The good news for the Vancouver Canucks is that they've avoided the shutout. The bad news, however, is that the Boston Bruins tacked on four more goals for the 8-1 win. After a scoreless first period, the Bruins struck early and often in the second, scoring 11 seconds in and adding three more to take a 4-0 lead. And in the third, the hits kept coming for Boston as the Bruins added another four more in between bedlam and a slew of penalties.
With the game out of hand, the fights and shoving matches began, creating a penalty list that reads more like a roster in the third period. Ryan Kesler, Milan Lucic, Dennis Seidenberg, Alex Burrows, Daniel Sedin and Shawn Thornton were each given 10-minute misconducts for multiple incidents in a game that began chippy and got worse after NNathan Horton was sent to the hospital following a blindside hit by Aaron Rome. Horton was reportedly alert and moving his extremities at Massachusetts General Hospital at last check.
Daniel Paille found the net first for the Bruins, scoring a short-handed goal assisted by Johnny Boychuk. Jannik Hansen answered two minutes later, breaking the shutout for the Canucks. It woke up the beast again, though, and Boston unleashed an onslaught to end the game.
Mark Recchi scored his second goal of the game just four minutes later to push the score to 6-1 in favor of the Bruins. Just 30 seconds after Recchi's goal, Chris Kelly found the back of the net and the rout was complete. Michael Ryder finished it off with goal number eight, and the third goal in as many shots.
After two tough games and close losses to the Canucks, Boston released its frustration in a big way, completely dominating Vancouver in Game. Heading into Game 4, the Boston Bruins are alive and well after an 8-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks. Vancouver still leads the series, 2-1, but Boston sent a message on Monday night.
To catch up with the latest happenings in Game 3, see the rest of our Stanley Cup Finals StoryStream. For more on the game, head over to Nucks Misconduct.