There was that feeling again Monday.
That same feeling I got when Patrice Bergeron's face met the boards in Philadelphia. The same feeling when Marc Savard got knocked silly by Matt Cooke. But this feeling was worse.
That stomach churning feeling never left me for the rest of the first period, and it stayed there for a while.
Minutes into the contest, Vancouver's Aaron Rome absolutely leveled Nathan Horton at the Canucks blue line, a vicious hit that left the playoff hero motionless for one very long minute. The Garden quieted to a hush, the Bruins' tempers flared and the first period came and went with no scoring.
Then the Bruins opened the floodgates.
The second period was an eruption of offense from the pissed off Bruins, starting with a goal from Andrew Ference just 11 seconds into the period. After a Mark Recchi power-play goal, Brad Marchand beat Luongo with one of the prettiest individual efforts of the playoffs, beating his man and catching Luongo sprawling out of position before lifting a shot into the top of the net. David Krejci added a goal to put the Bruins up 4-0 at the end of the second.
The third period was when things got entertaining. The returning Shawn Thornton got a game misconduct, as did nearly everyone else on the ice. There were dives, more finger taunting from Mark Recchi and Milan Lucic, and oh yeah, four more Bruins' goals. Vancouver added one to break up the shutout but fuck them who cares.
Many people will point to Thornton's return as the catalyst for the Bruins' physical play but as bad ass as he is, this was a team effort of ass kickery. Shit, even Seidenberg fought Ryan Kesler during a commercial break, and I use the word "fight" loosely. Thornton"s leadership can never be questioned, and by simply having him on the bench, the Bruins were a more driven and focused team. Last night was quintessential Bruins hockey. Let's just hope they can win one for Horton and Savard.
Game 4 is tonight in Boston.
*Game Notes*
*In my last post, I said I think I hate the Canucks. Check that, I DO hate the Canucks. Maybe it's because I don't see them as much as teams like Montreal, but what a group of weasels. They were the ones that started this with the Burrows bite on Bergeron, and they only fanned the flames when Lapierre taunted Bergeron in the next game. After the hit on Horton, they opened themselves up to anything that the Bruins had to dish out.
*How absurd was that flop by Sedin? Ference lined him up and made contact with his shoulder. Attempting to draw a penalty when the game was all but over, Sedin grabbed his face as if Ference gave him a haymaker. Shortly thereafter, Sedin spooned Ference and both were given misconducts. Just zero respect for this team.
*I loved when Lucic popped Burrows in the face after Burrows flopped in the third. Lucic then removed his glove and put his fingers near Burrow's mouth. This type of comedy will live on through highlight reels forever.
*Headed into tonight's game, the Bruins will have to juggle their skaters around to account for the loss of Nathan Horton. Shawn Thornton will be in the lineup, and I am assuming that Tyler Seguin will return to the ice for the B's. Julien has not announced who will be replacing Horton on the top line, but both Rich Peverley and Michael Ryder spent time on the first line in Game 3. I would imagine that Michael Ryder would get the call to the top line, as he will benefit from playing with the bruising Lucic and the skilled David Krejci. Look for Peverley to join the third line with Chris Kelly and the returning Tyler Seguin.
*After Tuesday's disciplinary hearing, Mike Murphy made it clear that he would not put up with any "crap" for the rest of the Stanley Cup Finals. Don't expect to see any more fingers in the mouth in Game 4. It's going to be interesting to see not only how the referees will call the game, but also how the Bruins will play their game knowing that the refs are going to try to cut down on the chippiness. The Bruins are going to play their physical game but will have to do so without taking stupid penalties.
*Which Roberto Luongo will show up tonight? He has had a propensity for being somewhat of a headcase and after refusing to get pulled the other night and then allowing eight goals, I wonder where his head is going to be tonight. The pressure of Canada is squarely on his shoulders, and hopefully for the Bruins, they can get after him early.
*I wouldn't say that this game is a must-win, but the B's need this game to split the series and get revenge for the Game 1 theft.
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