Three things we learned Sunday afternoon as the Bruins forced a Game 7 in their dramatic quarterfinals series with the Capitals:
Seguin saves the season
Tyler Seguin was ranked just below Tim Thomas and Bobby Valentine as Saturday’s Boston goats after failing to finish on a number of scoring chances in the Game 5 loss. But Seguin was the biggest hero of all in Game 6 Sunday, and not just because he scored the overtime goal to force Game 7. Seguin, who didn’t have a point in the series after the first five games, came up huge in the third period with a stolen puck at the blue line and hard rush that set up Andrew Ference’s [temporary] go-ahead goal. The Bruins need Seguin to create offense, and maybe Sunday finally took the lid off.
Redemption, Part II
Put away the posters and milk boxes. We’ve found David Krejci. Like Seguin, Krejci didn’t have a goal in the series through five games. And like Seguin, Krecji scored on Sunday, but make his biggest play away from the goal, stealing a Nicklas Backstrom clearing pass and setting up the play that resulted in Seguin’s overtime game-winner. The Bruins will need all of their offensive weapons on task Wednesday night, and if both Krejci and Seguin are engaged, the Bruins’ chances of advancing improve dramatically.
Doubting Thomas
He was off his game in the third period on Saturday, and he gave up a couple of shaky goals on Sunday. Yes, Thomas made a highlight-reel stick save on Marcus Johannson in the second period, but Thomas is clearly not the same Mr. Automatic he was last postseason. You could make the case that the Bruins won on Sunday despite Thomas, and that is not a comforting thought heading into a Game 7.
Period by period
A look at how the Bruins forced a Game 7:
1. Rich Peverley found the net first for the B’s while David Krejci scored on the power play. In between, Washington’s Mike Green found the net.
2. Jason Chimera tied the game at 2 late in the second.
3. Andrew Ference gave the B’s a 3-2 lead but the Caps’ Alex Ovechkin tied it at 3 later in the period.
Tyler Seguin silenced the sold-out Verizon Center crowd, scoring 3:17 into the first overtime to send the series back to Boston for one final game.
