With the Philadelphia Flyers staving off elimination Game 5 of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series at Pittsburgh, there are still four teams the Boston Bruins could face  in the second round.

Here’s just a quick glimpse at each team and how I think they match up with the Bruins:

(7) New York Rangers

Bruins record head-to-head in ’08-09: 2-1-1

The Bruins want to play the Rangers because … all season long New York struggled to score (although the Rangers have put the puck in the net a little against Washington), Sean Avery is bound to do something to distract his teammates and the Rangers defense would have fits against the Boston forecheck.

The Bruins don’t want to play the Rangers because … Henrik Lundqvist is in full Conn Smythe mode so far, Chris Drury is always lurking in the weeds waiting to come through in the clutch and the New York penalty kill is stifling.

Bottom line: The Bruins would have their hands full with the Rangers, even if you discount the “Avery factor.” Plus the whole New York-Boston thing would be reignited.

(6) Carolina

Bruins record head-to-head in ’08-09: 4-0-0

The Bruins want to face the Hurricanes because … goaltender Cam Ward has yet to prove that his ’06 Cup run wasn’t a fluke, the ‘Canes can’t roll four lines as effectively as the Bruins and this team expended so much energy to get in the playoffs it might be out of gas by Round 2.

The Bruins don’t want to face the Hurricanes because … forwards Ray Whitney and Eric Staal are lifelong Boston killers and the firepower on the back end could give the Bruins are hard time.

Bottom line: This is the match-up the Bruins should want because Carolina just isn’t in the other teams’ class and lacks that physical element that makes playoff series into a grind.

(5) Philadelphia

Bruins record head-to-head in ’08-09: 2-1-1

The Bruins want to face the Flyers because … the Philadelphia defensemen or vulnerable to a solid forecheck, the Flyers take tons of penalties, and Philly could be worn out if it advances because it’ll have played seven games.

The Bruins don’t want to face the Flyers because … Mike Richards and Jeff Carter are on the cusp of reaching superstar status and the playoffs are the time to get that done, the Flyers’ physical game might not be as easy to ignore as Montreal’s was, and both Martin Biron and Antero Niittymaki have experience beating the Bruins in net.

Bottom line: While it might be poetic justice for the Bruins to go from beating Montreal to beating another hated rival in Philly, this is a match-up the Bruins could do without because if the Flyers win in seven games they’ll be riding high and their size would give Boston fits.

(4) Pittsburgh

Bruins record head-to-head in ’08-09: 2-1-1

The Bruins don’t want to play against the Penguins because … first there’s the little matter of containing those guys, you know their names, umm — oh yeah, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, the Penguins have more experience just one year removed from a trip to the Cup final and goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury might be using this postseason to solidify his place among the league’s elite.

The Bruins want to play the Penguins because … the defense corps features Hal Gill and Rob Scuderi prominently, Fleury might be solvable with the right amount of traffic and pressure and the Pens are really counting on some aged vets for secondary scoring with Bill Guerin, Petr Sykora, and even Miro Satan getting in the action.

Bottom line: Boston does not want Pittsburgh. Taking on the defending conference champs, who’ve been relatively hot since early March, would be a collision of two buzz-saws — and deciding which would prevail would be a real toss-up.