Canucks Center Malhotra Cleared For The Cup, How Will It Affect Boston?

Vancouver Canucks center Manny Malhotra has been cleared to play in the Stanley Cup finals against the Boston Bruins. Malhotra has been out of action since mid-March after he sustained an eye injury when he took a deflected puck to the face. Many people believed that his career was over, so this is nothing short of a miracle.

Malhotra is the Canucks third line center who has a similar style of play to Bruins third line center Chris Kelly, a shutdown player who plays both ends of the ice very well. It will be very likely that Malhotra will be matched up against Kelly if he returns. Even though he has been cleared to play, there is no guarantee that he will be inserted into the lineup for game one on Wednesday. Malhotra had 11 goals and 19 assists in the regular season.

The David Krejci line (Krejci-Horton-Lucic) will be matched up against the Sedin line (H. Sedin, D. Sedin, Burrows). If that is the case, then Patrice Bergeron will be paired up with Ryan Kesler who has arguably been the playoff MVP. Kesler has 7 goals and 11 assists thus far in the postseason. Both of these teams are very evenly matched, from the coaching to the goaltending. Not that it matters at this point in time, but the Bruins own a victory over Vancouver this season when they defeated the Canucks 3-1 in Vancouver. That victory was part of their late season 6-0-0 road trip.

Eastern Conference Finals - Game Seven

The end of game six of the Eastern Conference finals spouted some controversy. As the Bruins were skating off the ice and back to the dressing room, Lightning fans were throwing hand clappers onto the ice and at Bruins players. This caused Bruins forward Nathan Horton to react irrationally by spraying a fan with a water bottle and later throwing that same bottle into the crowd. No disciplinary action was taking by the league as a result of the incident. How would Horton respond in game seven? Lets just say he responded just fine.

The two greatest words in all of sports are in fact the words "game seven" and this one lived up to the hype. The first and second periods of tonight's game were very fast paced. The conditions of the ice slowed things down at times as players from both teams slipped and fell trying to chase the puck. Even though the score remained at zero, the Bruins were clearly getting the better chances. They ended up tallying 38 shots on Lightning goaltender Dwayne Roloson. A scary moment occurred in the second period when Bruins defenseman Johnny Boychuk drove a slap shot right into the face of Lightning forward Steven Stamkos. He managed to return to the game despite having his nose almost shattered and blood all over his sweater.

In the third period of this penalty-free game, the Bruins started to get a sense that it was just a matter of time. Brad Marchand and Michael Ryder each had perfect opportunities to score but Roloson was there to shut it down. The lone goal of the game came when Andrew Ference slid the puck over to David Krejci who made a beautiful pass over to Nathan Horton for the tip in goal. Krejci's pass was so perfect that Horton did not even have to move his stick in the motion of a shot. The Bruins defense held off a late rush by the Lightning and Boston held on to win game seven by a score of 1-0. They win the Eastern Conference and advance to their first Stanley Cup Final since 1990.

This was one of those rare games where every single player on the ice contributed to the win. Whether it was a goal, an assist, a hit, a key save, or a defensive stand, every player that suited up tonight (with the exception of Tuukka Rask) played great. However, we all know that Claude Julien will find something wrong with the victory. That is part of being a unique coach to say the least. Whether you take that as a positive statement or a negative statement, it all depends on the individual. The Bruins will take on the Vancouver Canucks in the Stanley Cup Finals and game one will be Wednesday night in Vancouver.

Gold Star: Tim Thomas (24 saves on 24 shots, 1.000 save percentage)...he will arguably challenge Canucks forward Ryan Kesler for the Conn Smythe Trophy (MVP of the Stanley Cup playoffs).

Black Star: Daniel Paille...the lack of playing time cut into his production tonight. Only six shifts for a little over five minutes of ice time. The Bruins did a solid job of keeping Dwayne Roloson from heading to the bench for the extra attacker in the final minutes. Paille would have been on the ice if Roloson got to the bench sooner because Paille is one of Boston's great penalty killing forwards and with the Lightning having six attackers, that would have been his job.

Eastern Conference Finals - Game Six

When the Boston Bruins had a chance to close out the Montreal Canadiens in game six of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals, several things went against them. First of all, that was the game where forward Milan Lucic got called for a questionable boarding penalty in which he got a game misconduct. Secondly, the Bruins got completely dominated at the face-off circle losing 35-27 and got out-hit by Montreal 23-11. Lastly, the referees played into the fans way too much. Nothing sells more than a game seven in the playoffs. I am not saying the refs were hoping for the home team to win that night, but I am saying that tonight's game six was not going to be easy even though Boston has a 18-4 all time record when leading a series 3-2.

Although prior to the drop of the puck the Bruins were informed of some news that could possibly end up playing in their favor. Lightning third line forward Sean Bergenheim was ruled out for game six with a lower body injury that he suffered when he collided with Bruins defenseman Dennis Seidenberg early in game five. Bergenheim leads all playoff scorers with nine goals, so Tampa Bay lost a huge weapon. Also, Dwayne Roloson was given the start in net tonight for the Lightning. Roloson was pulled in game four and did not start in game five. Would these circumstances play in favor of the Bruins tonight?

The first period produced yet another quick goal for the Lightning. Teddy Purcell put the Lightning on top 1-0 when Vincent Lecavalier won a face-off and Purcell took the one time shot that went past Tim Thomas. From that point on it was all about the Bruins. Tampa Bay committed two penalties and Boston looked great on the power play even though they did not produce a goal with the man advantage. Milan Lucic tied the game on a shot that stemmed from great passing in the neutral zone by Nathan Horton and Johnny Boychuk. With a few minutes left in the period, Daniel Paille passed the puck across to David Krejci and he put the puck past Dwayne Roloson to put the Bruins on top 2-1. That was how the score looked after the first 20 minutes.

The second period seemed to be an undisciplined one for Boston. Even though they had their fair share of scoring opportunities, they could not find the back of the net. The Bruins took two really stupid penalties in the second period. The first one came when Dennis Seidenberg cross-checked Adam Hall. The second one came when Rich Peverley interfered with Marc-Andre Bergeron in Boston's offensive zone. How is that possible? Either way, Tampa Bay capitalized on both power play opportunities as Martin St. Louis and Teddy Purcell were the goal scorers. The Bruins trailed the Lightning 3-2 heading into the third period.

The third period started with Boston on the penalty kill because defenseman Andrew Ference got called for a cross-checking penalty towards the end of the second period. Once again, the Lightning scored a power play goal on the stick of Steven Stamkos. The Bruins got one back on the power play. That's right, the power play! David Krejci was the goal scorer on assists from Nathan Horton and Tomas Kaberle. Krejci would add another goal later on in the period for a hat trick. However, Martin St. Louis scored his second goal of the game on a breakaway pass from Steve Downie. The Bruins lose to the Lightning 5-4 and they force a game seven that will be played on Friday night back in Boston.

The Bruins did not have a bad game. The power play looked good but they should do a little less passing and a little more shooting. Tim Thomas let a couple of goals in that he should have had and he knew it. The problem tonight for the Bruins was trying to stay out of the penalty box. They allowed three power play goals and that was essentially the game. Statistically the Bruins are the best 5-on-5 team in the league. If they can stay under control and play their style of hockey, they will win game seven. Otherwise it could be another long offseason.

Gold Star: David Krejci (3 goals, +2 rating, 4 shots on goal, 56% face-offs won).

Black Star: Andrew Ference...as previously mentioned, the Lightning had three power play goals. One of them came as a result of a penalty by Ference. That cross-check call should not have been committed. He should have kept his cool. Also, he was out of position at the top of the blue line and occasionally got out-muscled along the boards.

Eastern Conference Finals - Game Five

While everyone has been pounding Bruins defenseman Tomas Kaberle in the media after game four, I will be the first to defend him. When he first came to Boston before the trade deadline everyone was praising this guy and for good reason. He has 445 career assists and 235 of those have come on the power play. We all knew that he was going to be solid on the power play and that was the main reason why Bruins General Manager Peter Chiarelli went out and got him. Lets face it, he was spending just as much time on the ice as Zdeno Chara. People forget too easily. They want him out of the playoff lineup and out of Boston when the season is over? It is unfortunate how fans have such low confidence in the players that got their team where they are now.

Since that subject has been brought up, another player that has been criticized in the media is Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas. He said that the Bruins would win game five and win the series. Is that so wrong to believe in your team? Yes the first line has to start playing better and yes the power play has to get going, but Thomas knows that he may never get an opportunity like this again in his career and he hoped that his teammates would back him up tonight in game five.

The first period was absolutely terrible for the Bruins. They were out-shot by the Lightning 14-4 and they went a span of almost 12 minutes without a shot on goal. It was evident that the Lightning were the quicker team in the opening period. The Bruins only seemed to care about delivering hits on their opposition. The only goal scored in the period came at 1:09 into the game when Simon Gagne (TB) shot the puck past Tim Thomas on a pass from Steven Stamkos. You would think that Boston would have gotten more shots on a goalie that they put up eight goals against earlier this season in Mike Smith (TB). He also was sent down to the minor leagues at one point this season. Are you kidding me?

The Bruins began the second period on the penalty kill because Nathan Horton (BOS) got called for an interference penalty on Nate Thompson (TB) at the end of the first period. The Bruins killed it off, but Horton got called again for the same penalty a couple of minutes later. This was irony at its finest for what was about to happen next. Nathan Horton scored the tying goal off of a face-off win by David Krejci. Later on in the period, Brad Marchand put Boston on top by scoring his sixth goal of the playoffs. Patrice Bergeron and Zdeno Chara had the assists. That goal was huge for the rookie because he had not had a great series so far with numerous turnovers and not enough production. For the remainder of the period the teams focused more on the physical play as opposed to playing hockey. Either way, the Bruins had the lead at the end of two periods by a score of 2-1.

The third period was all about defense for Boston. Defensemen Zdeno Chara and Dennis Seidenberg played solid as the Bruins top blue line pair averaged nearly 30 minutes of ice time each. Chara was even involved on the power play by shielding Lightning goaltender Mike Smith. However, the story of the game was Tim Thomas. Arguably, the Bruins would not have even made it this far if it was not for his presence between the pipes and the same could be said about him tonight. He made key saves as Tampa Bay was putting serious pressure on him. In the end, the Bruins held off the Lightning and Rich Peverley (BOS) added an empty net goal. The Bruins won game five by a score of 3-1 and lead the Eastern Conference finals three games to two. Game six will be Wednesday night down in Tampa Bay.

Late in the third period, Bruins defenseman Johnny Boychuk took a huge hit against the boards from Steve Downie and left the game. He was seen at the end of the game on the ice with the rest of his teammates. Hopefully that sign will indicate that he should be cleared to play in game six.

Gold Star: Tim Thomas (33 saves on 34 shots, 1 goal allowed, .971 save percentage).

Black Star: Milan Lucic...he did have an assist tonight but he still has not played up to his potential. He was the leading goal scorer for the Bruins in the regular season. I would say just give him time, but time is running out.

Eastern Conference Finals - Game Four

After game three, it was clear that the momentum had shifted in the Bruins favor. I mean with a stellar defensive game and a shutout posted by your all-star goaltender, how could it not? They say that a team is most vulnerable when they score a goal. In this case a team is most vulnerable after they win a game.

The game started off slow as both teams were trying to find a rhythm. Tampa Bay had the better chances much throughout the first period. Last time I checked, you do not win the game by out-chancing your opponent, but you have to out-score them. Patrice Bergeron stole the puck from behind the Lightning goal and shot it into the goal. Later on in the period, Michael Ryder scored his fifth goal of the playoffs on assists from Chris Kelly and Tomas Kaberle. Bergeron added a short-handed goal less than two minutes later for his second of the game. Hockey is a momentum sport and it carried over from game three in favor of Boston. At the end of the period, there was unsportsmanlike conduct from both teams. Rich Peverley (BOS), of all people, dropped the gloves with Marc-Andre Bergeron (TB) and Steve Downie (TB) got a 10 minute game misconduct. The Lightning were clearly frustrated as they trailed the Bruins 3-0 after one period.

The second period was all Tampa Bay as they scored three unanswered goals. Teddy Purcell had two and Sean Bergenheim had the third goal. Goaltender Mike Smith, who replaced Dwayne Roloson, stopped all 21 shots that he faced. In the third period, Tampa Bay got their first lead of the game when Simon Gagne put one past Tim Thomas after Tomas Kaberle (BOS) slid across the ice to block a shot but he could not get off the ice in time for a line change and he was fatigued. The Lightning added an empty net goal and that sealed the victory. Tampa Bay won game four 5-3 and they even the series at two games a piece.

The Lightning played much better than the Bruins at the face-off dot, winning the face-offs 39-26. Yes the Bruins did blow a three goal lead. However, lets not panic just yet. The series is tied at two and we have home ice advantage. The series is far from over.

Gold Star: Patrice Bergeron (2 goals, +1 rating, 4 shots on goal, 55% face-offs won).

Black Star: David Krejci...he had two giveaways and finished with a -3 rating. He was also only 25% from the face-off dot. Everybody has a bad game and today was his.

Eastern Conference Finals - Game Three

Bruins head coach Claude Julien appeared to receive more attention on Tyler Seguin's performance in game two than Seguin himself. The questions ran rampant through the media during the past two days. The two main questions that were interesting were as follows: "How come the Bruins coaches did not send Seguin down to the minor leagues to play" and "Why did Julien wait so long to play him?"

I can answer both of those questions pretty straight forward. The Bruins front office could not send the kid down to the minors because his entry contract prohibited him from playing in the minors. He was only allowed to play for the Bruins and if not, he was forced to be a healthy scratch. As far as the second question, that could be answered with two responses. First of all, where are the Bruins now? They are in the Eastern Conference finals, a spot they have not reached for 19 years. I would say that they did pretty good without him. That gave him more time to ease into a situation where he can further develop his game and be called upon when needed. Also, center Patrice Bergeron was forced to miss two games with a concussion. Under that unfortunate circumstance, Seguin got his chance and he made the most of it.

Speaking of Bergeron, the B's star player returned to action tonight. Bergeron plays on the second line, he is the leading face-off man, he plays on the power play, and he is the team's most effective penalty-killing forward. The biggest concern heading into tonight's game was if Bergeron would still be handling all of those duties. Regardless, someone had to be a healthy scratch and that someone was Shawn Thornton. The Bruins tough guy acknowledged before the game that this kind of stuff happens all the time and it is part of the sport. Rich Peverley took his spot on the fourth line with Gregory Campbell and Daniel Paille.

The game started similar to Tuesday night's game which was with a quick goal. Although this time it was Boston who scored it. David Krejci scored his seventh playoff goal when Milan Lucic sent a nice pass across the offensive zone to Krejci who backhanded it home. Towards the end of the period, Krejci was on the receiving end of a vicious hit by Marc-Andre Bergeron (TB). It was not a dirty hit but it certainly sent him for a loop. The Bruins seemed to be much more disciplined on the defensive side of the puck in the first period. They only allowed 10 shots on goal and that number is slightly deceptive because only two of them were solid scoring chances for Tampa Bay. Boston had the lead after the first 20 minutes by a score of 1-0.

If you have been watching this series you would know that for both teams it has been an offensive spectacle (18 total goals in two games). Well in the second period, both teams started to play like the two best defensive teams in the playoffs (which they are statistically as a matter of fact). Boston out-shot Tampa Bay 12-6 in the period and they also led their opposition in face-offs won through two periods (25-19). Both teams each had two power play opportunities but neither team was able to capitalize on the man advantage. After two periods, the Bruins still held on to that one goal lead.

The third period was shockingly similar to the second period for both teams. They each had their scoring chances and they each had solid goaltending. Andrew Ference* gave the Bruins a 2-0 lead with a slap shot that slid past Tampa Bay goaltender Dwayne Roloson. The play started with Milan Lucic hustling to keep the puck in the zone towards the end of a shift. His effort did not show up on the stat sheet, but without his effort that goal would not have happened. This was also a guy who missed the morning skate as well. Boston held on to win game three by a score of 2-0. This is how Bruins hockey is supposed to look like: a low scoring game with solid defending and clutch goaltending. Boston leads the series 2-1 and game four will be Saturday afternoon.

*According to ESPN, Tyler Seguin was credited with the second goal. Upon review, they will update it at a later time because Ference was clearly the last Bruin to touch the puck before it went into the goal.

Gold Star: Tim Thomas: (31 saves on 31 shots, 1.000 save percentage, 2nd career playoff shutout).

Black Star: Brad Marchand...he was relatively quite tonight and the entire series thus far. He clearly is used to playing with Patrice Bergeron. It might take him a game or two before he returns to his old form.

Eastern Conference Finals - Game Two

Not much went right for the Bruins in game one of the Eastern Conference finals. A big part of that was the play of first line center David Krejci. He lost 15 out of 18 face-offs and that is a huge part of the game. Also, the Bruins failed to get the power play going due to the lack of determination by defenseman Tomas Kaberle. I hate to single out players because it is a team sport, but those two individuals needed to step up tonight for game two.

Patrice Bergeron was ruled out for the game tonight. However, he participated in the morning skate and was solid in the team's practice yesterday. He is shooting for a return in game three on Thursday. With that being said, Rich Peverley replaced Bergeron on that second line and Chris Kelly skated on the third line. I could have told you that was going to happen. Oh wait, I did. Anyway, injured Bruins star center Marc Savard was in attendance at the TD Garden tonight hoping to spark some intensity in his team.

The first period literally started off with a Tampa Bay goal. Just 13 seconds into the game, Adam Hall gave the Lightning a 1-0 lead. What is interesting is that the Bruins won the face-off, yet they conceded the first goal. Later in the period, Nathan Horton scored for Boston to tie the game. The goal came on a 5-on-3 power play and it was only Boston's third power play goal in the playoffs. The Lightning grabbed the lead back just seven seconds left in the opening period. Martin St. Louis beat his old college buddy Tim Thomas in the front of the net for his seventh goal of the playoffs. That goal adds to his playoff total of 15 points and that leads the team. Daniel Paille (BOS) showed some great hustle while he was on the penalty kill as he kept up the pressure and forced a couple of turnovers. He may not play much but when he does he must make the most of it because he could very well lose his spot to Tyler Seguin when Bergeron returns.

The second period started not only with Boston trailing by a score of 2-1, but they skated the first two minutes without their captain Zdeno Chara. He was whistled for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty with Steve Downie of the Lightning. As it turns out they did not need him. Before he even stepped on the ice in the second period, the Bruins got the lead back. Tyler Seguin scored his second goal of the postseason on an assist from Michael Ryder and David Krejci scored on a beautiful pass from Dennis Seidenberg. Seguin added another goal in the period when he and Nathan Horton went on a 2-on-1 breakaway and Horton slid the puck over to the kid for the goal. Seguin returned the favor to Ryder as he assisted two goals that were both scored by Ryder. Somewhere in there Vincent Lecavalier tallied another goal for the Lightning. At the end of the period, Boston had a 6-3 lead.

The Lightning pulled their starting goaltender Dwayne Roloson to start the third period after Boston put the puck passed him six times. Mike Smith came in to replace Roloson and he stopped all eight shots he faced. This period was all about the high octane offense of Tampa Bay. They scored two goals to pull within one. Steven Stamkos and Dominic Moore had the goals for the Lightning. The goal by Moore should not have counted because the helmet of Tim Thomas came off before the puck went into the net. If a goaltender's helmet comes off, the play should be whistled dead and that was not the case. Even though Thomas allowed five goals in this game, the Bruins would not have held the lead because he made outstanding saves time and time again. The Bruins held on to win game two by a score of 6-5. Game three will be Thursday down in Tampa Bay.

Gold Star: Tyler Seguin (2 goals, 2 assists, +3 rating, 3 shots on goal)...he established himself tonight as a legit NHL player. If and when Marc Savard retires, that is why we drafted Seguin: a future first line center. Six total points in two games. If Claude Julien does not play Seguin when Bergeron returns, he will have an uprising on his hands from Bruins fans. Play the kid. You have no choice at this point.

Black Star: Shawn Thornton...he has one total point in the playoffs this season. Yes he brings a physical presence with an enforcer mentality, but in the playoffs it is about wins. He will not help the Bruins win. Thornton could very well be the odd man out in favor of Seguin when Bergeron returns.