So, fittingly, after a three-goal outbreak of never-been-done-before shorthanded offense led to a 3-0 Bruins lead yesterday, the home club found itself staring down a tie game as a third-period puck rolled without hindrance toward its own vacant net.
“That was crazy,’’ said Blake Wheeler. “I didn’t even know there was a delayed call. I tried to pass it to Rydes, and all of a sudden I see it going into an empty net. I just started shaking my head. I was like, ‘Here we go. This is how the season’s gone.’ ’’
Referee Chris Lee had raised his arm to call a high-sticking penalty on Carolina’s Jerome Samson, so goalie Tuukka Rask sprinted off. As Rask approached the bench, Wheeler curled out of the left corner in the offensive zone and passed to Ryder in the slot. Ryder couldn’t settle the pass. Johnny Boychuk, the right-side defenseman, had gone off for a change. The puck skittered out of the zone, banked off the wall in the neutral zone, and angled toward the Boston net.
But Patrice Bergeron, who had rolled over the boards to replace Rask as the sixth skater, did what he’s done all season: bail out his teammates. Bergeron kicked into high gear, chased down the puck, and backhanded it off the goal line, keeping the Bruins’ 3-2 advantage intact.
“There’s those ‘Not Top 10 Plays’ on ESPN,’’ Bergeron said. “I didn’t want to be on that.’’
ESPN already had its highlight from yesterday’s game: three shorthanded Bruins goals in 64 seconds, smashing the previous NHL record (Winnipeg netted three shorties against Vancouver in 4:44 on April 7, 1995, and had four overall in the game).
The madness started with 18 seconds remaining in the first period, when Matt Hunwick was sent off for hooking, giving the Hurricanes a chance to snap a 0-0 deadlock despite Black-and-Gold dominance for most of the period.
