Bruins vs. Hurricanes, Game 5 Recap

Boston applied a liberal thrashing to the Canes, with Tim Thomas pulling out all the stops (well, all 19 of them to be exact) for the B's. Anyone who watched game four of the series would be confused if you were to run a tape on game five. Who are these guys in the sleek black uniform's and what have they done with the uneasy Bruins of Friday night's hockey game?



There were some key components at work here that were noticeably missing in the last game. Particularly #81 Right Wing Phil Kessel, who was accountable for netting two goals for the night, ending the game with six shots on goal. The fact that Kessel was more productive on the ice than all of Carolina's offensive line gives me pause, as I think of the Boston slogan for this year: "Play like you want it." It's only too bad that nobody gave Staal and company the very same advice.

During a power play in the first period, Mark Recchi dropped the puck in behind a distracted Ward to give his team the early advantage. Zdneo Chara had a terrific game tonight, assisting two of the four goals for the game. He also appeared to be injured, about 18 minutes into the second period of play, when he was slashed on the leg by the stick of an opposing player. He was able to skate off the ice without aid and came back strong in the third. There's no word on any injuries at the moment.

So maybe it isn't fair to be so harsh on the Canes. They are still leading the series with three wins, whereas Boston has only tallied two. This is the second time Carolina has faced a shutout in this year's playoffs.

When all was said and done, Cam Ward ended up with 36 saves, which makes it extremely difficult to attribute the loss to his lack of ability in terms of keeping the net. But as the image on the left clearly illustrates, he would've probably been successful, were he paying more attention to where he was positioning himself around the goal. Onlookers in white and red uniforms commented on him holding the pictured stance throughout the entirety of the game. Why the Carolina coaching staff neglected to address such a thing is any one's guess.

Tuesday night marks the series return to Carolina in what might be the deciding factor for the Hurricanes. If they can pull their act together and help Ward get back to the center of the net, they've got a golden opportunity to eliminate the Bruins and to reignite the rivalry of the Bruins-Whalers rivalry which has been laying dormant for so much years. But we have to remember that this is not the same team that the Whalers were. These are the Carolina Hurricanes we're talking about, a team which upheld zero wins in four games against the Bruins, in the regular season.

After the fifth game of each series, they are all currently tied 3-2. I'll be posting the current standings as well as my thoughts on them in an upcoming post.