Bruins disappointed but not down

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PHILADELPHIA -- You've got to give Philadelphia goaltender Brian Boucher credit for wishful thinking.

After his Flyers staved off elimination with a 5-4 overtime win Friday night at Wachovia Center, he decided to declare that the pressure is all on the Bruins now to close out the series.

Um, the Bruins still lead 3-1 heading home for Game 5 Monday night at TD Garden. After Friday's game, the Bruins weren't buying what Boucher was selling, and they were still 100 percent confident they're in control of this series despite squandering a golden opportunity after rallying from two deficits.

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AP Photo/Tom Mihalek"We just about ended it, but you know what? We're going back home and we've got two of the next three at home and we'll be ready to play and we'll see what happens," said Mark Recchi.

"Well, we've still got home ice, so I don't really see it," said veteran forward Mark Recchi, who scored two goals including the game-tying tally with 31.5 seconds left in regulation. "We've just got to go home, play our game. This has been a great series, we knew they wouldn't quit. We just about ended it, but you know what? We're going back home and we've got two of the next three at home and we'll be ready to play and we'll see what happens."

Boston goaltender Tuukka Rask might've played his worst game of the series so far. He was victimized by a couple of tips but also missed one goal through the 5-hole and was just a tad slow reacting to the game winner by Simon Gagne. Rask is relying on some home cooking to get the Bruins back on top of their game and into the next round.

"It's tough obviously, but we've got to recognize we got one win on the road and that's always good. We come out from the road .500 and that's good. We've got to go home and take care of the job," he said after making 29 saves.

In a little verbal volley between netminders, Rask attempted to call Boucher's bluff when it comes to measuring the pressure.

"Maybe they want to take the pressure off of themselves. We like to play at home. Obviously it's never easy, it's never going to be easy, but we'll see what happens. We don't take the extra pressure," he said.

Stanley Cup Playoffs

The underdogs face off as the Bruins host the Flyers in an old-school showdown. After knocking off the Nos. 3 and 2 seeds, respectively, only one will earn a spot in the conference finals. Follow the matchup from Day 1 on ESPN.com. Series page

• 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs
• ESPNBoston.com: Bruins blog

Rask in particular never takes pressure. Sometimes you wonder if anything fazes him. Even though the Bruins lost in a rare offensive goalfest, he doesn't expect to have any trouble turning the page on this one.

"It's always [easy to forget]. You can't think about it too much," said the rookie goaltender. "You just shake it off and focus on the next game."

Home was a house of horrors for the Bruins for most of the season. But now they've won seven straight at the Garden, where the fans will be out for Flyers blood Monday night.

Philadelphia coach Peter Laviolette said that his team's attitude heading into overtime was to forget everything that happened during regulation and play as though the game had started over. That might be Boston's best bet heading into Game 5.

"Play the same way. Play to win," said Recchi about what his team should do when it shows up on Causeway Street. "We came in here, we played two pretty good games and they battled hard and it was a big win. But we're going home. We've got home ice in the series and we kept it, and now we've got to go take a couple days off, regroup and recharge, and get ready for another one Monday."

If Boucher is right and the Bruins really are the team that's under more pressure, the boys in black and gold certainly aren't talking like it.

Matt Kalman covers the Bruins for ESPNBoston.com.

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Matt Kalman

Bruins reporter, ESPNBoston.com

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Matt Kalman covers the Bruins for ESPNBoston.com. He has been on the Bruins beat since the lockout for numerous publications and has been covering the Boston sports scene for a decade.