Stanley Cup Finals: Boston Bruins Crush Vancouver Canucks, Force Game 7

↵As it turns out, we were wrong. Dead wrong. The Stanley Cup never got to TD Garden. Via Chris Johnston of the Canadian Press:

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That’s the kind of drama that keeps people glued to their televisions. Meanwhile, in Boston on Monday night, the Bruins scored four goals in the blink of an eye in the first period, and surely after that point many people turned the channel. Game 6 was over long before the second period even began.

The Stanley Cup Finals are ongoing, as the Vancouver Canucks battle the Boston Bruins. Stick with this StoryStream for complete coverage of Game 6. For coverage on the Finals, stick with our Stanley Cup Finals hub, our Canucks blog, Nucks Misconduct, and our Bruins blog, Stanley Cup of Chowder.

0.67 goals against average, 3-0 record, two shutouts and a .979 save percentage. He has 95 saves on 97 shots. Two goals against in three games played. Just absurd stuff.

But somehow, on the road, it’s completely different.

A few minutes into the third period, the Canucks are suddenly controlling play. They hit a post on a play that had to be reviewed, just three minutes after the Sedin goal, too. If Boston doesn’t get off their heels, the Canucks could at least make this thing interesting.

The Stanley Cup Finals are ongoing, as the Vancouver Canucks battle the Boston Bruins. Stick with this StoryStream for complete coverage of Game 6. For coverage on the Finals, stick with our Stanley Cup Finals hub, our Canucks blog, Nucks Misconduct, and our Bruins blog, Stanley Cup of Chowder.

Ironically, the Vancouver Canucks played their best road period of the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals in the second period of Game 6, rivaled only potentially by the first period of Game 3 at TD Garden. Of course, that’s not saying much considering the way the Boston Bruins have crushed the Canucks so far in Games 3, 4 and 6, but it’s at least a little bit of a consolation if you’re Vancouver.

That’s not to say the Bruins are letting off the gas pedal. They’re getting quality scoring chances, they’re faster than the Canucks still and they’re hitting everything that moves, making Vancouver look like a tentative bunch of deer in headlights. But the Canucks are starting to find their legs a little bit in front of Cory Schneider, and that’s at least a glimmer.

Tangled with each other, the two went into the corner and Boychuk turned Raymond back-first towards the boards. In an awkward, bent position, Raymond’s back side hit the boards and he fell immediately to the ice. He stayed down for a while and eventually needed help to get to the bench. It didn’t look good, but don’t take out word for it.

Here’s the video.

↵If you hate the Canucks and enjoy schadenfreude, this is something you’ll want to peek at. Just sitting around, nothing to see here. Fans paid real, actual money for these seats too.

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It’s incredible what a change in rink will do for a team, huh? And that goes in both directions -- the energy it gives the Bruins and the confidence it rips away from the Canucks.

The Stanley Cup Finals are ongoing, as the Vancouver Canucks battle the Boston Bruins. Stick with this StoryStream for complete coverage of Game 6. For coverage on the Finals, stick with our Stanley Cup Finals hub, our Canucks blog, Nucks Misconduct, and our Bruins blog, Stanley Cup of Chowder.

Marchand scored the first goal on a break up the ice, shooting a wrist shot into the roof of the net from the right circle, beating Luongo easily at his glove side. The second goal came just a couple of minutes later, as the Bruins caught the Canucks in a bad change. Still, Luongo had a very good chance to stop Lucic’s shot, but he let the Bruins forward beat him five-hole with a shot that wasn’t exactly a ripper. Luongo looks like the goalie from Game 3 and Game 4 of the series, not Game 5.

The Stanley Cup Finals are ongoing, as the Vancouver Canucks battle the Boston Bruins. Stick with this StoryStream for complete coverage of Game 6. For coverage on the Finals, stick with our Stanley Cup Finals hub, our Canucks blog, Nucks Misconduct, and our Bruins blog, Stanley Cup of Chowder.

Boychuk wrapped up his skates, spun Raymond around and decked him into the boards. His back side hit the boards hard and there was no forgiveness from the wall, which didn’t even budge. He went down immediately in a heap and stayed down for quite some time before getting helped to the locker room.

Video of the injury can be seen here.

↵The streets are set to be packed again in downtown Vancouver, even though the game is over 4,000 miles away at Boston’s TD Garden. Should the Canucks win their first ever Stanley Cup on Monday night, it’s probably for the best that alcohol sales will be stopped long before-hand.

↵Besides: the bars are still open, anyway.

There was a point in these playoffs where Kesler was in the Conn Smythe Trophy hunt, but that’s quickly evaporated during the Finals. He has a single assist and no goals in the series, and that assist came all the way back in Game 1, when his play led to the game-winning goal in the final minute of play.

Kesler will be in the lineup for Game 6, but if the Canucks win and the season ends tonight, we may very well hear that he played with some sort of ailment.

Of course, that hasn’t been all that easy for the Canucks on the road in this series. They’ve been outscored 12-1 in Boston in the two games there so far, and it’s evident that the Bruins get a big time boost from their home crowd. For just that reason, a lot of people are already declaring Game 7 a reality, saying that the Canucks have no chance to win a game in Boston. The Bruins might as well book their flight back to Vancouver.

And that’s the beauty of what we should see on Monday night in Game 6. It’ll be the Bruins, pushing with help of their home crowd to keep their season and Stanley Cup hopes alive. For the Canucks, the motivation is even simpler: the Cup is in the building, and we want to take it home with us.