That Earl Hickey guy is full of shit. There is no such thing as karma. Scott Walker proved that tonight when he batted the puck out of mid air and beat Tim Thomas to end the Bruins' season just fours days after his sucker punch on Aaron Ward.
The Bruins struck first 7:42 into the game on a goal from Byron Bitz. Dennis Wideman fired a shot from out near the blue line that was tipped by Michael Ryder and picked up by Krejci and passed back to Byron Bitz in front, who deposited the puck into the back of the net.
The Hurricanes tied it up with 6:04 left in the first period with a power play goal from Rod Brind'Amour. With P.J. Axelsson just exiting the box after serving his hooking penalty and Patrice Bergeron without a stick, Dennis Seidenberg ripped a shot from the high slot that was deflected in by Rod Brind'Amour, who was stationed at the top of the crease.
Carolina took a 2-1 lead 7:44 into the second period when Joni Pitkanen fed a perfect cross ice pass on an odd man rush to Sergei Samsonov at the door step.
The Hurricanes looked like they were about to go up 3-1 early in the third period before Aaron Ward calmly cleared the puck off the goal line.
Milan Lucic got the equalizer for the B's with 13:41 left in regulation when Marc Savard "set up in Gretzky's office", skated to the side of the net and bounced a shot off Cam Ward that found Milan Lucic at the top of the crease.
With nothing decided after 60 minutes of hockey, the teams headed for overtime.
Scott Walker got the game winner for the Hurricanes when he batted in a rebound from Ryan Whitney's shot out of mid air with 1:14 left in overtime.
Notes:
- I think it is safe to say that Scott Walker has gained membership into an elite club of loathed athletes in Boston. For your membership benefits, please consult Mr. Dent, Mr. Boone, or Mr. Samuelsson.
- The Caniacs talk about how loud the RBC Center is, but I think the TD Banknorth Garden reached "Garden Level" tonight with the "WE WANT IT!" chant.
- I never said that I would be disappointed if the Bruins didn't win the Cup this year, but this was a really disappointing finish to the season. I honestly thought the Bruins overachieved at times this season, but thought they were good enough to make a slightly longer Cup run.
- The worst media placement ever: Ace Ticket aired commercials during the NESN post game show for Bruins Eastern Conference Finals tickets.
- Peter Chiarelli will have his hands full this off season. It will be interesting to see who is staying and who has played their last game in Black & Gold.
Unrestricted Free Agents
P.J. Axelsson
Stephane Yelle
Mark Recchi
Martin St. Pierre
Steve Montador
Shane Hnidy
Johnny Boychuk
Manny Fernandez
Restricted Free Agents
Phil Kessel
David Krejci
Byron Bitz
Matt Hunwick
Kevin Regan
- I picked a great season to start a Bruins blog. The Bruins had a great season and I have had a great time writing about the B's this season and talking hockey with fans of all teams. Just because the season is over doesn't mean that I won't be writing. I plan to update the blog with almost the same regularity as I did during the season. In the coming weeks, I will start to take a look at the NHL Entry Draft, NHL Awards Show, and the Bruins off season moves. Hell, I might even write about the Baby B's. Stay tuned for the 1st Annual Stanley Cup of Chowder Awards that will be announced in the coming days.
- Congratulations to the Carolina Hurricanes and their fans. It was a great series. The Caniacs are a passionate and knowledgeable group of hockey fans...you know, for a bunch of "goobers" from Mayberry.
- Now if you will excuse me, I'm off to go find this kid so we can commiserate together: