Canucks stun Bruins with goal 11 seconds into OT

Game over: Bruins goalie Tim Thomas allows the winning goal in overtime on Saturday in Vancouver. The Canucks won 3-2 to take a 2-0 lead in the Stanley Cup final. AP

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — In a mere 11 seconds, Alex Burrows used the strengths of the Boston Bruins' two best defensive players against them.

In one electric moment, the Vancouver Canucks' scrappy forward made sure he'll be remembered for something other than his infamous bite in the Stanley Cup finals.

Everybody knew Burrows was fast. Just not this fast.

Burrows circled the net and scored a stunning goal right off the overtime faceoff, capping a three-point night and ending the Canucks' 3-2 win in Game 2 Saturday night with the second-speediest overtime goal in NHL playoff and finals history.

Vancouver took a 2-0 lead in the finals heading to Boston for Game 3 on Monday thanks to the brilliance of Burrows, who avoided suspension for this game after being accused of biting Boston's Patrice Bergeron in Game 1 — but still endured criticism from fans and media.

"My parents don't really like the negative press I get sometimes," Burrows said. "It hurts them, not me. My dad told me I should go out and score some goals, because that's what's really going to hurt them."

Burrows scored on a power play in the first period, and he even set up Daniel Sedin's tying goal midway through the third period with a sharp pass from the slot.

And after the overtime draw, Burrows received a pass from Sedin and streaked down the side, eluding Boston captain Zdeno Chara behind the net. He extended his stick for a wraparound shot, beating out-of-position goalie Tim Thomas for his second goal of the game.

"As soon as I got the puck, I knew I was going to fake a shot and then try to beat him," Burrows said. "I lost the puck in front of Tim Thomas, but I got it back, and I got it in."

Burrows' speed turned the strengths of Chara and Thomas into huge problems. Although the 206-cm Chara is a massive obstacle, he wasn't mobile enough to match Burrows' slick turn behind the net, not even with his enormous reach.

Thomas is an aggressive goalie with a Vezina Trophy at home, but his aggression sometimes gets him away from the net.

"We knew our scouting report on Thomas," Burrows said. "We know he likes to come out and challenge and freeze you, so if I shoot there, I think he stops it and covers all the angles, so I wanted to walk around."

Burrows' goal nearly was the fastest OT goal in finals history, taking just a bit longer than Brian Skrudland's goal for Montreal 9 seconds into Game 2 against Calgary on May 18, 1986.

"Burr comes in to make a sick play," said NHL scoring champion Sedin, who tied it with 10:23 left in the third period. "It was crazy. Outreach a 6-(foot)-9 player? I didn't think he was going to be able to score from where he was. I don't know what happened, but it was really nice to see it go in."

Roberto Luongo made 28 saves for the Canucks, and Thomas stopped 30 shots for the Bruins. He was left lamenting his positional error after another otherwise strong finals game, which ended with his net unguarded.

"A mistake is a mistake, no matter what," Thomas said. "You've just got to move on."

Only four teams have rallied from an 0-2 series deficit to win the Stanley Cup in 46 tries, although Sidney Crosby's Pittsburgh Penguins did it against Detroit in 2009.

Mark Recchi and Milan Lucic scored for the Bruins, who trailed 0-2 in the first round against Montreal — losing both games at home — before rallying to win the series in seven games.

"It was better today than in Game 1, and we're going to have to keep that up if we want to score some more goals," Lucic said.

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