It's time for a violent, fiery end to the Flyers' season.

The Bruins should come out for Game 5 on Monday something more akin to the Game 6 against the Sabres than the overtimes in Games 1 and 4 vs. Philadelphia. No more heart attack finishes in this series, please. Get angry and get going to the Eastern Conference finals, a destination this team has not reached since 1992.

Really, it is simple. On Monday the Bruins need to take the approach of “Just win, baby.”

Because Boston does not want these pesky Flyers to continue to buzz around.

Danny Briere, Daniel Carcillo, Chris Pronger, Mike Richards and now Simon Gagne are pests that must be squashed with authority because, like a cockroach, the Flyers are resilient and can take a beating but continue to live under the kitchen sink.  Next thing you know, they are everywhere and you have to move out of your house.

The Bruins have a 1-2 record this postseason in games when they could clinch a series. The fourth win in any best-of-seven series in any sport is the hardest to nail down. Opponents have that selfish and completely inconsiderate notion of wanting to, you know, keep on playing the game. This round is a touch different than it was in Game 5 against the Sabres because Boston came out and laid in egg in that elimination game, whereas Game 4 in Philadelphia was a tough, character performance that swung the Flyers way. The Bruins are still competing even with a comfortable series advantage and that is a positive sign for a team that has been known to take days off when it feels pleased with itself.

The Flyers have a little momentum going. They have swung the talent level of the rosters considerably as David Krejci is out and Gagne is back. Boston was already having problems with Briere and Richards, and Gagne now has two extra days to condition and let the toe rest so he can be even more of a factor than he was in Game 4.

Boston still has some things going for it. Tuukka Rask allowed four goals in Game 1 and followed up with three goals in two games as the Bruins built their three-game lead. All he needs to do is steal one of the next three games, and it is hard to think that he will not do that, regardless of the matchups. Mark Stuart should only get stronger the more he plays, and if he returns to form soon the Bruins are once again deep on the blue line.

Then there are the matchups. Game 5 allows Claude Julien free reign to deploy Zdeno Chara and Patrice Bergeron, and he will do so, liberally. Flyers coach Peter Laviolette can scatter his top four forwards on two lines with Briere, Richards, Gagne and Claude Giroux, but Julien probably will focus Chara’s energies on Richards, the Philadelphia player with the most potential for disruption. 

This is where a ruthless approach by the Bruins is necessary. Chara has the potential to be on the ice for 33 minutes shutting down both Richards AND Gagne while allowing the Bergeron line (with Mark Recchi and Daniel Paille) to deal with Richards, and splitting the Briere unit between Vladimir Sobotka (with Blake Wheeler and Michael Ryder) and Begin’s checking line (with Shawn Thornton and Trent Whitfield). That leaves Julien to deploy Marc Savard, Miroslav Satan and Milan Lucic against Laviolette’s third and fourth lines, which should be able to create some mismatches for the Bruins.

Julien can do all of this because he has home ice, and in a variety of derivations to the basic plan, that is how it will go on Monday. Without Krejci (and to a certain extent Marco Sturm) the Bruins no longer have any significant talent advantages in the forward matchups, so it behooves Julien to play a chess game with Laviolette. So far in the series Julien has been the better player, mostly because his rooks (the Bruins defensive corps) are stronger than those of Philadelphia.

The Bruins do not want to go back to the Wachovia Center on Wednesday. They finally have turned around their fortunes at TD Garden after an even record during the regular season, and North Station's faithful Black and Gold backers rival any fan base in the league when it comes to how raucous they can be (Bell Centre denizens, we tip our cap).

So, come Monday evening the Hub will be hopping and ready for some Flyers blood. It would be wise of the Bruins to come out with that same bloodlust and put their skates to the Flyers' proverbial throats. Because every game that goes by that the Bruins do not put the Flyers away, the more jeopardy they put themselves in.