Game #62 Preview: Flyers @ Bruins 3/3/09

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1 vs. 4 tonight in a potential second round playoff match-up that may be more of a sure thing than anyone realizes. 5-8 in the East is really a joke, so look forward to a Boston vs. Philadelphia rematch of the last World Series come early May.

What's that you say? The Red Sox didn't make it to the World Series last year? They lost to the Devil Rays? The Devil Rays? Yikes...

Why The Flyers Will Win:

• For the first time since 1987 or so, the Flyers are playing with a full deck, all the arrows in the quiver. Biron, Niittymaki, Richards, Carter, Briere, Gagne, Knuble, Hartnell, Lupul, Upshall, Giroux, Timonen, Coburn, Jones, Parent, Carle, Alberts, Powe, Asham, hell even Cote will all be there. That's some serious all killer no filler. No Guenin, no Kukkonen, no Sbisa, no Metropolit, no Ross. It's a beautiful thing.
• Timonen back makes a huge difference. He's fairly invisible as far as huge deals go, but he sees the ice better than anyone on the team, and should help give some Viagra to a power play that's been horribly flaccid lately.
• Last time Tim Thomas played, he let in a shot from just inside the concourse. Sure he's an "all-star," but so were Carey Price and Henrik Lundqvist, and they've all sucked unbelievably hard of late.
  

Why The Bruins Will Win:

• Even though the Flyers are hitting unparalleled levels of stackedness, the Bruins are still damn good. #1 in the east, and playing at home.
• The trade deadline has to be hell for any player, more so on the noise-making Flyers than on the pretty quiet Bruins. If I had no idea who I'd be playing for in two days, I'd be pretty distracted to say the least. If I'm Joffrey Lupul or Randy Jones and I really want to stay in Philadelphia, I play like shit tonight, and maybe get suspended for a dirty hit or something. Hard to trade a player who just got suspended.
  

Prediction: Flyers win 4-3. Epic. Maybe OT.

The NHL has been cracking down on livestream sites with far too much effectiveness, so viewing may be in peril for me. But I'll try. Let me know if you know of any reliable, decent feeds that haven't been shut down yet by the man.