Boston Bruins rewrite history defeating Philadelphia Flyers 4-0 in Semi-Finals Series –NHL Playoffs
It seemed as if the National Hockey League (NHL) semi-final series was all about repeating history this time around but the Boston Bruins changed it and gained the respect they deserved after annihilating the Philadelphia Flyer 5-1 in game four of the Eastern
Conference semi-finals on Friday.
The sold-out crowd could not have been happier as their home team eliminated the Flyers, who came back from a deficit last year to deliver a four consecutive wins to take the series and advance into the next round. Boston had the last say this time around
as they cleanly swept Philadelphia and put themselves into the conference finals after a thrilling matchup at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts.
"I think we learned a lot from last year, that experience, and I think it made us a more determined hockey club," Boston’s Milan Lucic said. "We can definitely put everything behind us with what happened last year. So it's a real good feeling."
Milan Lucic scored his first of the postseason at the 12:02 mark in the first period during an added man advantage. The first period was a rough one as both teams gave over 18 minutes in penalty time including a number of incidents in which players roughed
each other up.
Kris Versteeg gave something to the home crowd to work for when he also scored his first of the playoffs and levelled up the match with less than seven minutes remaining in the second. The sell out crowd had their prayers answered when the Bruins just lost
it and went on a shooting spree and nailed four consecutive goals which cooled the Flyers down.
Johnny Boychuk, Milan Lucic, Brad Marchand and Daniel Paille all took part in a shooting spree which started in the opening two minutes and lasted till the final moments of the last period in regulation. Marchand and Paille both scored on an empty net in
the remaining two minutes as the Flyers had stopped trying by that time.
"To be quite honest, as a player you hear all the talk about what happened last year and you have to ignore it to be able to do what we just did, winning this series," said Boston goalie Tim Thomas, "To be honest, I'm glad that it's over, I'm glad that it's
done with. Because the longer that series would have went the more talk about last year.”
The Bruins went head on into the series and gave it all they got. They outscored the Philadelphia Flyers by a huge 20-7 goal ratio throughout semi-final four game series that just ended. It was sheer determination that led Boston to win against the second
seed of the Eastern Conference as their aimed for their first Stanley Cup since 1972.
Boston will meet up with the Tampa Bay Lightning in the next round for the Eastern Conference finals. The Lightning have a record of their own as they have won seven straight postseason games which started with a three game winning streak in a game seven
decider against the Pittsburgh Penguins and than a four game clean sweep of the top seeded Washington Capitals. Both teams have great potential which will make for a great and intense series.
Tags: