Forget Last Year, Bruins Ready For New Chapter Against Flyers
BOSTON (CBS) - The Bruins, fresh off their exciting seven game first round series win over Montreal, will open up their second round set Saturday afternoon in Philadelphia against the Flyers.
The B's practiced Friday morning at the Garden and left for Philadelphia early Friday afternoon.
The general feeling in the Bruins locker room is that last year doesn't matter. Shawn Thornton, Zdeno Chara, and coach Claude Julien all said basically it's in the past. Last year the B's led Philly three games to none in the second round and 3-0 in Game 7 before losing the series in stunning fashion.
Boston will tell you that many of those players are gone from a year ago, but the core is still intact. Chara, Patrice Bergeron, Mark Recchi, Milan Lucic, Johnny Boychuk, Shawn Thornton, Michael Ryder, Daniel Paille, and Andrew Ference are still here. However, Dennis Wideman, Miroslav Satan, Matt Hunwick, Blake Wheeler, Steve Begin, Vladimir Sobotka are no longer with the team.
Photo Gallery: Bruins-Flyers Rematch
David Krecji was lost in Game 4 with a broken wrist and the B's struggled mightily as Marc Savard also wasn't himself following his return from the Matt Cooke hit. It left the B's mighty thin at center as Claude Julien pointed out on Friday.
And, Tukka Rask was their goalie...Tim Thomas is the guy now.
Will the history be a factor? Sure, but depends on how you look at it.
Game 7 was one of the toughest losses you'll see in any professional sport, as the B's just fell apart.
But last series the Bruins had never come back from an 0-2 deficit in the playoffs and were 0-26 in that situation. Yet, they re-grouped and got it done somehow. They also were 2-5 in Game 7's going into Wednesday night and had lost to Philly and Carolina the previous two years under Claude Julien.
And, remember the 2003-2004 Boston Red Sox? They lost a heartbreaker in extra innings in Game 7 of the ALCS in 2003 to the Yankees. One year later, they returned to face the Yankees again... rallied from an 0-3 deficit, beat the Yankees, and went on to win the World Series.
Can something like that happen to the B's? Sure, but for now, I like the Bruins in six games against the Flyers. I think they are motivated and healthy. Hopefully, it will be another fun ride.
