Wanna blog? Start your own hockey blog with My HockeyBuzz. Register for free today!
 

Kaspars Wesley and Petr Shaw

June 13, 2013, 3:31 AM ET [68 Comments]
Ty Anderson
Boston Bruins Blogger •Bruins Feature Columnist • RSSArchiveCONTACT
I wasn’t alive when Glen Wesley missed an open net in double-overtime of Game 1 of the 1990 Stanley Cup Finals between the Boston Bruins and Edmonton Oilers. And as you can imagine, I wasn’t alive when Petr Klima ended the game an overtime frame longer in what is still the longest overtime game in Cup Final history, with 55 minutes and 13 seconds of overtime play. But as a hockey nut growing up in Boston, I’ve always heard about what a doofus Wesley was (and still is) for missing an open net, and what a jerk Klima is (and still is) for a goal that crushed Boston’s slim hopes.

At my core, though, I could never feel the pain of older Black-and-Gold supporters because I simply wasn’t there, but 23 years later and with Kaspars Daugavins missing a wide open cage only to see Andrew Shaw capitalize mere minutes later, I can now say that I too share their pain.

In the first game of the league’s first Cup featuring two Original Six franchises since 1979’s season finale between the New York Rangers and Montreal Canadiens, there’s just no denying the idea that over 21,000 fans at the Madhouse on Madison were treated to an absolute battle of two clubs with nearly identical identities, the fifth longest battle in the long and storied war for Stanley’s hardware.

Matched up against one another for the first time in 20 months, the ice-breaker came when Milan Lucic struck 13 minutes into the first period with his fourth goal of the postseason, and first since May 19’s Game 2 victory over the New York Rangers in the second round.

For Boston, it was a goal that all started with Chicago defensemen Niklas Hjalmarsson’s bit for a bone-crushing hit on David Krejci behind the net. To the chagrin of the sellout crowd at the United Center, ‘Hammer’ missed, and Krejci completed the tic-tac-toe play to Nathan Horton, and then on to Lucic for the line’s 20th goal of the postseason.

Lucic’s party continued just 51 tics into the middle frame, when he slapped home his second of the game and fifth of the season, giving Boston (a team that had not trailed since May 25), a two-goal edge. But as you would expect from the Presidents’ Trophy winning ‘Hawks, the response came, but perhaps not off the stick you’d think. Held off the scoreboard through three rounds, but reunited with linemates Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa, the 20-year-old Brandon Saad found the puck on his blade, and (finally) sounded the horn in Chi-town, beating the 26-year-old Tuukka Rask up high for his first career playoff marker.

Holding a 2-1 edge through two periods of play, Boston’s night took another turn for joy when Patrice Bergeron’s power-play laser beat Corey Crawford, and gave Boston a two-goal edge with just 13:51 to go in the (obviously) pivotal Game 1 showdown.

And here’s where the wheels came off...

On a horrid turnover in the Boston zone, Dave Bolland answered with his first of the postseason, while Johnny Oduya answered just over four minutes later when his blast redirected off Andrew Ference’s leg and into the back of the Boston cage.

The wind -- and the luck -- were taken right out of Boston’s sails.

Leading us to an overtime marathon that saw the Bruins benefit from two (two!) too-many-men penalties against Chicago, a Horton post-shot, and one wide open net for Daugavins, the night quickly became a tale of too many fumbled opportunities for the Black-and-Gold, as they were ultimately burned 112 minutes into play when nuisance Andrew Shaw deflected home the dagger.

Replacing Horton could be deathblow for depth-starved B’s

Nobody wanted to see Nathan Horton carried off Garden ice on a stretcher during the 2011 Stanley Cup Final against the Vancouver Canucks, but there was a bit of confidence in knowing that the Black-and-Gold had the depth to respond and address the loss of the top-line sniper. Whether it’d be a bump up for Michael Ryder, Rich Peverley, or switch from scratch to skater for then-rookie Tyler Seguin, Julien’s squad had the weaponry to overcome (and did).

But two years later, the same cannot be said for the B’s. Ryder’s long gone, Peverley’s bordered on useless all season long, and Seguin’s apparently left his goal-scoring game back in Switzerland.

Injured on the Bruins’ man-advantage in overtime, looking to suffer some sort of shoulder injury (mere speculation on my behalf), early signs indicate that it’ll be the 21-year-old Seguin, who now has just one goal on 62 shots this spring, that takes No. 18’s spot on Boston’s top line. Reuniting Boston’s top trio from the 2012 playoffs, it’s not Seguin’s promotion that’s put fans in the Hub on the ledge, but rather its trickle-down effect that’ll leave the club’s bottom-six even more skill-strapped, a simply terrifying thought when you consider their ineffectiveness throughout this one.

Look at tonight’s overtime frames for example -- it took near-death from the rest of the forward core before Kaspars Daugavins’ skates touched the ice! Fourth-line forward Shawn Thornton played just three shifts after the 60-minute mark, and none in the third overtime.

Despite their philosophy, Julien doesn’t trust these guys or rely upon them as guys that can put the puck in the back of the net when it matters most. This, in turn, proves to put a strain on Boston’s big guns (at least through one), and could be the club’s downfall. Already without the services of Gregory Campbell, a true heart-and-soul guy of the bottom-six, and with Chris Kelly and Peverley becoming hazards out there, it really feels as if Boston’s lower-tier depth has become the Danny Paille army, and that’s just not sustainable.

Operating under the belief that Horton’s a no-go for Game 2, there’s been chatter that Jordan Caron’s the guy in line to join the Boston lineup. Dumb. Wrong. Idiotic. Caron, who hasn’t played in an NHL game since Apr. 13, has done nothing this year or in his career for that matter, to earn the nod over say -- I don’t know, the guy the Bruins begged to come over from Sweden for about half a decade. Carl Soderberg, the player that’s done nothing to really warrant being scratched or deemed ‘not fit’ for postseason play, comes with a 6-foot-3 frame, goal-scoring background, and two assists in six career games at the NHL level.

Release the Swede? Release the Swede.

Julien wise to put an end to Krug Life, do the Bartman

If there’s one noticeable weak link out there right now, it’s the 5-foot-9 Torey Krug.

Responsible for the giveaway that brought Chicago within one, and slammed by Chicago forecheckers all night long, the 22-year-old did look like a boy among men out there tonight, and it seems as if the Black-and-Gold may be better off turning to the more defense-oriented Matt Bartkowski.

In this series, you’re going to need stronger shifts from your physical defensemen. Bart brings that.

Positive notes and tidbits...

- While he played downright filthy at times, you didn’t ever have the feeling that the Blackhawks’ Corey Crawford was really a goaltender that you couldn’t get to. Boston seemed to be just inches away or one bad rebound away from ending this one. I’m sure that the same thing could be said about Rask if you’re in Chicago’s end, but it’s not as if the Bruins were shooting blanks all night.

- Look on the bright side: You were absolutely mashed by the ‘Hawks in three periods tonight, but it took a bad turnover from Torey Krug and an own-goal from Andrew Ference to bring this one even. Of course, they don’t ask how, and the Blackhawks had enough to earn the victory tonight, but the idea that this is cause for doom-and-gloom in the Hub is so incredibly dramatic.

- I’m going to bed forever.
Join the Discussion: » 68 Comments » Post New Comment
More from Ty Anderson
» Notable lineup change headlines loss in Tampa
» Bruins' leaders answer Montgomery's challenge
» B's issued reality check; Duran turns pro
» Bruins' mistakes doom them in loss to Rangers
» Bruins refuse to make it easy for themselves