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Bruins roll to Game 1 win over Flyers

Apr 30, 2011 - 11:07 PM Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - David Krejci led the way with two goals and two assists as Boston scored three times in the second period and rolled to a 7-3 victory over Philadelphia in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal set.

Brad Marchand added two goals and a helper for the Bruins, who took a crucial first step towards erasing the memory of last year's epic collapse against these same foes.

Nathan Horton, Mark Recchi and Gregory Campbell also tallied to back 31 saves from Tim Thomas.

"Each game you have to do it again. What you've done in the past doesn't matter. The next game starts over," Thomas said about his club's good fortune to start a playoff series on the road.

Danny Briere, James van Riemsdyk and Mike Richards scored for the Flyers, who failed to build on momentum from Tuesday's Game 7 home win over Buffalo.

Brian Boucher, who was heralded for winning all four games of his club's first-round series with Buffalo despite constant uncertainty in net, was shelled for five goals on 23 shots.

"As a goaltender, I'm responsible for stopping the puck," Boucher said. "It's always a wake up call to come out. It seems to be one of the last things coaches can do, instead of yelling at the guys or taking a timeout. That's the way it goes."

Sergei Bobrovsky allowed two scores on 10 shots in relief.

Game 2 is slated for Monday in Philadelphia.

Ahead 2-1 after one, the Bruins increased their lead when Recchi followed up his own rebound in the right circle and pushed it through Boucher's pads at 2:33 of the second period.

Philly killed off two penalties in succession, but wasted two straight power- play chances. Krejci then redirected an Adam McQuaid shot out of the air for a 4-1 Bruins edge with 4:34 to play in the second.

Boucher was finally pulled after Marchand scored with 2:46 left, but 16 seconds after Bobrovsky took over, van Riemsdyk ripped a shot home from the left circle.

After wasting a brief two-man edge on the back end of the midway point of the third period, the Flyers crept within 5-3 on a one-man advantage as the clock ticked under seven minutes left when Richards roofed a shot from the slot.

"Well they definitely play a high pressure game," said Bruins defenseman Dennis Seidenberg -- a former Flyer -- about Philly's up-tempo system. "For the most part we handled it all right, but there is still a lot to do."

A turnover in front of Bobrovsky became Boston's sixth goal when Patrice Bergeron pushed the puck ahead and Marchand swept in the proceeds from the right side with 5:01 to play.

"Right now pucks are going in and we're getting some lucky bounces and stuff, but it's not always going to be like that," Marchand admitted.

Campbell finished off the rout on a redirection from a Krejci pass at 17:39.

"I don't think anybody in here is happy with the way we played this afternoon. Everybody could have been better. You can't blame just the goalies or just the defensemen," said Briere. "I think all their lines gave us trouble, to be honest. We didn't compete against anybody. We let them get ahead of us in an area they are strong at, which is getting to the net. We got outworked, and they were able to find the rebounds."

Krejci helped his club gain the early edge, intercepting a long shot from Horton and moving around Boucher for a score just 1:52 into the contest.

During a 4-on-4 situation, the Flyers tied the game. Ville Leino left a drop pass at the blue line on the left wing for Braydon Coburn, who fed to the front, where Briere corralled the bouncing puck, turned and fired past Thomas at 11:02.

Boston took a 2-1 lead in the final minute of the first, when Boucher was unable to glove Horton's second-chance rebound from inside the crease.

Game Notes

This is the sixth all-time playoff meeting between the clubs...Philadelphia has won three (1974, 1976, 2010) and Boston has taken two (1977, 1978)...The seven goals were the most scored against the Flyers in a home playoff game since a 7-1 series-ending loss to Buffalo in Game 6 of the Eastern quarterfinals on May 2, 2006...The Bruins last put up seven in a postseason tilt on May 10, 1988 during a 7-1 win over New Jersey in Game 5 of the Wales Conference finals...Bergeron finished with three assists for Boston, and Seidenberg added two helpers for the road team...Claude Giroux posted two assists for Philly.