From One Tough Town to Another

Out of respect for the tragic events that took place at the Boston Marathon last week, the Philadelphia Flyers paid tribute to the city of Boston before their match-up with the Bruins.

Before the game, the Flyers showed a montage of pictures that showed all the acts of heroism that took place on one of the saddest days in our nation's history.

But instead of letting it bring us down, we endured, and stayed strong. Boston Strong. And Philadelphia's message was "From One Tough Town to Another," meaning we stand together no matter what.

Sports have proven to help us stay strong and mend wounds. Whether it is a tribute through pictures of Boston's finest, or a 50/50 raffle that set record high numbers (previous record was $67,800 while today's numbers reached $85,500) or the collective singing of "Sweet Caroline" in the Wells Fargo Center, the message is still the same: we will overcome.

The Flyers ended up winning the game, but the 3 stars were as followed:

#3- the Boston Police; #2- Boston's First Responders; #1- the City of Boston.

And that is what matters in the end.

Following the game, Simon Gagne told the Courier-Post, "That video I think was really touching for everyone to watch it. There was a hockey game after that, but it was just a hockey game at the end."

The actual game didn't disappoint. The Flyers played tonight as if they were a team fighting for a position in the playoffs as opposed to waiting to see if they win the draft lottery (on April 29th).

Since being eliminated from the playoff race (April 19th) the Flyers have won 2 straight and have also won 4 of their last 5 games, beating playoff teams such as the Canadiens, the Rangers and the Bruins outscoring their opponents 21 to 13 in those 5 games.

They are also playing without 6 defenseman—yes 6: Braydon Coburn (shoulder), Andrej Meszaros (rotator cuff), Nicklas Grossmann (concussion), Bruno Gervais (stomach muscle), Kent Huskins (concussion), and now Kimmo Timonen (foot).

Despite the huge influx of injuries they still played pretty well defensively, especially since their average age on the blue-line is 24 (before recalling Andreas Lilja, 37).

After a solid 1-1 opening period that saw a nice wrist shot goal from Scott Hartnell, the Flyers started to run away with the game midway through the 2nd period. Matt Read and Oliver Lauridsen scored 7 seconds apart to shock the 2nd-place Bruins, who a fighting for their division title, taking a 3-1 lead.

Lauridsen's goal was the first of his NHL career and it came in bizarre fashion. Lauridsen simply dumped the puck into the Bruins zone and Zdeno Chara retrieved it in the corner. He then recklessly threw it in front of his net and it bounced off Boston's backup goalie, Anton Khudobin and into the net. Regardless, it was Lauridsen's first NHL tally.

Jake Voracek added to his impressive goal total on a breakaway, giving the Flyers a 4-1 lead. It was Voracek's 21st goal of the season, a career high, which is even more impressive taking place in a lockout-shortened season.

Boston cut the lead to 2 on a nice move by David Krejci, but the Flyers responded immediately. Claude Giroux perfectly set up Simon Gagne on a 2-on-1 and the 3-goal lead was restored just 13 seconds later. 

Steve Mason, who has recently been bright spot in a dark season, made 39 saves on 41 shots, winning his third game in a row. Mason stopped 105 shots out of 110 in those 3 games, accumulating a terrific .955 save percentage.

But again the night was about Boston and our great country, the United States of America, united.

After the game, the Flyers donated the 50/50 raffle, while also auctioning off their signed, specialized jerseys that the Flyers wore with "Boston Strong" patches. All of the proceeds will go to The One Fund Boston, which helps people affected by the bombings.

Regardless of the outcome of the game, both cities won tonight as we remain strong, stand united and will overcome.