Highlights of the night

BOSTON --  Maybe home ice advantage was all they needed. The Bruins were down 2-0 in the Stanley Cup Final after two games in Vancouver -- scoring only two goals in the first two games combined.  

Game 3 in Boston was a whole different story. The Bruins erupted for four second period goals en route to a 8-1 win to halt the Canucks' momentum and give the series a completely different complexion.

Save of the Game:  With about a minute to go in the first period -- the game deadlocked in a 0-0 tie -- Tim Thomas made a pair of game-changing saves.

Vancouver's Mason Raymond had two beautiful chances in front of the net. He fired a snap shot from 25 feet away, then collected the rebound and tried again close to the crease.

Thomas stopped both shots, keeping the game scoreless. Just 11 seconds into the second period, the Bruins scored their first of four second-period goals.


Shift of the Game: Boston's hard-working line of David Krejci, Milan Lucic and Rich Peverley was absolutely sensational in a shift toward the end of the second period. The trio cycled the puck deep in the Canucks end of the ice long enough to have fans on their feet cheering for the grind-it-out effort.

The shift culminated with Krejci picking up a rebound and putting it behind Roberto Luongo with 4:13 remaining in the period to give Boston a 4-0 lead  -- a deficit Vancouver could not overcome.

Stat of the Game:  A tie. The Bruins' two shorthanded goals were their most of the 2011 playoffs. Meanwhile, the Canucks were 0-for-8 on the powerplay.

Star of the Game: Andrew Ference. After tallying just seven shots in the first period -- including only one shot on even strength -- the Bruins were certainly looking to put a little more pressure on Roberto Luongo in the second period. Ference didn't waste any time.

Just 11 seconds into the second period, Ference fired a shot from the point that beat Luongo to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead. The early goal set the tone for the rest of game, as Boston used the momentum to score a power play goal 4:11 later and grab its largest lead of the series so far.

Ference's goal was the first real reason for fans at the TD Garden to cheer in Game 3 -- and the crowd had plenty more reasons to cheer for the rest of the night.

Best Moment of Game: The Bruins offensive outburst in the second period largely out-shadowed what was another solid performance in goal from Tim Thomas.

But it's hard for Thomas to ever go unnoticed.

With 13:04 remaining in the third period, Daniel Sedin caught the puck at the edge of the crease and attempted to shoot. Thomas had other plans. The goaltender gave Sedin a two-hand shove -- a clean hit -- that had the fans at TD Garden extremely excited. For Thomas, though, it was back to business. He clanked his stick on the goal posts, then refocused his attention back to the ice.

What's Next: The teams will play one more game in Boston before the series shifts back to Vancouver. Game 4 is Wednesday night at TD Garden.