Game-winning goal started with quick transition

VANCOUVER -- Alexandre Burrows played overtime hero for the second time in these playoffs, picking up the game-winner 11 seconds into the extra period Saturday night to give the Vancouver Canucks a 3-2 win, and, more importantly, a 2-0 series lead.

Burrows goal came off a change of possession and a quick counter-attack, ignited by Daniel Sedin.

"Danny made a perfect chip," Burrows said. "I know Tim Thomas likes to challenge. If I shoot there, I think he stops it. So I wanted to walk around and shoot it right away but he tripped me and I lost the puck a little bit. I was lucky enough just to be able to wrap it."

Burrows' goal was just two seconds shy of the fastest playoff overtime goal set by Montreal Canadiens forward Brian Skrudland 25 years ago. Skrudland scored nine seconds into overtime to give the Canadiens a 3-2 win against the Calgary Flames in Game 2 of the 1986 Stanley Cup Final.

"Anybody that follows our team knows he's a really important part of our team," Canucks coach Alain Vigneault said. "He plays 5-on-5, he plays power play, and he kills penalties. He's overall one of our go-to guys. Again tonight he came up big in key moments. I thought he was one of our better players. We need him to play that way."

Patrice Bergeron won the faceoff to open overtime, as the puck went back to defenseman Andrew Ference. The latter tried to get the puck deep for his forecheckers, but could not get it past Canucks' blueliner Alexander Edler.

"I didn't get it deep, I didn't get it into their zone," Ference said. "Quick transition, I didn't see the goal, I was looking for trailers I could pick up."

Edler chipped the puck up to Daniel Sedin at the red line. Sedin then hit Burrows with a pass as he was gathering speed. Burrows faked a shot at the top of the face-off circle, causing Thomas to over-commit to the shot.

"I don't know exactly what happened. I just saw Burrows, all alone, winding up for a slap shot from a good scoring area," said Thomas. "I was aggressive, but he faked the shot. I was able to stay with him so he couldn't get the original shot off, but then he was able to go around the net and tuck it in the net."

Defenseman Zdeno Chara, who was on the back check, elected to try and play the puck rather than take the body on Burrows and the Canucks forward managed to skate past Thomas, out-skate Chara around the Bruins' goal and wrapped the puck into the wide-open net.

"He looked like he wanted to shoot it from the side, and then he just went behind the net and I don't know if he tried to wraparound or make a play in front of the net, but it went in," Chara said. 'I was actually looking a little bit if it was a 2-on-1, but obviously it wasn't and by that time he had a little step on me.

"I pushed him to the outside, but then again, he made the nice wraparound."

When Bruins coach Claude Julien was asked about the defense pairing he had out, he was short, explaining it was a strategy to counter Vancouver's ability to put out either of its top two lines. Chara, who was paired with Ference to start the overtime, usually plays with Dennis Seidenberg.

"Because we don't know who they're going to put on (the ice)," he said. "They got the last change. It's a pretty normal thing."

Burrows also had the overtime winner in Game 7 in the first round against the Chicago Blackhawks. As he left the ice he made sure to do his signature bow-and-arrow tribute to the late Luc Bourdon, a close friend, and teammate, of many of the current Canucks.