The Bad News Bears

If there is any team in the East that scares me at the moment, it is the Boston Bruins. The Bruins wrapped a very successful road (6-0) trip last night by beating the Ottawa Senators 1-0.  Now you could argue that they faced a pretty weak line-up on this road trip (Islanders, Oilers, and the Senators twice), and you would have a good point, but they also beat the best team in the league and a Flames team that has been on fire lately.

The main reason I think the Bruins are the biggest threat to the Flyers is their goaltender and their style of play. Tim Thomas has shaken the poor campaign from last season that found him riding the bench for the majority of the season, and reverted back to the game changing goalie that we saw two years ago. I think that the Flyers forwards are better than the Bruins, but if Thomas continues his good play he has the ability to steal at least one game in a long playoff series.

The Bruins have also utilized a heavy forecheck game to generate goals, something I wish we would see from the Flyers. The Bruins were able to beat the Canucks 3-1 by hounding their defense all game long. The Canucks defense is pretty beat up at the moment, but a good heavy forecheck will wear down any teams D during a playoff series.

The Bruins were also very proactive in making thier team batter at the trade deadline. The addition of Tomas Kaberle was huge for the Bruins. Their powerplay has the potential to be deadly with Chara and Kaberle at the points. The Bruins management think that this is their year, and there is a lot of confindence in the locker rook as well.

A playoff series between the Bruins and Flyers has the potential to be epic. The Bruins have a chip on their shoulder and something to prove. Ultimately I think the Flyers would win a long series against the Bruins, but I wouldn't mind if they didn't have to play them at all.

Which team in the East do you see as the biggest threat to the Flyers in the Playoffs?