As a Bruins fan preparing myself for the impending Stanley Cup rematch that will occur on Sunday, I felt the indecipherable urge to revisit the day this game will hopefully provide answer two. That day, those questions, those 17 seconds broke the hearts of every Bruins fans the world over while shocking and delighting those who simply love the sports of hockey.
As a Bruins fan, I myself remember it clearly. As the game wound to a close, the 2-1 lead currently held by the Bruins seemed solace enough for most reasonable humans to believe that the game would end that way. Bruins win and off we go to Chicago for the Bruins second Stanley Cup Game Seven in 3 seasons. But that was not the case. There I was, a sneaky grin tracing my face as I counted down he seconds, 1:30, 1:29. The goalie was pulled with 1:27 left in the game and I knew that one clear break past the offensive blue line from the Bruins would seal the game. But we never got the puck that far.
Instead the Bruins chased the puck into the corner with 1:21 to go in the game. By 1:18 though, the Hawks had dug it out and suddenly, there was Johnathan Towes marching strong towards the net with 3 Blackhawks there charging a disoriented Tuukka Rask. As Towes pounded the net, deflections were made and in the blink of an eye, the game was tied. 1:16 to go and this game was tied, I was shocked but even then I never guessed for a second what might happen next.
After the Bruins won the ensuing draw, Patrick Sharp took the puck as his own blue line with nothing peculiar going on regarding the positioning of the players on the ice. To that point there was 1:12 left in the game and it has been 4 seconds since the Bickal's game tying goal. Sharp however turned up ice and fired the puck into a pile of 3 teammates one of which was Johnny Oduya. 1:06 left in the game, 8 seconds since the Bickal goal. With 1:03 left Oduya let his shot go and forced a long rebound off of Rask's pad and back to the blue line. Now the game clock read 1:01. Michal Frolik let a shot go and once again it bounced off Tuukka Rask's pad, only this time there was someone there to bang it in. With 58.3 seconds left in the Game, the goal was scored, the deal was done and so, a 3-2 Blackhawks lead had Boston in a state of shock. One word that seems fit to describe the feelings Bruins fans felt at that moment. Disbelief.
As we awoke that morning the Boston Bruins and their fans knew that the 17 seconds separating those 2 goals would forever live in hockey history as a comeback even better than the one the Bruins had built up just over a month earlier solely because instead of winning a series, 17 seconds won the Cup. 17 seconds ruined a run and yet as we worked so dearly to distance ourselves from that dreadful day, we managed to forget it replacing those memories with those of Reilly Smith stealing the show and Tuukka Rask playing with Vesna like talent.
When the Bruins step into the United Center Sunday afternoon however, the Blackhawks fans will not be so courteous in respecting our selective forgetfulness. As Boston returns to the home base of the perpetrators who committed that miracle that felt more like a crime to Bruins fans this game however stinging the "We Got the Cup" or "17 Second" sing song chants may be, if the Bruins can get a win, if the Bruins can beat up the Blackhawks in their own building, just like the Hawks did to them than it will be the greatest healing potion this team could drink.
A win, 1 win over 3600 seconds rather than 17 will add 2 points to this Bruins tally and above all prove that they remain an elite team. 1 win and 1 win only against this 1 team in this 1 city will ignite a fire in the Boston Bruins that may lead them to greatness as well as igniting that same fire that led the Blackhawks themselves to this great start in the wake of their Cup win. Frankly, it is a wonder what even a normal run of the mill win can do for a team. It is truly magical what a win in a game like this could do. What the Bruins need to do is forget 17 seconds and focus on those 3600 that will be the only thing that matters on Sunday and if they can do that than they will be the team that swept the Penguins last season and has dominated this league for so long.
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