It’s not often you get to wear a snuggie when watching a hockey game. Alright, who am I kidding? I wear one every game. Canuck themed, of course. This time, however, I legitimately needed the extra warmth. Not just because the morning air is chillier than I’m accustomed to, but because this opponent makes my blood run cold.
Something about watching a hockey game at 10AM feels viscerally wrong. It’s like drinking hard liquor right after waking up, or eating pizza for breakfast, or just watching Brad Marchand do anything whatsoever while wearing skates. Against my better judgement I did all three when I watched this game.
- The game started with a classic John Garrett line that I must share. “It would be wise to get some shots on [Anton] Khudobin, he hasn’t had a start in a month.” Astute. Of course, had Khudobin started more, the savvy strategy would be to put no shots on net and rely on Bruins own-goals to pave the way to victory. (I love Garrett, but his talent for stating the obvious is truly savant.)
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Any lingering sleepiness was blasted from my body by a truly dazzling play by Alex Burrows, Bo Horvat and Jannik Hansen. My new favourite line. (That’s what I say about any line that Hansen exists on.) It was extra special because I was in mid-cringe: Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak were buzzing around Vancouver’s zone. Pastrnak’s pass was picked off by an opportunistic Burrows, and then they were away. The three forwards were speedier, faster and featured more furiosity than the upcoming Vin Diesel / Keanu Reeves crossover movie, Furious Bomb Bus™.
Burrows handed the puck to Hansen at the blue line, then to Bo, then Burrows, then Hansen, whose shot was stopped, but Bo’s android body was constructed to always be ready, and he pounced on the rebound for his 16th goal and 100th career point. - Immediately after the goal, Ryan Miller made several incredible saves to maintain the lead, his most impressive coming against Riley Nash after a point shot rebound fell on the Bruins forward’s stick. In the first period, Miller was zoned-in despite the frantic action. Like a guy with no chair locked on the patio, he was outstanding.
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The first period was a back-and-forth affair, with each team trading chances, forechecking hard, and with each team generously coughing up the puck again and again.
The Bruins being a team loaded with goal-scoring talent, it will come as no surprise that scoring dynamo Kevan Miller would tie the game. His laser-like shot blasted right through what had been an impervious wall of goaltending prowess. Yep, Kevan Miller, with help from defensive partner Colin Miller, beat Ryan Miller. And you guessed it, the goal was set up by Ryan “Screw the mill, I wanna be a spoon merchant!” Spooner. - Chris Tanev took a rare (and completely bogus) holding penalty against Pastrnak (who held Tanev’s stick under his arm like an umbrella), which set Boston up with the man advantage. David Krejci was going to shoot, but then he realized his linemate was a good fella. He passed to a wide open Frankie Vatrano, who put down the cannoli he was munching on, dusted off his tommy gun and pumped Miller’s guts full of lead. Vatrano’s goal gave Boston a 2-1 lead that bleeds. First intermission confidence? Fuhgeddaboudit. Stereotype jokes!
- The second period wasn’t a high-scoring affair, but there were plenty of chances. Vancouver served up plenty of tasty turnovers, but still rallied for some decent opportunities. Bo Horvat continued to look dominant with a good shot from the middle of a goal-mouth scrum. Alex Burrows had a brilliant tip on a Luca Sbisa slapper. And the best chance of the period came on a return rush. Daniel Sedin fed Henrik, whose shot rang off the crossbar. You don’t see a Henrik shot often, but it’s always surprisingly good. Too bad, so close. If you give him an inch, he’ll give you a goal.
- After all these gorgeous chances, you knew the tying goal would be a blue collar one. Hungry to the end, Burrows, Hansen and Horvat buzzed around the Bruins’ zone in the dying seconds of the second period. Finally, a Burrows shot trickled behind Khudobin, who then kicked it in with a skate. It was greasier that my breakfast pizza, which my stomach now reminds me was crazy greasy. I make poor life decisions.
- Not to be left out of this Miller thriller, Colin Miller was the lucky recipient of a Jimmy Hayes behind-the-back pass after Ben Hutton gave away the puck at the blue line. It was a deflating goal, but at least now you can talk about this game confidently and vaguely at the same time. Just say, “How about that Miller?” and shake your head.
- On a power play late in the third period, Markus Granlund evened the score. The Canucks effectively spread out the Boston defence with long passes, as Ben Hutton found Alex Edler, who then passed to Granlund down the middle. The Finn fired home a satisfying goal off the post. He may be a Volkswagen Jetta (according to Daniel Wagner) but that shot was Audi quality, perhaps even BMW.
- Boston is a port city with a shifty element, but none are shiftier than David Pastrnak. The slimy winger greased a few palms, blackmailed a city councillor and arranged a few “disappearances” with Frankie Vatrano, before rushing into Vancouver’s zone, doubling back on Chris Tanev, and sending an innocent looking shot right through Ryan Miller. I knew it would be you, Pastrnak, and it breaks my heart. That goal put Boston up 4-3 for good, and Vancouver squandered two road points.
- Your Tryamkin Talk: The hulking defenceman may have been nervous. He was playing against his idol / rival / giant counterpart / dad, Zdeno Chara after all. He had a mixed game, using his size and stick to nullify a few good chances, but also some warty moments, like a huge giveaway to David Krejci in front of the net.
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Your Reid Ruminations: Reid Boucher saw some power play time on the first unit. He displayed his big, booming, Boucher blast a few times. His deployment is interesting, since he spent his (highly limited) 5-on-5 ice time paired with Jack Skille and Michael Chaput on the fourth line.
