Zdeno Chara makes a sprawling save off Malkin to keep the Bruins 1-0 lead with about 30 seconds left in the game
The Boston Bruins domination of the Pittsburgh Penguins ended tonight with a 1-0 game 4 victory, and a sweep of the series. Coming into the series the Penguins were the highest scoring offense in the postseason since the 1985 Edmonton Oilers team. They were averaging 4.27 goals per game over the first 2 series. The Bruins held them to 2 goals in the series. In the the history of the NHL playoffs, only one team has ever given up less goals in a series than the Bruins did. And that team was not facing an offensive juggernaut like the Penguins.
The Penguins put a ton of pressure on the Bruins in the last minute of the game and there was a moment when Rask was out of the play, Chara was face down on the ice, and Malkin had an open net. In desperation Chara stuck his glove out and was able to block the tying goal from going in. Holy cow! So lucky.
Here's the video:
Here's another angle. Watch how Krejci knees Chara in the head as he tries to get up, then Chara gives Krejci a cross check at the end… lol
McQuaid's Game Winning Goal
The only goal of the game was scored by Adam McQuaid with about 15 minutes left in the 3rd period. It was a great play by Marchand to make time and space in the zone, and he floated a pass over to McQuaid who let it rip. It looks like the shot was slightly deflected by Iginla as it rocketed over Voukon's glove and in.
Keys to the Bruins Series Sweep
There were a heck of alot of reasons the Bruins dominated this series. Here's some of them:
For the Bruins
- TUUKKA! He was outstanding. He made the saves and also did not give up many rebounds. He was a vaccum.
- The Bruins top 4 defensemen were outstanding. Among many things, their great stick position was a particularly big problem for the high flying Penguins. They had so much trouble making passes that they often turned to blind passes that were seldom successfully completed. The Bruins D also played with great discipline and was very seldom out of position. Couple that with great communication and the Penguins couldn't get much going.
- The backchecking of the Bruins forwards was relentless. Great layered defense.
- The play of the Boston's two top lines was dominate. The Krejci line kept the pressure on the Pitt D throughout the series, and the Bergeron line was all over the Crosby line.
- Marchand was outstanding. Great puck control setup the game winning goals in games 3 and 4.
For the Penguins
- The goaltending in games 1 & 2 was not very good.
- The effort was only really top notch for short timeframes in the series. They couldn't keep it up for more than 5 or 6 minutes.
- Crosby was extremely undisciplined throughout the series. Tons of turnovers and out of position defensively.
- Chris Letang was the worst player in the series. Constant turnovers, stupid penalties, out of position. The Bruins top 4 defensemen all out played him by a wide margin.
- Their top offesnive players (Crosby, Malking, Neal, Iginla) ended up with nothing. No goals, no assists.
- Here's a good summary of what went wrong for them.