By Joe Haggerty
CSNNE.comPHILADELPHIAHere are five thoughts from the first period with the Bruins trailing the Flyers by a 1-0 score at the first 20 minutes of play at the Wells Fargo Center.1)The Bruins have had their moments, but the Flyers held the clear physical edge along with the better opportunities despite both teams ending the period with 10 shots on net. A lot of outside shots from the perimeter for the Bs in the firstthe same thing everyone saw in the first two periods against the New York Rangers. It looked a lot like one tough hockey team smacking the other one in the mouth.2)It appeared that Tyler Seguin might have cut his ear again after a collision near center ice in the waning minutes of the first period. That prompted Seguin to get into the scrum at the whistle and start shoving Claude Giroux aroundthe first time Ive ever seen the rookie get into the nasty mix. That might have been to make up for a soft play in Bostons only power play when he peeled off a battle for a loose puck to keep possession in the offensive zone. Keep an eye on whether Seguin is out for the power play in the second period.3)Mike Richards again showing why hes such a factor in big games and postseason runs for the Flyers. The center set up Phillys only goal with a nice-looking dish to Kris Versteeg from the high slot area when it appeared he was winding up for a long point shot. Then he drew a hooking penalty on Patrice Bergeron when he grabbed hold of the Bs centers stick for dear life. Then he slashed the stick out of Brad Marchands for good measure. Richards is easy to hate, but Bs fans would love him if he was on their squad.4)The Flyers narrowly won the hit battle by a 10-9 margin, but there was a little more oomph in Philadelphias hits on the Bslike when Kris Versteeg slammed Mark Recchi to the ice from behindin the defensive zone and Scott Hartnell tackled Zdeno Chara behind the Boston net leading to a couple of cross-checks from each meat wagon on skates.5)You could sense the scratch coming for Michael Ryder when Claude Julien spoke about him prior to the game. No goals in 11 games and only three shots in his last four games for the right wing as hes bounced between several lines. Ryder simply isnt a good fit on the fourth line, and will need to wait his turn with Tyler Seguin gaining a lot of consistency as of late.