal, which came with 1:13 left to pull Buffalo within one and have a chance at the comeback. The Bruins, meanwhile, got the best of both worlds, winning in Game 6 without having to risk rushing Marc Savard back too soon. Savard may still play in Round 2, but at least he’ll have a few more days of practice to get ready and have the doctors evaluate his progress. At the same time, the Bruins benefited from the continuity of using the same exact lineup in all six games.

Claude Julien discussed the importance of that after the game. “I think that the main thing is that we stayed pretty healthy throughout that whole series and that was important,” said Julien. “We’ve been through some playoff series in the past where guys were pretty banged up by the end of it. We were fortunate to remain pretty healthy and we were able to have the same lineup, night in, night out. Just the guys got involved in it and made us a stronger team.”

3. Hit parade – After being battered in Game 5, the Bruins returned to the physical style they played in the first four games. Boston outhit Buffalo 33-28, with nearly everyone contributing. The Bruins are accustomed to seeing Vladimir Sobotka (6 hits) and Steve Begin (6 hits) throw their weight around, but David Krejci also added three hits and even Blake Wheeler chipped in a pair – matching his total output from the previous five games. All that hitting helped set the tone, with the Bruins getting in on the forecheck to force turnovers and also disrupting the Sabres’ attack in the neutral zone.

Dennis Wideman discussed how that helped key the Bruins’ victory: “That’s how we had to play them in order to beat them in a seven-game series,” said Wideman. “We had to try and take their speed away through the neutral zone because they are a great rushing team, highly skilled. Whenever we had neutral zone breakdowns they scored on the rush pretty much every time, so that was something that we needed to do in order to win.”

Key Play of the Game:

There would be six more goals scored on the night – three by each team – but the first goal may have been the most important, as it was the first time Boston struck first all series long. Krejci opened the scoring on the power play at 13:39 of the first period when he redirected a slap pass from Mark Recchi off the inside of the far post from the right slot. The Bruins would never trail again, as they played with the lead for the rest of the night and thwarted all of Buffalo’s efforts to pull even.

Quote of the Night, Part I:

David Krejci on the series victory after a disappointing regular season:

“We knew we always had it in us and some guys had a tough year, but we knew it was in us and I think we showed it in the first round,” said Krejci, “but you know, it starts right now and we got to do the same thing in the second (round).”

Quote of the Night, Part II:

Zdeno Chara on the prospects of advancing even further this year compared to last spring:

“Maybe winning 4-0 in the first round could be not as good for you as having a tougher first round,” said Chara. “Sometimes the easy way is not always the best way.”

Quote of the Night, Part III:

Mark Recchi on the possibility of having to root for Montreal on Wednesday, as a Canadiens win over Washington would give the Bruins home ice in the second round against Philadelphia:

“No, that’s like death right there,” said Recchi of becoming a Habs fan, even for a night.

Fight Card:

For the first time in four games, there were no fights in this one, which is not surprising considering what was at the stake in this game. The six games ended up producing three fights, which is not bad for a playoff series in the “new NHL.” Sobotka took on Andrej Sekera in Game 3, Lucic fought Craig Rivet in Game 4 and Zdeno Chara picked up the lone fighting major in a late scrum in Buffalo in Game 5.

Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron (37) shakes hands with former teammate Steve Montador. (photo: Getty)

Flynn’s Finest:

Where to start? There’s plenty of praise to go around after this one, as the Bruins pulled off the upset by dispatching the Northeast Division champion Sabres in six games. Of course, it looked less and less like an upset as the series went on, as the Bruins quickly proved the match for the Sabres in nearly every area despite their infuriatingly inconsistent regular season. The biggest element of that – and the one thing that was consistently solid all season – was Tuukka Rask, and any team with a goalie playing as well as Rask has played this year can hardly be considered too much of an underdog. Rask was stellar again tonight, making 27 saves to once again outduel Olympic hero Ryan Miller. The three goals were actually well above his season and playoff average, but he made some big saves when things got hairy and Buffalo threatened to pull even. … David Krejci came up huge when it mattered most. He had one goal and two points in the first five games, but scored a pair of goals and added an assist in this one. He opened the scoring with a huge goal late in the first on the power play, then set up Mark Recchi for the second goal. After Buffalo scored in the second, Krejci extended the lead to two goals again in the third. For good measure, he added four shots, three hits and won 9 of 15 draws (60 percent) in 20:57. … Milan Lucic was also struggling much of the series, and much of the season for that matter as he battled injuries all year. He delivered tonight though, setting up a pair of goals, including Krejci’s second with a beautiful feed out from behind the net, he added three shots and three hits in 16:35, and even shed some blood as he drew a double minor for high-sticking on Adam Mair in the third. … Miroslav Satan has come up big for a guy who wasn’t even playing this year until signed by the B’s in January. He ended up with five points in the series after notching a goal and an assist tonight, and had the two biggest goals of the series with the double-OT winner in Game 4 and what proved the game-winner tonight. The Satan Shuffle he did after that goal has to become the newest dance craze in the Hub. … Mark Recchi also had a goal and an assist, leading by example as usual as he factored in the first two goals to get the Bruins going. … Patrice Bergeron chipped in an assist, four shots and three hits, and was his usual dominant self in the face-off circle (18 of 29, 62 percent). … Vladimir Sobotka led the way physically again with six hits and also won 7 of 11 draws (64 percent), while Steve Begin also had six hits. … Even Shawn Thornton managed a pair of takeaways in just 4:24. … Johnny Boychuk saw a lot more ice-time – a game-high 27:49 – and wrapped up a solid first career playoff series with four shots, two hits and a blocked shot. … Special teams were a decisive factor in this game and the entire series. Boston was 2 for 5 on the power play with 11 shots. They finished the series 6 for 22 (27.3 percent). Meanwhile, Buffalo was 0 for 3 with just one shot. The Sabres were 0 for 19 in the series on the man-advantage.

Flynn’s Sin Bin:

The Bruins led by two goals on three different occasions but struggled handling that prosperity as each time the Sabres came back with the next goal. That included an almost disastrous sequence in the third period when Buffalo scored just 22 seconds after Krejci made it a 3-1 game. … That goal came off the stick of Nathan Gerbe, converting a brutal giveaway by Michael Ryder, who coughed up the puck in the left corner, sending it out front to Gerbe for a one-timer and an unassisted tally. … Dennis Wideman also had a costly giveaway, as his ill-advised pass out from the left corner went straight to Adam Mair, starting a quick passing play that led to Buffalo’s first goal by Patrick Kaleta. … Matt Hunwick and Zdeno Chara also had bad giveaways in the third that nearly led directly to goals, but Rask came up with saves to bail both defensemen out, stoning Tyler Ennis at the right post after Hunwick handed him the puck alone in front, then stopping Jason Pominville in close after Chara’s clear was intercepted. … The Bruins also showed some lapses in discipline with both Chara and Milan Lucic picking up the only penalties in scrums. There was some dubious officiating in not evening up the calls, but both players have to know their size and style make them targets for the zebras and have to be careful not to get too aggressive in key situations. Chara’s roughing minor for a face-wash on Paul Gaustad at the end of the first was especially costly, as it negated a Bruins power play that would have given them the man-advantage to start the second. … The Bruins also were called for too many men late in the second, a penalty that they’ve committed way too many times this year. … Blake Wheeler was more involved physically in this one and even threw a couple of early hits. But his offense is still largely absent. He had just one shot and was a minus-1 in 13:41, missing on three other shot attempts. That included an opportunity at an open net with Miller caught out of his crease after a collision with one of his defensemen, but Wheeler sent it wide of the open cage right into Miller. Wheeler also had a shot at the open net when Miller was pulled for the extra attacker, but his bid was blocked by Andrej Sekera with just over two minutes to go. Buffalo then scored a minute later to make it a one-goal game again. … Marco Sturm likewise remains snakebit. He finished the series without a point and didn’t even get a shot on goal in this game. He had a short-handed bid in the opening minutes, but clanged his shot off the crossbar. He later muffed a pass on a 2-on-1 chance and fanned on a chance from the slot.

Next: The Bruins will await the results of Wednesday’s Game 7 between Washington and Montreal to see who they will face next. If the Habs complete the upset of the top-seeded Caps, the Bruins will actually have home ice against No. 7 Philadelphia in a rematch of the Winter Classic. If Washington wins, the Bruins will open on the road at the defending Cup champion Penguins with a chance to renew acquaintances with Public Enemy No. 1 Matt Cooke. The dates for that second-round series won’t be set until the matchups are determined.

Bruins coach Claude Julien didn't enjoy the view from the bench as his club turned in a weak effort and was dominated by Buffalo in Game 5. (photo: Getty)

Final: Buffalo 4, Boston 1

This time, there was no dramatic comeback. The Bruins fell behind early for the fifth straight game in the series, but unlike the previous three games, they weren’t able to answer as the Sabres stayed alive with a Game 5 in Buffalo. The Bruins will have another chance to close out the series at home on Monday, but they’ll need a much better effort than they had in this one to do it.

Series Status: Bruins lead, 3-2.

Revisiting the Three Keys for the B’s:

1. Finish it now – The Bruins didn’t play like a team riding a high from Wednesday’s double-OT win, and Buffalo certainly didn’t look like a team demoralized by that loss. Buffalo started fast and outplayed, outhit and outhustled the Bruins throughout. The Sabres earned the right to play another day, and the Bruins better find a way to match Buffalo’s intensity or they will be playing another game after Monday – and maybe no more after that.

2. Keep Roy quiet – Buffalo center Derek Roy didn’t have a huge night, but he did set up what proved the game-winning goal by Jason Pominville for just his second point of the series. Roy was much more engaged and active in this one than the previous three games, with two shots, a hit and three blocked shots to finish plus-1 in 20:51.

3. Get Wheels rolling – Blake Wheeler continues to spins his wheels ineffectively, finishing a minus-3 with just one shot in 12:51. He now has just one goal in his last 19 games and none in 13 career playoff games. Wheeler was far from alone in turning in a weak effort tonight, but he needs to do a lot more to warrant a continued place in the lineup.

Key Play of the Game:

The Bruins came out flat and fell behind early when Buffalo scored 1:54 in. But they had overcome early goals like that all series. The killer was Buffalo’s second goal with just 1:06 left in the first. Andrew Ference was unable to clear the puck, but the Bruins still had numbers back and Vladimir Sobotka gained control, only to have Tyler Ennis poke it away from him to Roy, who fed it down low to Pominville. Pominville then deked around Tuukka Rask and tucked the puck in at the right post for a 2-0 deficit that the Bruins couldn’t overcome.

Fight Card:

This was the third straight game with a fight in this series. Well, a “fight” in name at least. Zdeno Chara took exception to a slash from behind from Paul Gaustad in the closing seconds and turned around and started firing punches at anything in blue. Not much connected, as a trio of Sabres converged on Chara and dragged the big man down. Chara and Cody McCormick got tangled up later in the scrum, but the linesmen wouldn’t let them get at each other. Ryan Miller and Miroslav Satan also paired off, but nothing developed there. In the end, Chara got the only fighting major, along with an instigator penalty and a game misconduct. Gaustad got a slashing minor, McCormick a roughing minor and a misconduct, Miller a minor for leaving the crease and Satan a roughing minor and a misconduct. An instigator in the final five minutes carries an “automatic” one-game suspension, but the NHL has already announced that Chara’s one-game ban has been rescinded and he will be eligible to play in Game 6.

Flynn’s Finest:

There wasn’t much to like about this one. Johnny Boychuk remained one of the few bright spots, as he scored with 2:30 left to avoid the shutout, launching a one-timer off a Dennis Wideman pass just inside the far post from the left point. He also had five shots (and actually attempted 10, though 4 missed the net and one was blocked) to go along with two hits, a takeaway and a blocked shot. He helped prevent a goal with a hit on Tyler Ennis after Tuukka Rask misplayed the puck behind the net. … David Krejci was one of the few Bruins to play with some energy, dishing out four hits and adding three shots, including a point-blank bid in the opening minute that could have completely changed the complexion of the game if Ryan Miller hadn’t come up with a huge save. … The special teams continued their solid play, with the penalty kill still perfect after denying Buffalo on two power-play chances. The Sabres are now 0 for 16 on the power play in the series. Boston’s only goal came on the power play, giving them three goals on the man-advantage in the last two games. The Bruins were still just 1 for 5 on the power play, though they did manage 11 shots.

Flynn’s Sin Bin:

Did anyone bother to tell the Bruins that Game 5 was tonight? Because no one in Black and Gold showed up for this one. The players all paid lip service to knowing how hard it would be to close out the series in Buffalo, but they certainly didn’t play like it. The Bruins fell behind 2-0 in the first after being outshot 12-5 and outhit 17-8. Buffalo added another goal in the second, and the shot edge stood at 26-14 and the advantage in hits was at 27-12 after 40 minutes. The Bruins finally showed up in the third, outshooting Buffalo 21-7 for a 35-33 overall edge, but by then the Sabres were sitting back to protect their lead. Buffalo still had a 35-25 edge in hits and had 26 blocked shots to Boston’s 9. Those stats are all indicative of the effort level of the respective clubs in this one. … Individually, Vladimir Sobotka had his first poor game of the series, finishing a minus-3 with a giveaway that led to Buffalo’s second goal. He had just one hit and one shot in 12:57. … Blake Wheeler’s struggles continued as he was also a minus-3 and was scoreless again with just one shot. … Marco Sturm also failed to score again and managed just one shot and put Boston short-handed with a high-sticking penalty. … Shawn Thornton committed the other penalty that gave Buffalo a power play, as he was called for elbowing when he got his arms up as Patrick Kaleta came in to hit him at the blue line. … Milan Lucic had three hits, but was a minus-1 with no shots. This is the first postseason in his young career Lucic hasn’t elevated his game and been a difference maker. … It was good to see some emotion from Zdeno Chara, but risking a suspension for his end-game instigator wasn’t wise. He was also a minus-2 with just four of his 10 shot attempts finding the net (4 missed and 2 were blocked) in 25:33.

Next: The Bruins will try again to close out the series in Game 6 back in Boston on Monday.

Dennis Wideman (right) races over to celebrate with teammate Miroslav Satan after Satan's game-winning goal in double overtime of Game 4. (photo: Getty)

Final: Boston 3, Buffalo 2 (2 OT)

The Bruins played with fire again, giving up an early goal and falling behind 2-0 going into the third period. But once again the pulled off an improbable rally, scoring twice to force overtime, surviving a late scare with a spectacular Tuukka Rask save and a Sabres shot off the crossbar, then finally ending one of the more memorable wins in ages when Miroslav Satan scored in the second OT after Buffalo was called for too many men. The Bruins now have a commanding 3-1 series lead and can close out just their second playoff series win in over a decade on Friday in Buffalo.

Series Status: Bruins lead, 3-1.

Revisiting the Three Keys for the B’s:

1. Strike first – Nothing doing here, as the Sabres started the scoring in the opening minutes for the fourth straight time in the series. Tonight it was a Tim Kennedy rebound just 2:12 into the first, as Blake Wheeler took a retaliatory penalty and both Adam McQuaid and Andrew Ference went after Cody McCormick behind the net, allowing Tyler Ennis to slip out for a wraparound attempt and Kennedy free to bang in the rebound. As impressive as their late comebacks have been, the Bruins need to start stronger than that.

2. Power-play production – The Bruins haven’t accomplished much on the power play since Marc Savard went down. They managed just one power-goal goal in the first three games, but finally broke through with a pair tonight on six opportunities with the man-advantage. David Krejci’s rebound goal early in the third got the comeback started, and Satan’s game-winner also came with a Sabre in the box. Meanwhile, Buffalo is still searching for its first power-play goal, as the Sabres were 0 for 2 tonight and are now 0 for 14 in the series.

3. Time for a Sturm sighting – Michael Ryder continued his resurgence by setting up Satan’s winner, and Satan himself scored his first of the series, as did Krejci. Patrice Bergeron added his second two days after scoring his first playoff goal since 2004. And through it all Marco Sturm remains all but invisible. He managed just two shots despite playing 21:43 and only attempted one other. He finished a minus-1 and also had a giveaway, as he now has just one goal in his last 20 games. The Bruins need the guy who scored 21 goals in his first 60 games to return and start contributing to the offense.

Key Play of the Game:

It would be easy to pick Satan’s game-winner, or even the nifty assist by Ryder to set it up. After all, you don’t see power-play goals in double overtime every night. But this game never would have made it to overtime if not for a jaw-dropping, acrobatic save by Rask midway through the third period. After the Bruins rallied to tie the game, the Sabres mounted a counterattack, desperately pressuring the Bruins to regain the lead. With 10:57 to play, it appeared they would, as Mike Grier took a crossing pass from Tim Connolly and the Holliston, Mass. native saw a wide-open net in front of him as he teed up his shot from the right slot. That net didn’t stay open for long, as Rask somehow managed to dive back across the crease and get his blocker on the shot to keep the game tied and extend it just a little bit longer.

“Well I got across there and then their first pass, and I was just trying to get set and then I realized he’s going to pass and I just threw everything I had to try and make that save,” said Rask. “And you know, sometimes you make those desperation saves, and at least if you give an effort, sometimes you get rewarded.”

Quote of the Night I:

Rask, on finally cracking his cool demeanor after Satan scored the game-winner:

“Yeah, it’s crazy,” said Rask. “I told Timmy (Thomas) that I spent more energy celebrating that goal than the whole game. From my standpoint, I just try to be calm the whole time and save that energy for the saves. It’s just anybody’s game.”

Quote of the Night II:

Mark Recchi, the 21-year veteran who always finds a way to sum it up best:

“We’re going to enjoy this tonight,” said Recchi. “We’ll think about (Game 5) tomorrow. I’m too tired to worry about Friday right now.”

Fight Card:

After the gloves at last hit the ice for an unexpected flyweight battle between Vladimir Sobotka and Buffalo defenseman Andrej Sekera in Game 3, tonight’s game finally featured a fight between more seasoned combatants. Milan Lucic and Sabres captain Criag Rivet came together in a scrum after an off-sides call, and they quickly separated from the pack and shed the mitts. It was an in-close affair, but Lucic managed to land an early right that stunned Rivet and followed up with a few more rights, eventually managing to rip off Rivet’s helmet before the linesmen stepped in. Lucic earned the clear decision, but it was the Sabres that seemed to get the momentum boost from their captain standing up against the Bruins young bruiser, as Buffalo scored less than two minutes later to take a 2-0 lead early in the second period.

Flynn’s Finest:

Tuukka Rask did it all in this one. He made 35 saves, including the spectacular one to rob Grier in the third. For two periods, he was about the only thing even keeping the Bruins in the game. Then he stopped all 12 shots he faced in 37:41 of nerve-wracking sudden-death overtime. And just for good measure, he also picked up an assist on the game-winner, as he sent Ryder on his way with the puck to start the scoring play. Rask is the first goalie to assist on a playoff overtime winner since Dominik Hasek in 2002. … Miroslav Satan was already having a solid game before his game-winning goal. He nearly ended it in the first overtime, but was robbed in front by Ryan Miller. He finished with four shots, had a pair of takeaways and even dished out two hits in 24:21. And of course, he capped it all off with his great move around Miller to finally end the game in double OT. … Michael Ryder was the final component of that winning play, taking Rask’s pass, deking around a defender at the blue and driving down the right wing. That’s when he spotted Satan in the slot, and fired a pass over to him to set up the winner. He also had three shots, two hits and two takeaways  in 22:42. … Patrice Bergeron had a goal and an assist, with his tally tying the game at 6:40 of the third when he surprised Miller with a bad-angle shot from deep in the left side of the Sabres zone. He also had four shots, four hits and won 16 of 27 draws (59 percent) while playing a monster 28:25. … David Krejci had five hits and scored his first of the playoffs with a power-play goal to put Boston on the board, following up a Matt Hunwick point shot and banging it home from the top of the crease. Hunwick himself turned in another strong effort, playing 33:06. … Mark Recchi originally had an assist on Krejci’s goal, as his pass set up Hunwick’s blast. But the shot hit Bergeron in front before Krejci scored on the rebound, denying Recchi a point in every game of the series. But Recchi remained a strong presence on the ice, firing five shots on net and finishing a plus-1 in 27:52. … Vladimir Sobotka picked up another eight hits, leading all players and driving the Sabres to distraction. … Milan Lucic was much more of a physical presence in this one, with five hits and his fight with Rivet. He also had four shots and kept his cool when boarded by Patrick Kaleta, giving the Bruins a power play. … The penalty kill remained perfect, as Buffalo failed to even get a shot on goal on two chances, while the Bruins had three shots short-handed, including a breakaway in OT by Blake Wheeler. Wheeler, Steve Begin (5 hits) and Daniel Paille (assist on Bergeron’s goal) were especially impressive up front on the PK.

Flynn’s Sin Bin:

The Bruins didn’t play horribly in the first two periods, but while Buffalo elevated its game up a notch from Game 3, Boston didn’t match that intensity until the third period. The comebacks have been spectacular to watch, but eventually one of those slow starts will cost the Bruins. … Hard to ever find fault with Patrice Bergeron, but his tripping call early in the first overtime could have been disastrous if not for the stellar work of his fellow PKers. … The Bruins piled up 49 hits as a team, with all but one skater recording as least one. The lone exception? That would be 6-foot-5, 205-pound Blake Wheeler, who somehow managed to avoid initiating any physical conduct in his 21:47 of ice-time. Wheeler has played 60:05 over the four games in the series and has just one hit. … It may have helped saved the legs of Satan and Co. when it came time to finally end it in OT, but it was definitely a little nerve-wracking to see Claude Julien use the fourth line so extensively in overtime, especially when they were out there with the third defense pairing of Adam McQuaid and Andrew Ference. That five-man unit was hemmed in for well over a minute in the first overtime as Buffalo had multiple scoring chances, but all five were right back out together again several minutes later. It’s one thing to turn to those guys as the periods dragged on and the top three lines need a breather, but they were also used in the opening couple minutes of the second OT, when everyone should have been rested enough. McQuaid and Ference also both went after Cody McCormick and got caught out of position behind their own net on Buffalo’s first goal. … But the biggest negative of the night was the whining of Sabres coach Lindy Ruff after the game. The officials have been pretty brutal all series long, but their ineptness has been pretty even toward both teams. The men in stripes didn’t decide this one, but Ruff seems to think so. “The call on McCormick wasn’t a call,” said Ruff of the goalie interference penalty that led to Krejci’s power-play goal. “Their own guy wiped their goaltender out. And if Pat Kaleta hitting Lucic is a call – that’s strange. I thought we were getting a power play on the McCormick play. As he’s going to the net, their own guy took the goaltender out. Pretty big swing in momentum.” Ruff got further defensive when a reporter asked about the Sabres squandering another late lead. “We didn’t blow it,” he responded. “I just explained what happened. We didn’t blow it. Nobody blew it. Do you think Pat Kaleta hitting Lucic was a penalty? Then Recchi hitting (Tim) Kennedy (to set up the winner in Game 3) is a penalty. Is it not? Is that the same? Case closed.” Remind me not to hire Ruff if I ever need a lawyer.

Next: The Bruins will look to close out the series in Game 5 in Buffalo on Friday.