Boston Beats Vancouver to Force 7th Game in NHL Stanley Cup Finals

Posted June 14th, 2011 at 1:45 am (UTC-5)
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The National Hockey League's Stanley Cup championship series is down to a seventh and deciding game, after the host Boston Bruins dominated the Vancouver Canucks 5-2 Monday.

For the third time in this series, the Bruins jumped all over Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo, with Brad Marchand, Milan Lucic and Andrew Ference all scoring on the erratic Luongo within the first eight minutes of the game. Luongo was quickly pulled in favor of Cory Schneider, who gave up a goal to Michael Ryder to cap Boston's first period scoring outburst.

Luongo has given up 15 goals in the three games in Boston, while giving up just two goals in three games on Vancouver's home ice. His Bruins counterpart, Tim Thomas, made 36 saves Monday.

The Canucks did not score until early in the third period, when Henrik Sedin posted his first goal of the series. Teammate Maxim Lapierre capped Vancouver's scoring effort late in the third.

Game seven moves to Vancouver Wednesday, with the Canucks seeking their franchise's first-ever Stanley Cup title. The Bruins last won the Cup in 1972, losing five straight championship appearances since then. This will be the sixth time in the last 10 seasons the Stanley Cup finals has gone to a seventh game.