Late Boston Penalty Turns Zero Toronto Points Into Two

By John in Bruins, Featured, Top Story ⋅ December 4, 2010 at 10:58pm ⋅ Post a comment

Marc Savard warms up before the game. (abelimages / Getty Images)

Boston was sailing on their way to another victory with just minutes remaining. But a late holding call on Patrice Bergeron allowed Toronto to get a major advantage and score with less than a minute to go, and eventually win the game in a shootout. What is it with Boston teams losing to Toronto teams in close games that they should instead defeat in crushing fashion?

It was a largely back-and-forth contest all night. Nathan Horton started the scoring with an unassisted slap shot just 4:48 in. Carl Gunnarsson (who I believe sells sea shells by the sea shore) answered at the 15:53 mark by moving around Tim Thomas and putting in a blooper. It was difficult for Thomas to get back in position, but at least put a stick in the air or something.

After a chess match of a 2nd period resulted in fast moves but no goals, Gregory Campbell (son of Colin Campbell) put Boston up 2-1 on a snap shot. Boston’s power play (from 9:12-11:12) couldn’t get an insurance goal, and for a while, it looked like it wouldn’t be needed. That is, until 2:30 remained in the game, when Patrice Bergeron reached across the Maple Leaf he was fighting for a puck and grabbed hold of his arm. That gave Toronto a 5-on-for, plus desperation that close to the end of regulation, plus a 6-on-4 with the eventual empty net. All of this proved too much for Thomas, who finally gave up the game-tying goal with 43 seconds remaining despite making some excellent saves just before.

The game went into overtime, with Toronto getting an immediate breakaway, but they couldn’t capitalize. With 3:30 left, Thomas left the goal wide open playing the puck, which was rebounded, and shot towards goal by Mikhail Grabovski. However, Thomas made a grasshopper-esque leap across the crease to snatch the puck out of midair, and keep the game going.

The game went into a shootout, and if nothing else, the win won’t count towards Toronto’s total in tiebreaking scenarios because of it. Toronto won the shootout 2-1, trading goals and saves with Boston until the last shot, when Michael Ryder couldn’t sneak the puck in after former Bruin Phil Kessel hit Thomas so hard with a shot, Thomas and the puck slid backwards into the net, giving Toronto two points, and forcing Boston to settle for a measly singleton.

JERRY!! JERRY!! Moment of the Game:

8:40 into the game, Boston’s resident MMA fighter Shawn Thorton took on Jay Rosehill, in which both combatants pushed each other up against the boards and got a few decent shots in. Each players was also assessed a minor penalty.

Scoring Summary

1st Period
4:48	BOS	Nathan Horton (9) Snap Shot – Assists: none
15:53	TOR	Carl Gunnarsson (1) Wrist Shot – Assists: Tyler Bozak (5) & Nazem Kadri (5)
2nd Period
NONE
3rd Period
6:08	BOS	Gregory Campbell (3) Snap Shot – Assists: Tyler Seguin (5) & Johnny Boychuk (4)
19:18	TOR	PPG – Kris Versteeg (8) Wrist Shot – Assists: Clarke MacArthur (12) & Tomas Kaberle (12)
OT Period
NONE
Shootout
Nazem Kadri	TOR	Goal (under crossbar)
Tyler Seguin	BOS	Goal (stick side)
Nikolai Kulemin	TOR	Save (stick side leg)
David Krejci	BOS	Save (glove side leg)
Phil Kessel	TOR	Goal (five-hole, Thomas’ momentum carries him and puck into goal)
Michael Ryder	BOS	Save (stick side)

Penalty Summary

1st Period
8:40	TOR	Jay Rosehill: Boarding – 2 min
8:40	TOR	Jay Rosehill: Fighting (maj) – 5 min
8:40	BOS	Shawn Thornton: Roughing – 2 min
8:40	BOS	Shawn Thornton: Fighting (maj) – 5 min
16:53	BOS	Gregory Campbell: Delaying Game-Puck over glass – 2 min
2nd Period
1:30	TOR	Clarke MacArthur: Hooking – 2 min
15:28	BOS	Milan Lucic: Hooking – 2 min
3rd Period
9:12	TOR	Mike Komisarek: Kneeing – 2 min
17:30	BOS	Patrice Bergeron: Holding – 2 min
OT Period
4:36	BOS	Johnny Boychuk: Hooking – 2 min

Goalie Stats

	Goalie	Save Total	TOI
BOS	Tim Thomas (L)	38/40	65:00
TOR	Jean-Sebastian Giguere (W)	25/27	64:21

Shots on Goal

	1st	2nd	3rd	OT	Total
BOS	5	12	9	1	27
TOR	12	14	12	2	40

Game Notes:

Three times this season, Boston has allowed the next goal when they’ve had a one-goal lead. Two of those times were in this game.
This was the first come-from-behind victory over Boston this season.
Boston is 0-3 in shootouts this season; Toronto is 1-2.
The Bruins are in the #7 spot in the East, between the Rangers and Thrashers.

Tags: Bruins, David Krejci, Gregory Campbell, Johnny Boychuk, Marc Savard, Michael Ryder, Milan Lucic, Nathan Horton, Patrice Bergeron, Shawn Thornton, Tim Thomas, Toronto Maple Leafs, Tyler Seguin