In the promo spots for NBC’s Wednesday night coverage of the Boston Bruins-Buffalo Sabres match, the anger and hate between the two clubs was played up like a heavyweight tilt.
Replayed images of November 2011’s now-infamous running of Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller by tough Bruins forward Milan Lucic splashed on the screen. It was a Rivalry Night grudge match, and the network wanted you to know it could get ugly. (Who cares if the last time the teams met, in April, we witnessed one of the classiest and most emotional moments between two opponents?) Venom was a way to create interest in a game between a contending team that matters and the Sabres — who are fast becoming an NHL embarrassment.
But for one family at least, the rivalry is very much alive. It’s not just packaging to sell us on watching a regular-season mismatch.
So when Lucic took a puck to the face in the first period, Miller’s wife, actress Noureen DeWulf, could not resist chirping the man who once steamrolled her husband:
By pointing out Lucic’s actions coming back to bite him — in the form of fresh stitches — DeWulf (and the Buffalo fans cheering Lucic’s injury) may have brought on some ill karma of her own.
After getting patched up, Lucic returned to the game, worked a give-and-go with Jarome Iginla and scored his second goal of the night on Miller.
Lucic would later add an assist and the Bruins defeated Buffalo 5-2.
“Obviously when you get hit in the face like that it’s never a good feeling, so it was good to come out and have a good first shift in the second period,” Lucic told reporters. “Actually, I almost hurt myself even more when I crashed in the boards after that, but it was nice to get one also when the crowd is cheering when you get in the face. It was nice to stick it to them that way.”