The Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins haven’t met in the playoffs in about 20 years, but the hate’s revving up as if Ulf Samuelsson was on the ice.
A physical first period gave way to a controversy-soaked middle frame as Matt Cooke was ejected for hitting Adam McQuaid from behind, but that was just part of the zaniness. The bitterness really boiled over when Brad Marchand received a two-minute minor penalty for boarding James Neal with about 30 seconds left in the second:
Both sides were at each others’ throats as the seconds ticked off. We’ll get you video of some unlikely adversaries such as Evgeni Malkin vs. Patrice Bergeron in the near future.
It all opens the door for what could be a wild finish.