| 08 June 2011
With 2 in the books the Bruins have extended their first period lead to 3-0 through strong physical play and working the front of the net. Goals by Michael Ryder and Brad Marchand have given the Bruins a comfortable lead but even with the added goals, the B's still press on.
The period started with the fast pace seen in the 1st and earlier than this writer expected, the Bruins began pushing the puck in order to catch the Canucks on line changes or stuck on the ice for extended shifts. The efforts, while unsuccessful in the goal department, did lead to a wearing down of the Canucks backend which could be seen as the period progressed. As it stands, this may become an important factor going into the third- if the Bruins can take advantage of a fatigued back end they could potentially keep the Canucks pressed in their own end and prevent quality chances on Tim Thomas.
Thomas to this point has continued to be incredible. Through 2 the Boston netminder has faced 25 shots and while a number of them were less than quality chances (as the Canucks were often forced to dump), he has been forced to battle, work through screens and has been at the center of a number of physical plays. The Canucks did not slow their attack on Thomas through the second and likely won't in the third. Boston will need to continue to clear the front, take away rebound chances and work to quickly turn the game the other way.
At the other end of the ice Roberto Luongo's numbers continue to sink as the Bruins have now struck for 3 on 18 shots. The number of shots on net has been relatively low for the Bruins in comparison to offensive zone possession and chances. A number of shots have missed the net slightly and the Vancouver defense has worked hard to get into shooting lanes and tip chances.
Going into the third there are a few things the Bruins do need to do better- starting right in the faceoff circle. The Bruins as a team are averaging 40% in the circle tonight with both Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci below that number. On power play chances the Canucks have often had the opportunity to start in the offensive zone due to these wins which has proven much easier to get things going against than the Bruins neutral zone coverage on the penalty kill (a nightmare for Vancouver).
Additionally, while the Seguin-Kelly-Ryder line hasn't played poorly, they have had issues in their own end. Their last shift of the second found Seguin covering the center position after Kelly was tossed from the circle. The resulting running around lead to a rushed play by Boychuk and a delay of game penalty as the puck was shot out of play. This line needs to play stronger and more composed like they have at the other end of the ice while the rest of the team needs to keep their level of play up.
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