2010-11 Boston Bruins: A Brief History of Repeated Resilience
For the first time this season, the Boston Bruins are required to regroup from an unfavorable outing to prolong their season. But on every other scale, dating back to the first weekend of the regular season, this squad has repeatedly pounced on the rebound. More often than not, within two or three days of a generally shoddy effort or vinegary one-goal falter, they have cultivated a redemptive victory.
Before they try that once more on Monday night in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals, here is a look back at 12 other memorable testaments to the 2010-'11 Bruins resilience.
Oct. 9: Pity, Then Prosperity in Prague
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No one knew it at the time, but head coach Claude Julien set the stage for one of the season’s central themes when he swapped out incumbent starter Tuukka Rask in favor of Tim Thomas.
For whatever one game is worth, Rask was symptomatic of a sophomore slide when the Phoenix Coyotes put four of 36 stabs behind him. It didn’t help much, either, that only newly acquired forward Nathan Horton tuned the Coyotes mesh as part of a 5-2 loss.
But the following day, Day 2 of the NHL Premiere in Prague, Thomas repelled all 29 shots faced while three different skaters beat Phoenix counterpart Ilya Bryzgalov. For more than one reason, both visually and in terms of implications, no goal was prettier than that of rookie Tyler Seguin (pictured), who literally crashed the net on a breakaway midway through the third period to finalize the 3-0 win.
Dec. 4: Staying Sharp
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Three nights after they spilled two one-goal leads and let Phil Kessel’s lowly Maple Leafs take the bonus point in a shootout, the Bruins regrouped and returned to the Garden to confront the Sabres.
Once again, they failed to safeguard an initial 1-0 lead, but when Buffalo took its own 2-1 edge, it lasted a mere 9:28, courtesy of Nathan Horton.
In the resultant overtime, Mark Recchi struck on a power play in a sequence that would be repeated five months later in Game 2 of the Philadelphia Flyers playoff series. The puck went in and out so fleetingly that the on-ice officials needed a video review to validate the winning goal.
Dec. 20: Coach Takes Heat, Then Team Starts Streak
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The perennial “Fire Claude” campaign amongst Boston fans and pundits seemed to have the most traction, before or since, after the Bruins endured an unpalatable 3-0 loss to Anaheim on Dec. 20. It was their third regulation loss in four outings and characterized by 45 fruitless shots at Ducks goalie Jonas Hiller.
The next time out, in the final game before a Christmas respite, Claude Julien’s pupils halted all the scolding and speculation with a 4-1 knockout of the Atlanta Thrashers. Fan-favorite Shawn Thornton scuffled with Atlanta’s Eric Boulton two seconds after the opening draw, and then inserted two brownie goals to join Patrice Bergeron in the game’s multi-point club.
From there, the Bruins went on a 9-2-3 hot streak, culminating in a home-and-home sweep of Carolina Jan. 17-18.
Jan. 8: Rapid Role Reversal
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Two nights removed from egregiously spilling a 2-0 lead in the last 2:22 of regulation and settling for one point via an overtime loss to Montreal, the Bruins ripped off that dunce cap and pressed it on the Penguins.
Pittsburgh sculpted a 2-0 edge in the second period and nurtured it until Zdeno Chara struck on a power play with 3:23 to spare in regulation. A dozen seconds and two shots later, rookie Brad Marchand pumped home Gregory Campbell’s rebound.
Then, amidst a last-minute power play onslaught, Mark Recchi backhanded in the winner, finalized by Campbell’s insurance wrister with eight seconds remaining.
Jan. 15: Taking a Nick, Then Doing the Trick
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One the few losing efforts that was free of embittered scrutiny was a Jan. 15 matinee loss to the Penguins. Still, the unfavorable 3-2 upshot was one better bounce or one more opportunistic deposit away from at least bearing a point, if not two, for the Bruins.
Accordingly, all were poised to reconvene at the TD Garden for a MLK Day matinee versus the Hurricanes. The Bruins translated that energy to a 7-0 romp, highlighted by captain Zdeno Chara’s hat trick.
As a bonus, they had enough left over for a 3-2 win down in Carolina the next night.
March 26: Trying and Flying Again
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A mere 6:39 into the first period of a matinee at TD Garden, Rangers rookie Derek Stepan tilted Michael Sauer’s point shot past Tuukka Rask. With that, followed by another stellar defensive performance backboned by goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, the Rangers helped a chance to clinch a playoff spot slip by the Bruins.
Roughly 30 hours later, the Bruins converted on their second try to stamp their postseason passports. Appropriately, they did it at Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Center against the team responsible for terminating their previous playoff run.
Upon taking five points out of the following three games, Boston swiftly cemented another Northeast Division crown.
April 16: Breaking the Hab-It
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A pair of shallow offensive outpourings left the Bruins trailing their first round series, 2-0, as the scene transferred to the daunting Bell Centre, sight of two regulation losses and a fall-from-ahead overtime debacle in the regular season.
Once there on Patriot’s Day, though, the Bostonians restored their winning identity and started clawing their way back with a 3-2 triumph in Game 3. That would be followed by back-to-back overtime wins, one in Montreal and the next back home, which restored the home-ice advantage they had earned in the regular season.
April 26: Horton Hears Another “Woo!”
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The team failed to follow through on his first overtime goal, which had nudged the Bruins ahead, 3-2 in the series.
One night after he and his mates let Montreal draw a 3-3 knot, novice playoff participant Nathan Horton slugged in his second sudden-death strike in as many home games, clinching the series and injecting a cathartic potion into every Black-and-Gold bloodstream.
May 14: The Kid Is All Right
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In his playoff debut, Tyler Seguin was the solitary bright spot as he had a hand in both Boston goals while a buildup of brusque meltdowns in the defensive end amounted to a 5-2 loss in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
Three nights later, Seguin elevated his game, doubling his nightly output to two goals and two helpers. More critically, his associates perked up as well, particularly Nathan Horton (power play goal to get Boston on the board, plus two assists), Michael Ryder (two goals, including the winner in a 6-5 decision, and an assist), and blueliners Tomas Kaberle and Dennis Seidenberg (two helpers each).
May 21: Bolting Right Back
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Beginning at 6:55 of the second period in Game 4, and ending at the 69-second mark of Game 4, the Tampa Bay Lightning scored six unanswered goals in a span of 34:14. In doing so, they had deleted an initial 3-0 deficit to tie the Eastern Conference Finals and set a less-than-delectable tone for the TD Garden masses early in Game 5.
The Bruins eventually reversed that tone in the second period, courtesy of Nathan Horton at 4:24 and Brad Marchand at 15:56, usurping the lead and hanging on for a pivotal 3-1 win.
May 25: Bolting Right Back (again)
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For the second time in as many months, the Bruins deferred an invitation to close out a series on the road in a Game 6, surrendering a 5-4 decision in Tampa. By the same token, Nathan Horton would commemorate the one-month anniversary of his aforementioned Hab-killer by burying the only goal in the rubber game against the Lightning.
Upon peeling another 7:33 off the clock, the Bruins went through their third consecutive round of handshakes with “Dirty Water” blaring in the background.
June 4: Not Ready to Hibernate
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Alexandre Burrows turned in a convincing candidacy for the Scott Walker Award by biting Patrice Bergeron in Game 1, then cashing in on the NHL’s disciplinary inaction by making a single-handed difference in Game 2. Although, for their part, the Bruins also failed to defend a lead for only the second time in these playoffs that night.
Come what may, the Bruins rebutted all cases to write them off for the balance of the Stanley Cup Final, charging up an aggregate 12-1 victory in Games 3 and 4 at TD Garden and drawing even in the series.
Nathan Horton made an intangible and involuntary contribution when he endured an injurious hit by Canucks defenseman Aaron Rome less than six minutes into Game 3. From there, expressly fueled by the urge to “Win It For Horty,” 14 different skaters combined for 12 goals and 31 points while goalie Tim Thomas repelled 78 out of 79 shots for the two wins.
