The Boston Bruins were able to squeak out a 4-3 win against the New York Rangers Friday afternoon. The Bruins were able to put up two power play goals (The B’s still lead all teams on the power play with a 32.4% success rate), and came back strong with two goals in 2:03 late in the third period to seal the win. This gives the Bruins five wins in a row and moves the B’s up to fifth in the Eastern Conference.
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While the Bruins win was the biggest point of the day, Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist almost stole the show. Lundqvist engaged in an acrobatic display of diving that would have made P.K. Subban blush, and have Alexei Emelin moan in jealous envy. How bad was the dive you ask? Take a look at it below.
Brad Marchand received two minutes for hitting Henrik Lundqvist during the third period of play. The Rangers were able to score on the power play, giving the Rangers a 3-2 lead halfway through the third period. In a previous article, I commented on Lundqvist’s dive (based on technical merit, difficulty, and artistic expression) and thought he took it way too far.
Apparently I wasn’t the only one.
Bruins head coach Claude Julien thought Lundqvist’s dive was over the top.
“I was upset when it first happened,” commented the Bruins bench boss postgame. “I think this was the second time — in preseason, Lundqvist did the same thing. I know he does some acting on the side, but I don’t think it needs to be on the ice.”
Puck Prose
“The referees are there to protect goaltenders, and they should. But goaltenders shouldn’t take advantage of referees. You may think it’s a good play for his team to get a power play, but we’re all trying to get that out of our game. If my guys do that, I’m going to address it. I’m not hypocritical about that. We’re trying to improve the game, here.”
Brad Marchand thought Lundqvist’s dive was over the top as well. “I mean, he must have gotten hit with a cement block the way he went down. I didn’t know I was that strong,” said a joking Marchand. “But it’s tough. It seems like they don’t call goalies on that one. Maybe they should — there’s a lot of that around the league.”
Granted, Marchand does not have a squeaky clean record. He has been fined and suspended in the past. Also, Lundqvist is one of the premier goaltenders in the league. Bumping an elite goaltender in the head will get you sent to the sin bin in quick order. Thankfully, Marchand will not be facing any discipline from the Department of Player Safety from the hit.
But it might win Lundqvist an ESPY next year.