In the Driver's Seat

Zdeno Chara and the Bruins celebrate Brad Marchand's first period goal in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals Monday night. Thanks to Tim Thomas, Boston escaped Philadelphia with a 3-2 overtime victory to take a 2-0 series lead.

In the quest for the Cup, there are games along the way that a goaltender must steal in order for his team to keep the journey on course.

Tim Thomas did just that for the Bruins Monday night against Philadelphia.

Turning in quite possibly his best performance ever wearing the spoked B, the former University of Vermont star finished with an astounding 52 saves to backstop the Bruins to a thrilling 3-2 overtime victory in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

After spotting the Flyers with an early 2-0 lead, Thomas made 46 consecutive saves before David Krejci scored the game-winning goal 14 minutes into overtime.

The Bruins now lead the series 2-0 as it shifts back to Boston for Game 3 Wednesday night.

"If it's not for Timmy we might not be standing here tonight with a win," admitted head coach Claude Julien after the game. "But that's what goaltenders do for you in the playoffs and that's what you like to see in order to certainly develop some confidence for your team. We know that the goaltender is there to bail you out and and it certainly builds a lot of confidence and Tim has given us that."

After a pair of early goals from phenom James Van Riemsdyk, the Flyers took a seemingly commanding 2-0 lead. They were peppering the Boston goal non-stop and Thomas had to stand on his head just to keep the game within reach.

However, the Bruins answered with a pair of goals in just 1:25 to tie the game 2-2 midway through the first period.

"We knew they would have a big start," admitted Brad Marchard, who scored the second Boston goal (Chris Kelly scored the first). "We knew they were going to come out hard in the first period, we just wanted to weather the storm. It was great we were able to tie it up there. It was pretty bad there at one point. We did a great job of coming back and settled things down and got into the game."

Regardless, even after tying the score, the Bruins found themselves bowing at the altar of Thomas as he continued to make save after save in the second and third periods to keep the game deadlocked.

"It easily could have been 8-1, 8-2 at one point," added Marchand. "It was great we had Timmy there backing us up. It's good we can have a team push like that against us and we were able to push back and come through at a clutch time."

Then, as the game reached overtime tied 2-2, Boston seemed to feed off the unbreakable confidence displayed by Thomas. With six minutes left in the extra frame, Krejci blasted a one-time feed from Milan Lucic that appeared to elude Brian Boucher top shelf.

However, the puck immediately caromed out of the net and back on the ice. As a result, play continued until a whistle could be blown. The referees consulted video replay and, upon further review, the goal was waved good.

"All I saw was the referee wave his hand that there was no goal," admitted Julien. "And it didn't take us long to figure out that it had been in. So I felt pretty confident and it was nice to see us find a way to win."

The victory marked the Bruins fourth overtime win in four tries during the playoffs thus far.

And, while hockey lukewarms will point to Krejci's goal as the play of the game, diehards know the only reason the Bruins escaped with a win was because of their never-say-die, unorthodox backstop, Tim Thomas.

"He was by far the star of he game," condluded Juelien. "He made some outstanding saves, especially when they started coming at us. They had some unbelievable scoring chances, he stood tall and he made some great saves.

Still, the Bruins know that despite going up 2-0, the series is far from over, especially with the horrific visions of last season's collapse still fresh in their minds.

"We do know from the way we were able to come back from the last series, a 2-0 lead in a series doesn't mean the series is over. We still have a lot of work in front of us. "

On a sidenote, a terrifying moment occurred late in the first period. After whiffing on an elbow to the chest of a Flyer near the net, defenseman Adam McQuaid lost his balance and slid violently head-first into the endboards. He laid motionless on the ice for several minutes before finally being helped to his feet. Captain Zdeno Chara and Milan Lucic had to help McQuaid off the ice and back to the bench.

Luckily, postgame tests on McQuaid revealed only a sprained neck. After watching the replay, the injury appeared much worse.

"Everything so far has come out negative," explained a thankful Claude Julien. "He's a day-to-day player right now."

If McQuaid's injury forces him out of action, depth defenseman Shane Hnidy is expected to take his place.