It took an entire season for it to happen yet finally, 1 game into this season's playoffs Bruins fans were finally rewarded with what, for those watching Wednesday night's playoff opener was a pretty good hockey game.
We wanted to win (the) first game, there's really not much else to it." Bruins captain Zedeno Chara said following the game, and really that simple statement really embodied what likely served as a driving force in the Game 1 victory we now sit two days removed from. That fact was the will to win.
As crazy as it seems, while in the end the Bruins came out on top, Boston was trailing for the majority of the 1st period. That deficit delivered by a James Van Reimsdyke power play goal just over a minute and a half into the game.
"We knew we were gonna get scored against, and we knew we had to bounce back" Chara said later in that interview. While Boston would come back to tie the game, the nail bitingly awesome part of tying and tie breaking goals were the time in which they were scored. With just about 3 minutes and 30 seconds to go in the 1st, Boston managed a quick line change dumping the puck deep behind the Toronto net. Sensing an opportunity, center Gregory Campbell raced back towards the boards, fighting to get the puck loose before rapidly working it over to winger Daniel Pallie. With both D-Men pinching in, Pallie swung around towards the net blasting the shot on Reimer thus earning a juicy rebound that allowed recent addition Wade Redden to skate in and rip a hard bouncer over the glove of James Reimer.
Yet even as Redden slid around the back of the net sporting an ear to ear grin, the Bruins knew they weren't anywhere near done, and really when I say they were ready for some more scoring, I mean it. Merely 3 minutes went by before a minor penalty assessed to Toronto worked wonders for Boston proving that over the past few weeks, while Boston's penalty kill has pretty much fell out of the sky dead, their power play has exploded, thus contributing to, for the second straight game, a dramatic goal in the final seconds of a period.
With 14 ticks to go in the 1st period and 10 seconds to go in the power play, David Krejci slid across the blue line dropping the pass between his legs and feeding the easy pass to Redden who like he did 3 minutes earlier blasted the shot towards the net taking the lead for Boston.
Yet even then Boston wasn't done. With their notably subdued crowd now roaring with excitement and tumultuous cheers, the Bruins continued to press the Toronto net, breaking through once again with about 10 minutes and 20 seconds expired in the second period. with David Krejci along the boards, his 2 line-mates raced forward in support as they looked to help develop what at that point seemed to be at least a 2 on 1 with the possibility to turn into a 3 on 1 in the direction of Reimer. As the play continued to develop, Krejci cut off the boards as both his line-mates pulled up allowing 2 leafs to get back to try to defend yet all the while opening up both Hornton right at the hash marks and an easy shooting lane for Krejci. Opting to try to eliminate the shot option, both leafs players made a cut towards the net allowing Krejci a quick pivot to Hornton who by way of an ever present pressure from behind muffed the shot failing to get it past Reimer yet still leaving the puck just sitting on top of the crease. Still very much in the play, Krejci spun towards the net right as Milan Luchic won a stick race to the loose puck and with Hornton on the ground, slid it to Krejci who had already begun to turn to face Reimer. Rotating out to a position about 10 feet out of the net, and with 3 out of 5 bruins all within about one stride of each other, Krejci fired through a screen and like his two team mates before him tallied his first goal of the 2013 NHL playoffs and in turn his 1st playoff goal since game 2 of last year 1st round loss to Washington.
Yet while Redden, Honrton, and Krejci all put the sting on the Leafs, no goal plunged a more painful dagger into the hearts of Toronto's team and fans the one scored with just over 4 minutes to go in the game. With the puck right at the Boston blue line Milan Luchic slid forward loosing the pass along to Krejci who was then waiting just over the half line. Taking it into possession, Krejci, recognizing the pressure of two Leafs defense men standing before him, and like he had for the Horton tip in earlier in the game, turned to his left simply leaving the puck for Johney Boychuk to skate into. From 60 feet out John Paul Boychuk slipped the shot off the cross bar blasting in Boston's 4th goal of the game and at that point sealing what was bound to be a decisive game on victory. But even then Boston was not done.
All season the Bruins front office and roster had been preaching the importance of a 60 minute effort, and with the exception of a select few contests the most prominent of which being a near 100 shot game with Ottawa back in March, Boston had really failed to manage that elusive "good win". Yet in their 49th game since the conclusion of this year's lockout the Bruins were in a position to finally snare that "good win" and, heck, after Boychuk sealed the deal with 4 minutes to go in the game, Boston was certainly not going to settle for a 56 minute effort. They drove to the end and even when the horn sounded, Boston worked hard to keep true the identity they have worked so hard to build. Literally as time expired, a small brush up between Frazer McClaren and Adam McQuaid quickly escalated to the point where Bruin skill player Chris Kelley dropped the gloves and started trading blows with Leo Komarov. Five Chris Kelley punches, and a barrage of Komarov fists on the top of Kelly's helmet, later, all other players had cleared the area and Leo Komarov had his sweater pulled over his head and Kelley stood completely unfazed by his first bout since March 21st of last year.
Call is what you will but Boston gave a 60 minute effort last night taking a veteran approach to playing a team literally with no veteran experiences. The last time the Toronto Maple Leafs made the playoffs before this season, was 2003 and really even with them well entwined in this season's post season tournament the Bruins raised a worlds of question going into game two. Is Phil Kessel really all that he is built up to be? Is James Reimer really a NHL class goalie? And above all, do the Toronto Maple Leafs really deserve to be in the 2013 NHL playoffs?
With 14 ticks to go in the 1st period and 10 seconds to go in the power play, David Krejci slid across the blue line dropping the pass between his legs and feeding the easy pass to Redden who like he did 3 minutes earlier blasted the shot towards the net taking the lead for Boston.
Yet even then Boston wasn't done. With their notably subdued crowd now roaring with excitement and tumultuous cheers, the Bruins continued to press the Toronto net, breaking through once again with about 10 minutes and 20 seconds expired in the second period. with David Krejci along the boards, his 2 line-mates raced forward in support as they looked to help develop what at that point seemed to be at least a 2 on 1 with the possibility to turn into a 3 on 1 in the direction of Reimer. As the play continued to develop, Krejci cut off the boards as both his line-mates pulled up allowing 2 leafs to get back to try to defend yet all the while opening up both Hornton right at the hash marks and an easy shooting lane for Krejci. Opting to try to eliminate the shot option, both leafs players made a cut towards the net allowing Krejci a quick pivot to Hornton who by way of an ever present pressure from behind muffed the shot failing to get it past Reimer yet still leaving the puck just sitting on top of the crease. Still very much in the play, Krejci spun towards the net right as Milan Luchic won a stick race to the loose puck and with Hornton on the ground, slid it to Krejci who had already begun to turn to face Reimer. Rotating out to a position about 10 feet out of the net, and with 3 out of 5 bruins all within about one stride of each other, Krejci fired through a screen and like his two team mates before him tallied his first goal of the 2013 NHL playoffs and in turn his 1st playoff goal since game 2 of last year 1st round loss to Washington.
Yet while Redden, Honrton, and Krejci all put the sting on the Leafs, no goal plunged a more painful dagger into the hearts of Toronto's team and fans the one scored with just over 4 minutes to go in the game. With the puck right at the Boston blue line Milan Luchic slid forward loosing the pass along to Krejci who was then waiting just over the half line. Taking it into possession, Krejci, recognizing the pressure of two Leafs defense men standing before him, and like he had for the Horton tip in earlier in the game, turned to his left simply leaving the puck for Johney Boychuk to skate into. From 60 feet out John Paul Boychuk slipped the shot off the cross bar blasting in Boston's 4th goal of the game and at that point sealing what was bound to be a decisive game on victory. But even then Boston was not done.
All season the Bruins front office and roster had been preaching the importance of a 60 minute effort, and with the exception of a select few contests the most prominent of which being a near 100 shot game with Ottawa back in March, Boston had really failed to manage that elusive "good win". Yet in their 49th game since the conclusion of this year's lockout the Bruins were in a position to finally snare that "good win" and, heck, after Boychuk sealed the deal with 4 minutes to go in the game, Boston was certainly not going to settle for a 56 minute effort. They drove to the end and even when the horn sounded, Boston worked hard to keep true the identity they have worked so hard to build. Literally as time expired, a small brush up between Frazer McClaren and Adam McQuaid quickly escalated to the point where Bruin skill player Chris Kelley dropped the gloves and started trading blows with Leo Komarov. Five Chris Kelley punches, and a barrage of Komarov fists on the top of Kelly's helmet, later, all other players had cleared the area and Leo Komarov had his sweater pulled over his head and Kelley stood completely unfazed by his first bout since March 21st of last year.
Call is what you will but Boston gave a 60 minute effort last night taking a veteran approach to playing a team literally with no veteran experiences. The last time the Toronto Maple Leafs made the playoffs before this season, was 2003 and really even with them well entwined in this season's post season tournament the Bruins raised a worlds of question going into game two. Is Phil Kessel really all that he is built up to be? Is James Reimer really a NHL class goalie? And above all, do the Toronto Maple Leafs really deserve to be in the 2013 NHL playoffs?
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