Well, they didn't sweep them, but the Bruins didn't fail to close out the series a second time. As the Bruins send the Rangers home for the summer and have now punched their tickets for a matchup with the #1 seeded Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference Finals. But that's not here yet, right now everyone is just celebrating this win.
The Rangers were obviously going to be desperate with their season on the line (again) so it's not surprising that they were playing with a lot of intensity. In fact, we saw our second fight of the series. It was Shawn Thronton going up against Derek Dorsett. There weren't really any big punches thrown, but Thronton won in my opinion was mostly a wrestling match. The Bruins and Rangers both were playing great in what was an up and down first period. However, the Bruins played just as good, but it was the Rangers who struck first. Dan Girardi got a shot that went past Tuukka Rask with a huge screen in front. Girardi was open because Paille lost an edge and fell down while trying to stop himself, so there's that. And I'll admit, the Bruins didn't play too good for the rest of the first, and the Rangers had the momentum after the goal. But in the second, the Bruins had definitely marked their territory in the Ranger's zone. They were in their for basically the entire second period and just dominated play. The Bruins would tie it up on a goal from none other than Bobby Orr, I mean uh.... Torey Krug. But seriously, this kid is just impressing everybody and he is showing why he deserves to be on this team right now and in important situations. He again showed off his skill with a huge slap shot that once again beat one of the best goalies in the league. Lundqvist got a piece, but it was shot so hard it fought it's way through and it would have taken a lot more to slow down that one. Then, the Bruins would take the lead 2-1 with the 4th line on the ice which has impressed all series. With a scramble in front, Gregory Campbell was able to put it top shelf over Lundqvist. Tuukka Rask was once again outstanding, making 28 saves and keeping the Bruins in it. Particularly on a breakaway where Rask was able to make the save off of a back-handed attempt by Ryan Callahan. With time winding down and with the Rangers net empty, it was once again Campbell who scored the empty netter to make it 3-1, and that was all she wrote. The Bruins advance, and the Rangers are going home.
All in all, this was a good series for the Bruins. Aside from game 4, the Bruins were really the better team and we showed that we can handle facing a great goalie. Something else that shouldn't be forgotten is the play of Torey Krug, who by the way became the first defenseman in NHL history to score 4 goals in their first 5 playoff games. He gets offensively involved, then races back to do his job defensively. The Bruins may have a real prize on their hands here. Now the Penguins are a completely different animal than the Rangers. I will make a preview post the day before the series is going to start, which I don't know yet. So stay tuned!
~Anthony
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