The Bruins are indeed history.

Done. Gone.

In a night of hockey that was as exhilarating as it was cruel, the Flyers completed a historic and highly resilient comeback with a 4-3 victory over the Bruins in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals before a shocked crowd at TD Garden Friday.

As quickly as you can say, “Let’s build a 3-0 lead, blow a 3-0 lead, build a 3-0 lead, blow a 3-0 lead,” a postseason with unexpected hopes and promise is over.

The Flyers now advance to play the Montreal Canadiens in the Eastern Conference Finals, while the Bruins take their place along side the 1942 Detroit Red Wings and the 1975 Pittsburgh Penguins as the only NHL teams that have squandered a 3-0 lead in a best-of-seven series.

It didn’t have to be that way. 

There will be plenty for the Bruins and their fans to ponder in the coming weeks, but figuring out what exactly led to the team’s epic hockey meltdown should involve considerable blame landing at the Bruins skates. But, to some degree, there is also fault at the NHL offices as well.

Technically, the Flyers won Game 7 on a Simon Gagne rebound goal during a power play with 7:08 to play in the third period. The series-deciding goal was set up when the Bruins were assessed a bench minor for having too many men on the ice.

Before deciding where the culpability should be focused for that crucial penalty, the greatest blame for the Bruins’ demise should first be leveled at the team’s uninspired and lackluster effort in a 4-0 home loss in Game 5 of the series.

Had the B’s shown the tenacity, hunger and passion they showcased in the first period of Game 7 in Game 5, they would have certainly been in a much better position to have ended the series that night.

“There was definitely some complacency, that is for sure,” said Milan Lucic who led the Bruins attack with two goals in Game 7. “It’s something that we are going to have to deal with for the whole summer.”

When a team comes out flat in a big game, there are always questions regarding team leadership and coaching. But that blame becomes muddled when the coaching and team leadership manages to produce a start like the Bruins had in Game 7.

Solid physical play and forechecking in the opening minutes Friday led to a B’s power play with Michael Ryder ultimately reaching to gather a loose rebound and swiping the puck past Michael Leighton for a 1-0 Bruins lead just 5:27 after the opening faceoff.

Working on another power play minutes later, Dennis Wideman carried the puck deep into the Flyers zone before whisking a pass through the crease for Lucic to slam in for his first goal. Five minutes later Lucic lugged the puck from the Bruins zone to the right faceoff circle before uncorking a wrist shot past Leighton and the Bruins had a 3-0 lead just over 14 minutes into the contest.

Had they continued to skate with the same snarl they showcased in that stretch of hockey the Bruins would be moving on to the conference finals.

Instead, after they raced to a three-goal advantage, a fragile Bruins psyche unraveled as soon Flyers captain Mike Richards knocked over Wideman and James Van Riemsdyk scored the Flyers first goal.

Suddenly the Bruins quit hitting, skated with less authority and began the slow death march that doomed their postseason hopes.

Within eight minutes of the second period, Scott Hartnell and Daniel Briere had drawn the Flyers even.

“I’d say the first goal kind of put us on our heels a little bit,” said Bruins center Patrice Bergeron, who failed to generate a point in the final three games of the series. “I think we kept battling, we kept playing really well, but I think the second period was not the second period that we should have had. They scored three minutes into the second period and, you know, it’s tough, a one-goal game and we kind of went even back on our heels even more. I think the second period really hurt us.”

The Bruins needed the twin boost of a calming influence and a counter-punch during the Philadelphia rally. Again this should fall into the category of leadership and coaching, although anyone could really have stepped up with a critical play.

There is no question that captain Zdeno Chara is a fierce warrior and that coach Claude Julien is adept at motivating and creating highly competitive teams. But neither has solved the riddle of the Stanley Cup playoffs or tough Game 7 waters. 

Ultimately the B’s were also done in by the NHL as well and that fact may hurt as much as their own shortcomings.

In a 3-3 Game 7 deadlock and with just under nine minutes to play in third period, the Bruins were whistled for having too many men on the ice when Vladimir Sobotka and Marc Savard got their signals crossed.

The bench minor against the Bruins marked the 33rd time this playoff year that a team has been called for having too many men on the ice.  In the entirety of the playoffs last season, only 17 such calls were made.

In an apparent effort to reign in a rule infraction about which few had complained, the league clamped down on too many men penalties in the postseason. Yes, the Bruins knew that and should have paid attention, but it’s also not a great way to influence the outcome of a decisive seventh-game.

“I think that it’s a terrible call. It’s a 3-3 series, Game 7, you don’t make that call,” said Mark Recchi who still didn’t have the strength or perhaps the desire to take off his Bruins jersey well after the game. “The referee was looking at the play the whole time and he didn’t call it. The linesman called it. It was terrible judgment on his part, but it is what it is now.”

Although the B’s penalty killing unit could not shut down the Flyers’ power play, special teams were generally a positive aspect of Bruins play in the postseason. The Bruins killed 45 of 50 opposition power plays (90 percent) while netting 11 goals during 45 power play opportunities, a very respectable 24.4 percent rate of effectiveness.

The ultimate lesson for the Bruins, of course, is that if you don’t place yourself in the position of squandering a 3-0 series lead and a 3-0 Game 7 lead, you don’t run the risk of having the series come down to a tough penalty call.

It’s a lesson that will now haunt the Bruins through history.