This is the last post I will write for Stanley Cup of Chowder. I am officially hanging up my blogging skates.

I would like to say that I planned it out like Mark Recchi to go out on top and call it quits after writing the story I always wanted to write (the Bruins winning the Stanley Cup, of course), but this was a decision that I made several months ago.

Adam Carolla often poses the question "Does it make you money or does it make you happy?". This was a question that I asked myself over and over again when I was contemplating making the difficult decision to step away from the site that I created and invested three years of my life to. This season, running the site became more of a grind for me. I found myself spending almost all of my free time working on the site. Something that I started as hobby started to feel like a second full-time job (without much of a financial return). While the positive feedback from my loyal readers did make me happy and the stipend I earned for writing did put some extra cash in my pocket, I felt like the amount of time I spent working on the site was starting to affect other parts of my life. At the end of the day, it was not making me very much money or making me happy. I love hockey and I love to write. I do not ever want to lose my passion for either, so I am taking a step back so I can become a fan of both again.

When I first started this site, I had just finished up with grad school and was looking for a way to pass the time in between sending out resumes and sleeping until noon. I didn't think anyone would read my stuff besides maybe a few friends, but somehow it took off. This site has provided me with some great experiences and opportunities. Back then, I never would have dreamed that I would wind up in the press box at the NHL Winter Classic, get to write a guest post for the New York Times website, or get to skate on the ice at Fenway Park. Those things are a long way from live blogging Olympic racewalking from my parent's couch at 2:00 AM.

This site would have never become what it is today, without the help of some great people:

My Loyal Readers: This site would be nothing without our readers. You are the best. You challenge me, you make me think, and most importantly, you make me laugh. You guys got me through the grind of a long season.

My Co-Writers: I cannot thank Phil (Phunwin) and Tim (timmorrison23) enough for all the help they have given me. Phil, you stepped up big time this season. I was reluctant to add a new writer and it worked out incredibly well. I could not have done it this year without you. Timmy, you are the best emergency call-up in the blogging game. You always come through when I need you.

Greg Wyshynski from Yahoo! Puck Daddy: If you didn't stumble upon my poorly-written rant against the NHL's decision to award a Winter Classic to Chicago, who knows where Stanley Cup of Chowder would have ended up. Puck Daddy continues to be a major traffic driver for this site.

Toucher & Rich: I don't care who SB Nation is business partners with. You guys are the most talented people in Boston radio. You have supported this site and the Bruins from the very beginning. I owe a lot of the success of this site to you. It was great meeting you guys before the Winter Classic. I know my interview was not the best 5 minutes in radio history, but I had to have been better than Pat Man and Andrew Alberts.

James Mirtle, Tyler Bleszinski, and JP from Japers' Rink: Thank you for giving me the opportunity to join SB Nation and reach a larger audience.

James Murphy: Thanks for helping me out in the early days and providing content for the site...even if it almost ruined your career. It was great hanging out with you at the Winter Classic.

Bruins beat writers and fellow Bruins bloggers: There are a lot of talented people writing about and covering the Bruins right now. Thanks to those of you who have help spread the word of Stanley Cup of Chowder: Joe Haggerty of CSNNE, Mike Giardi or CSNNE, Matt Kalman of The Bruins Blog, DJ Bean of WEEI, Mike Petraglia of WEEI, Mark Marino of The Hub of Hockey, Days of Y'Orr, Something's Bruin, Amanda Bruno of The Springfield Republican, Cornelius Hardenbergh, Hub Hockey, Mass Hysteria, and probably a bunch of others that I forgot.

Everyone that let me write a guest post: NBC Sports Pro Hockey Talk, The New York Times Slap Shot Blog, Cycle Like The Sedins, NESN, etc.

SB Nation Hockey Crew: The talent and dedication of this group is incredible. Keep up the great work! I'll keep reading.

My friends and family: Thank you for voting for me in meaningless blog contests and listening to me ramble on about the Bruins and my stupid blog. I have neglected you all lately and I can't wait to spend more time with you.

I'm sure I forgot someone. If I forgot you, just consider yourself part of the friends and family category.

So, now what?

Fear not, Chowdah Heads. The site is in good hands. Ryan Durling is taking over as site manager. You may know Ryan from his work on SB Nation Boston, Something's Bruin, and Sieves The Day. I think Ryan is going to do a fantastic job and take the site to a whole new level. He will be posting a welcome message later today to introduce himself to all of you and map out his plans for the site.

Once again, I just want to thank all of the readers. We have formed a great community here over the last three years and I hope everyone sticks around to see what Ryan has in store for the site.

It's been a great ride, but it's time to step away.

We put a call out to our readers to send in their own photos from the Bruins Stanley Cup Parade and the response was awesome. You guys took some great shots:

Submitted by Ed (Losted125):

Continue reading this post »

For the seventh time in the past 10 years, fans packed the streets of Boston to watch a Boston sports team celebrate a championship with a victory parade. After seeing the Patriots, Red Sox, and Celtics all make the slow duck boat drive through the streets of the city, the Bruins finally got their turn today.

The "rolling rally" kicked off outside TD Garden, where NESN color analyst Andy Brickley served as MC and introduced the 2011 Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins. Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs, president Cam Neely, GM Peter Chiarelli, head coach Claude Julien, captain Zdeno Chara, Mark Recchi, Tim Thomas, Patrice Bergeron, and a poorly rapping Brad Marchand all addressed the crowd outside The Garden before the team boarded the duck boats to make their way to Copley Square.

Notes:

- Boston Police confirmed that the crowd was largest of any rolling rally in Boston history. According to some estimates, one million fans came out to take in the rolling rally.

- The Bruins rode duck boats despite Shawn Thornton's request for for old school black Caddies.

- Cam Neely inadvertently forget to thank goalie coach Bob Essensa and was reminded by Milan Lucic. I'd say Essensa did any OK job with the goalies this year. I think he might deserve a mention.

- Jeremy Jacobs was actually applauded by the crowd, but quickly lost the crowd a bit after mispronouncing "Claude" and calling out Cam Neely for never winning a Cup as a player.

- Zdeno Chara handing the Cup over to Cam Neely was a great moment.

- Brad Marchand attempted to sing Wiz Khalifa's "Black & Yellow"...poorly.

- Claude Julien thanked Doc Rivers, Terry Francona, and Bill Belichik for their support throughout the playoffs.

- The Red Sox moved the start time of their game today to 7:00 to accommodate the parade.

- I guess the goalies missed the memo about the championship caps. Timmy Thomas was sporting an Army-style cap, while Tuukka Rask was still wearing Nathan Horton's helmet. When asked about the helmet by Rich Shertenlieb of Toucher & Rich, Tuukka said "Safety first." Tuukka later swapped Horton's helmet for an all-black Red Sox cap.

- Our buddies, Toucher & Rich hitched a ride on one of the duck boats.

- Marc Savard was on hand to take part in the parade. At one point near Copley Square, Savard grabbed a microphone and started a "We got The Cup" chant.

- Being Tyler Seguin has it's perks these days.

- The Stanley Cup was riding on the first duck boat with Zdeno Chara and Tim Thomas with start. It was then passed to each duck boat along the parade route.

- At one point, Zdeno Chara got off the duck boat and walked The Stanley Cup along the edge of the parade route allowing the fans to touch The Cup.

- A Bruins flag waved over Copley Square.

- This photo that David Robichaud of WBZ 4 took of a sign calling out Alex Burrows is awesome.

- Video of Shawn Thornton talking about the past few days, the difference in fan reaction between winning in Boston and Anaheim, and a great line about the Bruins Mardi Gras beads that they are wearing.

- Anthem singer Rene Rancourt and organist Ron Poster led fans in a "Here we go, Bruins!" chant.

- I was kind of surprised that the Bruins didn't invite more of their past players to participate in the parade. I know it is about celebrating this year's team, but this is a team with great tradition and a storied history. It would have been nice to see some Bruins legends there.

- If anyone was at the parade, please send your photos to stanleycupofchowder@gmail.com. I am going to post a fan photo story later today.

"I'm so proud to be here to say that we're the team that brought The Stanley Cup back to Boston, where it belongs."

Patrice Bergeron

Brad Marchand when asked by WBZ 4 what he has been doing since they won The Cup:

"Celebrating! Partying!"

"We played together, we drank together, we won together!"

Mark Recchi

I thought it would be fun to take a look back at the major events of the past season that led the Bruins to their sixth Stanley Cup in franchise history.

For a short stroll down memory lane, continue reading after the jump.

Continue reading this post »

Zdeno Chara, Tim Thomas, Patrice Bergeron, and The Stanley Cup were guests on NBC's Today Show this morning:

I'm not sure what is better about this video: The main stream media pretending to know anything about hockey or Ann Curry's puck slut impression at the end?

Mayor Menino announced today that the Bruins Stanley Cup Parade will take place on Saturday morning starting at 11:00 AM at TD Garden. The parade route will start at TD Garden and proceed to Copley Plaza.

After a 39 year hiatus, the Boston Bruins are bringing Lord Stanley's Cup back to Boston after a 4-0 win over the Vancouver Canucks in Game 7 at Rogers Arena behind a 37-save shutout by Conn Smythe winner Tim Thomas.

Patrice Bergeron gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead 14:37 into the game after freezing Roberto Luongo with a one-timer from the slot. Henrik Sedin won the draw back at the right circle, but Brad Marchand was able to swoop into the circle and gain possession of the puck. Marchand looped back to the right wing boards and fed a backhand pass, that may have been intended for Mark Recchi, but found its way to the stick of Patrice Bergeron. Bergeron's one-timer beat Luongo low on the stick for a 1-0 first period lead.

Brad Marchand extended the Bruins' lead to 2-0 when he jammed a backhand wrap-around off of Luongo and in with 7:47 left to play in the second period.

With the Bruins shorthanded late in the second period after Zdeno Chara went to the box for interference, Patrice Bergeron broke free on a breakway before being hauled down by Christian Ehrhoff. Bergeron and Ehrhoff went crashing into Luongo as the puck crossed the goal line to give the B's a 3-0 lead and a little bit of breathing room with 2:25 remaining in the middle period.

Brad Marchand put the final nail in the Canucks' coffin when he added an empty-netter with 2:44 left in the game.

From there, it was all about just killing time and waiting to pile on the ice to hoist The Cup!

Notes & Quotes:

- Bruins are the first road team to record a shutout in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals.

- It must feel pretty good to go out on top like Mark Recchi. We all knew it was coming, but Mark made it official tonight.

- Recchi was the second man to lift The Cup after captain Zdeno Chara. From there, he handed it on to Patrice Bergeron, who gave it to Tim Thomas. I think they got it right: give it to the captains and then give it to the guy that got you here.

- Tyler Seguin got to lift The Cup at age 19. I hope he appreciates how special this moment is.

- Everyone will look back at the hit on Nathan Horton as a major turning point in this series. Don't poke a bear in hibernation and not expect to wake him up.

- Nathan Horton snuck some "dirty water" from Boston into Rogers Arena to create some home ice.

- Nathan Horton and the Black Aces got dressed in their gear and joined their teammates on the ice to celebrate.

- This is one of those moments where you will always remember where you were. I was in a hotel room in Huntsville, Alabama during a thunder storm cursing at my TV as the cable intermittently cut out throughout the game.

- Patrice Bergeron finished +4 tonight. On the flip side, the Sedin brothers were on the ice for all 4 goals.

- Riots erupted in Vancouver after the Canucks' loss. I guess, when your team conducts themselves on the ice like Habs-wannabes, why shouldn't you act like Habs fans?

- Video of the scene at The Greatest Bar after the Bruins win (courtesy of my buddy Dennis from the Boston band Endway).

- I had Canucks in 6. I have never been happier to be wrong.

- OK, go shave you scruffy bastards!

- As always, go check out the awesome work that our buddies over at Nucks Misconduct do.

"I'm so happy to be part of the team that brought The Cup back to Boston."

Patrice Bergeron

Claude Julien on Tim Thomas:

"Tim Thomas in these playoffs just totally dominated. That's the sign of a great goaltender. He was on top of his game from start to finish, and especially in this final round. He was outstanding every game. I know everybody expected him to have an average game at some point. Never came. He was in the zone, focused, never let anything rattle him and never questioned his style of play. What's happened to him right now is so deserving and so proud of him and obviously the rest of the team."

Claude Julien on his critics:

"As a coach you're going to be subject to criticism, but the most important thing is what's going on inside that dressing room. There wasn't a guy that didn't believe in what we were doing. So it's easy to stay the course, and you got to stay the course. Today you're rewarded for it. Had I worried about that other stuff, I probably wouldn't be standing here today. "

Tim Thomas on if he is done proving himself:

"Winning the Stanley Cup is huge. It's the biggest accomplishment of my career thus far. But everybody knows in this game that you have to continuously prove yourself. I'm sure if I were to, for example, start out the season bad next year that I probably, with the Cup, would have bought myself a little bit of leeway, but it won't last forever unless I turn my game around. "

Tim Thomas' message to Bruins fans:

"You've been waiting a long time, but you got it. You wanted it, you got it. We're bringing it home. "

Tim Thomas on winning the Conn Smythe Trophy:

"It's quite an honor. The Stanley Cup is the biggest one. That's the one that you're shooting for. Conn Smythe is completely an honor. I just sat down here and started to read some of the names on it and it's an honor to be mentioned in the same Maple leaf. Patrick, Ron Hextall, Ken Dryden, those are the three goalies that I can see on this side facing me, it's amazing. "

Patrice Bergeron on the team's future:

"The future looks bright with all the guys that we have, but to be honest with you, I'm worrying about the celebration right now. "

Congratulation to the 2011 Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins! WOOOOOOO!

Forget about the 106 games it took for the Bruins to get to this point. Forget about the last 6 games. Foregt about the 5-2 pounding the B's put on the Canucks on Monday night. All that matters is tonight's game. It all comes down to one game to decide who is going home with The Stanley Cup. 

So far in this series, the home team has won every game. Can the B's buck the trend and bring The Cup back to Boston for the first time in 39 years or will the Canucks capture their first championship in franchise history? The Bruins have outscored Vancouver 17-3 on home ice, but it has been a different story at Rogers Arena were the Canucks hold a 5-2 scoring edge.

Notes:

- Daniel Sedin has pretty much guaranteed a Canucks' victory in Game 7.

- Mason Raymond will miss tonight's game and is expected to sit out 3 to 4 months after suffering a vertebrae compression fracture in Game 6. Raymond did not travel with the team back to Vancouver.

- As expected, Johnny Boychuck will not be suspended for "awkward collision that lead to Mason Raymond's injury.

- Canucks GM Mike Gillis is pretty critical of Boychuk on the play.

- The Bruins were going to have a viewing party for Game 7 in or around TD Garden...before Mayor Mumbles Menino and the city's party pooper committee put the brakes on the plans. I'm really surprised that the Jacobs are not fighting harder for this. They would do anything for extra concession revenue.

- Nathan Horton made the trip to Vancouver with the team to watch his teammates try to win The Cup in Game 7.

- The sports books have the Canucks as anywhere between -135 and -155 favorites tonight.

- There is a very good chace we could be see Mark Recchi's last game in the NHL.

- Red Sox manager Terry Francona reached out to Claude Julien to wish him and the Bruins good luck...despite the fact that he does not like hockey.

- A Canucks fan was robbed of $4,400 (Canadian, I assume) after responding to a craigslist ad for tickets to Game 7.

- Vancouver media is still complaining about the Big Bad Bruins roughing up their innocent little Canucks.

- Liquor stores in Vancouver are closing early during the Stanley Cup Finals. The Vancouver Sun interviewed some locals to find out what they think of the policy, including a goofy dude with Michale Strahan teeth who sounds like David Spade's character in "Geek, Dweeb, or Spazz?" and a Russian booze hound.

- Claude Julien talks about his team's preparation for Game 7.

- The Herald's Steve Buckley calls out Roberto Luongo for his comments and collapse in Game 6.

- The Big Scary Man Guy is back.

- El Pres of Barstool Sports poses an interesting question for Bruins fans.

- Also from Barstool: B's fans filing out of TD Garden chanting "We want The Cup!" after Game 6. By far, the best part of this vieo is the dude rocking a Bruce Shoebottom t-shirt at about the 1:15 mark. In case you don't know Bruce Shoebottom is, check this out.

- If the Bruins do manage to etch their names on The Stanley Cup, maybe they will actually spell Boston Bruins correctly this time.

- Everyone has Stanley Cup Fever: Even the newborn babies at Melrose-Wakefield Hospital are rockin' the Spoked-B.

- Puck drop is at 8:00 PM ET. The Public Skate open thread gets going at 7:30 PM ET.

- For more on Game 7, head over to Nucks Misconduct

- I have been looking for an excuse to post this awesomely bad KISS NHL Stanley Cup promo for long time. Now I have one.

Let's Go B's! We Want The Cup!

The Bruins survive to see another day!

The B's scored 4 goals in the span of 4:14 in the first period en route to a 5-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals at TD Garden to even the series at 3-3 and force a Game 7.

Bard Marchand opened the scoring for the Bruins 5:31 into the game when his wrister from the right circle whistled over the glove of Roberto Luongo. Mark Recchi chipped the puck up the right wing boards in the neutral zone and into the attacking zone. Marchand skated onto the puck just inside of the blue line before skating to the outside edge of the right face-off circle and uncorking a shot in stride for his 9th goal of the playoffs.

Milan Lucic extended the Boston lead to 2-0 just 35 seconds later. Rich Peverley left a drop pass for Lucic in the slot before he skated to the left circle and beat Luongo through the five-hole with a soft wrister that trickled through for #17's 5th tally of the postseason.

The Bruins struck again 8:35 into the first period with Alexander Edler in the box for boarding after leveling Rich Peverley into the endboards on an icing touch-up. This time, it was Andrew Ference's slapper from the right point that found the back of the net while Mark Recchi provided a great screen at the top of the crease. After giving up 3 goals on the first 8 shots he faced, Roberto Luongo was pulled for back-up Cory Schneider.

Michael Ryder made it 4-0 at 9:45 of the first period when he deflected Tomas Kaberle's point shot over the shoulder of Cory Schneider.

Vancouver finally got on the board 22 seconds into the third period on a power play goal from Henrik Sedin, who roofed a backhander from the slot after Daniel Paille went crashing the goal post.

David Krejci regained the Bruins' 4-goal lead at 6:59 of the third period on a 5-on-3 power play. Tomas Kaberle worked the puck down low to Mark Recchi along the goal line on the right wing before threading a perfect cross-crease pass to David Krejci, who was driving to the net on the far side. Krejci's one-timer found the puck of the net to make it 5-1.

Maxime Lapierre added a goal for the Canucks with 2:26 left to play in the game to account for the 5-2 final score. Jannik Hansen's pass from beyond the goal line found Daniel Sedin in the slot. Sedin then fed a short pass to the left to Lapierre, who had an open net to shoot at.

Notes & Quotes:

- Mason Raymond left the game early in the first period after getting tangled up with Johnny Boychuk in the corner and falling awkwardly in the boards. Raymond hit the boards back-first while in a bent-over position. He was slow to get up, but was able to skate to the bench with some help. He was transported to a Boston area hospital for further examination.There has not been any update on his status.

- The Bruins' 4 goals in 4:14 was the quickest period of time that 4 goals had been scored by one team in a Stanley Cup Finals game in NHL history.

- Tim Thomas made 36 saves.

- This game got pretty chippy. Surprisingly, Patrice Bergeron was on the players, who seemed to be in the middle of the scrums all night. Bergeron was whistled for four minor penalties tonight.

- The Bruins out-shot the Canucks 36-34.

- The Bruins won 62% of the draws tonight (46 of 74).

- Kevin Bieksa recorded a game-high 8 shots.

- The B's out-hit the Canucks 43-38. Andrew Ference and Rich Peverley were the only skaters on either team not to record a hit. Shawn Thornton had a team-high 7 hits in just 10:08 of ice time.

- Claude Julien gave some players a light workload late in the to rest up for Game 7. Zdeno Chara (23:36) and Dennis Seidenberg (19:27) both logged their least amount of ice-time of the playoffs.

- Nathan Horton was spotted down by the Zamboni entrance waving rally towels to show his support of his teammates.

- Hey Doc, it's "The T" or "The Green Line", not "The T Line".

- Game 7 is Wednesday night in Vancouver. This is it. Two teams going at for Lord Stanley's Chalice. 

David Krejci when asked if he likes the Bruins' chances in Game 7:

"I do. I do like it. We are going there to win the game. We’re on our toes, and we’re going to try to get the first goal and if we do that, then I like our chances."

Michael Ryder on people criticizing Tim Thomas' goaltending style

"Yeah well. Timmy, he’s been great for us all year. And in the playoffs and you know as long as he stops the puck that’s all we care, it doesn’t matter how he does it. He’s a unique goaltender, he battles and that’s what he does and he’s been doing it like all year for us. And he’s one of the main reasons we’re where we’re at."

Canucks forward Manny Malhotra on avoiding the trash talking that is going on in this series:

"We realize early that nothing good is going to happen after the whistle. So, we don’t bother with that garbage. We will play between the whistles. It has been working for us the entire year, I don’t know why we would change now."

Johnny Boychuk on Tim Thomas:

"Well how big has he been all series? What can you say about him? Right now, he’s the best goalie in the world."

Milan Lucic on forcing Game 7:

Yeah, it definitely doesn’t get any better than this, you know, you dream about going up and playing game seven in the Stanley Cup Final and here we are, in this situation, we just have to go there and like I said, do what we need to do to win and have fun with it.

Brad Marchand on the fans at TD Garden:

"The fans are unbelievable. You know sitting on the bench at one point just listening to the crowd and they were going crazy. You know I don’t think if it was for them we would have had the same game tonight, we just seem to build so much momentum off of them. And it’s nice to have them."

Zdeno Chara on home ice advantage:

"That’s the way, in the playoffs, sometimes you see that the home ice is not really a big difference in the series and obviously in this one, it seems that both teams took advantage of it. So now it’s going to be interesting to see what’s going to happen in game seven."

Roberto Luongo on giving up 3 early goals:

"They came out flying obviously and got some goals and I obviously didn’t make enough key saves to weather the storm early."

Roberto Luongo on what Shawn Thornton said to him in warmups

"I can’t say it on the air."

I am sure that the absolute last thing on the minds of most Bruins fans on the day of Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals is the NHL Entry Draft, but the SB Nation hockey crew is in the middle of this year's mock draft and the Bruins' pick just happened to fall on today's date.

With the 9th pick in the 2011 SB Nation Forced Collaboration Make-Believe NHL Draft, Stanley Cup of Chowder (on behalf of the Boston Bruins) selects defenseman Ryan Murphy from the Kitchener Rangers of the Ontario Hockey League.

Ryan Murphy finished first among defenseman in points in the OHL with 79 points (26-53-79) this season for the Kitchener Rangers and was named Player of The Game in the OHL Prospects Game. The right-hand shooting Aurora, Ontario native played on the Canadian Under-18 team at the World Championships in Germany this year and took home the tournament's Top Defenseman honor.

Murphy is a mobile undersized defenseman, who is listed between 5'10" and 5'11" and 166 lbs and 176 lbs (depending what you read). The 18-year-old blue liner has great offensive ability and likes to jump up into the play. According to scouts, Murphy's skill set makes him a tremendous asset on the power play. The biggest knocks on Murphy seem to be his defensive zone play and lack of size.

"Ryan's work on the power play is outstanding, He sees the ice very well and is creative, [has] excellent passing ability and a great shot that he gets through to the net. (He's) also an excellent all-round skater. He's got real good mobility. He's a bit of a gambler. He does move the puck well, but he's going to have to concentrate on making good plays."

Chris Edwards, NHL Central Scouting

"He’s like no one else in this league. You can’t get to him, you can’t hit him. He’s a kid that’s slippery, his vision is second to none, his hockey sense is second to none. He can skate and he’s got a rocket. He’s got all the intangibles to be an all-star not only in this league, but the National Hockey League."

Steve Spott, Kitchener Rangers Head Coach

- Murphy is teammates with Bruins' 2009 6th round pick Tyler Randell on the Kitchener Rangers.

- How can a guy named Murph not fit in in Boston?

- He is represented by Ian Pulver of Pulver Sports. Pulver also represents Tyler Seguin.

- All three of NHL.com's mock drafts had Murphy going between in the pick #8 to #10 range.

- Murphy lists the Harry Potter series as his favorite books, so at least we know he can read at a fourth grade level.

Further Reading:

In Lou We Trust breaks down Ryan Murphy's game

NHL Central Scouting Profile

Maxime Lapierre's third period tally was the difference as the Vancouver Canucks slipped past the Bruins 1-0 in a goaltender's duel in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals in Vancouver. Tim Thomas turned aside 24 shots while Roberto Luongo made 31 saves in the shutout.

Maxime Lapierre scored the game's lone goal with 15:25 to play in the third period. Kevin Bieksa's shot went wide of the net and rebounded off the endboards to Lapierre along the goal line to Tim Thomas' right. Lapierre quickly controlled the puck and shoveled it into the far side of the net for the 1-0 Vancouver lead.

The Canucks were able to keep the puck in deep late in the third period to prevent Tim Thomas from getting off the ice for the extra attacker until there was just under a minute left on the clock. The B's weren't able to get much going with the extra attacker before time ran out on them in Game 5.

Notes:

- This series has been all about home ice. Can the B's bounce back at The Garden on Monday night?

- The Canucks did a good job of getting in the shooting lanes on point shots. They blocked 17 shots tonight. 10 of which were from defensemen, including 6 of Chara's shots.

- Shawn Thornton played just 4:00 tonight (6 shifts). 3 of those shifts came in the first 10 minutes of the game.

- I'm not sure if this is a case of a hometown scorer, but the Canucks registered 47 hits to the Bruins' 27. Alexander Edler had a game-high 10 hits.

- Vancouver had a 34-31 edge in face-offs.

- The Bruins struggled again on the power play going 0 for 4.

- It looks like these young ladies decided to paint their Sedins (NSFW-ish)

- 98.5 The Sports Hub reported that Dan Hamhuis is out with a ruptured testicle...ouch! That last sentence was painful just to type.

- For more on tonight's game, check out Nucks Misconduct

NHL tells the B's to lose the B's on their hats during media availabilities [98.5 The Sports Hub]

The Boston Bruins Foundation is raffling off tickets to Game 6 [NHL Alumni Raffles]

Stephen Walkom and Dan O'Rourke are working tonight's game. This is the same crew that worked Game 1 and Game 3 [NESN]

Meet Johnny Canuck [Boston.com]

Some out of touch blowhard that writes for GQ thinks that everyone hates the Bruins. Maybe "Jonah Keri" is just Sean Avery's pen name. [GQ]

The Bruins opted not to hold a morning skate today. [CSNNE.com]

More bitching from Canucks fans about how dirty the Bruins are. This one even has a dated Bill Buckner reference and Iron Maiden videos! I always thought that Canada was 10 years behind us, but apparently they are trapped in 1986. [Nucks Misconduct]

For the second game in row, the Bruins looked like a team on a mission as they shutout the Vancouver Canucks 4-0 in Game 4 on Wednesday night at TD Garden to even the best-of-seven Stanley Cup Finals at 2-2. Tim Thomas held down the fort with 38 saves, while Rich Peverley (2 goals), Michael Ryder, and Brad Marchand provided the offense.

Rich Peverley opened the scoring for the Bruins 11:59 into the game. Zdeno Chara sent a long diagonal pass from his own zone to David Krejci along the right wing boards in the neutral zone. Krejci made a quick one-touch pass to Rich Peverley a stride outside the blue line. Peverley gained the zone and got Raffi Torres to over-commit, which created a clear breakaway for Peverley before snapping a shot through the five-hole of Roberto Luongo. The goal was Peverley's 3rd goal of the postseason.

Michael Ryder increase the Bruins' lead to 2-0 at 11:11 of the second period when his quick release wrister from the top of the left circle deflected off the stick of Vancouver defenseman Sami Salo and knuckled under the glove of Roberto Luongo for #73's 7th goal of the playoffs.

Brad Marchand made it a 3-goal lead 2:18 later when he roofed a backhander over Luongo's glove. Patrice Bergeron won a battle for the puck behind the net and shoveled it out front to Marchand, who chipped the backhander home.

Rich Peverley's second goal of the game made it 4-0. Milan Lucic made a self-pass, jumped around Kevin Bieksa, regained possession of the puck, and directed the puck towards the net. Peverley was driving to the goal and tipped the puck past Luongo 3:39 into the third period. The goal chased Luongo from the game and forced former BC Eagle and Marblehead native Cory Schneider into action.

Things got ugly late in the game. With 2:27 left in the game Brad Marchand took down Keith Ballard in the corner. As the penalty on Marchand was being whistled, Daniel Sedin took a run at Marchand. Marchand ducked under Sedin's hit and flipped him over, which brought everyone together in a scrum. During the scrum, Adam McQuaid appeared to welcome all challengers, but no one wanted to take a shot at the mulleted maniac. Just over 30 seconds later, Alex Burrows tried to chop the stick out of Tim Thomas' hand. Thomas reacted to Burrows' chop by giving a Burrow's a swinging slash with his goal stick on the leg, which brought everyone together once again.

Notes & Quotes:

- Bobby Orr was the honorary captain for tonight's game and held a Horton #18 banner during the pre-game ceremony. As several people on Twitter pointed out, the Bruins scored 8 goals on Cam Neely's night as honorary captain and 4 goals on Bobby Orr's night as honorary captain.

- Marc Savard was at TD Garden tonight.

- Nathan Horton was also in building and was in the dressing room after the game to pass "The Jacket" along to Rich Peverley.

- Milan Lucic led the Bruins in shots (5) and was the co-leader in hots (4).

- The Bruins have outscored the Canucks 12-1 over the last two games.

- Claude Julien broke a Bruins record for most coaching wins in a postseason with 14 wins. Mike MIlbury previous held the record with 13 wins in 1991. This is somewhat of a pointless stat because the NHL has changed the playoff format several times.

Zdeno Chara on what motivated the Bruins tonight:

"Like I said before, it’s Stanley Cup Finals and everybody’s really motivated, everybody’s excited, and it’s that time of the year that you shouldn’t need much to get motivated for. I mean it’s right in front of us."

Shawn Thornton on Nathan Horton being in the room after the game:

"It was awesome…he’s such a good team guy. He does everything for us and he has all year, everybody on this team loves him. He makes everyone around him feel better about themselves. I mean I can’t, I don’t think I’ve ever met a more positive guy in the room. So for him to come in, the guys were pretty excited. I didn’t even know he was here until he walked out to give the jacket. That was a pretty nice surprise."

Henrik Sedin when asked how to solve Tim Thomas:

"I don’t know, do you have an answer for me?"

Cory Schneider when asked if he allowed himself to realize he was playing in a Stanley Cup Final game in his hometown:

"Maybe after it’ll sink it, but at that point it was just a game that I was trying to hold down the fort in and give the guys some momentum. So maybe after the fact it will feel like that but at the time it was another hockey game that you have to do your best in."

Roberto Luongo on Michael Ryder's goal:

"Sami [Salo] tried to block it and you know it was going high glove and it dropped about three feet, so I don’t know what else I could say about that.  You know, I mean I was out, I was challenging, I was ready and it just dropped.  Obviously, it’s probably going to be viewed as a bad goal and I don’t know what else to do on that play."

Tyler Seguin on the crowd chanting "Nathan Horton":

"It was special. I was on the bench and you hear it, it kind of gives you goose bumps a little bit. It’s just nice knowing that the fans felt the same way we do. We have him in the back of our mind at all times."

Brad Marchand on his style of play:

"Obviously, it’s helped my game to try and be a bit of a rat out there."

Rich Peverley on how it felt to contribute offensively:

"Yeah you know whenever you can contribute offensively you want to be able to help out. I thought the whole team did a good job of bringing a lot of energy tonight."

Video of Tim Thomas' post-game presser:

Watch the game and discuss it with other B's fans. Remember to always skate in a counter-clockwise direction and no rough-housing. Have at it, Chowdah Heads, Puckheads, and Hockey Krishnas!

A few links to check out while you anxiously await the opening face-off of Game 4 of the NHL Stanley Cup Finals at The Garden:

- Jordan Caron skated with the big boys during the morning skate. He is not expected to play tonight, but could be first in line if needed. [Boston Bruins Official Site]

- Old friend Aaron Ward dropped by the Toucher & Rich studio today [98.5 The Sports Hub]

- Obviously, Tyler Seguin is back in the lineup tonight [Boston Globe Bruins Blog]

- Haggs expects Ryder to step up in Horton's absence. [CSNNE.com]

- Kevin Bieksa is whining about the "Big Bad Bruins" pushing and shoving after the whistle. [NESN]

- Bieksa was not done bitching, though. His next complaint was the alleged slushy ice conditions at TD Garden [WCVB]

- Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper is jumping on the Canucks bandwagon and will be at TD Garden for Game 4. Marc Savard will also be in attendance. [Toronto Sun]

- Mr. Burns' closeted homosexual yes man is throwing a big party for Game 4 [Nucks Misconduct]

Shortly after seeing their teammate Nathan Horton leave the ice on a stretcher moments afters being clobbered with a concussion-inducing open-ice head shot by Aaron Rome, you could clearly see that a spark was lit under the Bruins to rally around Horton. The Bruins used that emotion to rout the Vancouver Canucks 8-1 in Game 3  and get their first win in the Stanley Cup Finals. The hit was an obvious turning point in the game (and perhaps the series).

"It definitely was something that he would have wanted us to step up and get that win for him."

"We wanted to make sure we could get this win for him."

Milan Lucic

"He’s one of the best guys I’ve ever played with.  He’s always happy, he’s always in a good mood, he brings a smile to everyone’s face.  He’s so positive.  So to see any teammate go down, you want to band together for him, but especially for a guy like him who has been such a positive influence on this squad all year."

Shawn Thornton

"When you see a guy get hit like that, and, you know, I think not capitalize on the power play and make it count on the scoreboard, I think to overcome that frustration was a good sign of our focus tonight."

Andrew Ference

"It’s always very tough when a guy goes down obviously. We were very worried about Horty but it just gave us a little extra motivation to win tonight and kind of do it for him."

"We just wanted to make sure that we didn’t let him down and we came together and won tonight for him."

Brad Marchand

"Really big. Horty is such a big part of our team and he’s playing so well right now in the playoffs. It’s always tough when you see a guy go down and we really wanted to make sure we rallied around him and won it for him tonight."

Brad Marchand on how much the hit on Horton impacted them emotionally

"We obviously all saw what happened on the ice. First intermission, we just told ourselves that we were going to do it for Horty and that just gave us more motivation to do well and play harder."

Dennis Seidenberg

While rallying around Nathan Horton may have provided motivation in the short-term, you have to believe that losing one their best forwards for the remainder of the series is a major obstacle to overcome for the Bruins. Horton has been one of the Bruins most clutch performers, scoring 3 game-winners in the playoffs and ranking second on the team in both goals (8) and points (17). Horton's finishing ability and physical edge will be sorely missed by the Black & Gold.

Unfortunately, concussion issues have been a plague for the Bruins and the NHL in recent years. You have heard it a thousand times before, but the NHL needs to do more to prevent concussions and limit head shots. I think the NHL sent a strong message today when they leveled a 4-game suspension against Aaron Rome that will keep him in the press box for the remainder of the playoffs. While Rome cannot be happy about his vantage point from high above the ice, the Bruins probably do not think that Rome for Horton is an even swap. The best revenge for the B's would hoisting The Cup for Nathan Horton while Aaron Rome looks on from 9 stories up.

I have an hour to kill and some free airport wi-fi, so I figured I would throw up a few links as the Bruins and Canucks get ready for Game 3 tonight in Boston. As I am typing this in an airport in Charlotte, NC, the Bruins have hit the ice 850 miles away at TD Garden for the morning skate.

- Steve Buckley at The Herald had a piece on Bobby Orr and his thoughts on this year's Bruins team.

- Over at The Globe, Michael Whitmer takes a look at the travel between Vancouver and Boston for the most-traveled Stanley Cup Finals in history.

- Cam Cole of the Vancouver Sun points out that there have been 34 teams that have started the Cup Finals by going down 0-2 on the road and only 2 have won The Cup. Thanks, Cam. Do you want to kick our dogs while you are here?

- Nucks Misconduct has a photoshop of Alex Burrows that I am sure made the travelers around me nervous.

- TV ratings are down nationally for the Stanley Cup Finals, but locally Game 1 did a 39 share.

- Scott Zolak helped out the Toucher & Rich crew by smashing the windshields of fans looking to score Stanley Cup tickets.

There is one middle name that is reserved for the most hated sports figures in Boston sports history. It is pretty safe to say that Alexandre Ménard-Burrows was renamed tonight by Bruins fans in barrooms and living rooms throughout New England. After escaping an suspension for biting the finger of Patrice Bergeron in Game 1, Alex Burrows was the hero in Game 2 for the Vancouver Canucks. Burrows (3 points) factored into all three goals and netted two goals including the game-winner in overtime in the Canucks' 3-2 win for the Bruins in Game 2 of the NHL Stanley Cup Finals.

Burrows' first goal came 12:12 into the game on the power play after Andrew Ference's clearing attempt failed clear the zone.Zdeno Chara went to the box for intereference to set up the Vancouver power play. On the penalty kill, Ference tried to play the puck off the glass, but Sami Salo pinched in along the left wing boards to keep the puck in Vancouver's attacking zone. Salo moved the puck down to Chris Higgins at the left circle. Higgins kicked the puck to Burrows, who beat Tim Thomas on the nearside to give the Canucks a 1-0 first period lead.

Vancouver native Milan Lucic pulled the Bruins even at 1-1 9 minutes into the second period. Lucic won a puck battle below the goal line with Christian Erhoff before directing the puck toward the net from a tough angle on the left wing. David Krejci picked up the puck off of Lucic's shot attempt before lugging the puck to the right wing corner. Krejci sent a backhand pass off the boards to Johnny Boychuk at the right point. Boychuk fired a one-time slapper and Lucic banged home the rebound from the doorstep to reset the game for the B's.

Mark Recchi's power play tally just over 2 and half minutes after Lucic's goal gave the Bruins a 2-1 lead. Aaron Rome went off for holding at 10:26 of the second period and the Bruins capitalized on the ensuing power play. Zdeno Chara's point drive appeared to deflect off the skate of Mark Recchi and over the shoulder of Roberto Luongo to make it 2-1 at 11:35 of the middle period.

The Canucks tied the game up with 10:23 left to play in the third period on a goal from Daniel Sedin. Alexander Edler point shot found its way to Alex Burrows in the slot. Burrows made an alert pass to Daniel Sedin, who was skating on to the puck at the left circle. Sedin's shot found the back of the net over the pad of a diving Tim Thomas.

It took just 11 seconds of overtime play for the Bruins to give the game away to the Vancouver Canucks. Andrew Ference turned the puck over in the neutral zone to Alex Burrows. Burrows gained the zone, faked a slap shot, and beat Zdeno Chara down the left wing. Tim Thomas dove out at Burrows anticipating a shot that never came. Thomas made contact with Burrows and went down to the ice before Burrow skated around the net and jammed a wrap-around bid into the unguarded cage to give the Canucks a 2-0 lead in the series.

Notes:

- Why was Dennis Seidenberg not on the ice with Chara to start overtime? That D-Pair has been rock solid for the Bruins. Why split them up when the game is on the line?

- Manny Malhotra returned to the lineup for the Canucks after missing all of the playoffs with an eye injury. Malhotra only saw 7:26 of ice time in his return, but was 6 of 7 at the dot.

- Former Bruins defenseman Andrew Alberts replaced the inured Dan Hamhuis in the Vancouver lineup. Alberts had not played since the second round series against Nashville and he looked like a guy that was tired of pressbox popcorn. The big blueliner was physical throughout the game, unloading a game-high 6 hits against his former team.

- During a goalmouth scrum, Maxim Lapierre taunted Patrice Bergeron by sticking a finger in his face in reference to the Burrow biting incident in Game 1.

- It felt like we hopped into a time machine and went back three years. Those were vintage performances from Tim Thomas and Andrew Ference...and that's not a good thing.

- Burrows' game-winner was the second fastest overtime goal in Stanley Cup Finals history.

- Mark Recchi scored his 59th career postseason goal. With the goal, he moved past Mike Modano, Luc Robitaille, Boom Boom Geoffrion, and Guy LaFleur on the all-time list. He is now tied for 30th all-time with Stan Mikita and Paul Coffey.

- Claude Julien has shortened his bench considerably. Gregory Campbell and Daniel Paille logged 4:18 and 4:19, respectively.

"If we start using that as an excuse, we are a lame team"

Claude Julien when asked about the league not suspending Alex Burrows

- Game 3 is Monday night in Boston. The flight will be the longest distance ever traveled to play a Stanley Cup Final game.

- For more on Game 2, check out Nucks Misconduct