Rookie Brad Marchand and Milan Lucic scored 35 seconds apart to ignite a four-goal first period as the Boston Bruins forced a pivotal seventh game of the Stanley Cup Finals with a 5-2 triumph over the visiting Vancouver Canucks on Monday.
Defenseman Andrew Ference and David Krejci had power-play goals and Michael Ryder also scored for Boston, which netted four in a span of 4:14 to set a Stanley Cup Finals record. The Bruins' four-goal outburst eclipsed the mark of 5:29 set by the Montreal Canadiens against the Detroit Red Wings on March 31, 1956.
Vezina Trophy finalist Tim Thomas turned aside 36 shots and Mark Recchi notched three assists for Boston, which outscored Presidents' Trophy-winning Vancouver by a 17-3 margin in three games at TD Garden. All told, the Bruins improved to 10-3 at home in the playoffs.
Game 7, however, will be held in British Columbia on Wednesday.
While Thomas was dominant, Roberto Luongo was not as fortunate. The fellow Vezina Trophy finalist continued to struggle in Beantown, permitting three goals on eight shots before being pulled in a favor of former Boston College netminder Cory Schneider. Coupled with decisive losses in Games 3 and 4, Luongo has yielded 15 goals on 66 shots in Boston.
With his 32nd postseason victory, Boston's Claude Julien moved past Don Cherry and into first place in franchise history.
Marchand opened the scoring 5:31 into the first period after wristing a shot from the right faceoff circle which sailed just inside the near post for his franchise rookie-record ninth goal of the postseason.
Lucic made Vancouver pay for a poor line change just 35 seconds later by wristing a shot which trickled between the pads of Luongo. Defenseman Kevin Bieksa attempted to get off the ice, but created an odd-man advantage as Rich Peverley fed Lucic for the goal.
The Bruins gained a 3-0 advantage just 2:29 later after Ference's wrist shot from the point sailed past a screened Luongo, who heard it from the crowd as he exited the contest.
Schneider entered the game and was greeted rudely as Ryder's redirection of defenseman Tomas Kaberle's point shot found the back of the net just one minute later.
Captain Henrik Sedin netted his first goal - and point - of the series just 22 seconds into the third period.
Maxim Lapierre scored for the second straight game, Daniel Sedin notched a pair of assists and Schneider finished with 30 saves.