| 17 April 2009
The good start, the two-goal lead, the momentum of the TD Banknorth Garden home crowd - all gone in the second period when the Bruins got off their game.
"We did stop," said Aaron Ward. "That's what got us in trouble in the second period. We stopped playing our system with the effort and level of intensity. We sat and watched them play a perimeter game, run us around, and when a team does that in the playoffs, it's hard to push back."
With the score tied, 2-2, in the third period, the Bruins got the break they needed when defenseman Josh Gorges was nailed for cross-checking. On the power play, Zdeno Chara brought the hammer down on one of his trademark one-time point sizzlers to beat goalie Carey Price for the winning goal. Phil Kessel added an empty-net goal with 13.4 seconds remaining to give the Bruins a 4-2 win before 17,565 and a 1-0 lead in the first-round series.
"We came out, played well, and got the momentum back on our side," said coach Claude Julien. "It's always important in a 2-2 game to play to win. This is what it's all about. You can't play on your heels. I thought our energy level had dropped a little bit in the second period, and that hurt us. But I liked the way we responded in the third."
Bottom Line: The B's have home ice througout and they need to use it to their advantage. Winning game one is huge, but heading to Montreal with a 2-0 lead would be even better. I'm also loving that this game, just like the last regular season match-up, ended with and after the wistle scuffle... look for the Habs to get chippy in Game 2 if the Bruins go up early.
Game 2 is Saturday at 8:00PM... be there or be square!
ps. If you're a Bruins fan... you probably want one of these awesome Bruins T-shirts we're selling here at The Bottom Line Store... click HERE to learn more!
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