PHILADELPHIA - They nearly lost a game they should have won, and then they won in overtime with a goal that could have been disallowed, which came only seconds after they nearly lost on a point-blank slapper that Alex Auld turned away at the opposite end of the ice.
Having trouble following along? Well, it was that kind of frenetic and unpredictable afternoon yesterday at the
No one knows for sure (wink here, if you must), but Ward might have dropped that stick because it could have been broken moments before when he blocked a shot back in his own end. Fractured sticks must be immediately surrendered, and had the officials caught Ward with splintered stick in hand - unintentionally, of course - there is no telling how the game might really have ended.
"I'm not saying it was," Ward said with a sly smile. "I'm just saying I had to get it out of my hands."
All in all, an interesting, and for the most part rough-and-tumble afternoon in front of a sellout crowd of 19,792. Riddled with injuries, and incurring more as the game played out (including Milan Lucic's fractured nose), the Bruins rallied from a 1-0 deficit and held a 3-1 lead early in the third period. However, the Flyers evened it, 3-3, with Danny Briere sweeping in the equalizer with 7:15 left in regulation.
Yet one more time, the Bruins were reeling in a third period, frantically searching for a way to keep from losing for the third time in a row. The zip they showed in the second period had fizzled. The locals were screaming. And goals by Marc Savard, Marco Sturm, and Peter Schaefer (his first in a month) were bundled up and nearly lost in the deadlock.
"When they got that first goal in the third period," mused Auld, noting the Scott Hartnell goal that cut Boston's lead to 3-2, "that got them going. The crowd starts to get into it there."
Hartnell's goal came from out of a crowd on a power play, the Flyers using their size and trademark aggression to build a mob in the slot. The puck banged around enough and finally slipped by Auld at 10:41. Only 2:04 later, Briere hammered home the tying goal, the Boston defense failing to tie him up when a Simon Gagne shot rebounded hot into the slot.
"Since the end of the lockout, that's the most physical game I've played in," said Ward. "There were some really heavy hits out there, along the boards and in the corners. One of the most physical games I've ever been involved in."