Bruins Clobber Canucks 8-1!
Tuesday, June 07, 2011
They're back in the series!
The Boston Bruins fought back, literally, in game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals. In the process, they stomped all over the Vancouver Canucks 8-1 to pick up their first win of the series.
It was bad enough for Boston that they returned home from Vancouver down 2-0 in the Stanley Cup Finals. But when Canucks’ defenseman Aaron Rome blind-sided Nathan Horton at the 5:07 mark of the first period, Vancouver added insult to injury.
After a chippy first two games it is safe to say that there is now a lot of bad blood between the Bruins and Canucks. From Alex Burrows midnight snack on the index finger of Patrice Bergeron in game 1 to Maxim Lapierre’s taunting of Bergeron in game 2, the dislike between the two teams was there. But Rome’s hit on the defenseless Horton has cultivated hatred on Boston’s part. And that bad blood was on display Monday night.
Rome received a 5-minute major for interference and a game misconduct for the cheap shot. Unfortunately, Boston’s pathetic power play was unable to make Vancouver pay for their indiscression.
Horton was immobilized and carried off the ice on a stretcher where he was taken to Mass General for observation. He appeared to have suffered a concussion.
Late in the first period, the Bruins reported that Horton had been taken to the hospital but was moving all of his extremities. That message was posted on the scoreboard evoking loud cheers from the TD Garden crowd.
The hit on Horton was a scary moment and an absolute downer for what was otherwise another exciting period of hockey played between these two teams. The first 20 minutes of the game were scoreless heading into period #2.
And it didn’t take long for Boston to beat Roberto Luongo to start the second. Andrew Ference’s slap shot from the left point appeared to be tipped by David Krejci. Ference was credited with the goal just :11 seconds into the second period to make it 1-0 Boston.
Whether it was that first goal or just a determined resolve on the part of Boston in honor of their fallen teammate Nathan Horton, the B’s continued to apply the pressure to Vancouver in the second.
Just over 4 minutes after the Ference goal, Boston’s inept power play was able to produce a rare score. Mark Recchi’s centering pass to an open Rich Peverley never got there as Vancouver’s Ryan Kessler knocked the puck in past Luongo as he attempted to get back in the play defensively making it 2-0 Boston.
Boston’s penalty kill came up huge in the second as well! Vancouver had two power plays shortly after the B’s grabbed the 2-0 lead.
After limiting Vancouver to a couple of harmless shots on the first of those two power plays, the B’s not only limited the Canucks to no shots on their second power play of the period, they scored a shorthanded goal.
Brad Marchand made a great individual move feeding it to himself off the right boards before cutting across the slot in front of a diving Luongo. Marchand held the puck on his stick until Loungo was sprawled out on the ice. He then lifted the puck easily over the Vancouver net minder top-shelf for a 3-0 Boston lead.
And they weren’t finished yet. Michael Ryder’s wrister from the slot was blocked by Luongo but Krejci pounced on the rebound to make it 4-0 Boston at 15:47 of the second and the rout was on.
As has been the case virtually all season long, Tim Thomas was playing his usual outstanding game between the pipes while his teammates were racking up the goals on the other end of the ice.
Thomas and the B’s had to kill off a 4-minute double-minor which spanned the end of the second and beginning of the third period. Johnny Boychuck got nailed for high-sticking on Victor Oreskovich. After that, you knew that game 3 was in the bag.
The Bruins goaltender finished the game with 40 saves, many of which were of the spectacular variety.
The B's added four more goals in the third on an unassisted tally by Daniel Paille, Mark Recchi's second of the game, Chris Kelly found the back of the net as did Michael Ryder.
Vancouver also lit the lamp with a goal by Jannik Hansen. But the story of the the game's final 20 minutes was the physical play by both teams. Whether it was the continued manifestation of the bad blood between the two sides or an effort to set the tone prior to game 4, period number 3 was a rock fight.
Tomorrow night the Bruins will try to even the series at two games a piece by winning game four on home ice. The home team has won all 3 games of the Stanley Cup Finals thus far. Faceoff Wednesday night at the Garden is slated for sometime after 8pm. It will be televised on Versus.
NOTES:
-Enforcer Shawn Thornton was back on the ice for the first time since midway through the Eastern Conference Finals series against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Rookie Tyler Seguin was benched in favor of the more physical Thornton.
The Bruins forward made his presence felt immediately in the first when he delivered a hard hit to the controversial Alex Burrows and continued with his smart, disciplined physical play throughout the contest. He did receive a game misconduct when he stuck his glove in the face of Kessler with 12:02 remaining in the third.
Still, you’d have to think that Thornton will remain active for the remainder of the series. His presence was clearly felt by both sides in game 3.
-Patrice Bergeron has been dominant in the circle for Boston. Bergeron was 6 for 6 winning faceoffs in the first two periods of Monday night’s game.
-The ratings for this year’s Stanley Cup Finals have been up significantly from last year’s Finals and those of the past few years. There seems to be something more enticing about having an “Original Six” team like Boston in the Finals. Add to that two teams starving for a Stanley Cup, an East-West match-up and two teams perceived to have different styles of play and it all adds up to a good mix for the likes on NBC and Versus.
-For those who thought that the Bruins’ new home could never provide the home ice advantage that the old Boston Garden gave to them, think again! Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Tampa Bay Lightning was about as loud as it gets at the TD Garden. The same goes for last night’s game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals.
-Bruins fan and actor Michael J. Fox was in attendance at the Garden Monday night.
Follow us on Pinterest Google + Facebook Twitter See It Read It