TAMPA, Fla. — The Bruins are focused on closing out their Eastern Conference Final against Tampa Bay on Wednesday, but they are hockey fans as well as hockey players. So they couldn't help but take a little interest in Tuesday night's dramatic finale to the Western Conference Final as the Canucks advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 1994.
"We all saw what happened last night," Bruins defenseman Dennis Seidenberg said. "It's good for them, but our focus is on tonight. We have to stay focused and stay in the moment and not look ahead."
Well, not everybody actually saw what happened in Tuesday's game. Vancouver tied the game in the final seconds of regulation, then closed out a 4-1 series win with a double-overtime victory over San Jose. But when defenseman Kevin Bieksa collected a loose puck off a strange hop off the glass and sent a fluttering shot into the net for the 3-2 win, it was past the bed time of most of the Bruins.
"I just watched the tying goal," Seidenberg admitted. "Then I was like, 'OK, I'm going to bed.' So I went to bed and saw it this morning and was like, 'Oh my god, that's a tough one to lose on.'
"It's really tough to lose a game like that," Seidenberg added. "A bounce like that, nobody seemed to know where it was except Bieksa, so it's tough to lose like that."
Seidenberg scored a fluke goal of his own earlier this season, faking a dump-in to the corner, then firing it into the open net from center ice when Tampa goalie Mike Smith went charging out of his crease in a December matchup at the Garden. But the fraternity of defensive defensemen doesn't hold a lot of sway with all members, as Seidenberg took no special pleasure in seeing a fellow blueliner score the pivotal goal.
"It doesn't really matter," Seidenberg said. "I don't really care who scores the goal unless it's for us."
At least one Bruin was happy with the result though, as Halifax, Nova Scotia, native Brad Marchand showed a little national pride in the result.
"It's nice to see any Canadian team in the finals," Marchand said, before quickly amending that sentiment did not extend to a hypothetical Montreal trip to a future Final.
Despite his excitement, Marchand, like Seidenberg, had to wait until the morning to see how Tuesday's game turned out, as a full night's sleep before Boston's chance to join the Canucks in the finals took precedence.
"I watched a little bit," Marchand said. "It was on a little late, I had to get some sleep, but I saw the goal this morning. It was a tough situation to lose on."
Even with a potential opponent now set, Marchand was quick to add that it changed nothing in the Bruins' focus going into Game 6 against the Lightning.
"Obviously that's in the back of our mind, but we're still a long ways from getting there," Marchand said. "If we think it's going to be tonight in any way, then they're going to roll over us and force a Game 7. We just have to make sure we keep that completely out of our minds and focus on what we have to do tonight."
