Andrej Meszaros

   Here is a look ahead to the Eastern Conference semifinals, a highly anticipated rematch between the second-seeded Flyers and third-seeded Boston Bruins. Game 1 is Saturday afternoon at the Wells Fargo Center.      After coughing up a three-games-to-none lead in last year's conference semifinals to the Flyers, the Bruins wanted this rematch in the worst way.    "I'm not going to lie, it's a good opportunity for us to hopefully exorcise some demons," Bruins defenseman Andrew Ference told ESPN Boston.

The Flyers came up with the usual words to characterize a loss to the New York Rangers that further buried them in the Eastern Conference playoff picture. But Scott Hartnell may have found the most accurate and fitting one. "Demoralizing," Hartnell said Wednesday after a short but intense practice at The Skate Zone in Voorhees. It had to be. The Flyers never led Tuesday night in a 5-2 defeat at the hands of the Rangers. After drawing to within 3-2 in the third period, the Flyers watched New York control the rest of the game and wound up falling seven points out of the eighth and final playoff spot with 16 games remaining.

Forward Max Talbot, arguably the Flyers' best penalty killer, left Sunday's game with what appeared to be a serious leg injury. The Flyers called it a "lower-body injury. " Based on comments the players made after their wild 5-4 overtime win over Washington, it's likely the veteran forward will be sidelined for a while. With a little more than a minute remaining in the second period, Talbot collided knee-on-knee with Mike Green. The players got tangled, and Green's skate appeared to hit the back of Talbot's leg. Talbot, who had scored his fifth goal earlier in the game, was carried to the locker room.

Despite playing with a depleted defense, the Flyers jolted the Boston Bruins, 3-1, and ended their four-game losing streak Saturday afternoon. With a sellout crowd watching at the Wells Fargo Center, the Flyers moved to within four points of the Eastern Conference's eighth playoff spot, pending the results of Saturday's other games. Ilya Bryzgalov made 33 saves to hand Boston (21-8-4) just its eighth regulation loss in 33 games this season. Bryzgalov has started 32 of the Flyers' 34 games.

ONE DAY after losing defenseman Andrej Meszaros to a possible season-ending injury, the Flyers locked up one candidate to replace him in the lineup. The Flyers announced Wednesday that they have signed defenseman Marc-Andre Bourdon to a multiyear contract extension, in addition to signing first-round pick Scott Laughton to a 3-year entry-level deal. Bourdon, 22, appeared in 45 games for the Flyers last season. He was a restricted free agent this summer, after earning a prorated share of his $875,000 contract last season.

Something positive in the wake of the Flyers' rash of injuries to their defensive corps: Luke Schenn has emerged as arguably the team's top blue-liner in the last month, and Erik Gustafsson has blossomed into a steady, dependable player. Schenn, 23, has been a workhorse lately, playing 56 minutes, 30 seconds over his two previous games before Thursday's matchup against New Jersey. For the season, Schenn is averaging 21:36 a game, second among the Flyers left standing, behind only Kimmo Timonen (21:38)

Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren said Monday there was no change in the "out indefinitely" status of defensemen Andrej Meszaros and Kimmo Timonen. Meszaros, however, was spotted at the team's practice facility in Voorhees. Claude Giroux missed practice with what Holmgren called a "maintenance day," though that is supposedly the same reason Timonen and Meszaros missed practice Saturday. Giroux was slashed on the wrist Sunday by Washington's Jason Chimera. James van Riemsdyk will undergo surgery Tuesday to repair a broken bone in his left foot, suffered in Thursday's win over the New York Islanders.

The Flyers, not quite defenseless but seemingly moving toward that distinction, will be without yet another blue-liner when the NHL season is scheduled to begin in October. General manager Paul Holmgren confirmed Monday that the team's already shallow pool of defensemen will be minus Andreas Lilja, who underwent surgery in his native Sweden late last month to correct a degenerative condition in his left hip. Lilja, 37, won't return until late October or early November at the earliest, according to Holmgren.

FLYERS general manager Paul Holmgren says he is "sore" but is otherwise in good spirits following a scary bicycle accident on Labor Day in Avalon, N.J., that still has him hospitalized in Camden's Cooper University Hospital. Sources indicated yesterday that doctors originally were concerned about possible internal bleeding when a spot showed up on images of Holmgren's chest after his spill. Holmgren, 55, lost his balance on his bike and fell when traveling at a high rate of speed, according to an accident report released by the Avalon Police Department.

The Flyers' already struggling blue line took a major hit Friday, as the club announced lengthy injuries to both Andrej Meszaros and Braydon Coburn. Meszaros, 27, will undergo surgery on April 2 to repair a torn left rotator cuff. The Flyers said Meszaros will be out indefinitely, but for all intents and purposes, his season is over. The Flyers' last game is on April 27. Meszaros already missed 19 games this season with a left shoulder injury. He had surgery in 2009 on the same shoulder to repair a torn labrum.