Red Wings vs Bruins, game three heads to the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit at 7:30 Eastern Standard Time tonight. If you missed watching Boston and Detroit split the first two games in the Bruins vs Red Wings opening round of the 2014 NHL playoffs, you’ll want to make sure you’re on hand to catch tonight’s game. You can watch the Detroit vs Boston game live online by clicking the link at the bottom of this article.
In case you missed them, both games played to far have had memorable moments. In game one, Pavel Datsyuk scored a highlight reel goal late in the third period that showed everyone that the only reason Sidney Crosby is considered the only serious choice for NHL MVP this year is because Datsyuk spent much of the year injured. The game was tied at 0-0 until number 13 found the back of the net with three minutes to play in regulation. Pavel returned in the last week of the season, when it was still uncertain exactly where the Red Wings would fit in the playoff bracket and his health continues to be a bit of a question mark for the Wings.
Game two brought us what is destined to be the funniest moment in the playoffs – quite possibly the funniest in NHL playoff history. The Red Wings’ Brendan Smith – all 6’2, 198 pounds of him – took umbrage to the physical play of Zdeno Chara, Boston’s 6’9 giant of a defenseman from Slovakia and tried to pick a fight with him. Chara just smiled, laughed and kept the much smaller Detroit defenseman at arms’ length.
Zdeno Chara could be seen talking during the altercation. While no one – except Smith, of course – could hear the Bruins’ defenseman, it looked like he was saying something to the effect of, “Are you sure you really want to do this?” The whole thing looked cartoonish, almost like when a person’s bigger brother puts his hand on their little brother’s forehead and lets him flail away at the air. If the linesmen hadn’t intervened – and Smith looked like he had returned to sanity and was more than happy to let the striped shirts get between him and Goliath – we might all be watching clips of Chara repeatedly using Smith’s own fist to beat himself and asking, “Why are you hitting yourself?”
The Bruins went on to win more than the fight. They won the game, 4-1, evening up the Bruins vs Red Wings series at a game apiece. Still, if you’d offered Red Wings fans a split in Boston for the opening salvo of the Red Wings vs Bruins series, they would have taken that all day long. The Bruins were the best team in hockey over the regular season. The Red Wings squeaked into the second wildcard spot with a late season push, accomplishing what many doubted they could and extending their longest-in-major-sports streak to 23 consecutive years in the NHL playoffs.
Don’t miss any of tonight’s Bruins vs Red Wings action. You can see the whole game online live here .