By JoeHaggerty
CSNNE.com
BOSTONHere are five thoughts from the first period with the Bruins leading the Vancouver Canucks by a 1-0 score in an important Game 4 at TD Garden with the Bs trailing 2-1 in the series.1)File this under didnt see it coming. The Canucks are 1-for-18 on the power play through the first four games of the Stanley Cup Final, and theyve looked largely ineffective on the man advantage. The Bruins are 3-for-13 thus far. Dennis Seidenberg and Ryan Kesler are battling valiantly in front of the net during the power plays, and the refs are letting a lot of stick work and crosschecks go in front of the net.2)Claude Julien is a genius. He opts for Rich Peverley on the right wing with David Krejci and Milan Lucic, and Peverleys speed allowed him to get behind Raffi Torres and beat Roberto Luongo cleanly with a shot between the Vancouver goaltenders pads for his third goal of the season.3)It looks like part of the Canucks' game plan is to physically pound Dennis Seidenberg each time he touches the puck, and try to wear him out over the course of the series given his importance. The German defenseman isnt backing down and Zdeno Chara came to his aid in one instance after Ryan Kesler and Seidenberg tangled violently in front of the net.4)Good period by Brad Marchand marred by a bogus cross-checking call at the end of the 20 minutes. Marchand finished with a couple of quality rushes to the net marked by speed and fearlessness, and just missed wide left on a rush through the neutral zone that featured a pair of nasty fakes on Vancouver defenders. He also gave Daniel Sedin the mother of all face washes at the end of one scrum in the Boston end, and then skated away as the refs approached the combatants.5)Three hits and two shots on net for Milan Lucic. Hes creating havoc and fear with his hits on the fore-check and he had a couple of really good offensive chances created in the first period. One forced a good, sprawling glove save from Roberto Luongo. Lucic is as dialed in tonight as hes been during the entire playoffs.
Joe Haggerty can be reached at jhaggerty@comcastsportsnet.com.Follow Joe on Twitter at http:twitter.comHackswithHaggs