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Yesterday we saw our love of hating Matt Cooke beat out the skillful and clutch game-winner against Mr. Strombone, Roberto Luongo. Today, we look at two more goals in this entry of...
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Round One: Goals
2. Game-Tying and GWG Combo Against Philadelphia
If praise gets built over time, these goals will be the memorable moment of the 2014-15 season. Down by one goal with under 20 seconds left in the 3rd and Rask pulled, the Bruins are in danger of losing in regulation to the Philadelphia Flyers who are right on their tails in the hunt for the 2nd Wild Card in the East. Not to mention Florida and the Ottawa Senators. Giving up 2 points to Philly would be one thing, but taking home 0 would be another. But with 14.1 seconds left, Marchand deflects a Dougie shot-pass by Steve Mason to send the game into overtime. Then, proving his worth yet again, Marchand takes a Spooner steal and Talbot pass to the backhand and deflects one in off of defenseman Michael Del Zotto. With the win, Boston effectively ended any chance of the Flyers catching them in the standings, and would also be the start to a 4-point homestand weekend.
3. OT Game-Winner Against the New York Rangers, Eastern Conference Semis 2013.
Perhaps because of how much of a miracle/nail-biter the seven-game Toronto series was, people seem to remember the rest of the Cup run through the Eastern Conference as a cakewalk. Granted, they swept the Penguins and beat the Rangers in 5 games, but it wasn't as easy as is looked. Case in point, Game One of the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals. The Rangers actually held the lead at one point in this game until Torey Krug tied it on the powerplay in the 3rd period, but the real magic was in overtime. Nearly 33 minutes of non-scoring hockey was played back and forth before Number 63 took a widely-missed Rangers shot down the wall, fed Bergeron and streaked towards the net. Maybe the pass was better than the goal itself, but to be able to out-speed Matt Zuccarello and then tap it five-hole on Lundqvist instead of trying to rocket a shot top-shelf should be noted as being a hell of a play in its own right.
Will we choose a pair of dramatic goals in a tight playoff race? Or the game-winning goal in the opener of a playoff series against New Yawk rivals?