USA TODAY International Edition
Game 3 preview
The Bruins say they can’t afford another slow start,
It’s not often a team gets
BOSTON outshot 19- 4 in the first period of a game and can joke about it the next day
However, thanks to Tuukka Rask’s 33 saves and Daniel Paille’s overtime winner in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final in Chicago on Saturday, that’s exactly what the Boston Bruins were doing at TD Garden on Sunday.
“We’ve got to make sure we’re here when the game starts,” said rookie defensemen Torey Krug, who blocked two shots in the 2- 1 victory. “It seems like we got confused as to when the game started, and I’m sure it will be something that we focus on for the next game.”
The idea that the Bruins would return to Boston with the best- of- seven series tied 1- 1 seemed almost laughable after Patrick Sharp’s ninth goal of the postseason put the Blackhawks up 1- 0 just under 12 minutes in.
And Boston nearly fell into a 2- 0 hole 70 seconds after Sharp’s strike, as Marian Hossa jammed a rebound across the Bruins’ goal line only to see the referees disallow the score, saying the whistle had blown the play dead.
A fly on the wall of the Bruins locker room during the first intermission would have done well to find cover, given the level of emotion in the room after such a disappointing 20 minutes of play.
“Everyone was very vocal,” 21year- old winger Tyler Seguin said when asked to describe the scene in the locker room. “I think ( Chris Kelly) was a big part of that, saying things. In the end, we need to be better. We felt a little bit embarrassed almost, and we were fortunate that Tuukka turned in an incredible game.”
After the intermission, the Bruins rallied to outshoot Chicago 24- 15 the remainder of the game. However, the slow start remained perplexing to Bruins coach Claude Julien, who kidded that he would be asking his team to arrive an hour earlier than normal for Game 3 today.
“I felt our team was ready to play,” Julien said. “Knowing the players, I was really surprised to see how much we played on our heels. You have to give the other team credit — they came out hard, and we didn’t respond well.”
In the second period, the Bruins played with more energy and were quicker on their feet. Slowly and steadily, they regained momentum. And when overtime rolled around, they had Chicago reeling.
“I don’t think our team has played a bad first period like that in a long time,” Julien said. “I don’t expect that to happen again. We’re back in our building, where we have our fans. I think our guys are going to be excited about that. But nonetheless, we have to have a better start. You learn from past mistakes, and that’s a mistake that I think our team hopefully has learned ( from). Hopefully we start on time next game.”