59 minutes and 41 seconds were what it took to decide the outcome of Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Vancouver Canucks and the Boston Bruins at Rogers Arena.
The first two periods saw a total of 12 power plays. Both Roberto Luongo and Tim Thomas were human shields, stopping a combined total of 46 shots through the first forty minutes.
It took an empty net for someone to score, and that’s exactly what Ryan Kesler, Jannik Hansen, and Raffi Torres did with 20 seconds left in the game. Just as fans were thinking the game was going to go into overtime, Kesler managed to grab a pass from Kevin Bieksa. Getting the puck in the zone he passed to Hansen. Torres had just come on in a late line change, getting ahead of Boston’s Johnny Boychuk, accepting the pass from Hansen and sliding it in. Thomas didn’t even see Torres coming; he was on the other side of the net covering Hansen.
Next game happens Saturday, June 4th at Rogers Arena. Puck drops at 5pm PDT!
Tag: Stanley Cup
Eastern Conference Bruins and Lightning Goalies Pulling their Weight
With the Eastern Conference Final tied 1-1 between the Boston Bruins and the Tampa Bay Lightning, a lot of pressure comes down on the players to push even harder than before. The two hardest working players in this final are Tim Thomas and Dwayne Roloson, the Bruins and Lightning goalies respectively.
Considered by many to have the best goal tending in this season’s run for the Stanley Cup, both Thomas and Roloson have only let in on average two goals per game during Rounds 1 and 2. Their playoff save average is incredibly similar as well: .941 for Roloson and .937 for Thomas.
Thomas has even been compared to legendary Edmonton Oilers goaltender Grant Fuhr. As for Roloson, many say his goaltending is the driving force behind the Lightning’s success in the playoffs.
The conference is tied 1-1. Next game between the Bruins and Lightning takes place tonight at 8 pm in Tampa. But what we really want to know is… who’s your favorite goalie this season?
Canucks Begin Historic Year
This past Saturday night was more than your typical NHL season opener for the Vancouver Canucks. Not only did they announce their new captain, Henrik Sedin, but more monumentally, they kicked off the 40th anniversary of the Canucks franchise.
In 1970, the Canucks along with the Buffalo Sabres were the 13th and 14th team to enter the NHL. In that time, the Canucks have produced their share of heroes and diehard fans, many of whom were out for Saturday night’s game.
Both Saturday and Monday’s games were fairly tight games, with the Canucks showing some early season lackluster efforts. Read More
Gearing Up for the Stanley Cup Finals
It’s every hockey fan’s favorite time of year. Fans all over are glued to their televisions, watching the lead up to the Stanley Cup Finals.
Commentators and critics are analyzing team and player statistics, and offering a deep and diverse array of obscure facts and strong opinions about who will take home the great cup. Tomorrow marks day one of the real battle to the cup.
Young hockey players everywhere dream of getting the chance to hold the cup above their heads, or as Kris Versteeg of the Philadelphia Flyers put it, “I’ve played for this thing a thousand times on the streets.”
Those playing for Lord Stanley’s mug this week have already played an 82 game regular season, and have skated every other day for the past month of post-season in preparation for the championship.
They have battled through injuries, sickness and fatigue, all of which will be forgotten when they begin the fight of their lives on Saturday.
The Battle of the East
When the playoffs began, few would have expected that the Phildelphia Flyers (7th seeded) and the Montreal Canadiens (8th seeded) would be battling it out for the Eastern Conference Championship for the chance to appear in the Stanley Cup finals.
It has been a historical performance by both teams. There can not be enough said about Montreal’s goalie Jaroslav Halak and the season he has had. Halak began the year by leading the Slovakian national team to the Olympic semifinals by defeating the defending champions, Sweden, and the much anticipated Russian team, resulting in a showdown with Team Canada.
Thus far in the NHL playoffs, Halak and the Montreal Canadiens have shut down Alexander Ovechkin and the number one seeded National Capitols, only to take on the defending Stanley Cup Champions, the Pittsburgh Penguins with Sydney Crosby and Marc-Andre Fleury.
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