Marchand sets Bruins rookie playoff goals record

BOSTON (AP) - Brad Marchand wasted little time setting a Boston Bruins record for goals by a rookie in a playoff year.

The left wing on Boston's second line scored the first goal 5:31 into Game 6 of the Stanley Cup finals on Monday night, starting the Bruins to a 5-2 win over the Canucks that forced a decisive seventh game in Vancouver on Wednesday night.

Marchand's ninth goal of the postseason broke a team rookie record set by Mike Krushelnyski in 1983 and tied by Bobby Joyce in 1988.

"It was a good shot," Vancouver goalie Roberto Luongo said. "He put it where he wanted, but I've got to make the save."

The feisty, 5-foot-9 Marchand expects Luongo, a finalist for the Vezina Trophy given to the NHL's top goalie in the regular season, to rebound in Game 7.

"He's able to shake games off like it's nothing," said Marchand, a third-round pick by Boston in the 2006 draft. "You know he's bounced back so many times and he's so tough to play against in Vancouver."

In the three games of the series in Vancouver, Luongo has two 1-0 wins and a 3-2 overtime victory.

Marchand's energy sometimes gets him in trouble - or lands him in the penalty box when he hits opponents after the whistle. But 43-year-old Mark Recchi, who got one of his three assists on Marchand's goal, likes the way his linemate plays.

"I'd rather have a kid like that than a kid that just plays with no emotions," Recchi said. "Emotionally, he just kept driving for us. ... He still played with the edge but he was on the right side of it."

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HORTON'S WELCOME: Nathan Horton drew cheers from the home crowd when the injured Boston Bruins forward was shown on the scoreboard during a timeout in the first period of Game 6 of the Stanley Cup finals against the Vancouver Canucks on Monday night.

His teammates joined in by knocking their sticks against the boards, the traditional sign of applause by hockey players.

Horton smiled and waved at the fans. One sign in the crowd read, "Win it for Horton." Another: "Boston Runs on Horton."

His season ended at 5:07 of the first period of Game 3 against Vancouver when he sustained a severe concussion on a late hit by Canucks defenseman Aaron Rome, who was suspended for four games.

The first-line right wing was second on the team with 26 regular-season goals. He later scored the goals that clinched two Game 7 wins this postseason - in the first round against the Montreal Canadiens and in the third against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

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SCORELESS IN SECOND: The second period has been a big zero for the Vancouver Canucks in the first six games of the Stanley Cup finals.

They haven't scored a single goal in the middle 20 minutes. And they've scored only once in the first period. Of the eight goals they managed to put past Boston Bruins goalie Tim Thomas, seven have come in the third period.

The Canucks, who failed to win their first NHL championship in Game 6 on Monday night, were eager to improve on their second-period performances. But they were shut out in the first two periods of the 5-2 loss that forced the series to Game 7 on Wednesday.