Philly Sports Jabronis
By Matt Kalman, Flyers.com
BOSTON – The Boston Bruins missed center Chris Kelly when he was out with a back injury for the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season.
Kelly made sure his return to the lineup was triumphant Wednesday when he scored the game-winning goal with 1:51 remaining in the third period of the Bruins’ 2-1 win against the Philadelphia Flyers on opening night at TD Garden.
Kelly fired home a loose puck from the slot after defenseman Adam McQuaid’s broken-stick shot from out high was stopped by Flyers goaltender Steve Mason’s blocker.
Mason finished with 31 saves. Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask stopped 19 shots.
The Flyers were limited to 14 shots and failed to score through two periods. Philadelphia tied the game 1-1 at 4:19 of the third when right wing Jakub Voracek circled the Boston net and spun a shot toward the front; the puck deflected off Bruins center Carl Soderberg and then Flyers center Sean Couturier before getting past Rask to his stick side.
The Bruins, who swept the Flyers last season, have won their past four home games against Philadelphia. Boston is 13-3-1 in its past 16 against Philadelphia overall.
In the first period, the first power play of the season paid off for the Bruins 55 seconds after defenseman Torey Krug baited Flyers forward Zac Rinaldo into a roughing penalty in the Bruins zone after the play had moved up ice.
Center Carl Soderberg carried the puck out of the right corner and drove the net before dishing the puck to forward Reilly Smith at the left hash mark. Smith’s one-timer beat Mason at 10:39 for a 1-0 Bruins lead.
The Bruins outshot the Flyers 14-7 in the first period and took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission.
The shots on net were even in the second period, 6-6. The Flyers went on two power plays but failed to score and the score remained 1-0 after 40 minutes.
The Bruins are back in action Thursday on the road against the Detroit Red Wings. The Flyers will play their home opener against the New Jersey Devils on Thursday.
The Bruins and Flyers will next face each other Jan. 10, in Philadelphia.
