The players were reserved after the win and of course everyone was spouting the company line regarding this being the set up for game 6 and still having a lot of work to do, needing to play better, etc. The B's did acknowledge they got a lift from Lucic's hit on Seidenberg, and Chara said he was humbled and appreciative of the reception the fans gave him upon his return to the ice.
Listen in to 1510 AM tomorrow for the updated Bruins minute and don't forget to tune into the Young Guns tomorrow night at 10:00 where we react to this game, the Sox, and Big Baby's game winner in Orlando. Goodnight from Causeway Street. Final Score: Bruins 4, Hurricanes 0.
10:00 PM (2:47 3rd) - The natives are getting restless. After a scrape on the ice between Ward and Walker, the fans began returning some of the free Bruins towels they were handed out during the game. Come on B's fans, you're better than that. On a side note, it really must suck for most of the folks in the yellow seats who have to got to work early tomorrow. In the aftermath Matt Cullen grabbed a roughing call, Scott Walker racked up 17 minutes of penalties for an instigator, fighting, and a misconduct. Aaron Ward grabbed a 2 minute roughing call. Bruins 1 for 7 on the power play tonight. Time to head downstairs.
9:50 PM (7:07 3rd) - More shenanigans from Conboy. He gets into a fight with Mark Stuart that goes much the way of the one with Thornton in that the Hurricane was spun to the ice and pummeled. The only Hurricane he reminds me of is Peter "the Hurricane" McNeeley. You know, the Medfield native who was the sacrificial lamb for Mike Tyson's boxing comeback. He lasted all of 89 seconds, which is longer than Conboy has lasted in both of his scrapes tonight combined. Conboy and Stuart each get the five for fighting.
9:46 PM (7:39 3rd) - Michael Ryder was turned away by Cam Ward but the rebound for Milan Lucic is a different story. The winger blasts a one-timer past Ward and the "Luuuccccchhhh" chants continue for awhile afterward. Ryder and Patrice Bergeron get the assists. This one is all sorts of over. 4-0 Bruins.
9:38 PM (14:43 3rd) - Seconds before the Pitkanen penalty expires, Erik Cole sends the puck into the stands for a delay of game. Needless penalty for Cole to take but it doesn't hurt much, the Bruins put us right back to 4 on 4 26 seconds into the power play with a hooking call on Michael Ryder. I think that's the first we've really heard of him tonight, which is far from a good thing.
9:33 PM (17:30 3rd) - Brief...and I mean brief...scrap between Shawn Thorton and Tim Conboy. Thornton put him on the ice quickly and started raining blows before the officials stepped in and separated the two. There were multiple penalties both ways with Thornton getting a cross check and roughing, Anton Babchuk grabbed a high stick and Tim Conboy got the roughing. Pitkanen puts the B's on the power play with an elbowing call seconds later.
9:29 PM (19:12 3rd) - Chara comes out onto the ice to a standing ovation and a raucous "Chara" chant. Steve Montador had a nice sliding block on his 1st shift before a rebound try was snapped out of the air by Thomas. It's a quick shift for Chara, but good to see he is OK and able to play.
9:26 PM (2nd Intermission) - What were we saying the other night about turning it on quickly? The Bruins look nothing like the team that was beaten soundly over the past three games. They've been the aggressors, getting physical with the Canes, peppering Cam Ward (who hasn't been half bad) with shots, and trying to keep the tempo high throughout the game. They are cycling, skating, and just flat out playing better than Carolina. And a bit more good news, Chara is on the bench to start the 3rd.
9:09 PM (0:28.8 2nd) - Chara just took a stick to the back of the leg from Jussi Jokinen and stayed down on the ice for about a minute before coming off slowly but under his own power. He had a visibly pained expression and was grabbing the left ankle the entire time he was down on the ice. 2nd period has come to an end with the Bruins on top 3-0 and holing a 29-11 SOG advantage, but I'm sure the question for most B's fans is whether Chara is hurt badly.
9:03 PM (4:35 2nd) - The B's keep the heat on. A couple of scrums in front of the 'Cane's net, one of which required Cam Ward to literally lay down and stay down to keep the puck from getting in the side door. The B's have a 28-11 SOG edge and Carolina has having all kinds of trouble clearing the zone. Dennis Wideman just took a penalty for high sticking, probably the worst thing to happen to the Bruins all night...and, well, it ain't all that bad. 3-0 Boston.
8:50 PM (10:19 2nd) - 2 minute roughing minor on Chad LaRose...here comes another power play, Bruins are 1-4 so far but, as I just stated, they've looked very good.
8:47 PM (11:20 2nd) - Very nice power play shifts for the Bruins. Several close calls including a one timer feed across the crease from Recchi to Chara that was a misfire but barely and a big drive from the point by Dennis Wideman. The 'Canes killed off the penalty but had all kinds of trouble clearing the zone.
8:40 PM (15:20 2nd) - Slow down boys, I'm trying to blog here. Phil Kessel scores his 2nd goal of the game of another backdoor feed from Marc Savard. Just before the goal Zdeno Chara had a huge open ice hit on Eric Staal. Give Chara an assist on the goal as well for his second of the evening. He, Kessel (2 G) and Savard (2 A) all have multi-point nights. This is looking more and more like the regular season pre-Jussi Jokinen and Erik Cole beatings the Bruins laid on the 'Canes. 3-0 good guys.
8:38 PM (16:45 2nd) - The B's have picked up right where they left off. Cam Ward looked like a sittin' duck in a shootin' gallery through the first 2 minutes of the period. Clearly the Bruins are working hard not to have another lull. Chuck Kobasew delivered a hard hit into the boards on Tuomo Ruutu during the stretch.
8:26 PM (1st Intermission) - The Bruins have themselves an early lead and are showing signs of life for the first time since game one of this series. They are cycling very well in the Carolina end of the ice, especially on the power play and definitely exerting some physicality with the big Lucic hit on Seidenberg being the top example thus far. The Bruins led the SOG category 16-7 through the first period and most importantly got out on top of Cam Ward, who has been shown to struggle when a team can get to him early. 2-0 B's, end of the 1st.
8:12 PM (2:10 1st) - Tim Thomas entering the highlight reels with the Bruins on the PK. Stopped a Samsonov shot with the pads and then sprawled to his right to put the blocker on a rebound try from Joni Pitkanen. A moment later the Bruins made it 2-0 with a Phil Kessel one timer from the left side. Give Savard and Lucic the helpers, Savy had the pretty backdoor feed that let to the goal. 2-0 Bruins.
8:07 PM (5:07 1st) - Apparently Dennis Seidenberg took a penalty at the end of his shift that we all missed up here. It was for a slash, and just seconds into the power play the B's make it 1-0 with a Zdeno Chara drive from just outside the right point tipped in by Mark Recchi juuusssssttttt through the 5 hole of Ward. 1-0 Bruins, SOG 14-2.
7:56 PM (10:30 1st) - Great PK for the B's who have turned up the heat in the last several minutes. They clear the puck 3 times without letting Carolina get a shot off before Sergei Samsonov takes an interference penalty. The B's went 5 on 4 for 0:56 but couldn't produce a goal despite a big blast from Dennis Wideman that just missed and a crease buzzer from the side door off the stick of Milan Lucic. Maybe the boys have come to play after all.
7:49 PM (13:54 1st) - 2 minute interference for Zdeno Chara. So far the B's have all 4 SOG, thanks mostly to the power play. It's discouraging to see the Bruins appear passive in the opening minutes. You'd figure if there was any game they would come out overly hyped for, it would be this one. Neither team has been very physical yet, and there hasn't been a lot of great end to end action. All in all the only thing intense about this game so far seems to be the crowd.
7:45 PM (16:30 1st) - 2 minute hook on Tim Gleason yields a lackluster PP effort for the B's. So far things don't look much different than the last three games.
Hello from the 9th floor of the TD BankNorth Garden. At the beginning of this series, I predicted we would be here tonight for a game 5 that would finish off the series. Turns out I may be correct, though I hope I am not. The B's trail 3 games to 1 as we get set for Face-off. This place is amped, there is no denying that. Louder than I've heard it at any point this season. Rene Rencourt even seemed to give the anthem a little more pizazz than normal. And he is man with some pizazz.
A few pre-game notes:
-Cam Ward and Tim Thomas come in tonight with the two best GAA's in the post-season, in that order.
-Carolina has the 2nd best PK in the play-offs, Boston is 6th, the power play units are 11th and 7th for the Canes and B's, respectively.
-the money stat, Boston is 0-20 when trailing 3-1. 15 of the series were ended in the 5th game, 4 went to game 6, and only last year's series with the Habs went 7. Buckle up folks, this may be the end of the line for the B's...or perhaps not...
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