Boston Bruins forward Mark Recchi gestures toward his side while talking with reporters Monday, May 18, 2009, in Boston. The Bruins were eliminated in overtime of Game 7 by the Carolina Hurricanes in the NHL hockey Eastern Conference semifinals. Recchi, who had kidney surgery during the series, did not miss any games with his procedure. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
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Mark Recchi defies age. His hockey skills should be bottled by Oil of Olay to preserve a lady’s face against wrinkles. With one goal and one assist through the second period of Game 6, Recchi (41) joins 24-year-old Patrice Bergeron as the Boston Bruins’ leading scorer at 5 points in six games. Recchi isn’t merely “at the right place at the right time” even if he earns many of his tallies in the “dirty areas” of the net. Right now “The Recching Ball” holds the go-ahead goal as the Bruins currently have a 2-1 lead going into the third period.
Earlier I wondered if the Washington Capitals might face their fourth consecutive 7-game series. If they do, they can blame one man: Montreal Canadiens goalie Jaroslav Halak.
The Slovakian goalie stopped 33 of 33 shots so far, putting on an amazing show as the Capitals kept putting on pressure. You certainly cannot say that Washington lacks effort, with 18 shots in the first and 15 in the second; Semyon Varlamov only has a third of Halak’s saves with 11. The Canadiens carry a 2-0 lead into the third period, but they might be playing with fire if they think that they can go into “turtle” mode in the final frame. As steady as Halak proves to be, you can’t expect him to keep you alive by himself much longer.