Now it gets interesting.
The Carolina Hurricanes and Boston Bruins more or less danced around each other for the first four games of their NHL Eastern Conference semifinal playoff series. Oh, there were some bruising hits and a few elbows thrown and some hard shoves and stares, but nothing really serious or injurious.
Until Sunday.
Until Scott Walker's punch.
Trailing the Canes 3-1 in the series, facing elimination, the Bruins responded Sunday by building a 4-0 lead in Game 5 at the TD Banknorth Garden in Boston. The Bruins' Milan Lucic had slammed a few Hurricanes into the boards and Bruins fans in the building were having a jolly good time until Boston defenseman Aaron Ward began shoving Canes center Matt Cullen in front of the Bruins goal with less than three minutes to play.
Walker came skating in and grabbed Ward, who retaliated with a punch that hit Walker in the chest. The hard-nosed forward never hesitated, dropping Ward with a right cross to the face.
Ward was up quickly -- "I'm glad Ward is OK," Lucic said after the game -- but in the time it took Walker's fist to land on Ward's head, the series may undeniably have changed and taken on a sharper, darker edge.
Before Game 5, the Bruins insisted they needed to have more emotion in their game, perhaps more disdain for the Hurricanes and their ability to control the series.
The B's then cranked up so much emotion for Game 5 -- picture a boxer hitting himself in the head with his gloves before a bout -- that some of it seemed a bit contrived. It was as if the Bruins, despite all the chatter, still needed something to really get their blood running hot.
Only time will tell, but Walker may have done it.
Walker was fined $2,500 by the NHL on Monday but was not suspended. He will be on the ice tonight for Game 6 at the RBC Center, with the Hurricanes again looking to close out the series and the Bruins looking to build on their 4-0 victory, stay alive and force a Game 7 back in Boston.
Given the shenanigans of Sunday'sthird period, when 21 penalties were called, one has to wonder what might occur tonight. But Canes coach Paul Maurice said too much is at stake.
"I think you'll see both teams come out with a real focus on discipline and the task at hand," he said. "The game is still played between the whistles, and neither team can afford to spend that much time in the penalty box in Game 6s and 7s of a series."
But the Bruins weren't just upset about Walker's punch. There also was the matter of the Canes' Jussi Jokinen hitting the back of defenseman Zdeno Chara's foot with his stick late in the second period. Chara fell, grimacing.
"My heart skipped a beat because I know he doesn't fake things, ever," Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas said.
The Bruins called it a slash, and Boston coach Claude Julien deemed it a "cheap shot." Jokinen noted that after Chara was down on the ice for five minutes, he did return to the game in the third period and played well.
"It was a little tap," Jokinen said.
But all the physical stuff was a distraction the Hurricanes didn't need, goaltender Cam Ward said Monday.
"I think we got caught up into their style of game," Ward said. "You know, we were taking a little bit more penalties than we did in the first few games and got caught up in what was going on after the whistles were blown.
"We've been a very disciplined team, but we just lost our focus. We've got the veteran guys in this locker room to calm things down and get back to playing the way that we know we need to play."
Another concern for the Canes has to be the Bruins' execution in Game 5. Much of the game was played in the Carolina end because Boston maintained possession of the puck and found its forwards open ice to work.
Phil Kessel, who had not scored in the series, had two goals. Mark Recchi got the first goal on a power-play deflection, and Lucic scored off a rebound in the third to make it 4-0.
"I'm sure it's going to give them some confidence," the Canes' Rod Brind'Amour said. "We gave them life, obviously, which we didn't want to do.
"I'm a firm believer than one game doesn't blend into the next. Once that pucks drops [tonight], it's a whole new game."
Punch or no punch.
The Carolina Hurricanes and Boston Bruins more or less danced around each other for the first four games of their NHL Eastern Conference semifinal playoff series. Oh, there were some bruising hits and a few elbows thrown and some hard shoves and stares, but nothing really serious or injurious.
Until Sunday.
Until Scott Walker's punch.
Trailing the Canes 3-1 in the series, facing elimination, the Bruins responded Sunday by building a 4-0 lead in Game 5 at the TD Banknorth Garden in Boston. The Bruins' Milan Lucic had slammed a few Hurricanes into the boards and Bruins fans in the building were having a jolly good time until Boston defenseman Aaron Ward began shoving Canes center Matt Cullen in front of the Bruins goal with less than three minutes to play.
Walker came skating in and grabbed Ward, who retaliated with a punch that hit Walker in the chest. The hard-nosed forward never hesitated, dropping Ward with a right cross to the face.
Ward was up quickly -- "I'm glad Ward is OK," Lucic said after the game -- but in the time it took Walker's fist to land on Ward's head, the series may undeniably have changed and taken on a sharper, darker edge.
Before Game 5, the Bruins insisted they needed to have more emotion in their game, perhaps more disdain for the Hurricanes and their ability to control the series.
The B's then cranked up so much emotion for Game 5 -- picture a boxer hitting himself in the head with his gloves before a bout -- that some of it seemed a bit contrived. It was as if the Bruins, despite all the chatter, still needed something to really get their blood running hot.
Only time will tell, but Walker may have done it.
Walker was fined $2,500 by the NHL on Monday but was not suspended. He will be on the ice tonight for Game 6 at the RBC Center, with the Hurricanes again looking to close out the series and the Bruins looking to build on their 4-0 victory, stay alive and force a Game 7 back in Boston.
Given the shenanigans of Sunday'sthird period, when 21 penalties were called, one has to wonder what might occur tonight. But Canes coach Paul Maurice said too much is at stake.
"I think you'll see both teams come out with a real focus on discipline and the task at hand," he said. "The game is still played between the whistles, and neither team can afford to spend that much time in the penalty box in Game 6s and 7s of a series."
But the Bruins weren't just upset about Walker's punch. There also was the matter of the Canes' Jussi Jokinen hitting the back of defenseman Zdeno Chara's foot with his stick late in the second period. Chara fell, grimacing.
"My heart skipped a beat because I know he doesn't fake things, ever," Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas said.
The Bruins called it a slash, and Boston coach Claude Julien deemed it a "cheap shot." Jokinen noted that after Chara was down on the ice for five minutes, he did return to the game in the third period and played well.
"It was a little tap," Jokinen said.
But all the physical stuff was a distraction the Hurricanes didn't need, goaltender Cam Ward said Monday.
"I think we got caught up into their style of game," Ward said. "You know, we were taking a little bit more penalties than we did in the first few games and got caught up in what was going on after the whistles were blown.
"We've been a very disciplined team, but we just lost our focus. We've got the veteran guys in this locker room to calm things down and get back to playing the way that we know we need to play."
Another concern for the Canes has to be the Bruins' execution in Game 5. Much of the game was played in the Carolina end because Boston maintained possession of the puck and found its forwards open ice to work.
Phil Kessel, who had not scored in the series, had two goals. Mark Recchi got the first goal on a power-play deflection, and Lucic scored off a rebound in the third to make it 4-0.
"I'm sure it's going to give them some confidence," the Canes' Rod Brind'Amour said. "We gave them life, obviously, which we didn't want to do.
"I'm a firm believer than one game doesn't blend into the next. Once that pucks drops [tonight], it's a whole new game."
Punch or no punch.
