Flyers put up no resistance as Bruins take Game 4, series

by Bob Herpen
Phanatic Hockey Editor 

It was infamously delayed by a year, but the Boston Bruins are heading back to the conference finals for the first time since 1992.

Shaking off any suggestion of another collapse, Milan Lucic scored twice as the Bruins finished off a sweep of the Philadelphia Flyers with a 5-1 decision in Game 4 of this Eastern Conference semifinal series from TD Garden.

Johnny Boychuk, Brad Marchand and Daniel Paille also tallied for the Bruins, who advanced nearly one year removed from making history by becoming just the third NHL team to waste a 3-0 series edge by losing in seven games to the Flyers.

Tim Thomas, who in 2010 was hampered by a hip injury that put Tuukka Rask in net, improved to 8-3 in these playoffs with a 22-save performance.

Boston will take on upstart Tampa Bay with a berth in the Stanley Cup Finals on the line. The Lightning also gained the third round thanks to a sweep, knocking off the top-seeded Capitals earlier this week.

Kris Versteeg posted the lone goal for the Flyers, who had not been swept in a best-of-seven set since losing the 1997 Stanley Cup Finals to Detroit.

Sergei Bobrovsky, who got his first starting assignment since Game 2 of the first round against Buffalo, allowed three goals on 25 shots in the season- ending setback.

The Bruins went ahead for good on a score early in the third period. A left- circle faceoff win resulted in Michael Ryder pushing the puck back to Boychuk at the right point for a top-shelf blast to give the Bruins a 2-1 edge with 2:42 played.

It was a two-goal edge for the home team as the clock ticked inside five minutes to play, when a Flyers giveaway in the neutral zone worked its way to Lucic, who cruised in alone and scored through Bobrovsky's pads.

Marchand and Paille scored into the empty net in the last two minutes to provide the final margin.

Boston broke through on a power play with 7:58 left in the opening period, when David Krejci found Nathan Horton, who slipped a pass from the left side to the right post for a one-timer by Lucic.

The Flyers equalized during a 4-on-4 with 6:38 to go in the second period. Mike Richards outraced Marchand to a loose puck at center ice, then fed ahead for Versteeg, who moved to the far post and beat Thomas on the backhand.

Notes: The Bruins outscored the Flyers 20-7 over the four games...Boston, which notched its first four-game playoff sweep since dispatching Montreal in the 1992 Adams Division finals, also swept Philly in the 1977 Stanley Cup semifinals...Horton notched a pair of assists for the victors...Boston made what was then the Wales Conference Finals three years in a row (1990-92), beating Washington then losing twice to eventual champions Pittsburgh...Philly defenseman Chris Pronger missed his third straight game with an undisclosed injury...On May 6, 1976, Reggie Leach scored five goals in a 6-3 Flyers victory over the Bruins in Game 5 of the semifinals.