Bruins Show Their Mettle and Force Game 7!

Bruins Show their Mettle and Even Series at 3!

What is the hardest thing to do in sports? The hardest thing is to win the 4th game of a Best of 7 Series.
The Canes looked like a shaken group in the beginning of the first period falling behind 2-0.
The Boston Bruins were just better tonight. They showed why they were the best team in the Eastern Conference all season long. They must love their chances at a Game 7 at home on Thursday Night.
Marc Recchi opened the scoring when Nic Wallin tried pinching in the Bruins Zone early in the first period. Wallin was caught off guard and Patrice Bergeron (2 Assists) fed a nice pass across the crease to Recchi who had basically a tap in to make it 1-0 Boston. Bergeron had a very strong game in my opinion. Just over 3 minutes later, Steve Montador scored on a nice slap shot from just above the right circle. Cam Ward was screened big time by Byron Bitz with his 6 foot 5 frame. After Boston took this lead Carolina tried to respond but Thomas would have none of that. He stopped Eric Staal on a a nice feed from Erik Cole. Carolina outshot the Bruins 11-9 in the first period but the Bruins had the better of the chances.

In the second period, the Canes did cut the lead to 2-1 when Matt Cullen was set up by Scott Walker on a nice feed in front of Thomas. Cullen has had a very solid series for the Canes. About 6 minutes later Milan Lucic made a very strong play at the blue line and had three Hurricanes following him. He then fed a nice cross ice pass to a wide open Marc Savard to make it 3-1 Bruins. Lucic has been one of the best Bruins two way players this entire series. He is never afraid to throw his weight around and has chipped in with 2 goals and 3 assists in this series. I have watched every minute of this series and the Canes always know when he is on the ice due to his 6 foot 4 frame. People have compared him to Bruins great Cam Neely and usually I have thought that was a bit premature. In Lucic's defense, he is only 20 years old and should improve again next year. I would peg him for 25-30 goals and his big physical play will always make him a favorite in Boston, rightly so. Later on in the period Matt Cullen got a partial breakaway when the Bruins were on the power play. Tim Thomas came up bit to keep the game at 3-1. For the rest of the period, the Bruins owned the play. With about 2 minutes left in the period Patrice Bergeron, who also has had a good quiet two way series, fed a beautiful pass to Chuck Kobasew (1 goal, 1 assist) to make it 4-1 Bruins. Carolina did outshoot Boston 8-6 in this period but quality over quantity I say.

For the third period the Canes did come out with some sustained pressure on Tim Thomas. At 7:20 Sergei Samsonov did cut the lead to 4-2 when shoveling a backhander past Thomas. Eric Staal and Tim Gleason did get the assists. For the rest of the period, Tim Thomas (31 saves) did a wonderful job at keeping this game a 2 goal cushion for the Bruins. Right after Samsonov scored, Dennis Wideman shot the puck over the glass to put Carolina on the power play. Thomas stood his ground and got his glove on an Eric Staal shot right out in front. With about 7 minutes left in the 3rd period, Thomas again made a wonderful save on Matt Cullen when he was set up by Walker. After this save you just knew that it was Boston's night. Carolina did outshoot Boston 14-4 in the 3rd period and 33 to 19 overall.

The Bruins proved that you don't have to play an ascetically perfect game to win. They built a lead and were very good at protecting it with Thomas being the best at protecting the lead for Boston. The Bruins have shown tremendous character, guts and desire in winning the last 2 games. Can they continue this? Most experts would think so. I have to say that they have all the momentum and should be a very confident team, however, hockey is a funny game, sometimes just when you think something is a sure thing, it seems to not be sometimes. A hot goalie can sometimes steal a game. You don't play the games on paper, you play them on the ice. I admit being a Canes fan and was very disheartened with this game. For Carolina to have any chance at all in Boston, they MUST score first and then gain some confidence and try to match Bostons play. I will not predict anything but I just hope to be fully entertained in Game 7, like I was in the last series when the Canes shocked me by upsetting NJ with a miracle finish. Only time will tell, but no matter what the outcome is, I will be honest and tell you what I think I saw. Thank you all for taking the time to read this. I enjoy writing about hockey and sports in general and to the few that read this, I hope I painted an accurate picture of what happened.