Our Cup runneth over... all over

Lord Stanley’s Cup spent its first day in Boston getting ferried around the city in a baby carriage, posing for pictures with fans, napping with exhausted Bruins [team stats] captain Zdeno Chara — then partying into the evening at a waterfront bar. “We’re going to Tia’s!” a stoked Dennis Seidenberg told the Track shortly before Chara and Andrew Ference loaded the Stanley Cup into a baby carriage for the short walk from Chara’s Union Wharf condo to the Marriott Long Wharf bar. “It’s different,” said Dennis,

of partying with the Cup, “but it’s fun!” The Holy Grail of Hockey arrived in the Hub early yesterday morning along with the conquering rink kings, who took a red-eye from Vancouver. After making an appearance at the Garden, the Cup went home with Chara, the team captain and the first to get custody of the ice chalice. “I think I keep it about two days,” Chara told the Track. (According tradition, everyone on the championship roster gets to spend some quality private time with the Cup.) Lincoln Wharf resident Therese Russo was on her way to the dentist yesterday morning when she got the surprise of her life. “My neighbor came home with Lord Stanley hanging out the back window of his car!” she said. In front of his building, Chara posed for pictures with every fan and signed every autograph — including one for a lady who insisted that the disbelieving defenseman sign the inseam of her shorts! — then headed upstairs with the Cup and a security guard. “About an hour later, he came down in a T-shirt and Adidas sandals,” said Valerie Umana, who works at Regan Communications, in the same building where Chara lives. “He got on his bike and rode off to get his beard shaved.” At Firicano’s Barbershop on North Street, Richie Firicano did the honors. “It was about 2 1⁄2 months worth of growth there,” he said. “He had had enough of it. Mission accomplished, time for it to come off.” Like the rest of the team, Chara went unshaven during the playoff run, but by yesterday afternoon most of the hairy hockey hunks had lost the facial fuzz. Mark Recchi and Chris Kelly had the Barbershop Lounge on Newbury Street do the honors, but Chara returned to his neighborhood haunt for the shearing. “We had to bust out the heavy-duty clippers to take it down before I could put a blade to his face,” Firicano said. Z was so happy to lose the beard, he invited Richie and the rest of the barbershop crew over to his house to have their picture taken with the Cup. We heard he also invited the postman up for a private viewing, and later in the day some of his teammates arrived and they were spotted on a roof deck hoisting the trophy for crowds that had gathered below. After those festivities, Chara hit the hay for a few hours then rallied to load the Cup into a baby stroller, and he and Ference hit Tia’s, where they met up with teammates Recchi, Patrice Bergeron, Nate Horton, Brad Marchand, Milan Lucic, David Krejci, Shawn Thornton and Tuukka Rask. We heard baby B Tyler Seguin was also in da house, but he may have gotten broomed due to the fact that he’s underage. “It was pretty crazy,” said Tia’s server Kevin Estrela, who saw Chara, Ference and the Cup arrive at the waterfront watering hole shortly after 5 p.m. “I don’t think anyone in here had a clue it was coming. But when you see a 6-foot, 9-inch Slovakian guy come in with a Stanley Cup, you put two and two together.” The guys spent a few hours eating calamari and drinking champagne on the Tia’s patio before heading out to Stella in the South End for dinner, with their new best friend, a 2-foot, 11-inch guy named Stanley. File Under: B Cup. As expected, Tim Thomas [stats] is the hottest thing to come outta Boston since, well, Tom Brady [stats]! Ex-Bruin-turned-marketing guru Cleon Daskalakis reports that his phone was “ringing off the hook” yesterday with offers for the 37-year-old Conn Smythe Trophy winner. “I was going to go out to Vancouver for Game 7, but I decided I should be in the office (yesterday) if they won, and boy was I right,” the Celebrity Marketing cheese told the Track. “The phone has been ringing all morning with endorsement deals for Timmy.” Daskalakis said he couldn’t discuss anything until he discussed them with Thomas, but added, “I promise I won’t put him in panty hose . . . Unless it’s a great deal. Then, Timmy, we’ll have to talk.”

Full Cup - Bruins romp again at Garden to force Game 7

There will be one more flight west. One more night in a Vancouver hotel. One more game. Had the Bruins dropped Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final to the Canucks last night at TD Garden, tomorrow probably would have been breakup day. For the final time this season, the Bruins would have gathered at their home rink, packed up their items, held exit interviews, and said their goodbyes. Instead, they will be pursuing the greatest trophy in sports in the grandest spectacle of them all: Game 7. “Not too many people

counted on us being here right now,’’ Mark Recchi said after last night’s 5-2 win before 17,565. “It’s a great feeling. We battled real hard tonight. We came to play. It comes down to one game. This is what we dream of. When you’re a little kid playing street hockey, you’re in Game 7. We’re going to go out there. We’re going to lay it on the line just like they are. It’s going to be a pretty exciting game. We’ve got to go find a way to win a game and win a Stanley Cup. We’re going to do whatever we can.’’ The champagne that was on ice for the Canucks last night is only an afterthought. The Cup that was in place for the Canucks to hoist must now travel west to accompany both teams. Last night, only one club could have claimed the Cup as its own. Tomorrow, because the Bruins did something good last night, they can do something great. The day started with focus. The Bruins didn’t think about their season coming to a close. In the home dressing room, there was a quiet confidence as the Bruins tried to bundle their collective energy toward a single goal: living to see another day. “It was very quiet in here,’’ said the usually chirpy Brad Marchand. “It was tough to figure out if it was nerves or just guys being calm and focused. It seemed like everyone was very prepared and very excited to get underway.’’ After warmups, the calm was gone. As the Bruins bosses had hoped, the mood rose another level while the players prepared for battle. The Bruins weren’t afraid of what was ahead of them. Instead, they couldn’t wait to get their job started. So, what was quiet and poise ramped up to energy. “Excitement, that’s for sure,’’ Michael Ryder said. “We were all pumped up. We knew that we had to come out hard, especially early in the game. I think it was pretty intense in here. Everyone was jumping around, getting ready to go. We knew what it meant. We knew the fans would be behind us. We wanted to make sure we set the tone early and got the fans into it.’’ Soon after the Bruins hit the ice, all that buildup, tension, and excitement exploded into a four-goal supernova. Marchand snapped a shot over Roberto Luongo. Milan Lucic hit a shot that dribbled between Luongo’s pads and rolled over the goal line. Nathan Horton, his season over because of a concussion suffered in Game 3, stood in the Zamboni entrance during a television timeout at 7:27. With a smile across his face and rally towels waving in both hands, Horton gave the Garden even more juice. “We didn’t know they were going to be doing that, showing him up there,’’ Marchand said. “For him to come in and give us that boost of energy is unbelievable. Obviously, the crowd loves it, loves him, and they’re supporting him every minute of the day. It was great to see him out there. He gave us a big energy boost.’’ That was nothing. At 8:35, with Recchi setting a screen in front, Andrew Ference ripped a slapper that sailed past Luongo to give the Bruins a 3-0 lead. During the Final, Luongo has had more ups and downs than a yo-yo. He has posted two shutouts at home, allowing just two goals in three games at Rogers Arena. But at the Garden, Luongo fished eight pucks out of his net in Game 3. He was pulled after giving up four goals in Game 4. Last night, after three pucks went past him — one of the dribbling manner — in less than nine minutes, Vancouver coach Alain Vigneault had seen enough. Just moments after Ference’s shot hit the back of the net, Luongo was skating toward the visiting bench for the second time in his last two visits to the Garden. Then, after relief netminder Cory Schneider had been in goal for only 70 seconds, Ryder tipped a Ference shot into the net to give the Bruins a 4-0 lead. “We needed to come out hard tonight,’’ said Bruins coach Claude Julien. “I thought our guys responded. We needed to come out hard the last two games before that, because we were trailing, 2-0, in the series. Our guys have responded well. Now we have to make sure we don’t get comfortable with our game. We’re willing to bring it to Vancouver with us, because that’s what it’s going to take to win.’’ Unlike their two previous stops in Boston, the Canucks pushed back. Henrik Sedin made it 4-1 at 0:22 of the third. Jannik Hansen thought he had trimmed Boston’s lead to two at 3:17 of the third, but video replay showed his shot hit the left post. But Boston’s cushion was too large. And now it’s come down to this. Next win is for the Cup. “There’s no pressure,’’ Recchi said. “Go play. Go out and have fun with this. It’s what you play for and what we’ve worked hard for all year. We’re going to have a blast doing it.’’

Marchand, Thomas lift Bruins; Boston one win from Cup Final

BOSTON — Rookie Brad Marchand made his first point of the Eastern Conference finals count, scoring the game-winner at 15:56 of the second period as the Boston Bruins beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-1 Monday to move within a win of their first Stanley Cup Final appearance in 21 years.

The Bruins, who last won a Stanley Cup in 1972, can clinch a trip to the NHL's best-of-seven NHL championship series by beating the Lightning Wednesday in Tampa.

Patrice Bergeron and Zdeno Chara assisted on the game-winner. On the play, Tampa's Martin St. Louis seemed to have Marchand covered, but the rookie was able to get his stick on the puck as it came through the slot area. Bergeron has at least a point in 10 of his 14 playoff games.

Midway through the third period, Thomas made a memorable diving stick save against Steve Downie to preserve the one-goal lead. He finished with 33 saves.

The Bruins are now 6-0 in these playoffs when they take a lead into the third period. Boston was 30-2-2 when taking a lead into the third period during the regular season.

Puck possession was crucial for the Bruins in Game 5, and their puck possession advantage was aided by their 58% faceoff efficiency.

Tampa Bay coach Guy Boucher shook up his lineup by inserting Mike Smth into the Lightning net in place of Dwayne Roloson, who had started every previous Lightning playoff game but had been twice during this series.

Smith, who had never started a playoff game, faced 12 shots in the first 40 minutes and was beaten on two of them.

Lightning winger Simon Gagne converted on a 2-on-1 break-in 69 seconds into the first period to to give Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead.

The game remained that way until Nathan Horton scored one a one-timer against Smith after receiving a perfect centering feed from Milan Lucic at 4:24 of the second period.

When the shot went past Smith, it ended his 85 minutes, 15 seconds of shutout hockey, including his two relief apperances. He played more than two periods Saturday when the Lightning posted a come-from-behind 5-3 win.

Rich Peverley scored an empty-netter with 12.1 seconds left to seal the win.

Bruins get off to a flying start

By the end of Game 1, a 7-3 affair, the Bruins had exposed the Flyers yesterday as a club that barely had a pulse, let alone one that was ready for the second round of the playoffs.

“Everything’s got to change,’’ said Philadelphia coach Peter Laviolette. “Everything’s got to improve.’’

Yet for a brief window in the second period, the Flyers could have jumped back in the game. With the Bruins holding a 3-1 lead, Brad Marchand was penalized for slashing Ville Leino.

The Bruins killed off the penalty, but 39 seconds later, they went a man down once more. This time, Johnny Boychuk was directed to the penalty box for high-sticking Nikolay Zherdev on a backhanded follow-through of a clearing pass.

Once more, the Bruins buckled down and killed the penalty.

“Overall, they did a great job,’’ said Bruins coach Claude Julien, whose charges nullified four of five power plays. “At that time of the game, it’s so important that you kill those.

“You don’t want to let them back into it. Had they scored, it might have been a different game in the third period.

“I liked the job our penalty killers did. Not only did they do a good job in our own end, we controlled the puck pretty well when we had it. Whenever we had the opportunity, those guys made sure they made it all the way down the ice.’’

During the first kill, James van Riemsdyk and Mike Richards had sniffs at the goal. But Tim Thomas kept his net clear, making 14 of his 31 saves in the second period.

Thomas also got help from Zdeno Chara. The captain chased down van Riemsdyk after a stretch pass and got his stick on the winger’s blade to bust up a scoring chance.

Then on the second kill, the Bruins continued to execute their game plan. When Kimmo Timonen wound up from the point and let a slapper rip, Gregory Campbell hit the deck and blocked the defenseman’s shot.

The hockey gods rewarded the Bruins for their consecutive kills. Less than a minute after Boychuk stepped out of the box, the Bruins scored the winning goal.

David Krejci won an offensive-zone faceoff against Blair Betts, pulling the puck back to Adam McQuaid at the right point. Krejci then plowed to the front of the net. As McQuaid floated a puck on goal, Krejci was in the perfect position to tip the wobbler past Brian Boucher at 15:26 of the second, making it 4-1.

“I thought we did a pretty good job on our PK,’’ Patrice Bergeron said. “They have a lot of firepower. We’ve got to find a way to kill it. I thought we were pretty aggressive, and it helped.’’

The Bruins’ penalty-killing efforts, like most components of their game, exhibited attention to detail. Preparation and execution. And a killer instinct.

“Great game,’’ said Nathan Horton. “Great way to start.’’

When the Flyers tried to rally, the Bruins kicked the door shut in their faces. When the Bruins scored one goal, that wasn’t enough. When Boucher was on the ropes and exhibiting mental weakness, the Bruins connected with a final haymaker to put the goalie on the mat.

At 17:14 of the second period, after Marchand tucked in a short-range rebound of Andrew Ference’s point shot, Laviolette had seen enough. As he has already in the playoffs and as so many other Flyers coaches before him, Laviolette turned to his second choice.

Sergei Bobrovsky came in to relieve Boucher, only to allow two more goals in the third period.

As inconsistent as Boucher and Bobrovsky turned out to be, both had little relief from their let-’em-in defense.

Marchand and Krejci potted two goals apiece. Horton, Mark Recchi, and Campbell added point-blank strikes.

“The way we played in front of our goaltender, we as a team deserve all the responsibility,’’ said Laviolette.

Perhaps the most satisfying part of the win was how the Bruins’ No. 1 line floored the Flyers. Krejci, Horton, and Milan Lucic were coming off a nearly flat-line performance against Montreal.

Yes, Horton scored a pair of overtime winners, but for the most part, Hal Gill and P.K. Subban, along with the Canadiens’ first line of Mike Cammalleri, Tomas Plekanec, and Andrei Kostitsyn, aimed their crosshairs directly on Krejci & Co.

“I don’t want to talk about it,’’ Krejci said Friday when asked about the opening round, no doubt still haunted by the Canadiens’ smothering ways.

Yesterday, the first line exploded. Of the 11 shots they sent on goal, three went in.

“Montreal really paid a lot of attention to that line,’’ Julien said. “They really had some hard matchups against that line. They certainly did a great job.

“Montreal’s a great defensive team. That’s their strength. They put their best players against that line. They made it tough on them. But luckily we had some depth and other lines that came up big for us.’’

So far, the Flyers are paying for any remaining frustrations the first line might have had.

Blackhawks win to force Game 7

CHICAGO - Ben Smith scored on a rebound at 15 minutes, 30 seconds of overtime and the defending Stanley Cup-champion Chicago Blackhawks beat the Vancouver Canucks, 4-3, on Sunday night to force a seventh game in the opening-round series.

The Canucks, with the NHL's best record during the regular season, have lost three straight after it appeared they were in control of the series. Game 7 is Tuesday night in Vancouver.

Smith, a rookie, followed in a long, hard shot from the point by teammate Niklas Hjalmarsson that bounced off goalie Roberto Luongo.

Luongo didn't start the game but was called upon in the third period when Cory Schneider had to be helped off the ice when he was injured as he tried to stop Michael Frolik's penalty shot that tied it at 3.

Predators 4, Ducks 2

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Nick Spaling scored his second goal of the game at 4 minutes, 53 seconds of the third period and Nashville closed out its first postseason series victory to advance to the Western Conference semifinals, eliminating Anaheim.

Steve Sullivan scored a goal, David Legwand had an empty-netter and Jordin Tootoo assisted on Spaling's goals. The Predators won the series, four games to two, in their sixth postseason in seven seasons.

Jason Blake scored a power-play goal, and Teemu Selanne also had a goal for the Ducks. Anaheim looked tired early after blowing a lead late before losing Game 5 in overtime. The Ducks also looked tired late as coach Randy Carlyle went heavily with his top two lines trying to rally.

Anaheim lost in the opening round for the third time in seven playoffs.

Bruins need one more

The Boston Bruins are heading to Montreal with a 3-2 lead over the Canadiens in their first-round playoff series.

But the Bruins know better than anyone that the fourth win is the hardest.

Boston led the Flyers, 3-0, in last year's Eastern Conference semifinals, then lost four straight. So the Bruins aren't taking anything for granted.

Game 6 is Tuesday.

Rangers end in whimper

When the New York Rangers look back at this season, two key moments will surely stand out: One will make them smile; the other will cause them to cringe.

The happy memory will be of their regular-season-ending win over the New Jersey Devils that kept them alive in the playoff chase long enough for Tampa Bay to beat Carolina hours later and put them into the postseason as the No. 8 seed.

However, their stay in the playoffs was painfully quick after falling to Washington in five games.

Pacioretty regrets tweet

Injured Montreal Canadien Max Pacioretty has apologized for a comment he made on Twitter making fun of Bruins forward Brad Marchand's nose.

During Saturday night's double-overtime game between Boston and Montreal, Pacioretty posted, "this game is longer than marchands nose." Later, Pacioretty posted an apology, saying, "I was trying to to be funny earlier, and it didn't work. I apologize to marchand and won't try to be funny that way in the future."

Kings win to stay alive

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Jonathan Quick used his pads, glove and just about every other part of his equipment and body to make sure the Los Angeles Kings would stay alive in their playoff series against San Jose.

Quick made a Los Angeles playoff-record 51 saves to lead the Kings to a 3-1 victory over the Sharks in Game 5 on Saturday night.