Final, 4-3 Canucks: That’s all she wrote from a game that certainly lived up to its billing. It had fights, it had emotions, it had great goals and it was played in a great atmosphere.
The Bruins got a late power play in the final seconds of the game but couldn’t score.
Thanks for following along, we hope you enjoyed it.
Third period, 1:57, 4-3 Canucks: Chris Kelly just redirected a point shot between his legs, but Schneider was there for the save.
Less than two minutes left, get ready for Thomas to make a run to the bench.
Third period, 4:16, 4-3 Canucks: The Bruins killed off the penalty, and Thomas just turned away a partial breakaway from Mason Raymond.
The 10 Bruins forwards have a couple of minutes to catch their breaths during the TV timeout, and they’ll have just a few more shifts to try to get the tying goal.
That tying goal was nearly handed to them kindly by Schneider, who tried to shoot the puck behind his own net but accidentally hit his own post.
Third period, 6:38, 4-3 Canucks: Just what the Bruins needed — another penalty to kill.
Nathan Horton goes to the box for tripping, and the B’s are going to need a minor miracle to pull out this tying goal with 6:30 left.
Third period, 8:42, 4-3 Canucks: The Bruins are running out of time, energy and bodies, as they still trail 4-3 and the absences of Lucic and Marchand are taking their toll.
Third period, 11:11, 4-3 Canucks: Make it 0-for-6, as the B’s don’t convert. Gregory Campbell was given some power play time, with Lucic and Marchand out of the game.
Bergeron did get a few chances in tight after the penalty expired, but Schneider was up to the task. He has 28 saves on the day.
Third period, 13:22, 4-3 Canucks: The Bruins are going back on the power play.
That’s good, for the obvious reasons, and not so good, because the B’s are 0-for-5 with the man advantage thus far in the contest.
Now would be a decent time to get something going on the power play and tie the game.
Third Period, 18:09, Canucks 4-3: The Bruins score on the 4 on 4 as David Krejci gets Boston back within a goal.
Krejci scores on a second-effort try, finally putting home a rebound in front with a backhand.
Third Period, 18:29, Canucks 4-2: The Canucks finally get a penalty of their own as Daniel Sedin goes to the box for hooking.
Third Period, 18:51, Canucks 4-2: The Canucks strike again on the power play early in the third. That’s one Tim Thomas would probably like back as Cody Hodgson rips one in from the right circle.
Second Intermission Notes: The nastiness continued in the middle frame, and now the Bruins are down two forwards, and it may remain that way beyond this game.
Brad Marchand joined Milan Lucic with an early trip to the showers after a low bridge hit on Sami Salo injured the Canucks defenseman and earned Marchand a major for clipping and a game misconduct. Both forwards could be getting calls from the league after this game.
The Canucks still aren’t matching the Bruins in the physical play, but the difference between this one and the Cup Final is that Vancouver is making the Bruins pay on the power play. All three Canucks goals have come with the man advantage, and they’ll start the third with 3:47 left on Marchand’s major.
The Bruins had plenty of chances to break this one open after they went up 2-1, but Cory Schneider came up big on a series of flurries around his net and then Boston’s penalty troubles cost them late in the second.
The Bruins have been outshot 26-20, outhit 12-6 and are even losing the faceoff battle 26-28 (48 percent), an area they usually dominate. It will be a big challenge for the Bruins in the third, as they’ll have to begin by killing off an extended penalty, then try to mount a comeback minus their top two left wings.
End of second period, 3-2 Canucks: As expected, the Canucks convert on a tip-in from Henrik Sedin with just 12 seconds left in the period.
And now, analysis from Doug Flynn.
Second period, 1:13, 2-2: The Bruins are playing some foolish hockey right now, as Brad Marchand was just given a game misconduct for clipping Sami Salo. Marchand lowered his body to flip the player over his back, which is against the rules. The Bruins now have a five-minute penalty to kill against a power play that is firing on all cylinders this afternoon.
The B’s will also be without two top-line wingers for the third period.
Second period, 1:54, 2-2: Correction — the goal has been awarded to Alex Burrows, who must’ve tipped in Hodgson’s shot.
Second period, 3:10, 2-2: The last thing the Bruins need now is another penalty to kill, but David Krejci goes to the box for goaltender interference. Schneider definitely helped it along with a little bit of flair, but Krejci was in a bad spot.
Second period, 4:39, 2-2: That didn’t take long at all, as rookie Cody Hodgson scores on the power play to knot the score at 2-2.
The Canucks are now 2-for-5 on the power play, while the B’s are 0-for-5. Clearly, the difference in this game has been with the man advantage.
Second period, 5:13, 2-1 Bruins: The Bruins have another penalty to kill, as Tyler Seguin heads to the box for tripping. Looked questionable from up here, but I’m about 250 feet away. I’ll give the ref the benefit of the doubt.
Second period, 5:38, 2-1 Bruins: The game has undoubtedly slowed down a bit, as the players may have overexerted themselves a bit in the highly emotional first period.
Shots are all tied up at 17, with Thomas, of course, having a one-save edge over his counterpart, Schneider.
Second period, 8:24, 2-1 Bruins: Boston’s power play is operating at playoff efficiency, as the unit is now 0-for-5 on the day.
Nathan Horton had the best chance for the B’s, but he was knocked over just as he was about to take a pass at the top of the crease.
Second period, 11:52, 2-1 Bruins: Fan favorite Alex Burrows heads to the box for high-sticking.
The crowd has also continued its “Lu-ong-o” chant with fervor, especially after Peverley’s goal.
Second period, 12:48, 2-1 Bruins: And the Bruins have their first lead of the day, thanks to Rich Peverley.
The winger jumped on a loose puck at the faceoff dot to Schneider’s right, and he picked the top corner to beat the goalie high blocker side.
Second period, 13:39, 1-1: Whoa — we just had a few minutes without any penalties! That’s crazy!
The B’s are now 0-for-4 on the power play.
Meanwhile, the Canucks have 14 shots to the Bruins’ 10, and both goalies look good thus far.
Second period, 17:05, 1-1: The tensions remain high, as three players head to the penalty box, and the Bruins go on the power play. They haven’t been successful with the advantage thus far, but it only takes one.
Second period, 19:15, 1-1: Well, after a riduculously eventful first period, the second begins with a bang, as Daniel Paille got hauled down on a breakaway and was awarded a penalty shot.
The winger was robbed by Cory Schneider’s glove, however, and the sore remains tied.
First Intermission Notes: Well, that was an eventful opening period. All the Bruins and Canucks did was combined for 18 penalties for 72 minutes. Oh, and they each scored a goal too.
The aggression the clubs couldn’t let out in the Final due to the stakes involved in those games was let out early with a brawl just 3:54 in. That resulted in Nathan Horton trading bombs with Dale Weise, filling the role of Aaron Rome for a day as Rome is out with a broken thumb. the bigger news is that Milan Lucic was tossed for leaving the bench to join the altercation and could be looking at a suspension.
The Canucks somehow came away from the melee with a two-man advantage and converted late for the game’s first goal. It took Boston almost nine minutes to even put a shot on Cory schneider, but Brad Marchand, showing no ill effcts from his flu bug, tied the contest later with a nifty backhand in front.
Gregory Campbell later squared off with Maxim Lapierre and Shawn Thornton dropped his gloves as well, but Wiese wouldn’t oblige this time. The question now is whether the teams got everything out of their system in that frame and will now focus on the two points at stake, or if things will escalate and settling scores will take priority over the final score. Either way, it’s sure to be entertaining.
End of first period, 1-1: That’ll do it for the first. Enjoy some intermission analysis from Mr. Douglas Flynn coming up.
First period, 1:15, 1-1: The Bruins kill off the penalty, but Benoit Pouliot heads right back to the box for high-sticking. He could’ve been called for that, roughing, or interference, but the B’s have one more penalty to kill.
First period, 3:34, 1-1: Rich Peverley heads to the box for tripping Mason Raymond. Vancouver has a chance to seize momentum heading into intermission.
First period, 5:02, 1-1: Shawn Thornton tries to follow Greg Campbell’s lead, but Weise won’t oblige. Both players get sent off the ice, though, and it’s 4-on-4 for two minutes.
First period, 5:02 1-1: This building is going crazy again, after Gregory Campbell followed up Marchand’s goal with a fight with Lapierre one second later.
It was a draw, for the most part, but seeing the B’s center square off with Mr. Finger Taunter certainly fired this crowd up.
First period, 5:03, 1-1: Ladies and gentlemen, Brad Marchand.
The pesky B’s winger who is a hated man in Vancouver just added to his British Columbian rap sheet with a pretty goal to tie things up.
And now Gregory Campbell is fighting with Maxim Lapierre at the center ice faceoff circle.
First period, 5:31, 1-0 Canucks: The Bruins are now 0-for-3 on the power play, as the Canucks’ passive penalty kill kept the B’s from getting the puck to the middle of the ice.
First period, 8:23, 1-0 Canucks: After generating just one or two chances, the B’s will have a brief 5-0n-3 and anohter two minutes on the power play, as Ryan Kesler goes to the box for the second time today, again for holding.
First period, 10:17, 1-0 Canucks: Daniel Sedin heads to the penalty box for hooking, and the B’s get a chance to tie things up on the power play. It begins with a puck just squirting under Brad Marchand’s stick in front of an open net.
First period, 14:19, 1-0 Canucks: Against a team this dangerous, a two-man advantage is almost always going to result in a a goal.
That’s what happened here, but it wasn’t a pretty setup. A point shot deflected to the faceoff dot, but right to Ryan Kesler’s stick. He buried the shot on a mostly open net for his 11th of the season.
First period, 15:40, 0-0: A bevy of penalties were handed out, and the Bruins are now down two men.
Worse, they’ll be without Milan Lucic for the rest of the afternoon, as he was given a game misconduct. We assume it’s because he came off the bench to get involved in the line brawl, but we don’t have that information handy right now.
First period, 16:06: Well, that didn’t take long, now did it?
A scrum breaks out in front of the Vancouver bench, with five Canucks jumping on Shawn Thornton.
Thornton’s teammates came quickly to his aid, and Nathan Horton squared off with Dale Weis. There are sticks and gloves all over the ice, and the TD Garden crowd is fired up.
In other, non-fighting news, the Canucks’ top line of the Sedin twins and the hated Burrows had an excellent shift, getting a few good chances, but Tim Thomas is on his game early.
First period, 17:51, 0-0: Not much doing for the B’s on that power play, as the game remains scoreless.
The Bruins fans started a mocking “Lu-ong-o” chant. Luongo, you’ll remember, is on the bench.
First period, 19:43, 0-0: The Canucks were hoping the refs would call penalties, and they got their wish early on. Problem is, the penalty went against Ryan Kesler for holding. B’s are on the power play early on.
1:03 p.m.: Have a little help on hand for this big game, so the capable Mike Hurley will handle the play-by-play on the live blog and I will be back between periods for some analysis.
You can also follow me throughout the contest on Twitter @douglasflynn.
1 p.m.: The Bruins will open this grudge match with Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and Tyler Seguin up front, Dennis Seidenberg and Joe Corvo on defense and Tim Thomas in goal.
The Canucks counter by shaking up their lines to start, putting tough guy Dale Weise up with Ryan Kesler and Chris Higgins, with Dan Hamhuis and Kevin Bieksa on the blue line and Cory Schneider in net.
12:55 p.m.: The Bruins have officially scratched Zach Hamill and Steven Kampfer. Brad Marchand is back in the lineup after a one-game absence with the flu.
Alexander Sulzer is out for Vancouver.
12:45 p.m.: Brad Marchand was back in his customary spot alongside Patrice Bergeron and Tyler Seguin in the line rushes in warm-ups. All signs pointing to a return to the lineup for Marchand in this one.
Here are the full line combinations from the warm-up:
Lucic-Krejci-Horton
Marchand-Bergeron-Seguin
Pouliot-Kelly-Peverley
Paille-Campbell-Thornton
Defense pairs:
Chara-Boychuk
Seidenberg-Corvo
Ference-McQuaid
12:30 p.m.: No surprises to kick off the warm-up, with Tim Thomas and Cory Schneider leading the clubs out. That’s the goalie matchup as expected.
Brad Marchand is on the ice for the Bruins in warm-ups.
12 p.m.: The Canucks have opted to keep Roberto Luongo out of this rematch, but the Bruins will give Tim Thomas the start in the highly-anticipated rematch set to start in about an hour.
Brad Marchand, who missed Thursday’s game with the flu, will take warm-ups and is expected to play for Boston.
8 a.m. ET: This is the one that has been circled on the calendar since the schedule was released last summer.
That came out while the Bruins were busy spending their days with the Cup. A Cup hoisted in Vancouver on June 15. Now the Canucks come back to Boston for the first time since that contentious seven-game series for a matinee matchup Saturday at the Garden.
Vancouver comes in fresh from a 3-0 win over Minnesota on Wednesday, though that pales in comparison to Boston’s 9-0 drubbing of Calgary on Thursday. The Canucks, like the Bruins, overcame a sluggish start to the season and are 16-4-2 in their last 22 games, though again that run doesn’t quite measure up to Boston’s 23-3-1 mark since the start of November.
Both clubs have 53 points, but Vancouver (25-13-3) has played four more games. The Bruins (26-10-1) avoided looking past any foes heading into this game, and have rattled off 15 unanswered goals against the Devils and Flames.
Both teams kept their core groups intact after last season, but there will be a few familiar faces missing from this one. Roberto Luongo will be on hand but won’t be in goal, as the Canucks have opted to start Marblehead, Mass., native Cory Schneider instead.
There will also be no revenge on defenseman Aaron Rome in this game, as the man but knocked Nathan Horton out of the Final with a concussion is sidelined himself with a broken thumb. Vancouver is also without forwards David Booth (knee) and Aaron Volpatti (shoulder).
For the Bruins, Brad Marchand missed Thursday’s game and Friday’s practice with the flu, but is expected to be in the lineup Saturday.
The puck drops at 1 p.m., so check back here for updates on all the action from the Garden.
