Shortly after the Boston Bruins lost Nathan Horton to a frightening injury, they found a dazzling offensive rhythm that got them back into the Stanley Cup finals.
Andrew Ference and David Krejci each had a goal and an assist during Boston's four-goal second period, Tim Thomas made 40 saves, and the Bruins beat the Canucks 8-1 in Game 3 on Monday night, trimming Vancouver's series lead to 2-1.
Mark Recchi scored two goals for the Bruins, who turned a big win into a blowout with four more goals in the final 8 1/2 minutes of the third period against beleaguered goalie Roberto Luongo, who won the first two games of the series in Vancouver.
The Bruins were one goal shy of equaling the finals record of nine in a game, set by Detroit in Game 2 of the 1936 series and matched by Toronto six years later in Game 5. The eight goals were the most scored in the finals since Colorado topped Florida 8-1 on June 6, 1996, in Game 2, according to STATS LLC.
Boston emerged from its offensive slump after Horton was taken off the ice on a stretcher in the first period after taking a late hit to the head from Vancouver defenseman Aaron Rome.
"It's always tough when a guy goes down," said forward Brad Marchand, who scored a short-handed goal. "We really wanted to get this win tonight for him. It's a very tough situation, and everyone is worried about him, but it definitely gave us motivation to win."
Game 4 is Wednesday in Boston.
Marchand scored a short-handed goal in the second period, and Daniel Paille added another short-handed goal in the third. Recchi, Chris Kelly and Michael Ryder — who finished with three points — scored in the final 2 1/2 minutes as the Bruins emphatically avoided a daunting 0-3 series deficit.
Boston had managed just three goals in its previous 10 periods before torching Luongo, who stopped 30 shots. Boston hadn't even scored six goals in a finals game since May 5, 1970, in Game 2 against St. Louis on the way to their last championship.
Jannik Hansen broke up Thomas' shutout bid with 6:07 to play for the Canucks, who finally hit a major bump in their late-season roll toward their first Stanley Cup title.
NHL scoring champion Daniel Sedin got a 10-minute misconduct late in the jarring loss for the Presidents' Trophy winners, who had won seven of eight games. The Canucks had given up just six total goals in their previous four games while closing out the Western Conference finals and taking a two-game lead over Boston.
The palpable excitement of Boston's first home finals game in 21 years turned into unease just 5 minutes into Game 3.
Andrew Ference and David Krejci each had a goal and an assist during Boston's four-goal second period, Tim Thomas made 40 saves, and the Bruins beat the Canucks 8-1 in Game 3 on Monday night, trimming Vancouver's series lead to 2-1.
Mark Recchi scored two goals for the Bruins, who turned a big win into a blowout with four more goals in the final 8 1/2 minutes of the third period against beleaguered goalie Roberto Luongo, who won the first two games of the series in Vancouver.
The Bruins were one goal shy of equaling the finals record of nine in a game, set by Detroit in Game 2 of the 1936 series and matched by Toronto six years later in Game 5. The eight goals were the most scored in the finals since Colorado topped Florida 8-1 on June 6, 1996, in Game 2, according to STATS LLC.
Boston emerged from its offensive slump after Horton was taken off the ice on a stretcher in the first period after taking a late hit to the head from Vancouver defenseman Aaron Rome.
"It's always tough when a guy goes down," said forward Brad Marchand, who scored a short-handed goal. "We really wanted to get this win tonight for him. It's a very tough situation, and everyone is worried about him, but it definitely gave us motivation to win."
Game 4 is Wednesday in Boston.
Marchand scored a short-handed goal in the second period, and Daniel Paille added another short-handed goal in the third. Recchi, Chris Kelly and Michael Ryder — who finished with three points — scored in the final 2 1/2 minutes as the Bruins emphatically avoided a daunting 0-3 series deficit.
Boston had managed just three goals in its previous 10 periods before torching Luongo, who stopped 30 shots. Boston hadn't even scored six goals in a finals game since May 5, 1970, in Game 2 against St. Louis on the way to their last championship.
Jannik Hansen broke up Thomas' shutout bid with 6:07 to play for the Canucks, who finally hit a major bump in their late-season roll toward their first Stanley Cup title.
NHL scoring champion Daniel Sedin got a 10-minute misconduct late in the jarring loss for the Presidents' Trophy winners, who had won seven of eight games. The Canucks had given up just six total goals in their previous four games while closing out the Western Conference finals and taking a two-game lead over Boston.
The palpable excitement of Boston's first home finals game in 21 years turned into unease just 5 minutes into Game 3.