Bruins respond to Horton cheap shot

Well, at least it's a series. Using extra incentive, the Bruins routed the Canucks 8-1 in Game Three at TD Garden last night. The eruption didn't get started until 11 seconds into the second when an Andrew Ference shot snuck past Roberto Luongo. Vancouver's Vezina candidate had previously been stellar in backstopping his club to a 2-0 series lead, permitting only two goals. However, it wasn't his night nor any other Canuck as they were badly outplayed by a determined bunch of Bruins, hell bent on sending a message following what happened in British Columbia.

As if it weren't enough that Max Lapierre mocked bite victim Patrice Bergeron during Game 2, the B's had even more reason to respond when Vancouver defenseman Aaron Rome delivered a late hit on an unsuspecting Nathan Horton, who laid motionless for several minutes. Horton had already released the puck a good second when Rome came from the blindside with a shoulder right to the jaw. The stunning cheap shot silenced a sellout crowd as Horton looked skyward. That it came so early was startling. Rome isn't a dirty player. Something Bobby Ryan noted today via Twitter. Unfortunately, he erred in judgment with the kind of late hit the league is looking to rid of. Not surprisingly, he was suspended four games, which if it went the distance, would mean the rest of the series. In the event it ends early, he'd serve out the rest next season.

The appropriate call was made with Rome ejected for a five minute interference major, which was installed last year. Down a man, the Bruins couldn't take advantage as their power play fizzled thanks to superb penalty killing and some timely stops from Luongo, who was sharp initially. He took away the low part of the net and had solid rebound control. Boston also overpassed, which allowed an already good Vancouver special teams to get the job done and build momentum. In fact, they took the play to the B's the last half of the first, forcing Tim Thomas to come up with a few sparklers, including a kickout and cat-like glove.

Following his team's eruption that saw them score four apiece in the second and third, Claude Julien noted that he didn't say anything different than usual to his desperate team at intermission. The veteran coach felt his club was lacking emotion and inserted popular enforcer Shawn Thornton for rookie Tyler Seguin. The move worked with the 14-year vet sparking the B's with solid work over nine shifts (5:50), delivering a crunching hit and even drawing a penalty when he forced Luongo to deny a bid. Naturally, with all the bad blood, once Boston put it away it turned nasty and Thornton was there to protect teammates.

If Vancouver did everything right the first two in holding serve, that team was nowhere to be found, often leaving Luongo to fend for himself. The best D in the game didn't show and lost focus in a penalty marred game that included five game misconducts with the teams combining for 125 PIM with most of it in garbage time. It even saw the tame Daniel Sedin assessed a misconduct following a wild scrum involving Bite Gate extraordinaire Alex Burrows, who went to the ice a little too easy from a shove following a slash, infuriating Milan Lucic, who challenged him. Of course, the Game 2 hero chickened out hiding behind the stripes. Lucic also lost his cool waving his finger right into Lapierre's mug during another scrum that saw the antagonist tossed. He was chastised by Julien along wiht 43 year-old vet Mark Recchi for shenanigans and later critiqued himself for sinking to Lapierre's level. During the chaos, Ryan Kesler took on Dennis Seidenberg following some cheap stuff, which saw both gone.

Speaking of Recchi, the ageless warrior who just ended a scoring drought, was again involved- tallying twice to eclipse his three round total (2) in just three games of the chippy Stanley Cup Final. On the 25 Year Anniversary of the Cam Neely trade, who the Canucks ironically gave up on, the Bruins turned back the clock to whip the President's Trophy winners. Once Ference broke through, the black and gold seized control with Recchi centering a pass off Ryan Kesler's stick for a power play goal, marking the second consecutive game Boston's power play scored. Before the onslaught, Lucic took his second undisciplined minor giving Vancouver a chance to get back in it. Instead, an unbelievable individual effort from rookie Brad Marchand resulted in the goal of the series. Stealing the puck at his own blueline, the speedy penalty killer slipped around three Canucks and then completely undressed Luongo, deking and going forehand top shelf for an unassisted goal that blew off the roof.

Finally with some breathing room, the B's didn't sit back with David Krejci adding to it when he took a Michael Ryder backdoor feed and beat Luongo in front. The four-goal explosion left questions as to whether Luongo would return for the third. Surprisingly, he did. It only got worse as Boston wasn't done, putting another four spot on the helpless Canadian hero in the second part of the third. With his team on another power play, Daniel Paille powered past ex-Isle Jeff Tambellini and beat Luongo thru the wickets for 5-zip with 8:22 left. Tambellini had a brutal game, also in the box when Recchi notched his first of the night.

Though Jannik Hansen broke up Thomas' shutout after slashing Krejci and then burying a Raffi Torres feed, even in a blowout the Vezina frontrunner was outstanding, finishing with 40 saves. Vancouver certainly got scoring chances but the athletic 37 year-old vet wouldn't allow them to think comeback. As a matter of fact, Thomas has allowed four goals on 108 shots thus far. Given his brilliant play throughout the postseason, you can make the argument that win or lose, he's the leading Conn Smythe candidate. We'll see how it plays out.

After Recchi finished off his second off a great pass from Marchand, it escalated with Ference and Kevin Bieksa trading barbs before getting the final couple of minutes off. With what was left of the Canuck bench going through the motions, Chris Kelly and Ryder added insult to injury to mercifully conclude the scoring. Even Tomas Kaberle got on the score sheet.

The madness certainly was entertaining but I doubt a seven-goal rout was what Versus had in mind following a much lower rated Game 2 that went to sudden death. I guess scheduling even on NBC for a June Saturday was a mistake. Be that as it may, this is a very fun series with plenty of intensity. These teams don't like each other and it should only intensify when they take the ice for Game 4 tomorrow night in Beantown.

As for the Rome suspension, I've seen some fans argue that it wasn't that bad. I wouldn't necessarily call it blatant. But he did cross the line, which is why rules on late hits are in place. This isn't a repeat offender. Just a kid who made a mistake and probably feels badly for Horton, who luckily was moving all extremenities as he was carried off the ice and rushed to the hospital. We sure hope the ex-Panther will be okay. For Alain Vigneault, he can dig into reserve and reinsert vet Keith Ballard, who might be an upgrade. The Canucks are without Dan Hamhuis, which hurts strong blueline that still features Christian Ehrhoff, Alex Edler, Bieksa and Sami Salo. However, they're already using ex-Bruin Andrew Alberts. So, Ballard could prove vital if he gets in. Meanwhile, figure Seguin to take the place of Horton leaving Thornton in as an energizer.

It all sets up a pivotal Game 4. Don't miss it!

Flyers Make History: Thirty Five Years is all it took

Who says History can't be made? It would be easy to give the Flyers all the kudos for a remarkable comeback that kinda makes up for 2004. But hey. Who are we kidding? So, without further due:

Congratulations Boston Bruins on making the wrong kind of headlines. Claude Julien. You and your Jacques Lemaire-esque system are indeed HISTORY.

Why do dinosaurs like CJ, JL and Ken Hitchcock still exist? I've echoed it many times. But in today's New NHL, no lead is ever safe. The playoffs are a different animal. Credit Philly for never giving up thanks to a good coach in Peter Laviolette who plays more aggressively. The best thing that ever happened to them was firing John Stevens. Then of course Simon Gagne playing the hero, with a Game 4 sudden death winner in his first game back from a broken bone in his right foot. Then scoring three more times, including the dramatic power play series clincher- cashing in on a Boston bench minor for too many men. You GOTTA BE KIDDING.

No Jeff Carter. No Ian Laperriere. Brian Boucher goes down. Michael Leighton returns and gives up the first three after permitting only one goal on his first 45. No problem. Laviolette calls a timeout and the Flyers regroup thanks to 21 year-old Jersey native James Van Riemsdyk, who scored the biggest goal before the end of the first that gave them life. Incredible poise shown by the rookie who hadn't done much. He saved his team. Then Scott Hartnell, Daniel Briere and Gagne did the rest. Four goals in four games for Simon, who's never played better. And Briere scoring money goals finally earning that paycheck with Carter out and Claude Giroux disappearing. An awful lot of H-E-A-R-T was shown by the guys in white, orange and black. They never gave up. If only a couple of other teams here had remembered that.

Outstanding work Philadelphia. And of course ditto for their eighth seeded opponent the Canadiens, who've slayed the Caps and Pens in seven. Btw...the Flyers' miraculous victory from three down and three back improved road teams to a perfect 4-0 in Game 7's this postseason. Remarkable. Hasan's said it plenty. Home ice just ain't the same. If you get a chance to put a team away, you better stomp on them. Boston just couldn't and were never the same after David Krejci's injury. Zero excuses. The Flyers were banged up and still got it done, making history.

1942 Toronto Maple Leafs
1975 New York Islanders
2010 Philadelphia Flyers

History Made.

A seven versus eight for the chance to play for Lord Stanley in what was believed to be a four-horse race. Somebody forgot to tell the Flyers and Canadiens, who just slipped into the playoffs the final weekend. Postseason is all about determination. Who wants it? Somewhere, the frontrunners lost their focus. This has been an extraordinary Spring. Now, we get a Conference Final nobody had unless you lived in Philly and Montreal. One will advance to meet the winner of a more traditional 1/2 between San Jose and Chicago. Great theatre.

Finally, we feel for Bruin fans. Kudos to them for continuing to support their team even when Gagne scored the fourth unanswered. They did their part, trying to rally their team. Unfortunately, the fans at TD Garden suffered the same cruel fate those at the old Stadium did six years ago to a Boston team. Irony. The fans have to be incredibly disappointed. Hey. At least ya still got the Celtics!

Random thoughts

Since I'm not able to go to tonight's Thrashing of the Rangers (yeah that's what I said), I figured what better time than now to give you the hockey fan some of my total randomness. In no particular order:

1.When is the NHL going to stop allowing their star players to walk all over them? No. We're not talking about Gary Bettman's new CBA with a rising cap where teams are panicking and signing their own players to ridiculously long contracts. What I am referring to is the latest news about the upcoming All-Star Game in Atlanta.

Why should a star player such as Martin Brodeur be allowed to miss a game which is for the fans? You think he's going to miss any upcoming starts between tonight in Philadelphia when he does what he usually does to them and Sunday?!?!?!?!?! It is an absolute joke that the league doesn't step in and do the right thing by the fans who want to see the league's marquee stars lace'em up in a fun-filled skills competition.

Unless you're out with an excuse (injury, family crisis, health issue), it should be your obligation to take part in the All-Star Game. Especially if your own fans voted you in as a starter. Brodeur is still the best netminder in the conference and plenty of people want to see him. Even now as the three-time Vezina and Cup winner gets older, the Montreal native is still one of the NHL's biggest stars. Someone who is marketable and treats fans and writers alike with nothing but class. No.30 should be in net for that first period in Atlanta. No if's, and's or buts.

That also means you Roberto Luongo! The fans deserve to see the Vancouver netminder at the opposite end of the rink against Marty. The fact that the two league's top goalies were elected and won't participate for unknown reasons looks bad. They're what this game should be about.

This goes for any player who is elected. Unfortunately, the league already lost their most identifiable star in Sidney Crosby due to a high ankle sprain which appears will keep the 2006-07 Hart winner out at least six weeks. And losing one of the bright young stars out West in Paul Stastny due to injury doesn't help much. Neither does one of the game's best players in Henrik Zetterberg for no other apparent reason than wanting to rest due to recurring back spasms.


If the league wants to be taken seriously, put out the best players for this game and make it a priority. The encouraging news is at least Evgeni Malkin replaced Crosby and Tim Thomas is now in place of Brodeur. The surprising Boston No.1 goalie certainly was worthy of making it.

On the other side, Corey Perry and Mike Ribeiro will get to take part. They certainly both belong. Scott Niedermayer was also tabbed probably as a league selection due to his veteran status. He certainly hasn't disappointed since returning to the defending champion Ducks posting 11 points in 17 games and helping lead his team to the top of the Pacific.


2.Hell or high water, Tom Renney has to go. His message clearly isn't getting through anymore to the underachieving Blueshirts. There's little effort. No discipline. And zero accountability. The affable coach is good at analyzing the team's problems. The problem is he never punishes his best players and that's not a good recipe for success. This team is severely lacking and has become softer than a box of Twinkies.

If the Ranger organization wants to save their season, they must bring in a tough cop. Pat Burns would be perfect. So too would John Tortorella if he ever gets fired down in Tampa. It's more likely that Jim Schoenfeld takes over if the Rangers don't get a win tonight or on Brian Leetch night against Atlanta.

3.Speaking of which, how is it possible that the Rangers host the Thrashers twice in a row??? What are the schedule makers doing? If it were a traditional home-and-home like the games against the Bruins, that would make more sense. Give both fanbases a chance to see a rivalry formulate.

4.Rookie Nicklas Backstrom continues to play extremely well on the resurgent Caps who now are over .500 and just three points behind first place Carolina and the eighth seeded Islanders. The former 2006 Caps' fourth overall selection became the first rookie in league history to record back-to-back four assist games. He assisted on four Washington goals in a come from behind 6-5 shootout win over Pittsburgh last night. With nine goals and a team-leading 31 helpers, his 40 points place him second to only Chicago rookie forward Patrick Kane, who has 45 points (12-33-45).

Backstrom's strong play along with NHL-leading goalscorer Alexander Ovechkin (38 goals), the reemergence of Alexander Semin (5 goals in last four contests) and Mike Green (14-16-30; 14 pts in last 10 GP) have Bruce Boudreau's Caps thinking playoffs.

5.Now that John Ferguson, Jr.'s finally been giving his walking papers in Toronto, when does the Original Six franchise realize their problems are a lot more than just one executive???

6.Can anyone think of any good reason how Mats Sundin was passed over for the East?

7.If he gets the Bruins in the playoffs despite no Patrice Bergeron and other regulars out, does former Devil coach Claude Julien win the Jack Adams?

8.Tomas Vokoun's a good goalie but he's not better than Florida captain Olli Jokinen.

9.Remember when Bill Guerin was a bad move for the Islanders? How's that turning out?

10.Speaking of which, Dainius Zubrus: 47 games, seven goals. He's still got another five years left on his deal in New Jersey. Somehow, the Devils are still winning games. Brodeur and first-year coach Brent Sutter are the biggest reasons why.