Bruins wrap up the Wings in 5 Games
There was no messing around this time.
The Boston Bruins had a 3-1 series lead last year against Toronto and ended up getting pushed to the brink in a Game 7. They learned their lesson on how quickly a series can turn around. Not this time. This time they took care of business in a workman-like way. It was a solid effort on both ends of the ice. No drama, no surprises, and best of all, nobody got hurt.
” I think we were able to fight through and start playing our game and dictating the pace,” said Milan Lucic. “It was great having all different kinds of guys stepping up at different times in this series.”
After disposing of the Detroit Red Wings in five games, the B’s can now put their feet up for few days before they face their next opponent in round 2. Detroit did the best with what they had- but they were no match for a goaltender that is laser focused, a power play that is starting to smoke, and a penalty kill that doesn’t bend.
“The penalty kill is huge for us,” Tory Krug said. ” Anytime you have a goalie like Tuukka in there you’re penalty kill is going to very strong. Those guys did a great job. This series was huge for us. It’s important that when we got those chances we came out flying and were able to capitalize.”
Tuuka Rask continues to shine. The golden goaltender did everything short of scoring a goal. Tuukka Terrific assisted on the first goal of the game scored by Loui Eriksson on the power play. After the game Rask credited the the defense in front of him.
” It was great. It was great throughout the series, I don’t think we had too many breakdowns, ” Rask said. “We gave them a few chances but really, really good effort from everybody. We’ve got to keep that kind of effort going.”
The Red Wings were not going down easy. Pavel Datsyuk made it 1-1 with a power play goal just over 5 minutes left in the second period. The Bruins answered back with 4 seconds left in the period when Zdeno Chara blasted one past one past Jonas Gustavsson on a four on four. The shot looked a lot like the one in Chara’s commercial where he takes the goalie’s head off.
“We won the battle for the puck and Bergy (Patrice Bergeron) just showed how quickly he can see the opening and made a really great pass to me,” said Chara. ” I mean it was emotional. It was a big game and a big goal. So, I’m not afraid to show it.”
Milan Lucic snapped in a Krug give at 4:27 in the third to put the Bruins up 3-1. It was Lucic’s third goal of the series. No matter what they said back in Motown, Lucic does not “suck.”
” I just blocked everything out and started moving my feet more,” said Lucic. ” So once you stop over thinking things I think the confidence starts to kick in and the instincts start to kick in.”
Detroit kept fighting to the end. With 3:52 left in the game Henrik Setterberg beat Rask to make it a one goal game. Then they took at too many men on the ice penalty. Game over.
The Bruins looked good in this series. Their goaltender looked great. They got some nice energy out of their 4th line which is alway a good sign. They look like a team ready to go the distance.
“We take a lot of pride in trying to work and compete and just battle,” said Jarome Inginla. ” It’s definitely one of the best teams I’ve been on, but it’s one round and we’re not going to get carried away or anything. Montreal is next, but it feels good today.”
Meanwhile, north of the border the Canadiens are waiting. Their fans are salivating. And the Bruins once again will become the hated enemy.
” We know what they’ve got, they know what we’ve got, so it’s always a huge battle against them,” said Bergeron. ” There’s a lot of history between both teams so it’s going to be fun to be a part of it.”
Yes, it will be fun. Sacrebleau! Here come the Habs.
