Boston Bruins

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Oh and not sure how I missed this image from the last round but it is so great I had to post it anyway:

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Sorry guys, the usual business on the weekend, no time for a full write up.

How bad did it suck to watch Burrows have such a huge impact on the game? Yes he should have been suspended, but there is no point in whining about it. Suck it up buttercup and move on. Get your revenge on the ice.

Lucic looked more lively than we've seen him all playoffs. I predict the game winner from him tonight.

Anyways, just remember, we came back from 2-0 against one speedy canadian team this post-season, we can do it again.

In the spirit of going home for Game 3, enjoy the following video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtCAhb5QGSo

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An interesting snippet from Elliotte Friedman's 30 Thoughts column:

The Bruins used a couple of motivational techniques before Game 7 against Tampa. Mark Recchi and Shawn Thornton brought in their Stanley Cup rings to show teammates. ("Mark and I had talked about when was the right time to do it," Thornton said. "But I left it up to him to decide.") Then, Thornton and Shane Hnidy put up pictures of the Bruins last victory - 1972. Claude Julien really credited them for doing that.

Goes to show you how valuable guys like that can be even when they aren't playing. Thornton is one of the most valuable guys on the team. I would love to see them scratch Seguin and insert him tonight. Won't happen. Really though, Thornton playing 12 minutes in defensive situations is better than limiting Seguin to 6 minutes of ice-time in a game.

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This is wrong... just plain wrong:



For you young'uns out there, that is New Kids On The Block sporting Bruins jerseys. There should be a law against that.

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Wow, where to start, what a game! Through the last two periods, the Bruins showed just what they are capable of. They physically dominated and lit Luongo up like Charlie Sheen on Monday afternoon.

So let's get right to some thoughts on the game.

Happy Birthday #8
The Bruins scored 8 goals on Cam Neely's birthday and the 25th anniversary of his trade from Vancouver to Boston, could it get any sweeter than that?

A few funny things about the score:

-8 goals for #8 Cam Neely
-1-8 final score as well as Horton's jersey number, a small compensation for the injured winger.
-Looking at it from the other angle 8-1, a fitting F-You to a player whose selfishness could have set the Bruins back had they not traded him (this one is just for you praba :P )

Luongo shaken
I can understand leaving Luongo in for goal #5, maybe even #6. You have to show confidence in your number one goalie. Apparently Vigneault asked him if he wanted to sit, Luongo of course said "no".

I believe a 5-1 loss would have led to a bounce back game by the Canucks netminder. However, an 8-1 loss could seriously damage his confidence. If the Bruins can net a quick one in Game 4, it will open the floodgates and we'll be heading back to the west coast all tied up.

Last night Boston took Luongo's confidence and had it hung, drawn, and quartered! And whipped! And boiled...until...until...until he'd had enough. And then they did it again! And when he thought they'd finished they took all the little bits, and they JUMPED on them! And they will carry on jumping on them until they get blisters, or they can think of anything even more unpleasant to do.

Special Teams
The Boston Bruins incompetent powerplay managed to let a 5-minute major go by without a goal in the first period. They proceeded to silence their critics (myself included) with 2 goals on their remaining 3 powerplays.

Boston also managed to kill off all eight of the Vancouver PPs. The Canucks have the best man advantage in the league. Do not overlook this accomplishment. While scoring eight goals is a huge confidence boost, this may be an even bigger one.

The stats this series now, Boston 3-13, Vancouver 1-16. Nobody could have possibly predicted this. If Boston can keep shutting down Vancouver and can cut their PIMs down a bit, they can outright win this thing.

The Hit
The hit by Rome was a dirty one, no question about it. I don't understand how anyone can look at it any other way.

• Late - By almost a full second. Granted, that's not a lot of time given the speed of the game, but people have been suspended for less. Rome had the chance to let up.
• Blindside - Not really. It was pretty much a North-South hit, so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt on that one.
• Head Shot - Yes, undoubtedly. Did he mean to hit him in the head? Only Rome knows the answer to that. Perhaps he thought Horton would look up and adjust. Regardless, if he should have been aiming for where his chest was, not where he thought Horton might adjust to take the hit.
• Left His Feet - It can clearly be seen that Rome leaves his feet. Neither blade is on the ice by a good 4-6 inches.

Have a look at the video and see if I covered all the bases, if you pause at 0:21, you can clearly see that his skates are off the ice :
http://video.nhl.com/videocenter/con...d=15&id=117167

Will there be a suspension? Who knows? I'm sure that no matter where the Wheel of Justice lands, no one is going to be fully satisfied.

I will share this tweet from DGB last night though:

DownGoesBrown
That absolutely has to be a suspension on Aaron Rome, no question. So, congratulations to Aaron Rome on scoring the winning goal next game.

Thornton vs Seguin
When Horton went down, everyone was screaming that this is why Seguin should be in the lineup. Don't get me wrong, I love Seguin. But the Bruins didn't need his offense last night.

What they did need was Thornton's leadership and work ethic. He battled hard along the boards, made sure the Vancouver players didn't take too many liberties and showed exactly why he has a Stanley cup ring.

If Horton is out, we will get to see both these players in action. Maybe we finally see Seguin get top-6 minutes (doubtful) and he can really shine. As long as he keeps his defensive liabilities to a minimum, or offsets them with some offensive displays, he will be just fine.

I for one am very happy Shawn was back in the lineup last night.

Referee Bias

I'm so sick of everyone arguing that the ref's are favoring one team or the other. They make and miss calls with both teams. It is infuriating, but it's going to happen in a fast paced game.

Also, perhaps there should have been more calls in Vancouver's favor last night, even though they got 8 of them. However, I point you to the old fable of "The Boy Who Cried Wolf". I think we all remember the moral from that one.

Best Hit of the Game
Tim Thomas on Daniel Sedin, no doubt about it. No one seems to know if it was legal or not, but man was it ever pretty!

Overall
I think Boston really showed what they can accomplish when they play with passion and heart. If they can keep that up, they can dominate the rest of the series. This means not taking a shift off and going out to play old-time Bruins hockey. Hit them, make them pay in the corners and wear them down.

Are they going to win every game 8-1? No, but they have shown that they are very capable of handling the Canucks. Boston is now the only team to win a game in this series handily. The first 2 could go either way but they went to Vancouver. Let's go out and show them who the better team actually is.

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I know many of you didn't like the Bruins giving Lapierre and Burrows a taste of their own medicine last night, especially after Julien's pre-game comments. However, I laughed every time I saw it. Emotions got the best of both teams last night and the Bruins got an earful from Julien in the locker room after the game.

Regardless, I still think this is hilarious. I'm actually surprise Looch didn't lose a finger here though.

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Breaking news... Boston reporters are saying it's a severe concussion for Horton.

Get well soon bud. You were instrumental in getting us to this point.

[MoreCanadianTeams]

As much as I want to rip your posts apart I instead must give credit.

Good points from a fan perspective and as I mentioned in the series thread, I'm happy for the TD garden faithful who paid top $ for tickets to the game.

I disagree with your thoughts on Lou though and am confident he will bounce back strong, though that that piece you wrote there was really funny. As for Thomas, he's my favorite goalie to watch and is only second to Price as my favorite playing in the NHL. I know the score doesn't indicate it, but I felt Tim stifled what could have been a comeback when the Canucks came on in latter part of the 2nd.

As for Horton, tough to see him go out like that after he seemed to have finally shed the Florida malaise.

Here's to hoping for a great game 4.

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As much as I want to rip your posts apart I instead must give credit.

Good points from a fan perspective and as I mentioned in the series thread, I'm happy for the TD garden faithful who paid top $ for tickets to the game.

I disagree with your thoughts on Lou though and am confident he will bounce back strong, though that that piece you wrote there was really funny. As for Thomas, he's my favorite goalie to watch and is only second to Price as my favorite playing in the NHL. I know the score doesn't indicate it, but I felt Tim stifled what could have been a comeback when the Canucks came on in latter part of the 2nd.

As for Horton, tough to see him go out like that after he seemed to have finally shed the Florida malaise.

Here's to hoping for a great game 4.

Haha, thanks man, even though we are enemies right now.

I think Luongo is screwed for Game 4 if Boston can pot one early. Especially if it's a weak goal.

That being said, if he has a strong first period, it could give him the confidence boost for a bounce-back shut-out.

Obviously, I'm hoping for the former

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In case you missed it in the ramblings, here's a great History Will Be Made video featuring our Bruins.

History is Back In Boston
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIyKj...layer_embedded

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A very classy History Will Be Made Video about the 8-1 win the other night.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-z9cN...layer_embedded

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Not usually a fan of anything on Sportsnet but Brophy has a great read on Shawn Thornton and his role in the final:

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/2011/...y_on_thornton/

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Well, tonight we head back to Boston for Game 6... I think this image sums up what we are all hoping for:



I would absolutely love to watch Thornton tear Burrows or Yapierre apart.

[tgraveline]

We saw another good game. Here's to hoping they beat those evil 'nucks and stick it to them in their own rink. Timmy Thomas for President!

[4T2]

We saw another good game. Here's to hoping they beat those evil 'nucks and stick it to them in their own rink. Timmy Thomas for President!

Screw president... Tim Thomas for God!