This is how fairy tales are written. On March 7th, Matt Cooke delivered a late hit on Marc Savard after he’d shot the puck on Marc-Andre Fleury. Savard was diagnosed with a Grade 2 concussion and was sidelined for just under 2 months, missing the entire remainder of the Bruins regular season, as well as their first round series against the Sabres. For those that can’t remember, here’s the hit.
Savard was back in the lineup today for the beginning of Round 2 with the Bruins taking on the Flyers. It was expected that Claude Julien would use Savard sparingly in his first game back, but an injury in the opening minutes to Marco Strum left the Bruins bench short, and Savard picked up the slack. Boston started the game very strong, scoring twice in the 1st period while shutting down the Flyers with an aggressive forecheck and a pace so grueling, everyone died of exhaustion and dysentery after attempting to ford the Charles River. The Flyers fought back, scoring twice in the 2nd and 3rd periods, with Briere splitting two defenders and burying his own rebound off of Tuukka Rask with just over 3 minutes to go in the 3rd period to tie the game at 4 a side.
But Boston had a fire lit under them during the 3rd intermission leading into the first overtime period. They came out on full attack, launching a full assault on Boucher and his defense. With just over 6 minutes left in the first OT, Zdeno Chara launched a rocket from the left point that hit off Boucher’s left pad. The bouncing puck was pinched and kept in the zone by Dennis Wideman, and Savard blasted the still-spinning unsettled puck past Boucher’s glove, winning the game.
Savard after his OT winner in the first game back from his concussion. (Courtesy NHL/Getty)
Watching Halak and Montreal upset the Capitals was so unexpected on my part, and their last-minute attack was so exciting to watch that I’d say that was a better game, but this was a very close second. I hoped Savard would at least be influential in his return to the ice, I could have never guessed he’d bury the finisher today.