Editor’s note: Starting Tuesday, March 24, NESN will re-air memorable games from the Boston Bruins’ Stanley Cup run. Up next is Game 6 of the 2011 Stanley Cup final against the Vancouver Canucks. See the full schedule by clicking here.
The 2011 Boston Bruins hardly were fazed by trying to stave off elimination, and never more was that clear than in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Trailing 3-2 in the best-of-seven series, the Bruins earned a convincing 5-2 victory to force a Game 7 back in Vancouver.
Here are six things you might have forgotten about Game 6, which viewers can watch at 8:30 p.m. ET Monday night on NESN.
1. It was never really close
The Bruins put four goals on the Canucks pretty early on, so for a very large chunk of the game, it felt like the Bruins had run away with it.
2. It was the first game after the “pumping his tires” fiasco
Make no mistake Roberto Luongo was a mess throughout much of the Stanley Cup Final, going back and forth between top class and an abject disaster.
Well, after Game 5 was when he criticized the way Thomas plays (not the most unfair criticism, because Thomas could occasionally be a wild ride in net), then said he had been showing Thomas with praise (“pumping his tires”) and it had not been reciprocated.
So when Luongo went and urinated down his leg in Game 6, it was not the best look.
3. The Bruins saw a lot of Cory Schneider in Game 6
Speaking of, the Bruins chased Luongo by scoring three goals in just the first 8:35 of the game. That resulted in Schneider coming in, and Michael Ryder proceeded to score just 50 seconds later.
Overall, though, Schneider played pretty well, making 30 saves.
4. Nathan Horton made an appearance and electrified the crowd
Horton, understandably, was not in appearance for a little bit after the devastating hit he took in Game 3 of the series. But he did show up in a private box at Game 6, and when he was shown on the jumbotron the crowd went absolutely nuts.
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5. Henrik Sedin got his first point of the series
It’s easy to forget just how incredibly the Bruins neutralized the Sedin’s during the 2011 Cup Final.
Case in point, the fact that Henrik Sedin’s third-period goal in Game 6, which had no impact on the game, was his first point of the entire series.
6. It set the B’s up for their first Game 7 since 1972
The Bruins had been to five Finals between 1972 and 2011, losing all of them. Furthermore, none of them went to a Game 7.
That changed in 2011, and we all know how that ended up going.
