Needless to say, the Eastern Conference-leading Boston Bruins want to tighten up their defense tonight in Philadelphia at Wachovia Center against the Flyers after allowing five goals in their win at Toronto last night.

Of course, that could be a little difficult. Tim Thomas, expected to get the start in goal after Manny Fernandez’s start against the Maple Leafs, hasn’t played a game in a week. So he might be a tad rusty.

Then there are the Flyers, who are fourth in the league in goals scored per game (3.18), boast the fifth-best power play (22.1 percent) and the eighth-best penalty kill (82.9 percent), and lead the league with a remarkable 16 shorthanded goals.

Keeping the Flyers in check will be a tough task. It’ll be up to the Bruins’ to four of Zdeno Chara, Aaron Ward, Andrew Ference and Dennis Wideman to find the next level as far as their play after a lackluster defensive effort in TO. The Flyers’ depth up front, led by the top two lines centered by stars Mike Richards and Jeff Carter, puts the onus on the Bruins to get a top effort out of two pair of blueliners.

Season series: The Bruins are 1-1-1 against the Flyers this season, including a win in the lone game played at Wachovia Center. This is the last meeting of the regular season between the clubs.

What they’re writing: The Flyers plan to start Antero Niittymaki against the Bruins tonight after they rallied for a shootout win over the New York Islanders last night.

Philadelphia player to watch: The Flyers are even deeper now than they were when the Bruins last faced them because Danny Briere is healthy and almost back to being his old self. He has put up 3-3-6 totals in his last five games, four of which the Flyers won to grab a hold of sole possession of fourth in the East. Briere’s been skating on the wing and his speed and playmaking will be hard for the Bruins to contend with.