March 9, 2013; Boston, MA USA; Philadelphia Flyers center Sean Couturier (14) tries to screen Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask (40) while defenseman Dennis Seidenberg (44) defends during the second period at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
It goes without saying that Wednesday March 28, 2013 will probably go down as one of the strangest days in Boston Bruins history.
The Bruins once again blew another two-goal lead but this time it happened to hurt that much more because it was against division rivals, the Montreal Canadiens. Tyler Seguin’s goal with 8:10 left in the third period put the B’s ahead 5-3 but Montreal battled back. The Canadiens scored two goals in the final eight minutes of the game to tie it 5-5 and eventually won in the sixth round of the shootout. If that wasn’t bad enough, later that night the B’s found out that veteran forward, Jarome Iginla from the Calgary Flames, had decided to join the Pittsburgh Penguins and not the Bruins. It was a rough couple of hours for the Bruins but they must put it behind them. There are plenty of other notable players other than Iginla out on the market that they can go after.
Although there has been a lot of attention in the media the past couple of days, the Bruins need to focus on their next opponent, the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Flyers sit in last place in the Atlantic Division and have lost three straight games. They will be looking to prove to their home crowd that they can play against any team in the NHL. The previous meeting between the Bruins and Flyers ended 3-0 in favor of the Bruins. It took a little over two minutes for the B’s to score three goals and completely shut down the Flyers. The three quick goals seemed to take the fight, if there ever was any, out of Philadelphia.
The Flyers are not a team to overlook. They have many offensive weapons that can hurt the Bruins if they aren’t sharp on defense. Claude Giroux, Jakub Voracek and Wayne Simmonds are three players that Boston will need to be on the lookout for.
The Bruins were given the day off Thursday, and were back to practice on Friday. The day off was well used as the Bruins came to practice Friday with high intensity at game speed. Johnny Boychuck skated with the team for the second time since taking a puck to the skate last Friday in Ottawa. Coach Julien said that he would be a “game-time decision” for the game against the Flyers.
After a short time tied atop the division standings with Montreal, the Bruins are once again, back in second place. I am sick of being behind the Canadiens and it is time to overtake them for first. Game time is set for 1:00 p.m. at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.