Marc Savard was nowhere near the force the Bruins had hoped he could be, playing minimal minutes while looking like a hockey player in his first game back from bad concussion. Yet with just one big, booming shot he did everything the Bruins would need of him in this game: score the game winning goal in overtime.
Somewhere, a Hollywood scriptwriter is smiling to himself.
Savard, returning from nearly two months away from the ice, was far from the player he’s been throughout his time with the Bruins. He looked a bit slow and uneasy at times and when the energy and the physicality really started to pick up in the second and third periods we saw less and less of Savard. Yet Claude Julien decided that it would be a good time to get him out on the ice in overtime, and he scored of the biggest goals of his career with a hard shot off a rolling puck, one that Flyers goaltender Brian Boucher never had a chance to make a save on.
The Bruins almost let this one get away from them, as they allowed a two-goal lead in the third period get away from them with the Flyers scoring two late goals to send the game to overtime. Yet once again, even though Philly had the momentum headed into intermission, the Bruins came out of the break determined to end this game.
If it wasn’t for some absolutely spellbinding goaltending by Boucher all throughout the the overtime period, the Bruins would have ended this game much sooner. It’s impossible to recount the number if incredible saves by Boucher, as he faced 15 shots in just 13 minutes of overtime, but his performance has to have the Flyers feeling much better about their chances heading into Game 2.
While Boucher’s goaltending will get a lot of the attention heading into the rest of the series -- who would have thought he’d be this good in the postseason? -- it’s the storybook ending to Savard’s return that will be the big focus, and for good reason. This was the spark that everyone was hoping for, the difference making play that Savard has always been known for.
It was as thrilling a game as anyone could hope for and if Game 1 was any indication, this matchup between the Bruins and Flyers will be one heck of an entertaining series to watch.
