Stanley Cup Finals 2011: How Aaron Rome's hit gave the series to Boston

Alex Burrows had scored a huge goal in overtime to give the Canucks a 2-0 series lead.

Canada's favorite team had the momentum going into Boston. They were looking to take the crowd out of it.

And then Aaron Rome changed the series in one split second.

This article was not written to vilify Rome, who has no history of dirty behavior. It wasn't written to justify his suspension. It wasn't written to say whether if the hit by Rome deserves a suspension.

No. It wasn't written for any of that.

Whether the hit was dirty or not, it sent shockwaves across the NHL. It galvanized the Bruins and their crowd and they responded in a big way with eight goals in last night's rout.

It gave them momentum going into the rest of the series. The uncertainty of Horton's condition throughout the game and the rest of the series helped the Bruins rally together for a common cause last night and it will be the same throughout the history.

The truth is, injuries like this bring a team closer together. The Bruins are already a close knit team as evidenced by their Stanley Cup run.

But now, it's personal. Forget the Burrows biting incident. That was child's play compared to the hit on Nathan Horton.

Word came out that Horton has a "severe concussion." These words do not sit well with anybody. Seeing how stars like Sidney Crosby have not been able to return from a concussion so easily, who knows when we'll see Horton again?

Also, another reason why the Bruins will be more united is because they know that the player they are losing is more valuable than the player the Canucks lost.

It gives them even more reason for every single player to step up. And it will happen.

The Bruins are very multi-dimensional. They have numerous scorers. From veterans like Mark Recchi to young guns like Tyler Seguin. They are packed with scorers and each and every player on the team is going to fight even harder to get Horton's name etched on the Cup.

We saw what happened with the Pittsburgh Penguins this season when they lost Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Everyone thought they were done but other players like Tyler Kennedy stepped up to help the Penguins achieve their second highest point total in franchise history.

Now that the Bruins have cracked Luongo and have all the momentum, they believe they can beat the Canucks. The first two games they lost were close nail biters. They could've won both games.

And as long as they have their netminder playing supreme hockey, they know for a fact they can win.

Losing Horton for the Bruins is like losing a family member. Winning it for the city of Boston is one thing, but winning it for one of your best teammates is another.

The hit has also the series more physical and chippy. Shawn Thornton received a game misconduct and a rare fight broke out in the third period. The fact that the Bruins were doing their finger mocking throughout Game 3 means that they don't have a short memory.

They remember the bite, and they'll remember the hit. It doesn't matter if it was intentional or not. It already happened. Horton's gone. And Boston's up for revenge.

And the best revenge they can get is by winning three more games.