June 5, 2013; Boston, MA USA; Members of the Boston Bruins celebrate after the game-winning goal by center Patrice Bergeron (37) after their double overtime victory in game three of the Eastern Conference finals of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Pittsburgh Penguins at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
Game four of the Eastern Conference Finals is here tonight. (I’m still waiting to see if I won the raffle for two tickets.) The Boston Bruins have a commanding 3-0 lead, and could finish the series tonight. It all depends on how much the Penguins have left in the tank. Game three was probably their best game of the series, and the opened up a fusillade of shots on the crease. Thankfully, we’ve got Tuukka Rask minding the store for us.
Rask has stopped 108 of 110 shots in this series. He’s got a sub-one goal against average (.57) and an obscene save percentage (.982). Rask has been there for the few defensive breakdowns and has stood on his head the entire series. While Tomas Vokoun also played his best game of the series, he has had trouble with our top two lines. Unless Vokoun has another monster game up his sleeve, he and Sidney Crosby will be checking up on their local tee times tomorrow.
The Bruins have one more piece of inspiration to work with. A lot of these players were part of the 2011 team. The hunt for the Cup makes a one time winner want to be a multi-time winner. Now, they’re also playing for Soupy. Gregory ‘ Soupy’ Campbell broke his right leg blocking a shot from Evgeni Malkin. While most people would have gone down screaming and waited for a whistle, Campbell got up and still put himself in the lane. Even when the Penguins began to concentrate their efforts towards Campbell he didn’t leave the lane. The #IamGregoryCampbell hashtag on Twitter has exploded since Tuesday. While a lot of people have put humorous stuff up, a lot of people have put their personal moments of perseverance up as a salute to the Bruins forward and Merlot Man.
The game starts at 8pm. If they win tonight, they are in the Finals.