Editor’s note: Starting Tuesday, March 24, NESN will re-air memorable games from the Boston Bruins’ Stanley Cup run. Up next is Game 2 of the 2011 Eastern Conference semifinals against the Philadelphia Flyers. See the full schedule by clicking here.
The Boston Bruins routed the Philadelphia Flyers in their second-round Stanley Cup Playoffs series in 2011.
But Game 2 was the only exception.
In the series sweep, the Bruins would win three of the four games by four goals. But that second contest, a 3-2 overtime victory at Wells Fargo Center, was the only bucking of the trend.
The end result was a pretty entertaining game.
Here are seven things you might have forgotten about Game 2, which viewers can watch at 9 p.m. ET on Thursday night on NESN.
1. The Bruins got off to a pretty bad start
James van Riemsdyk scored two goals in the opening period, including one just 29 seconds after the opening puck drop. His other tally came at 9:31 in the first, knocking the Bruins into a tough hole right off the jump.
2. But after that slow start, Tim Thomas was absurd
Thomas stopped — wait for it — 52 (!) consecutive shots after conceding goals on the first two attempts he faced.
While other performances have been better remembered from his 2011 playoff run, Thomas’ showing against Philly in Game 2 was downright remarkable.
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3. David Krejci continued his hot start
After pouring in four points in Game 1, Krejci added another point in Game 2 by scoring the winner.
That, of course, came after he missed the final four games of Boston’s 2010 meltdown against the Flyers, so suffice to say it was the continuation of some nice redemption.
4. Krejci’s game-winner originally wasn’t ruled a goal
Krejci hit a clapper at 14:00 in overtime, and in beating Brian Boucher it also hit the bar in the back of the net. As a result, it ricocheted back out into play and things continued until the referees had a chance to review. A few Bruins actually had left the bench to celebrate before the refs signaled to continue playing.
Upon reviewing, it was abundantly clear Krejci’s shot was good, and the game was over.
5. Pretty much all the action took place in the first period
Though the Bruins went down 2-0 before the midway point of the period, they erased the deficit before the period ended.
Chris Kelly and Brad Marchand scored to draw level in the back half of the first, and otherwise things were quiet on the scoring front until Krejci’s winner.
6. Peter Laviolette more or less guaranteed a win in Game 3
Although the Flyers were the better team in Game 2, they obviously didn’t get the result they wanted.
That didn’t appear to impact the confidence of their head coach, Peter Laviolette, despite the fact they had dropped the first two games of the series at home with things shifting back to Boston.
“I think we’re going to go into Boston, we’re going to play a strong hockey game and we’re going to win the game,” Laviolette said after the game, via The AP.
7. Adam McQuaid left the game
The blueliner ended up playing just four minutes in the win, getting hurt in the first period.
Mike Richards retrieved a loose puck at the end line, and McQuaid went crashing in to throw a body check. Richards sidestepped the defenseman, who would then lose his footing and go tumbling headfirst into the boards.
Although he went to the hospital, he travelled back to Boston with the team but wouldn’t play again until Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final.
