Bruins keep it all together
A team effort beats Chicago
When Blake Wheeler was designated a healthy scratch yesterday for the first time this season, defenseman-turned-forward Matt Hunwick stepped in. When Stephane Yelle was knocked out of the game late in the second period, Hunwick centered the fourth line for one shift. When a funny bounce caught Tim Thomas by surprise in the third period, Aaron Ward was there to sweep the puck out of harm's way, keeping the Bruins ahead by a goal.
And when the storming Blackhawks threatened to turn a three-goal third-period deficit into a 4-4 tie, it was P.J. Axelsson, dropped to fourth-line duty because of the arrival of Mark Recchi, who stripped young star Patrick Kane at center ice and flipped home an empty-netter to seal a 5-3 victory before 17,565 at TD Banknorth Garden.
It was a complete team effort, just when the slumping Bruins needed everyone to pull together.
"It was nice," Axelsson said. "I think our work ethic was a lot better for 60 minutes. That's nice."
It also helped that the ageless Recchi (two goals) gave the Bruins everything they wanted when they plucked the 41-year-old off the Tampa Bay roster. Dangerous stick around the net. Willingness to drive to the goal. A high level of competitiveness that put the Bruins over the edge to close out a six-game homestand with a feel-good win in one of the most fast-paced and entertaining outings of the season.
"That was just a good hockey game," said Chicago coach Joel Quenneville. "The pace was good. There was probably a 10-minute segment without a whistle. There was maybe one over a 12-minute stretch. It was a fast game."
The up-and-coming Blackhawks, armed with skill, speed, and toughness both up front and on the blue line, couldn't get the timely save from their netminder. Just 30 seconds after Jonathan Toews tied the game at 15:11 of the second period with a power-play goal, ex-Montreal goalie Cristobal Huet buckled at the wrong time.
An Arctic-cold David Krejci (one goal and three assists in the last 11 games), stationed just to Huet's right, took a pass from Andrew Ference. With no other options available, Krejci put a bad-angle shot on net that somehow trickled through Huet (34 saves) at 15:41 for a momentum-halting goal that could spark the scuffling center.
"They don't have to be pretty," said Bruins coach Claude Julien. "They just have to go in. The first instinct he had was to just throw it at the net. It got through.
"Every night you watch highlights on TV. There's always a few of those goals going in. Why not pucks on net? I think we need to do that as much as we can."
Thirty-five seconds after Krejci's goal, the Bruins struck again. The play started when Chuck Kobasew hurtled into the offensive zone down the right wing with the puck. Kobasew absorbed a hit from Brian Campbell and dished a backhand pass to Patrice Bergeron. Defenseman Matt Walker foiled Bergeron's curl-and-drag move, but Dennis Wideman found the loose puck.
Wideman hesitated for a split-second, allowing a shooting lane to open just as Recchi set himself up at the crease. Wideman wristed a puck on goal that Recchi tipped past Huet for his second goal as a Bruin.
In the third period, the Bruins scored their third straight goal after Campbell, on the breakout, lost an edge and coughed up the puck. Milan Lucic kicked off the transition and slid a dish to Marc Savard, who found a streaking Phil Kessel for the winger's team-best 27th goal at 1:35 of the third.
But the Blackhawks weren't ready to quit.
Ex-Bruin Kris Versteeg hammered home the rebound of a Walker shot at 10:26. Then after Ference was whistled for holding at 13:42, Kane cracked a slap shot through a Mark Stuart screen to beat Thomas (32 saves) at 14:34.
"We wanted to make it a little more exciting for the fans," cracked Thomas. "That's hockey nowadays. Especially after the lockout.
"A three-goal lead is not the end of the game. You've got to finish it up all the way to the end. They're a young team that doesn't quit. They pressured us hard all the way to the end."
With all the juice flowing on their side, the Blackhawks seemed poised to tie the game after pulling Huet. After taking an outlet pass from Campbell, Kane slashed through the neutral zone. But Axelsson, positioned higher on the forecheck away from the Boston net because of Chicago's puck-moving ability on defense, was in the right spot to strip Kane at center ice.
"I got a little lucky when he tried to go wide," said Axelsson.
With New Jersey losing to the Islanders yesterday, the Bruins now have an 8-point lead in the East.
"[Chicago] is a young team that's got a lot of skill, a lot of potential, and is well-respected in the West," Julien said. "It wasn't going to be an easy game.
"That's probably what we needed - that kind of challenge."
