Live Blog: Game 7 Bruins vs. Canucks

The Stanley Cup will be Won Tonight

I have heard a few players say that this is what they play for. The chance to be in a game 7 with the Cup in the building ready to be held, kissed, and raised high above heads. The same is true for a fan. It is nights like this that makes us fans. I can promise you that nights like this are what made me want to start a blog and a podcast. 


Some history:

• No team has ever won three 7-game series in one season. The Bruins will try to change that tonight. 
• This is the 6th 7th game in the Stanley Cup Finals since 2000. 
• The Canucks are 0-1 in Stanley Cup Finals Game 7. They lost to the Rangers in 1994. 
• The Bruins haven't won the cup since 1972.

Some News:

• Nathan Horton poured water brought from Boston onto the ice in Rogers Arena. 
• Nathan Horton participated in the warm-up to get a feel for the atmosphere. 
• Mason Raymond is out tonight for an injured Canucks team. 
• Only 2 Bruins have won the Stanley Cup. Not a single Canucks player has won the trophy. 

A quick Video:

Here we go, Game 7 of the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals:


8:20: The puck has dropped and we are underway.


8:25: One good chance on both ends of the rink turned away by Luongo and Thomas. Did you catch this story about Luongo's cousin?


8:29: Local sports talk today made a good point, is there a player you are dying to see raise the cup over his head? There isn't an obvious Ray Borque type answer. Here are my top 5:

1. Tim Thomas: They guy is a good American player that has given all he has this postseason. 
2. Ryan Kessler: He is arguably the best American hockey player in the game today. 
3. Chris Higgins: Since Higgins is a former Yale hockey stud, and there is a future Yale hockey stud in my family, I have been pulling for him all spring. 
4. Christopher Tanev: I love the RIT connection and this guy's story. 
5. Dan Paille: He is a former Sabre, and I wont be moved by either of the Sedins or Recchi. 

8:39: Interesting note about the officials from the television broadcast, Dan O'Halloran, Stephen Walkom have officiated one other game 7 this spring and there was not a single penalty called. 


8:41: Lot's of end to end hockey being played with only a few stoppages. 10 shots so far, 6 for Vancouver and 4 for Boston. 5:31 left in the first period. 


8:43: Right off the t.v. timeout, the Bruins score the first goal of the night. Marchand makes a really nice pass on to the stick of Bergeron who slams it passed Luongo before he turned his head. Bruins 1 Canucks 0


8:46: The team that has scored first in all six games in the Finals have went on to win the game. 


8:47: How new are the sauces at McDonalds? Have they reinvented BBQ sauce? 


8:49: One thing I am sure of, win or lose, these guys are going to be very excited to shave tonight. 


8:53: The last five minutes of the first period seemed to play a lot slower than the first 15. It is possible that the goal by the Bruins has slowed everyone down a bit. 


8:55: After 1 period, the Bruins lead the Canucks 1-0. 8 shots for the Canucks and 5 for the Bruins. 


9:13: As we get ready to start the second period, I think that the next goal is the most crucial of the playoffs. You probably don't need me to tell you that, but I just can't see the Canucks coming back from 2 down.


9:15: The puck drops and period 2 is underway at Rogers Arena. 


9:16: Rob mentioned in the comments that the Bruins struck gold with the 2006 draft. I took a second and looked to see what the Canucks got in that same draft:


1st Round: Michael Grabner (now a member of the Islanders)
2nd Round: Pick traded to Buffalo who selected, Jhonas Enroth 
3rd Round: Daniel Rahimi (yes that, Daniel Rahimi) 


9:21: Great play by Sedin who hustled to chase an iced puck and took big Chara hard into the boards. The crowd loved it. 


9:22: The Bruins have not had a shot on goal since the one that went in.


9:26: Quickly, 8:00 have been played in the second period. The Bruins have only 1 shot and the Canucks have gotten the better of the play so far. The building is starting to get back into the game and a goal by the Canucks now might just turn the Rogers Centre to the Rogers Center. Wait, its the Rogers Arena. 


9:28: Where is Pavel Bure?


9:31: Our Canadian correspondent Rob Wise is reporting that Don Cherry thinks Luongo should win the Conn Smythe if the Canucks win the Cup tonight. I hope Mr. Cherry knows how ridiculous that is. Luongo has a save percentage of less that .800 in this series and has been brutal in all 3 loses. Tim Thomas is the hands down winner of the award regardless of who wins the game tonight. 


9:35: Marchand just scored after an awful change by the Canucks. It started with a hard shot by Michael Ryder that looked like it stunned Luongo a bit. Then Marchand wrapped the puck around and at first it looked like Luongo had saved it. Instead, Luongo looks to have actually put it in his own net. 2-o Bruins 7 minutes left in the second. 


9:38: Marchand has 10 goals this spring. The most scored by a rookie since Jeremy Roenick. That little nugget courtesy is of the walking hockey encyclopedia, Doc Emrick. 


9:40: The Rogers Arena is dead silent. 


9:42: The Canucks put a nice shift together and draw the first penalty of the game. Mrs. Caster and I are discussing how much our "price" is to sell game 7 tickets in Buffalo. I say for $2,000 a piece she and I are going to the "party in the plaza" and then going on vacation. 


9:45: If Ehrhoff can't play the puck because of a hand injury, why is he on the point during the power play? My mistake here, Edler has the injured hand. 


9:46: That was bizarre. Bergeron hustled to a loose puck and was taken down by Ehrhoff. It was definitely going to be a penalty. Then the ref started pointing and I thought it might be a penalty shot. Actually, it was a GOAL. The puck slid into the net. They reviewed to see if it was guided in my Bergeron's hand but it wasn't. 3-0 Bruins. 22 minutes left in the 2010-2011 season. 


9:50: The Bruins will head into the locker room with a 3 goal lead, Tim Thomas in the net, and only an injured and possibly defeated Canucks team in-between them and the Cup. I bet they can taste it in Boston. 


9:51: 13 shots for the Canucks 8 shots for the Bruins. 3-0 Boston with one more period to go


9:53: During the intermission, check out episode 25 of The Sports-Casters with Neil Best from New York Newsday and Aaron from CheeseheadTV, or our U.S. Open preview with Zach Rosenfield from Accuscore. Also check out our fancy new Stitcher feed. 


10:07: I can't help but be a little depressed to think that there is only 20 minutes of hockey to be played this season. The good news is, after tonight, everyone is 0-0 and the Sabres are contenders to win the Cup. 


10:09: I have been working hard during the playoffs to cover every angle for the listeners of The Sports-Casters and the readers of Blog-Casters. It hasn't come without neglecting one aspect of my life. My roller hockey team has to be wondering if I am ever going to play again. I have to thank my brother Greg for holding down the fort for me. I will be there next week. Follow Greg on twitter, @gregday19. He should change it to @gregthehomeowner.


10:12: Obvious point of the night; The Canucks could really use a goal, quick. 


10:15: Our boy @wyshynski at the Puck Daddy Blog on Yahoo ranked the top 15 games 7's in Cup finals history. I didn't get to see much of the 50 or 42 final, the only 2 ranked above the 94 final, so I can't say if they were really better. But, how can you rank anything above 1994?


10:18: The Canucks are getting dirty. Awful penalty (as in dirty not a bad call) by Jannik Hansen. I wonder if the first fire has been set on the streets of downtown Vancouver. 


10:22: Who will Chara hand the cup to? The star of the night, Bergeron? The star of the season, Thomas? The star of last season, Tuukka Rask? The guy who was seeing stars last week, Nathan Horton? Who say you?


10:33: The Canucks are on the power play. The Canucks cant get a shot. If the Canucks win this game everyone in Vancouver can have a night alone with Mrs. Caster this summer. 


10:35: The Canucks are no longer on the power play. The Bruins still lead 3-0. There is about 6-minutes left in the 2010-2011 NHL season. Boston is going to win the Cup. Does Boston have to win every damn thing? Are there any golfers in the US Open this weekend from the state of Massachusetts or the Boston area? I want to put some money on that player. 


10:38: Jannik Hansen is a dirty, dirty hockey player. I am not disappointed he isn't getting his name on the Cup. 


10:39: The Sedins are going to hear about the disaster that has been their 2011 Stanley Cup Final for a long time. 


10:40: The Canucks have pulled the goalie with three minutes to go. 


10:41: Marchand just put one under the balls of Kevin Bieska and into the empty net. 4-0 Boston. 


10:43: So, Baseball, welcome to my radar. 


10:44: The last time a Canadian team won the Stanley Cup is still, 1993.


10:45: Did we all just see Tim Thomas scoop up that puck? No mystery this season. 


10:46: Awesome night for Nathan Horton He skated the warmup. Got undressed. Watched his team win game 7. Then he got dressed to join his team on the ice to celebrate. Awesome. His wife was in Playboy or Penthouse, or one of those. He really has the life. 


10:48: "Hey, great year. Great series. Great everything. You are a great golatender." Tim Thomas to Roberto Luongo in the handshake line. Is that a tire pump?


10:50: Tim Thomas is from Flint, Michigan. New Orleans Saints first round pick, Mark Ingram is also from Flint, Michigan. 


10:51: Gary Bettman is getting booed out of the building. He had to shout that Tim Thomas is the winner of the 2011 Conn Smythe trophy. Tim Thomas is the 15th goalie to win the award. 2nd straight college hockey player t0 win the Conn Smythe (JT last year). 


10:53: The Stanley Cup is on the ice. Gary Bettman is getting booed again. It is hilarious. 


10:54: Chara lost his hat. He doesn't care. He hands to up to old man Mark Recchi who says, "FUCKING RIGHT." NBC is not happy with him. Recchi hands it to Tim Thomas. 


10:56: Another f-bomb. This time Seidenberg is guilty. 


10:59: Lots of Canucks fans still in the stands and they give local boy Lucic a huge pop when he takes the Cup and hoists it over his head. 


11:00: The Boston Bruins are the champions of the National Hockey League. This blog needs to get out for local news. 


Say goodnight Spinner: