2. Savard Snaps the Losing Streak

Coming into game three of last April's Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, the Bruins had little on their side. They were beaten soundly by the Canadiens in game one, and were victimized by a questionable tripping call in an overtime loss in game two. Sure, the B's were returning home, but they hadn't been able to beat Montreal once in ten games last year.

This was a game that I attended, and was convinced that the Bruins would win. Honestly, I don't know if I was really that confident or if I was just unable to witness in-person another Bruins defeat at the hands of the hated Habs. The building was packed, and there was finally a great atmosphere for a hockey game in Boston, something that had seemingly been lacking for years. Granted a lot of the boisterousness in the crowd came from the fact that it was probably 30% Habs fans, something that should never, ever happen, especially in the playoffs. The Montrealers chants and songs were drowned out by booing Bruins fans, and even before the starting lineups were introduced, a "Let's Go Bruins" chant filled the arena.

The game started off pretty well for the Bruins, as they came out with a lot of energy, throwing hits and getting a couple of good scoring chances. Zdeno Chara was booed by the Montreal contingent everytime he touched the puck, but those boos were quickly overcome by racuous cheers from the Bruins faithful. Basically, this game was a mess of noise from start to finish, filled with chants, "Ole!"'s, profanity, and sometimes just drunken screams.

Finally, 6:30 into the first period, Milan Lucic found himself alone in the slot, took a great feed from Marc Savard, and ripped a wicked wrist shot past Carey Price, one that clanged in off of crossbar and sent the Garden into a frenzy. Not only was it the first time the Bruins led in the series, but the first time ALL SEASON that the B's found themselves ahead on the scoreboard against the Habs.

With the early lead, the crowd kept pushing for more, and the B's nearly delivered. There were a couple of different scoring chances in this game, including a breakaway by Marco Sturm and a 2-on-1 with David Krecji and (I believe) Glen Murray, both of which were turned away by Price.

Despite having the momentum on their side, the B's allowed Montreal to tie the game in the second, as Tom Kostopoulos slipped one past time Thomas with a little less than 16 minutes left in the middle frame.

The rest of the game was a roller-coaster ride, with the B's pressing for the go ahead goal, then nearly giving up that same goal to Montreal, etc. Things went on like this for the last 25 minutes of regulation, and into overtime.

Personally, I'd never been to a playoff game in person, let alone an overtime one where the team I'm cheering for finds itself in as "must-win" of a game as "must-win"'s can be. To say it was nerve-wracking is an understatement, as the entire arena lived and died with each Montreal rush or each Bruins shot on goal. Tim Thomas saved the Bruins big-time on a couple of different occasions down the stretch, including one in overtime where the puck popped into the air over his head and he had to swat it down, or it would have trickled in off of his back.

Finally, with about 10 minutes gone in the first overtime, a Habs player sent a shot in that missed the net and carromed to Peter Schaefer by the Boston blue line, and the rest can be told by a clip that I've probably watched hundreds of times in a couple of months...



To say that this was the greatest sporting event I've ever been to in person would not be an understatement, as I still occasionally get the chills watching this clip. This was one of the biggest goals scored by the Bruins in recent memory, one that all but erased a season's worth of frustration and made the Bruins believe that they could in fact beat this team, and could push to win the series.

This game is something that I will never forget, one of those sporting events that get burned in the memories of all those who were present. Yes, the Bruins eventually lost the series, and yes, this game would ultimately get outshined by the unreal game six, but this game was a fantastic game in its own right, and may soon be able to be looked at as the game that begin the slow rise of hockey back to consciousness in Boston.