Bruins DieHard: A Look Back At Stanley Cup Finals Game 1
VANCOUVER/BOSTON (CBS) - After viewing the carnage last night, and yes there was some carnage, from Wednesday's game one, it appears that the Bruins did almost everything they wanted… except win the game.
However, because when you are with friends and some adult beverages are involved, you don't remember everything you witnessed.
Boston allowed at least three clear, from the blue line breakaways in on Tim Thomas and he was outstanding on all of 'em. There were seven or eight deft tips of shots that Thomas was in perfect position or had to flash a pad on to keep the game scoreless. This cannot happen again because as we witnessed in earlier rounds, there will be more goals scored when you play with the kind of firepower the Vancouver Canucks supply.
Because talking about the power play is about as useless as it is in reality, I will say that I am not at all in favor of the Chara down low experiment. If this is going to continue, someone should tell him to block the goaltenders vision - not get out of the way and TRY to tip the puck. He looks like me trying to hit a Josh Beckett fastball. There is no way its going to happen. Ok enough on the embarrassing power play. Its simply amazing that they Bruins are about to play Game 20 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs and are an astonishing 5-for-67 on the PP.
Getting quality shots on Roberto Luongo is key for them going forward. Sure Luongo posted a shut out, but really, how many 10-bell saves did he have to make? It was like Tim Thomas in game seven against Tampa Bay. He made all the saves he was supposed to make and Boston let him off the hook with once again, too many shots to the crest that he gobbled up with no rebound. This is not going to make their job easier.
Since I said I wasn't going to say anything about the power play and then proceeded to write a paragraph on it, I'll do the same about the coach.
Claude Julien still manages to baffle me with some of the in-game things he does, or does not do. With 1;54 left in the third period, and a stoppage in play due to a Bruin icing, the Versus Camera showed Zdeno Chara and his mates exhausted and breathing heavily that's because it was the second consecutive icing in less than a minute. Time out right? Au contraire! Face off which the Bruins actually won but couldn't clear it out of the zone which resulted in the current 1-game to none deficit in the Cup Finals. These are the things that confound me about this coach that make you wonder what the hell is he thinking about at the right time. Oh by the way, he did call time out after the goal!
Good Grief! Exasperating!
The Bruins handled the Canucks and the pressure of their supposed vaunted Freaky Sedin twins for most of the game. But in that third period, they were worn down, did not have puck possession much and were back on their heels which put them into the position of icing the puck.
The Bruins need to leave British Columbia, with a win on Saturday.
Can they bounce back again like they have done pretty darn well all post season remains to be seen because the thought of them trying to come back from an 0-2 deficit against this team, may just be more than they and we can handle!
Go Bruins!
