Boston Bruins forward Nathan Horton was knocked out of Game 3 early in the first period on a late hit from Vancouver Canucks defenceman Aaron Rome, but the Bruins responded by scoring four goals in the second period and coming away with an 8-1 victory.
The win cuts the Canucks' series lead in half to 2-1, but the sight of Horton leaving the ice on a stretcher may be the lasting vision from Game 3.
Horton crossed the red line five minutes into the opening frame and made a pass. Rome arrived nearly a full second after the pass was made and delivered the hit.
After laying motionless on the ice for several minutes, Horton was taken off on the stretcher, while Rome was given a five-minute interference major and a 10-minute game misconduct.
Horton was taken to hospital, but was alert and able to move all his extremities. He is expected to remain in hospital overnight for observation.
The penalty on Rome marks the the second time this post-season that the Canucks' defenceman was given a game misconduct, with the last one coming in the Conference Final series against the San Jose Sharks. It is the third game misconduct on Rome this season and the fourth of his career.
The Canucks were able to kill off the ensuing penalty and the two clubs remained scoreless at the end of the first period.
The Bruins opened the scoring 11 seconds into the second period on a point shot from Andrew Ference, which made its way through a crowd and past Roberto Luongo. Veteran Mark Recchi added to the lead four minutes later with a power play goal.
Brad Marchand pushed the lead to three goals, when he broke lose on a penalty kill and went in all alone on Luongo. Marchand waited out the Canucks' goalie and when Luongo went down, Marchand put the puck in the top of the net for his first shorthanded goal of the playoffs. Marchand was tied for third with five shorthanded markers during the regular season.
David Krejci scored with just over four minutes left in the frame, when he went top shelf past Luongo, capping off a four-goal second period for Boston.
Daniel Paille scored midway through the third period to extend the lead to 5-0. Jannik Hansen finally got the Canucks on the board with just over six minutes left in the game.
Recchi became the oldest player to score two goals in a Stanley Cup Final game when he netted his second of the game late in the third. The previous holder of that record was Igor Larionov, who was 41.5-years-old in 2002.
Chris Kelly and Michael Ryder also beat Luongo in the final minutes as both teams were playing with short benches.
The third period was highlighted by a flurry of penalties, as the game became more and more physical. In total, 98 penalty minutes were handed out, including seven game misconducts to Ference, Daniel Sedin, Shawn Thornton, Alex Burrows, Ryan Kesler, Milan Lucic and Dennis Seidenberg.
Thornton was in the Bruins' starting lineup and played in his first game of the series in place of rookie Tyler Seguin, who was a healthy scratch.
The Canucks held serve in Vancouver and came into Monday night's game with a 2-0 series advantage after a last minute win in Game 1 and an quick finish in overtime of Game 2.
Burrows was the hero the last time the teams took the ice, as he scored two of Vancouver's three goals, including the game-winner in overtime. Burrows strong performance in Game 2 came on the heels of allegations that he bit Patrice Bergeron's finger during a scrum in the opening game of the series. After reviewing the incident, the NHL chose not to suspend Burrows.
Prior to Game 3, Bruins coach Claude Julien took exception to the Canucks behaviour, most notably the way Canucks forward Max Lapierre taunted Boston in Game 2 by putting his fingers near Bergeron's face in reference to the Burrows' incident.
Julien said the Bruins would never act in a similar fashion, but in Game 3 both Recchi and Milan Lucic ut their fingers in Burrows face just the same.
Boston is trying to become the third team to overcome a 2-0 deficit in the Stanley Cup Final. Recent history shows it can be done, as the Pittsburgh Penguins hoisted the Cup after Game 7 in 2009, after dropping the first two games of the series to the Red Wings.
The series will continue on Wednesday as the two teams take the ice for Game 4 in Boston.
