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Flyers' Giroux misses third period after hard check

BOSTON - While the Flyers likely lost Brian Boucher for the remainder of the playoffs with injuries to both knees, they might have been spared more trouble last night from star forward Claude Giroux.

BOSTON - While the Flyers likely lost Brian Boucher for the remainder of the playoffs with injuries to both knees, they might have been spared more trouble last night from star forward Claude Giroux.

Giroux sat out the third period of last night's 4-0 win over the Bruins for precautionary reasons after feeling woozy from being checked from behind by Boston's Steve Begin with 3 minutes to go in the second period.

The Flyers had a comfortable, three-goal lead when he left the game.

Giroux, who has five goals and four assists in the Flyers' 10 playoff games, struggled to skate off the ice on his own power. General manager Paul Holmgren would not reveal the location of the injury, and Giroux was not available for questions after the game.

"We don't think it's anything serious," Holmgren said. "We held him out more for precautionary reasons. He actually went out [to warm up] at the start of the period, but we just decided to pull him out."

Giroux will be re-evaluated today. Giroux likely will be given a baseline test today at the Flyers' practice facility to determine whether he suffered a head injury that could keep him out of tomorrow night's Game 6.

Giroux was very slow to get up after the hit, when Begin's elbow made contact with his back and sent him into the boards, leading with his head. Holmgren called it a "dangerous hit."

Giroux spent the remainder of the second period hunched over on the bench before the intermission.

Lucky Leino

Two games in a row now, Ville Leino has been in the right spot at the right time.

Leino chipped in another goal for the Flyers last night, scoring what turned out to be the game-winner in the first period when he swatted in a Chris Pronger rebound. His stick, which touched the puck last, was pushed forward by the momentum of Scott Hartnell. Both players were going for the loose puck at the same time.

Leino, a native of Savonlinna, Finland - the same town as Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask - joined the Flyers' lineup in Game 5 of the first round after Jeff Carter (foot) and Simon Gagne (toe) went down with injuries in Game 4.

"I am a bit more comfortable [now]," Leino said. "You don't have to focus everything on [feeling comfortable], and you can just go out there and play and have fun."

His line, which includes Hartnell and Danny Briere, is one of the big reasons the Flyers are heading back to the Wachovia Center for Game 6, with Boston leading, 3-2.

"We are going back home confident," Leino said. "So obviously we are believing that, and it is easier to believe now than when we were down 3-0."

Kick saves

Dan Carcillo, who was a game-time decision with an apparent knee injury, skated only 8 minutes on the fourth line after playing most of the postseason on the Flyers' top line with Mike Richards. Carcillo left the bench on two different occasions during the game to tend to skate problems and ultimately returned . . . Jon Kalinski skated in warmups in case Carcillo could not play, but joined Jared Ross, Danny Syvret and Oskars Bartulis as a healthy scratch. *