The difference between heading to Montreal down 0-2 versus 1-1 can be measured in bounces for the Boston Bruins, who dodged a Game 2 loss tonight with a furious 10-minute rush against Carey Price and the Canadiens, scoring four goals in the final half of the third period in a 5-3 victory.
In a 3-1 hole after Thomas Vanek’s second goal of the afternoon, the Black-and-Gold looked like a club resigned to another loss to their archrivals, pouting about in a sleepwalking manner.
But with desperation setting in for the B’s, when the shots came, the goals came.
Defenseman Dougie Hamilton rifled home a wrister through traffic to cut the B’s deficit to just one. With 9:04 left, the Bruins had a chance to make it a game. 3:21 later, they did, this time off the stick of Patrice Bergeron, who threw the puck on net from along the wall, somehow beating the 26-year-old Price, who took to the ice in the third period as the series’ biggest star.
And just two minutes after that, it was Reilly Smith, whose charge towards an open puck in the first overtime of Game 1, who found the back of the net, striking with his third of the playoffs.
“There was a bad coverage for the second goal and you need breaks to win hockey games, and this is what they got from Bergeron’s goal,… Montreal coach Michel Therrien said after the loss, the Habs’ first of the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs. “You look at the replay and it’s a bad bounce in front of the net. We got some breaks last game and they got the breaks tonight.…
That much is undeniable, as Price, the star of Game 1 and the first two periods of Game 2, just crumbled in the third period, surrendering three goals on just eight shots thrown his way.
“Right now, they’re throwing pucks at the net, and they’re finding a way through,… Price said of the B’s attack, adding, “You have to be mentally strong and move forward. That’s what winning teams do, and you’ve got to have a winning attitude. You can’t hit panic right now.…
Obviously, it’s tough to criticize Price’s performance through 140 minutes plus of hockey, but if there’s one area where Price is getting smacked around, it’s in the third period. Through two games, Price has stopped 25 of 26 shots thrown his way in the first period (.962 save percentage), and all 22 faced in the middle frames. But he’s also allowed six goals on just 22 shots thrown his way in the third period of these games. That’s a .727 save percentage, and something that’s an undeniable cause for concern when noticing that all but one of the B’s goals in this series have come in the third period.
At the same time though, the Bruins can’t rely on their third period heroics, even if it’s been perhaps the most compelling characteristic of their hockey club for over a calendar year now. Based on what you saw for almost 50 minutes in Game 2, it seems like the Bruins lose this contest most nights. In fact, in a second period that saw Boston rack up four minors, including one bench minor from coach Claude Julien, the Bruins nearly lost the game en route to losing their minds.
But when they stopped worrying about what was and wasn’t a penalty for or against them, their heads were on straight, and their focus turned to what Price was doing to them.
“We had that tough second period and at the start of the third, they got that other power play goal, but the way we just battled back through, I felt, a lot of crap that we put up with today, was pretty indicative of what our team’s all about,… Julien said of the team’s mindset. “It just shows that if you focus on the things you need to focus on, there’s a pretty good team that can accomplish a lot.
“Once we put everything aside and said, ‘listen, let’s control what we can control here’, and when we did that, we kind of took it over. We know that it’s not going to get any easier heading to Montreal, so we have to be ready to face adversity at different times because that’s always going to be.…
What’s to like about this game from the Boston end, besides the end result, of course? I think the resiliency of the players the Bruins are relying on to be solid contributors.
Danny Paille, skating on a line with Carl Soderberg and Loui Eriksson, opened up the game’s scoring, capitalizing on a great dish from Soderberg (with Andrej Meszaros, in for Matt Bartkowski, who struggled in Game 1, providing the secondary helper). Pesky winger Brad Marchand overcame a bad turnover that led to Montreal’s first goal of the afternoon and tallied two assists, and engaged in an intense one-on-one battle with P.K. Subban to open up the shooting lane for Smith’s game-winning goal. Even fourth line winger Jordan Caron had himself an afternoon, playing a hard nosed game.
Perhaps most telling though, the Bruins knew what they had to do to get themselves going. They weren’t relying on their coach to go bananas or call a timeout to settle their ‘nerves’.
“We’re an experienced group of players, we’re capable of regrouping ourselves after a goal, and all that stuff — I don’t need to settle them down. You try to keep your timeouts for the right time of the game, and that’s what I try and do,… Julien said after the win that sends this series to the Bell Centre tied 1-1. “But you can only do that when you’ve got a good group of guys who are capable of bouncing back and don’t need the coach to regroup them there in the middle of a period.…
If there’s a need for improvement for the Bruins in this series, though, it’s definitely on their penalty kill, as the Habs struck with two power-play markers in six chances today.
Bringing their series power play figure up to a potent 4-for-9 in the series, limiting the Montreal man-advantage (and Subban’s space in particular), is going to be an absolutely essential element for the B’s success as they head north. I mean, let’s be real: It’s the Bell Centre, a building with 21,000+ screaming lunatics on top of the ice, and the Canadiens will get their chances to inflict more damage.
“Their building is tough for opposite team to play in,… B’s goaltender Tuukka Rask, who finished the game with 25 saves on 28 shots, said of Montreal’s home rink. “We just have to look at the things we did right in the third and try to do the same things, and that’ll make it easier for us.
“Their crowd is as loud as our crowd was in the third period, throughout the game,… he continued. “Sometimes, you let nerves get the best of you and you make mistakes and take penalties, and then they capitalize on those. It’s a great building to play in, but you can make it tough on yourself.…
In nine career games at the Bell Centre, all played in the regular season, the 27-year-old Rask has just three wins, but has turned in a .932 save percentage with one shutout to his name.
Subban brushes off racist tweets
Racism is wrong. I think that that’s a pretty cut and dry statement right there. It’s also sad that in 2014, with positive strides being made in just about every human rights topic or discussion, that racism is still proven to exist, whether that’s in the public eye or online. Again, cut and dry.
It really sucks when it involves a league like the National Hockey League, and a team like the Boston Bruins, too. For all the negativity that’s swirled around B’s fans following the racist tweets that were thrown P.K. Subban’s way via digital media after his double-overtime goal in Game 1 (presumably by fans of the Black-and-Gold), we’re forgetting some of the basic facts that I hung my hat on. The B’s were the first time in the league to break the color barrier, with Willie O’Ree suiting up for the club in Jan. 1958. And personally, growing up in the 1990s era of Bruins hockey, one of my favorite B’s players was Anson Carter. So when somebody paints a fanbase you’re familiar with, or a city you live in, as one full of bigotry and hate, you get upset. That’s natural.
It felt like the 50 or so idiots that were highlighted and given 10 minutes of fame for being nothing more than hateful morons washes away the progress or the good feelings you had about the local hockey club. But it’s good to see Subban, a player that many in Boston don’t care for because of the logo on his jersey, react in a way that reiterates the fact that he knows what Boston’s really all about.
“First things first, the Boston Bruins are an original six franchise, they have been around for a very long time, they are respected. It’s completely unfair for anybody to point the finger at the organization or the fan base,… Subban said after the game today, making his first (and I really what will be his only) comment on the matter. “They have passionate fans here, great fan base and since I’ve been in the league it’s been awesome. I’ve come to Boston many times, my family has come here, and it’s been great. What people may say on Twitter or social media is not a reflection by any means of the league or the Boston Bruins. So whoever that is, they’ll get dealt with, but it’s completely separate from this league or the Boston Bruins organization.
“I know some of those players personally on that team, like I said, the fan base has been awesome, they are a great bunch of fans. It’s unfortunate when things take away from the great hockey that was played two days ago. It was a fantastic game, great for the league, great for hockey and that’s what we are going to talk about. So I’m happy now that we can just move on. You know what the funny thing is, is that we get stronger as a league, you see how people come together and it’s great. And it’s not just about me, the NHL has tons of players from different backgrounds, from different places around the world and that’s what makes this league so special and that’s what makes sports so special, it brings everybody together. Another great hockey game today, I’m sure everybody enjoyed it and I look forward to the rest of the series and everybody else should too.…
So hey, while you might not like him because of the ‘CH’ on his chest, it’s impossible to deny that Subban, one of the great talents in this game, is also a true class act.