With the regular season over and the Bruins’ first-round series against the Capitals set to begin on Saturday, let’s take a look back at the top five Bruins playoff games of the last decade.
Honorable Mentions:
2011 - Boston vs. Montreal: Round 1, Game 5: Bruins 2, Canadiens 1 (2 OT)
2018 - Boston vs. Toronto: Round 1, Game 7: Bruins 7, Maple Leafs 4
2019 - Boston vs. Columbus: Round 2, Game 5 : Bruins 4, Blue Jackets 3
5. 2011 – Boston vs. Vancouver: Stanley Cup Final, Game 3 (8-1 win)
Following two one-goal losses in Vancouver to start the series, the Stanley Cup Final shifted back to Boston for the first time in 21 years. The animosity was red-hot between the two teams after Canucks forward Alex Burrows bit Patrice Bergeron during Game 1 and then scored the overtime winner in Game 2.
Needless to say, the Garden was ready to rock and roll. After Aaron Rome knocked Nathan Horton out of the series with a blatant interference, the Bruins regrouped for the second period, took an immediate 1-0 lead and never looked back. The Black and Gold imposed their will physically and bullied the Canucks while exploding for seven more goals en route to an 8-1 win. The Bruins were back in the series, and in a big, bad way.
4. 2011 - Boston vs. Montreal: Round 1, Game 7 (4-3 win in OT)
The stage was set. Game 7 at the Garden between the Bruins and Canadiens. What could make it more dramatic? How about sudden-death overtime? The theater could not be more captivating. After battling their way back into the series, the Bruins fought tooth and nail with Montreal, eventually earning a 3-2 lead late in the third period. In typical Boston-Montreal fashion, the Canadiens were the beneficiaries of a late power play after embellishing on a phantom high-stick. Opportunistic as ever, P.K. Subban tied the game on the man-advantage to force overtime.
But this was a different Bruins team. This was their year and they weren’t about to let it end. In overtime, Adam McQuaid pinched in from the right point to keep in a loose puck. After winning a puck battle along the boards, Milan Lucic zipped a pass over to Nathan Horton at the top of the circles. In a moment that will live in Bruins lore, Nathan Horton fired a slap shot past Carey Price. The Garden faithful erupted as the Bruins ousted their arch-rival en route to their first Stanley Cup in 39 years.
3. 2011 - Boston vs. Tampa Bay: Eastern Conference Final, Game 7 (1-0 win)
It’s unlikely you’ll find a more perfectly played hockey game than Game 7 of the 2011 Eastern Conference Final between the Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning. There was tempo, pace, physicality, excitement and discipline. Officials didn’t call one single penalty the entire game, allowing both sides to play five on five for their right to play in the Stanley Cup Final.
As the game went on, neither side found the back of the net. Fans held their breath as Tampa stormed Boston’s goal, and screamed with excitement when the Bruins buzzed near the Lightning net. The stalemate was broken midway through the third period when David Krejci hit Nathan Horton with a backdoor pass to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead. From that moment on, the Garden was shaking, and the Bruins earned their spot in the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 1990.
2. 2013 - Boston vs. Toronto: Round 1, Game 7 (5-4 win in OT)
The comeback. A game for the ages. For much of regulation the Bruins were lifeless. Already down a goal in the third, fans began heading for the exits as the Maple Leafs added a third goal, and then a fourth. The fans that remained continued to sink lower and lower in their seats questioning the reality of the game happening in front of them. The Bruins were in need of a hockey miracle. And over the last half of the third period, that miracle unfolded.
Just after the midway point of the period, Nathan Horton finished off a pass from Milan Lucic to cut the deficit in half. All of a sudden there was life, but was it too little, too late? As the minutes continued to tick down, the Bruins were finally playing with the energy fans had hoped for the entire game. When Lucic scored with just over a minute remaining in regulation, the buzz continued to grow throughout the arena -- as if everyone could feel something special was about to happen.
And then it did. The legend of Patrice Bergeron elevated to another level. With the goalie pulled, Bergeron tied the game with a deceptive shot through traffic and the roof blew off the Garden. After coming back from 4-1 down late in the third, it was now the Bruins’ game to lose. In overtime, Bergeron was the hero once again, following up on his own rebound and burying the game-winning goal, completing one of the greatest comebacks in Boston sports history.
1. 2011 - Boston at Vancouver: Stanley Cup Final, Game 7 (4-0 win)
While this game didn’t include a historic third-period comeback or a sudden-death overtime, it doesn’t get any better than Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. After losing the first two games of the series, tensions boiled over between the Bruins and Canucks in one of the more heated Stanley Cup Finals in recent memory. Boston stormed back to win three of the next four games, setting up an epic finale with the world watching.
Propelled by two goals apiece from Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand, the Bruins flawlessly executed their way to victory behind another shutout from Conn Smythe winner Tim Thomas. The 2011 Bruins were story-telling at its best -- the first and only team to win three Game 7s en route to a title. Beginning with the hated Canadiens in Round 1, Tampa in the conference finals, and finally Vancouver in the Cup Final. Oh, and by the way, they swept the Flyers in the second round after blowing a 3-0 series lead to them the year before. Absolute poetry.