The Flyers began 2010 in Boston, the visiting team in what has been widely dubbed “Gary Bettman’s Second-Best Idea Ever”, the Winter Classic. (The first being the immaculate conception of one Sidney Crosby and the subsequent rigging of the draft to position him as savior of the Pittsburgh Penguins.) Played at Fenway Park, the Flyers held a 1-0 lead in a generally sloppy game late into the third period, only to allow the tying goal and go on to lose in overtime.

The Washington Capitals stunning inability to close out the Montreal Canadiens means the Flyers’ season will continue in Boston as they will face the Bruins in the Eastern Conference semifinals. One should be wary to label it lucky that the Flyers will face the sixth-seeded Bruins instead of the top-seeded Capitals, but it certainly appears to be a fortuitous turn of events—especially considering the injury status of a few key Flyers.

Boston no doubt will be a tough test. Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara is one of the best in the league, a hulking menace who controls the pace of the game in ways only the best can. Goaltender Tuukka Rask largely stymied the Buffalo Sabres in the first round, and is probably the reason the Bruins are in the playoffs in the first place after replacing Tim Thomas in net at midseason.

What is undoubtedly the most important addition is that of Bruins center Marc Savard, out since March 7 after an unpleasant encounter with Matt Cooke. It remains to be seen how long it will take Savard to get back to his normal level on the ice, but his return will likely provide a major boost to the Bruins’ overall psyche.

There is no reason the Flyers can’t win this series, especially if they continue to play as they did against the Devils. Captain Mike Richards appears to be a man on a mission, and the suspicion is he won’t let the Flyers go down without expending every ounce of fight and energy in him. Chris Pronger, like Chara, will have a major impact on this series, and along with Kimmo Timonen will lead a Flyers defense that generally shut down the Devils and should have no trouble doing the same against the Bruins.

The loss of Simon Gagne, Jeff Carter and now Ian Laperriere no doubt hurts, but the Flyers are in a better position to overcome those injuries against the Bruins than the Capitals. There is talk of Gagne returning as early as Game 3 (though based on his track record returning from injuries we’d bet more on Game 5). His return would obviously give the Flyers a lift. With or without him, though, the Flyers can win this series.

Now, after six days of waiting, we finally know when and where the Flyers will play next. Game 1 on Saturday will likely set the tone for this series, and depending on how the Flyers come out after their extended break will go a long way in providing an indication of which direction the best-of-seven is headed.

As for the Caps, it is a bit of a shame the Flyers won’t get to be rocked by the red or experience fury unleashed, mainly because we were planning on using this gem from BroadStreetHockey.com in our Flyers-Capitals preview…

Go buy the shirt here

Seems a little more appropriate now, though.

The game times, as follows:

Game 1: Saturday, at Boston, 12:30 p.m.

Game 2: Monday, at Boston, 7

Game 3: Wednesday, at Wachovia Center, 7

Game 4: Friday, at Wachovia Center, 7

Game 5: Monday, May 10, at Boston, 7 (IF NECESSARY)

Game 6: Wednesday, May 12, at Wachovia Center, time to be determined (IF NECESSARY)

Game 7: Friday, May 14, at Boston, 7 (IF NECESSARY)