Seguin’s OT Goal Forces Game 7 In Boston
Sunday, April 22, 2012
They say you learn a lot about someone not when things are going well, but rather when they face adversity.
Sunday, the defending Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins traveled to Washington facing elimination in their Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series trailing the Caps 3 games to 2. With their backs to the wall, the Bruins responded.
Boston received goals from Rich Peverly (3rd), David Krejci (1st) and Andrew Ference (1st) in regulation. But the biggest goal came in sudden-death overtime from Tyler Seguin and Boston escaped the Verizon Venter with a 4-3 victory to send the series back to Boston for a 7th and deciding game on Wednesday.
Boston led three times in regulation but the Caps were able to even the score all three times. The biggest goal for the Caps was scored by their top gun Alexander Ovechkin who beat Tim Thomas off of a face-off win by Nicklas Backstrom with less than 5 minutes to play in regulation. Ovechkin’s goal came just over 3 minutes after Ference lit the lamp for Boston on a rebound put-back off of a Tyler Seguin shot on Braden Holtby that put the B’s up 3-2.
In overtime, Tyler Seguin used his speed to race down the slot off the feed from Milan Lucic and beat Holtby on a great hold and score move to his right. Seguin waited for Holtby to commit and forced Wednesday night’s game 7.
NOTES:
-Wednesday's game 7 will be the 4th game 7 for the Bruins in their last 5 playoff series. Boston went (3-0) last year in game 7.
-Seguin’s game-winner was set up off a turnover by Backstrom. David Krejci came up with the steal in the neutral zone as the Caps were trying to clear their zone and fed Lucic who fed Seguin for the game-winner.
-On Ference’s goal in the third, Seguin said that he was aiming for Holtby’s mask with the shot figuring there would be a rebound if he got his shot up that high.
-Tim Thomas is now (9-2) in elimination games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for his career.
-While the Bruins did score on the power play in game 6, they managed just 1 shot on Holtby in a 4 minute power play in the second period.
-All 6 games of the series have been decided by just one goal.
-Patrice Bergeron, who was banged up in game 5, was taken off the face-off in game 6. Bergeron isn’t just Boston’s best face-off man, he’s arguably the best in the league. You have to wonder if he had been on the draw with 5 minutes to go in the third if he would have beaten Backstrom and thereby preventing Ovechkin’s game-tying goal.
-Alexander Ovechkin may not have had much success against Boston in the regular season, but the Caps star has 2 goals and 3 assists in the series.
-Rick Peverley (3 goals, 2 assists) has been Boston’s best offensive player thus far.
-Claude Julien’s decision to move Seguin and Marchand down to the third and fourth lines respectively has paid dividends. Both have responded well with much better play over the past two games.
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