Former Gophers star Phil Kessel scored a big goal that helped the Boston Bruins clinch their first Stanley Cup playoff berth since 2004. The Boston Bruins were predicted by many of the so called hockey experts to finish as low as 15th in the eastern conference.
OTTAWA (AP) — The Boston Bruins took the front door into the Stanley Cup playoffs while the Ottawa Senators backed their way in as both teams clinched postseason berths, with a little outside help and plenty of scoreboard watching.
Tim Thomas came within 8:14 of recording his third straight shutout against Ottawa and Zdeno Chara scored against his former team, leading Boston to a 2-1 win over the Senators on Friday night.
Phil Kessel also scored for the Bruins, who also drew even with Ottawa for sixth overall in the Eastern Conference with 94 points.
"We knew what was at stake and we approached it that way," Chara said. "We just played every shift very, very hard and it was a great team effort."
The Senators completed their regular-season schedule, clinching a playoff spot midway through the third period — despite trailing 2-0 against the Bruins — when Florida beat Carolina 4-3.
"There was just kind of chatter on the bench and we could hear a few guys talking about it," Ottawa center Jason Spezza said.
The result out of Raleigh was also good news on the Bruins bench.
"Halfway through the third we found out that we were in if we won the game or at least got a point," Boston coach Claude Julien said. "It was good to know and obviously gave us a bit of breathing room and helped us finish the game on a strong note."
The sold-out Scotiabank Place crowd was advised that the Senators had clinched their playoff spot during a stoppage in play with 1:35 remaining, drawing a huge cheer.
"We didn't want to be sitting in front of the T.V. (Saturday) and Sunday," Spezza said. (read the rest of the story)
No comments:
Post a Comment