| 08 June 2011
The first period of game 4 is in the books and the Bruins have headed off the ice to a fan pleasing 1-0 lead. While the first period was much cleaner- the shenanigans missing from both sides, the physical play was ever present. This one started off hard and fast with both teams looking to set the tone early. While the effort was certainly there to maintain the play from Vancouver, the style of play was lead by the Bruins.
The first of this one also showed fans what the B's top line will now look like with the missed Nathan Horton sidelined. Deadline acquisition Rich Peverley has stepped up and has played admirably, tallying the games first goal with a 5 hole shot on a break away. Peverley has been key this playoff season and will go down as one of Peter Chiarelli's smarter moves. With his versatility to play wing or center, 4th line or 1st, Peverley is one of the important pieces that has lifted the Bruins over the hurdles that have tripped them in the past.
Back on the ice tonight is rookie Tyler Seguin after his one game stint in the box. Seguin has come back out looking to contribute and with a bit of the fire back in his game. His early shifts showed him looking to get involved, moving his feet and creating scoring chances (2 so far, 1 on a tip in front and a second on a pull up and pass through the crease that was almost deflected by Luongo). The third line has had troubles at time in this one with a few extended stints in the defensive zone but they've been able to rebound and push play down ice rather than rely on icings or cover ups.
What has carried the Bruins so far in this game and the home stand is the match ups on the top two lines. With the last change, Claude Julien has been able to make sure he has the correct match ups and it has shown in the level of frustration exhibited by the Canucks. Adding to that frustration has been the physical play of Milan Lucic and the pesty play of Brad Marchand. Lucic tonight has appeared to be much more motivated and has connected on a number of hits at both ends of the ice resulting in pucks won on the boards. Marchand has also been involved physically looking for the big hits and getting under the skin of both Sedins at every opportunity. A late scrum in front of the net found him on top of Daniel looking to face wash and lead to Daniel jumping up in anger. Give credit to him and everyone else so far- the teams have done well to control their emotions and stay away from giving the opposition any odd man opportunities because of it.
That doesn't mean that the power play hasn't shown itself though- for the Canucks. Two calls in the first landed the Bruins in the box (first Michael Ryder and then Brad Marchand). The Bruins penalty kill remained resilient though killing both extremely well. What has been interesting is how they've picked up the Canuck's approach on each attempt and given different looks mostly in the neutral zone. The key common component though has been their aggressiveness- forcing the Canucks to commit 2 men to the puck often and making the power play be a battle on the boards rather than a display of the open ice cycling game.
To counter their short comings on the power play, the Canucks have attempted to change up their offense slightly by going directly at Tim Thomas as often as possible. With the level of chatter over Timmy's aggressive play, the Canucks seem to believe the best approach is to go right at him, make contact and look for dirty goals in front. This has lead to a number of scary moments for Boston, but their commitment to cleaning out the front has kept the Canucks off the board.
Going into the second expect to see both teams continue the physical game and push to tie/pull away. Traffic in front of both nets will be key. While the first did display attempts by both sides to stretch the ice, we may not see this as much to start the 2nd. If either team starts to tire though and one can catch the other on a bad change, these attempts will come up.
This second period looks to be a critical one. Will the Bruins be able to keep the momentum, pull away in this game and edge closer to going back to Vancouver tied, or will Vancouver get the equalizer and make this truly a dog fight?
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