Round 2 - Boston Vs. Carolina

Go Carolina!!!*

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*Never gonna happen.

Carolina at Boston

7:30 PM ET, May 1, 2009
TD Banknorth Garden, Boston, Massachusetts

TSN

Hurricanes-Bruins Preview


WILMINGTON, Mass. (AP) -- The Boston Bruins have had eight days off since sweeping Montreal out of the first round, giving them a chance to hang out and heal while the Carolina Hurricanes were engaged in a seven-game struggle with New Jersey.

So, what will it be for the Bruins: Rest or rust?

"There's pros and cons in both. They may not have had a chance to rest, but they're in a groove," Bruins coach Claude Julien said Thursday after the Bruins practiced for Game 1 of their second round series against Carolina. "This is the card that we've been dealt, and this is the opportunity we earned: To get our players back to 100 percent. Let's take advantage of it."

The Bruins and Hurricanes last met in the playoffs in 1999, when Boston won in six games. But since then the teams have gone in different directions.

The Bruins didn't win a playoff series for a decade before finishing off the Canadiens on April 22. Carolina reached the Stanley Cup finals in 2002, losing to Detroit in five games, then the former Hartford Whalers made it back in '06 to claim the Cup for the first time in franchise history.

The Hurricanes missed the playoffs for two straight years after winning it all -- the only team in modern NHL history to do that -- and they were 12-11-2 this year before firing coach Peter Laviolette on Dec. 3. He was replaced by Paul Maurice, who became the winningest coach in franchise history when he presided over the move from Hartford and led the Hurricanes to the 2002 finals.

Under Maurice, Carolina went 33-19-5, winning nine straight down the stretch and 17 out of 22. In the first round, the Hurricanes rallied from a 3-2 deficit in the best-of-seven series and scored twice in the final 80 seconds of Game 7 to eliminate the Devils.

"The expectations have risen, and we've got guys that have won Stanley Cups here," Maurice said. "That's how they think."

One of them is goalie Cam Ward, who allowed 15 goals in the seven-game series against New Jersey.

"What drives you is trying to get to that Stanley Cup final," said goalie Cam Ward, part of a core that remains from the '05-06 team. "This is another step that we have to take, and it's not going to be easy. We're talking about one of the best teams in the regular season, and there's no question that they're going to be ready for us."

Bruins defenseman Aaron Ward and forward Mark Recchi also won the Cup with the Hurricanes. Ward remembered the way Carolina fell in love with that team, but he knows that the Bruins fans' have been there, waiting since Bobby Orr skated with the Cup twice in the early 1970s.

"You always want to win, but 1972's been a long time coming," Ward said. "We have some die-hard fans, but they've been in hibernation for a long time. They've been waiting for an opportunity to rally around the team. Hopefully we'll give them that opportunity."

The Bruins have been waiting, too.

Boston dominated Carolina in four regular-season matchups, outscoring the Canes 18-6. But that was before the Hurricanes reacquired Erik Cole at the March 4 trading deadline. The No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference and the top-remaining seed overall in the NHL, Boston cruised through the first-round matchup against Montreal.

Julien gave the players a couple of days off to rest, then scheduled a scrimmage to help them get back into game shape. They didn't know who their second-round opponent would be until Tuesday night -- it could have been three different teams.

Now that they know, they promise to be ready.

"There's some new life in our room, and excitement," Julien said. "Now it's time to do our job and produce."

We'll see how much rust has set in on the B's during this break...

Is anyone shocked Game One is tied after one?

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davetherave wrote:Is anyone shocked Game One is tied after one?

:****:

I am. I figured the 'Canes would have a 1-0 lead after 1.

shabbs wrote:

davetherave wrote:Is anyone shocked Game One is tied after one?

:****:

I am. I figured the 'Canes would have a 1-0 lead after 1.

Are you watching this one? I'm with the Wings-Ducks on RDS...

I'm watching neither right now... bah...

Hm...just flipped over to see Bruins have made it 2-1...seems pretty even from looking at the box score and highlights...

WOW...Ryder just scored a helluva goal!

B's up 3-1!

I wonder if the Canes are ready to do a 'Devil' on the Yogis...

Dayum, I *knew* I should have picked 5 games. That's what I had originally.

Carolina 1, Boston 4

	1	2	3	T
CAR	1	0	0	1
BOS	1	2	1	4

Final

7:30 PM ET, May 1, 2009, TD Banknorth Garden, Boston, Massachusetts

Savard scores twice as Bruins blow past Hurricanes in Game 1

BOSTON -- Aaron Ward laughed when he saw all the newspaper articles asking whether the Boston Bruins would be rusty from the long layoff they earned by sweeping Montreal in the first round.


Fast Facts


• Marc Savard scored twice to lead the Bruins to victory in Game 1. Savard has four goals in the playoffs this year. He has one goal in his previous seven postseason games.
• The Hurricanes have won their last four postseason series when losing Game 1.
• Jussi Jokinen scored Carolina's only goal, giving him four goals in his last five games.
• Michael Ryder, who had a goal and an assist for the Bruins, has a point in all five postseason games.
• The Bruins have killed all nine power plays they have faced in the playoffs, while the Hurricanes are 2-for-30 on the power play since the end of the regular season.
-- ESPN Stats & Information


"When you are at this stage of the season, your athleticism should take over," the Boston defenseman said Friday night after the Bruins scored on the first shot of the series and pulled away from the Carolina Hurricanes to win 4-1 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. "You should never be rusty at this stage of the playoffs."

Tim Thomas stopped 26 shots, and Marc Savard scored twice for the Bruins, the top-seeded team remaining in the NHL playoffs. Michael Ryder scored for the fourth game in a row as Boston, which swept the Hurricanes during the regular season, made it five straight -- by a total score of 22-7.

"Whether we lost 10-0 or 4-1 it makes no difference," Hurricanes captain Rod Brind'Amour said. "It's a loss, and we're going to have to regroup and do better next game."

Cam Ward made 20 saves, and Jussi Jokinen scored the lone goal for Carolina.
Game 2 is Sunday in Boston.

"We've got to know that we can beat these guys. We've got to feel confident," Hurricanes forward Eric Staal said. "It's a best-of-seven series for a reason. We can be better; we know that. We've got to ... forget about this one and look forward to Game 2."

Thomas won his 11th consecutive game, including four straight in the first round against rival Montreal that was Boston's first playoff series victory since beating the Hurricanes in 1999. The sweep of the Canadiens left Boston with eight days off to prepare; they didn't even find out their second-round opponent until Tuesday night, when Carolina scored twice in the last 80 seconds of Game 7 against New Jersey to oust the Devils.
"There was some rust in the first period," Thomas said. "Not anything that was a game-changer, but we got better and better as the game went on and shook the rust off. After nine days off, one bad period is not a bad place to be."

Boston scored just 94 seconds in -- on the first shot of the game -- when Ryder dug the puck out from behind the net and passed it to the point for Aaron Ward. The defenseman's wrist shot was tipped in by David Krejci.

Carolina tied it with 1:10 left in the first when Jokinen put a slap shot past Thomas a split-second before the goalie was flattened by Ryan Bayda. The goal counted, and Bayda went off for interference.
"I was too busy watching the puck go in," Thomas said. "So I didn't see that one at all."
But that was the only time Thomas was off his game.

He made a save on Tuomo Ruutu midway through the first just before the Hurricanes forward was checked into the crossbar, dislodging the net. With just under 15 minutes left in the game, Thomas made a left-pad save on Eric Staal at point-blank range to keep it a two-goal game.

Two minutes later, Savard took a drop pass from Phil Kessel and beat Ward to make it 4-1.
The Hurricanes lost the opener of the New Jersey series by the same score.

Game notes
Ryder and Kessel have at least one point in each playoff game Boston has played this year. ... It was Thomas' sixth straight game allowing two goals or fewer. ... The last time the teams played in the playoffs, in 1999, Hurricanes defenseman Steve Chiasson was killed in a drunken driving accident hours after Carolina returned home. ... Andrew Ference, who hadn't played since April 4. ... With his 31st playoff appearance, Cam Ward became the franchise leader in games played among goalies. ... Julien was named a finalist for the Jack Adams Award for NHL coach of the year.

Wow... lots of rust on those Boston players eh?

Heh heh.

The post game view from a Carolina perspective:

Canes don't measure up

Luke DeC0ck, Raleigh Durham News & Observer, May 2/09

BOSTON - Paul Maurice stood waiting next to the news conference podium as a technician laboriously counted off, from one into the high teens, trying to get the sound right.

"I thought he was counting off our turnovers," the Carolina Hurricanes' coach said when he finally was able to take his seat behind the microphone.

If that were the case, Maurice would still be waiting. And waiting. And waiting, because there were too many for anyone to count in Friday's 4-1 loss to the Boston Bruins to open the second-round playoff series.

After playing some of their best -- and most emotional hockey -- to beat the New Jersey Devils, the Hurricanes produced a turn-back-the-clock performance against the Bruins, playing the way they did when they struggled earlier this season, not when they succeeded this spring.

"For some reason, when they got their second goal, we started to do some things we haven't done in two or three months," said Jussi Jokinen, who scored Carolina's goal. "I think before that, a 1-1 game, we had some really good chances. But that third goal, something changed."

The result was familiar to anyone who watched any of the season series between these teams, a comprehensive sweep by the Bruins by a combined 18-6 score.

All four of those games were played in the first five months of the season, when the Hurricanes were an easy target. They have been considerably better lately, particularly since a final 5-1 loss to Boston on Feb. 17 -- Glen Wesley Night -- that would emerge as a retrospective low point.

They went 17-5-2 after that, hitting their stride and carrying it into the playoffs, where they emerged from the first round after Tuesday's dramatic Game 7 win over the Devils.

Those wins, both down the stretch and over the Devils, were the result of many improvements, from Cam Ward's goaltending to a more responsible defensive posture to better decisions with the puck.

Instead, by the second period they were throwing blind passes up the middle and throwing caution to the wind in the Boston end -- doing pretty much everything that got Peter Laviolette fired and replaced by Maurice in the first place.

It was 1-1 exiting the first period after Jokinen scored for the third straight game, and the Canes were playing a solid, if not spectacular, road playoff game. But it fell apart in the second after the Bruins got it to 2-1.

Tuomo Ruutu's ill-advised pass through the middle of the neutral zone turned into a Michael Ryder goal and a two-goal lead, and suddenly it was January all over again -- maybe even worse.

"When we regroup the puck five times and turn it over three and dig it out of our net -- I'm not sure you've seen that this year," Maurice said. "We did some things that we're not very proud of tonight, and we're going to do everything we can to eliminate them."

With Zdeno Chara effectively neutralizing Eric Staal, who had a few chances but didn't get much help, the Canes never looked comfortable offensively, which may have helped to provoke their sudden, uncharacteristic desperation after falling behind.

Still, the damage done is minimal, as long as the Canes can muster a more composed performance in Game 2 on Sunday, particularly now that they know exactly what it's going to take.

They now know how few mistakes they're going to be able to make and what kind of price they're going to have to pay to win this series, against a team that plays like the Devils, only bigger and more skilled.

"We have in the past two months stuck with what we're doing, and it's paid off for us," Staal said. "Tonight, we started turning pucks over and giving them chances, and we can't do that."

That's a lesson the Canes learned in January, when they turned their game around and got this far. They're going to have to learn it all over again if they want to keep going.

---
TURNING POINT

After Hurricanes defensemen Joni Pitkanen and Joe Corvo were stopped on shots, the Bruins' Marc Savard gave Boston a 2-1 second-period lead by backhanding the rebound of a Phil Kessel shot past goalie Cam Ward.

BURNING QUESTION

Can the Canes repeat their success of the first round against New Jersey and pick up a road win in Game 2?

NEXT GAME
Hurricanes at Bruins 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Versus, WCMC-99.9

NUMBER TO KNOW
5
The Bruins have beaten the Canes five straight times and have won five straight playoff games.

N&O'S THREE STARS
1. Marc Savard, Boston. Two goals for the Canes wrecker.
2. Michael Ryder, Boston. Goal and assist for hardworking forward.
3. Tim Thomas, Boston. Sharp enough in goal for Bruins.

NOTES
Canes assistant Kevin McCarthy missed the game because of illness. ... Former Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry was seen outside the Bruins' locker room after the game. ... Cam Ward played in his 31st playoff game, breaking Arturs Irbe's franchise record.

(compiled by CHIP ALEXANDER for the News & Observer)

Carolina 3, Boston 0

	1	2	3	T
CAR	0	2	1	3
BOS	0	0	0	0

Final

7:30 PM ET, May 3, 2009, TD Banknorth Garden, Boston, Massachusetts

Cullen's short-handed goal backs up Ward's 36 saves as Canes drop Bruins

BOSTON (AP/ESPN)-- Cam Ward's second playoff shutout in four games and a rare misplay by Zdeno Chara gave the Carolina Hurricanes a split of their first two games against the Boston Bruins on Sunday night.



Ward turned aside 36 shots, and Chara's bad pass led to Matt Cullen's short-handed goal as the Hurricanes won 3-0 and headed home for Games 3 and 4 Wednesday and Friday nights.

The Bruins were the last unbeaten team in the playoffs after the Detroit Red Wings lost to the Anaheim Ducks 4-3 in triple overtime Sunday. Boston goalie Tim Thomas' winning streak ended at 11 games, including the last six of the regular season.

Joe Corvo also scored, and Eric Staal added an empty-net goal with 28 seconds left.


Fast Facts


• Cam Ward stopped 36 shots for his fourth career playoff shutout and first playoff shutout on the road.
• Joe Corvo scored the only goal Carolina needed. It was the defenseman's second goal of the playoffs.
• Eric Staal had a goal and an assist to give him 37 career playoff points, just two shy of tying Ron Francis as the franchise's all-time playoff scorer. Staal's six goals in the playoffs leads the NHL.
• Boston lost for the first time in the postseason, leaving the league with no unbeaten teams in the playoffs.
• This was the first time in the 21 playoff games between the franchises that the Hurricanes shut out the Bruins.
-- ESPN Stats & Information


Ward, the MVP of the 2006 playoffs won by Stanley Cup Champions Carolina, preserved his shutout with 6:37 left when Michael Ryder pounced on a loose puck in front of the net.

Ward flashed his left pad out to stop the shot then made a save after Dennis Wideman got the rebound.

The Hurricanes had done poorly on the power play in their previous eight playoff games, scoring just twice in 30 opportunities. They did well on a power play on Sunday -- Boston's.

The Bruins got the man advantage with 6:24 gone in the second period when Joni Pitkanen was sent off for elbowing. Chara, a finalist for the Norris Trophy as the NHL's best defenseman, passed the puck from the left point toward Wideman at the right point, but Chad LaRose stepped between them and stole it.

He raced down the left side, skated behind the net and fed the puck out front to Cullen, who snapped a one-timer past Thomas.

The Hurricanes nearly made it 3-0 with less than 3 seconds left in the period when Larose's shot from the inside edge of the left circle beat Thomas to the far side.

The puck ricocheted from the post along the goal line. The red light went on but an official signaled that it hadn't crossed the goal line, a call that stood after a long video review.

Ward's first playoff shutout of the year came in a 4-0 win in Game 6 against New Jersey, a series Carolina won by scoring two goals in the last 80 seconds of Game 7.

But he nearly lost this shutout midway through the first period when Chuck Kobasew stole the puck from Pitkanen and fed Patrice Bergeron in front of the net. Bergeron shot it from the slot but it flew over the crossbar.

Then the Hurricanes took a 1-0 lead at 2:30 of the second period on Corvo's rising slap shot from 5 feet above the left circle that went by Thomas' left arm.

The win was Carolina's first of the season against Boston, which went 4-0 in the regular season, then won Friday night's opener 4-1. The Bruins are 3-0 in playoff series against the Hurricanes, including a 1999 win that was their last series victory before this year.

Game notes
Rob Brind'Amour played in his 150th postseason game and 63rd with Carolina, passing the franchise record set by Ron Francis, now the team's associate head coach. ... The Bruins' 2-0 deficit after the second period marked the first time they'd trailed after a period in this year's playoffs.

I still see Boston winning this series.

will be interesting to see how Boston handles the setback, now mind you, they played one hell of a 3rd period, there was just no beating Ward in this game, so Julien has to keep the intensity going for game 3.