 |
| Nathan Horton is mobbed by his teammates after scoring the game-winning goal in double-overtime Saturday night. With the thrilling 2-1 victory in Game Five, the Bruins now lead the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals 3-2. |
In the 12th longest playoff game in team history, the never-say-die Bruins earned their hardest fought and most pivotal victory of the season, besting the pesky Canadiens 2-1 in a double-overtime nailbiter that will no doubt stand the test of time and be remembered for years to come.
Nathan Horton played the hero, banging home a loose puck in the crease past Habs netminder Carey Price for the game-winner at 9:03 of the second overtime to send the sell-out crowd of 17,565 at the TD Garden into a jubilant frenzy.
However, it was Tim Thomas who stole the victory for Boston, finishing with 44 saves including a handful of utterly spectacular stops late in the game when it mattered most.
The unbelievably clutch victory marks the third straight win for the Bruins, who now lead the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals 3-2. After holding a 2-0 series lead, the Canadiens now find themselves on the brink of elimination.
The Bruins will have a chance to close out the series Tuesday night in Montreal and make history of their own. After all, the Bruins have never overcome a two-games-to-none playoff hole (0-26 all-time).
And after their epic meltdown in the second round of the playoffs last season, you can bet Boston has their sights on eliminating Montreal in Game 6 before the Canadiens are able to entertain any thoughts of a comeback.
"I think we experienced that last year," head coach Claude Julien admitted after the game. "You don't want to bring it up, but we know how hard it is. We've got to go to Montreal knowing we've got to be ready. Montreal will come out and play the game of their lives."
After a scoreless first and second period in which Boston and Montreal exchanged a plethora of high-percentage scoring chances, Brad Marchand gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead less than five minutes into the third period when he buried a return feed down-low from Patrice Bergeron past Price.
However, displaying their resiliency, Montreal battled back and tied the score 1-1 with just over six minutes remaining in the third period when Jeff Halpern fired a wrister in-close past Thomas.
The game would remain tied throughout the first overtime and into the second. And with both teams playing at such a frenetic pace, including countless end-to-end rushes up ice, players on both sides began to wear down due to sheer exhaustion.
"We were getting very tired," said Brad Marchand after the game. "Guys were starting to cramp up. I'm pretty tired right now but it was a pretty special feeling being out there, very intense."
Then, less than six minutes into double-overtime Thomas made quite possibly the most outstanding save of his career. Leading a two-on-one break, Travis Moen fed Habs captain Brian Gionta all alone with a beautiful cross-ice feed near the hashmarks. At first glance, it appeared the game was over as Gionta corralled the puck and saw a wide-open net to shoot at. However, in his trademark unorthodox style, Thomas slid across the crease and made a spectacular left-pad save to keep Boston alive.
"My thought was just trying to get in on the net and get it over him," said Gionta, the former BC Eagle star. "He moves well side to side and he just read it."
"Save of the game," said Zdeno Chara. "Simple as that."
Horton, playing in his first career Stanley Cup playoff series, ended the game less than three minutes later when he buried home a rebound off a wrist shot from the point by defenseman Andrew Ference.
"I saw the rebound come out," said Horton. "It was like it was in slow motion. It was just sitting there."
Despite finishing with 49 saves, Price failed to make the one stop he needed to most.
"I saw a shot... It hit my pad... and they buried it."
Unlike last season's heart-wrenching playoff collapse, the Bruins rose to the occasion Saturday night, playing their best when the pressure was greatest.
"I felt confident," said Julien. "I liked our composure in overtime. We were making some strong plays. We didn't really panic."
In the end, Game 5 will live forever in the hearts and minds of Bruins fans as the tipping point in which our beloved Black and Gold stepped up and showed us exactly what they're made of.
They played passionate, prideful hockey for four and half periods and now lead the series 3-2 thanks to a pair of timely goals and a legendary performance from Thomas in net.
Enjoy the ride, Bruins fans.
Nights like these are truly as good as it gets.
"It's awesome," concluded Horton. "It's a great experience and you don't know until you're truly there, until you feel it, how exciting it is to be a hockey player."
No comments:
Post a Comment