In game one of the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals the Bruins cruised to an easy 4-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes. Leaving off where they embarassed Carolina during the regular season winning all four games against each other with the Bruins outscoring Caroline 18-6. However, Sunday night in Boston was a different story. I was lucky enough to be at game 2 of the Eastern Conference semi-finals sitting six rows back watching my beloved Bruins frustration first hand. The Hurricanes absolutley shut down the Bruins in the nuetral zone. They were intercepting every pass, making sure no offense was generated. It was frustrating watching the game because I knew excatly how the B's felt. Carolina's game plan was to shut down any offense and play a sound game defensively. They did just that.
Cam Ward stopped all 36 shots that the Bruins threw at him. He didn't have to make many big saves until the third period when the Bruins desperation kicked into high gear. The B's outshot Carolina 16-3 in the third period and still could not get anything past Ward. It looked like the old Cam Ward from the Stanley Cup Champion Carolina Hurricanes in 2005-2006. The goals Carolina scored were sub par and you really can not blame Thomas for any of them. Carolina added an empty net goal in the final 15 seconds of the game to put the icing on the cake. The Bruins got away from their tenacious forechek and physical play and let Carolina off the hook easy in their defensive zone. Carolina is a good team with smart defensmen and a great goalie, but in order for the Bruins to take this series, they need to get back to simple hockey. They need to play their game forecheck hard and keep the puck out of their defensive zone. Game three is going ot be very intersting in Carolina on Wednesday night.
Dave Pazzaglia
ReplyDeleteI have to agree Jason, although I didn't have the luxury to witness the game first hand it was quite frustrating on TV as well. It seemed the Bruins just weren't playing with the tenasity that has led them to so much success. There lack of physical play and poor defensive coverage was a big reason why Ward looked to be back to his old ways. Although the Bruins outshot Carolina in the third it was too little too late for the Bruins. Unfortunately now for Boston Cam Ward has found a bit of rhythm as you noticed. We can only hope this doesn't lead to the way he was playing in 2005-2006 when they won the Stanley Cup riding him to victory.
The good news is we all knew the Bruins would have to lose a playoff game. The Bruins had won their first five games and it's inevitable to drop one. "If we thought we were going through here 16-0, we’re kidding ourselves, and it’s a big test for us now," Boston defenseman Aaron Ward said. Boston had won five-straight games against Carolina, dating back to the regular season, and had outscored the Hurricanes 22-7 in the process -- including a dominating effort in Game 1, a 4-1 victory on Friday. If this is any indication of what is to come I think we will see a fiery team in game three with a different outcome so stay tuned!