Yippee-ki-yay: Canucks & Bruins – Game Three

> Three The Hard Way: The depth on this Vancouver team is remarkable, especially considering how last year’s playoffs ended. The fact they can lose Hamhuis and toss in Alberts (in lieu of Ballard!) who made an immediate impact is commendable. Crazy. Up front Malhotra’s return was inspirational of course, but more importantly allows Vigneault to roll four lines with confidence. Boston can do the same, but against a speedier Canucks team the edge becomes apparent by the third period. Vancouver has to respect the Boston PP at this point, so staying out of the box is all the more crucial in the away games. Luongo has a .967 SV% through the first two games, but should expect more bodies and bedlam as the Lucic goal showed. Boston should start the game in full attack mode. In an ideal world the Canucks can jump on the board early and take the crowd out; in the real world we know they have typically started game three’s slow but with a chance to put the skate to the throat of this series perhaps we’ll see a better sense of urgency.

> Go For Broke: Boston doesn’t want to start hearing about the 1942 Leafs, so for all intents and purposes tonight is a must win. Julien claims he won’t make any changes to his strategy, but he said that after Game One and moving Chara back to the point on the PP worked as expected. You have to wonder if breaking up Chara/Seidenberg is a good idea from the third period on as Ference was the goat on both Burrows’ goals in Game Two. Up front there’s even more blame to go around. The Horton line remains dangerous, but Bergeron’s has yet to be a factor and the third line is still getting eaten alive by their counterparts. A recommended change would promote Peverley to Kelly’s line and get some more speed involved to push Vancouver’s third line back on their heels more. The Bruins need to perfect their work ethic that resulted in their dominant second period of Game Two and keep the plays simple and safe during the third (when Vancouver tends to put the pedal to the metal).

> Impress Your Friends With Knowledge!: Burrows now joins Maurice Richard (1951 Canadiens) and Mel Hill (1939 Bruins) as the only players to score three OT goals in one post season.