How the heck did we get here?

TD Garden. Friday night. Grudge match. Throwdown. Brawl for all the marbles. Insert extra superlatives here because …

It is Game 7.

“We won three games and then they came back and won three games. If we had gone one, one and one you wouldn’t be asking me all these questions,” Dennis Wideman said. “Game 7s are important, every little mistake can cost you your season. It is a little added pressure, but you have to rise to it.”

What happened here, exactly?

The Bruins have been balancing on the edge of the knife all postseason long. A couple of bounces the other way and Ryan Miller and the Sabres take the quarterfinals in six games as opposed to Boston. An errant puck here or there and the Flyers could have closed out the Bruins in five as opposed to having to make one of the most dramatic comebacks in NHL history. Boston had puck luck in the first three games, the Flyers have had it in the last three.

It has been that type of season.

The keys to the Flyers' comeback have revolved around a few particular factors. First, and where the series really turned, was when Mike Richards laid out David Krejci in the first period of Game 3 and dislocated the Czech center’s wrist, necessitating an overnight emergency trip to have surgery in Baltimore. The Flyers lost that game, which forced Simon Gagne to come back early from a broken toe, and it paid immediate dividends. The loss of Krejci combined with the addition of Gagne tipped the talent level at forward sharply in Philadelphia’s favor. Boston will not use injuries as an excuse, but that swing has had a profound effect, as Gagne has scored three goals since his return and lengthened the Flyers roster to the point where other players, such as Ville Leino, have been able to step up their games.

That is not all that has gone well for the Flyers, though. What they have really done well since going down three games to none has been protect the crease. Coach Peter Laviolette has recognized that the battle between the goaltenders was definitely in favor of the Bruins. How to combat that?

Do not let any pucks actually get to your goaltender.

“Sometimes you have to give credit to the other team,” coach Claude Julien said.  “A good example: They had 30 blocked shots out of 61, and it gives you the indication of what they are willing to do to win hockey games and protect their goaltender.”

The Bruins actually have blocked more shots in the last three games than the Flyers, 58-52. Then again, the Flyers did not really need to block any shots in Game 5 as they held the puck the entire time and finished the game with six blocks in their 4-0 romp.

“They do a really good job finding how to be in the way and getting in front of those pucks, and we have to find a way to get those pucks behind them and create more traffic and more opportunities,” Zdeno Chara said.

It has not really mattered if it has been Brian Boucher or Michael Leighton in net for Philadelphia. The Flyers have either blocked the big shots Boston has taken or the Bruins have done the opposing goaltenders favors by rushing shots into the crease without traffic in front, on the rush or from the wings. Hence, from the end of Game 4 when Mark Recchi had his huge goal to send it to overtime, the Bruins did not score for the next 134:12 of ice time until Milan Lucic banged one home with exactly a minute left in Game 6.

“They are just doing a better job blocking shots,” Wideman said. “Last game I think they did a great job, they got us running around a bit in our own zone and we didn't have any shooting lanes. I think when we play better in our own zone, we keep it more contained and then we get more blocks.”

In Julien’s press conference at Ristuccia Arena in Wilmington on Wednesday he made a point to bring up all the Flyers' blocks and how they are collapsing on the lanes and making life hard for the blue liners to get pucks on the crease.

“They really are collapsing and taking away those shooting lanes so that we have to find ways to get those pucks to the net,” Julien said. “Obviously get some traffic there as well, but having traffic and not getting the puck in there is not going to do much for us.”

Now, if the Flyers have the advantage in the forward position and, sans Krejci, the centers are considered a wash, the Bruins have an advantage on defense. There is just more depth for the Bruins in the defensive corps, especially with Mark Stuart back from his bout with cellulitis. Yes, Chris Pronger is Chara-like, but he is no Chara. The Bruins captain should be the most dominant player on the ice whenever he is out there, but that has not been the case the last three games.

Boston has not been able to press its defensive advantage. Matt Carle and Kimmo Timonen are quality defenders, but the bottom three of Braydon Coburn, Lukas Krajicek and Ryan Parent does not match up well with Wideman, Matt Hunwick, Andrew Ference, Johnny Boychuk and Stuart. The Flyers' blocked shots are as much about their desperation as about not having the talent needed at times keep the Bruins hemmed in. Boston spent significant stretches in the offensive zone in Game 6 but could not create a ton of pressure on Leighton because of poor decision-making and the Flyers' propensity to throw bodies at the point of attack.

Give Laviolette credit for making adjustments mid-series. After Game 3 it looked like the Flyers were being thoroughly outcoached, but Laviolette has gotten creative with his scheme where Julien has just tried to plow through.

Wideman seemed confident that the Bruins would come out well on Friday in front of their home crowd and finally put these Flyers to rest. He is not looking back and asking the “what if” questions. Those are inquiries each Bruin will have to make if they become the fourth team ever to make the biggest choke that can be made in American sports.

“You can't be thinking about 'what if?' ” Wideman said. “ 'What if you lose and they come all the way back?' You don't think about stuff like that. I fully expected coming into this series that it would go seven games. Obviously after we won the first three I didn't, but that is the way it was. That is the way it happens.”