Bruins Blog: Stanley Cup of Chowder
The hardest part about DVRing a game is trying to avoid texts, phone calls and the urge to check mobile scores while the game is going on. Logic would say avoid using your phone during that three-hour window, especially when my messages appear in banner form across the top of my phone.
So when I received a message from a friend that read (self-censored here), "WHAT THE [HELL]!!!!", I immediately had low aspirations for this game.
It's a bit strange having that little bit of information when watching a recorded game. Just that small nugget is enough to make you remain on the edge of your seat for the entire game. Something at some point is bound to go wrong. I didn't ask for clarity on that message because I wanted to discover this atrocity myself. Was it an injury? A ridiculously stupid play? Or, as I started to predict when the Pens went into the third period up 2-0, a complete collapse?
Yes, it was the latter of the three, as the Boston Bruins somehow managed to piece together a four-goal third period to mount a comeback and beat the Penguins by the finals of 4-2. And talk about doing it in crunch time. Within the span of three minutes and 15 seconds, the Bruins went from skating on their toes in the dying minutes of a potential shutout to skating off the ice winners in regulation.
Hard to say where you begin here. You can point fingers at Jordan Staal's holding penalty that resulted in Recchi netting what would stand as the game winner, but the fact is this game should not have even made it to that point. The Bruins sparked the comeback on Zdeno Chara's power-play goal (which sadly was just two seconds away from the Pens returning to even strength). Brad Marchand was able to stick with a bouncing puck just a few seconds later to tie the game, but it was the Recchin Ball who delivered the dagger on a dirty goal in front of the cage. It's his M.O. - has been his whole career. As the Versus announcers said during the broadcast, it was some sort of justice for Recchi, who was in the box on Letang's power-play goal earlier in the game. There is, of course, his history with the team (three times over).
Pens are now 0-2-1 without Sidney Crosby, which will no doubt remain the focal point of a majority of recaps and commentary. But no one player could have turned that ending around. It wasn't Crosby's injury that caused the Pens to lose that game. It was just a textbook definition of a breakdown - for the Pens and fans.
Back at it again Wednesday in a rematch against the Habs.