Chris CrockettBruins Go Down Early.... Again
May 15th 2009 13:48
Gut wrenching loss. Sitting there, craving an Iced Coffee with one of those turbo shots that Dunkin Donuts pitch boy Dustin Pedroia promotes on his TV commercials, so I could make it through the second overtime of the Bruins game, but it all came to an end. They’d be no second overtime. Scott “I broke your bleepin orbital bone Wardo” Walker scored on a rebound and the Bruins once again make their playoff exit early.
Part of me feels like, ok this is a young team in the next step of their progression and next year they will really be a force. Last season they finished up on fire and took the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference and battled like hell with number one seeded Montreal in the first round. They took Montreal to seven games and put a serious scare into Canadien Nation, but didn’t have enough in the end. So you figure this year maybe the Bruins can get to the middle of the pack and maybe instead of being an eight seed, become a third or fourth seed and hopefully win a round and hopefully fight hard in the second round and see what happens. Would be a natural progression for a young team, right? You know what, forget all of the positive, “they took the next step” talk. I like to tell it like it is, and the fact of the matter is this, the Bruins came in as the number one seed and lost in the conference semi-finals. Not good enough. No excuses, no soft talk about how hard they battled and “go get em next year boys” talk. Number one seeds are supposed to at least find a way to get to the conference finals, with the ultimate goal making it to the Stanley Cup Finals. Number one seeds do not lose to the glorified Hartford Whalers in Game 7 at home in Boston. Did I enjoy the hell out of this Bruins team this year? Yes, but once again, as in other years since the 1970’s, more was expected than what was delivered. Not to mention they have some big decisions to make with the salary cap and might lose either Phil Kessel or the silky smooth center, David Krejci, due to the cap.
Also, what the hell is wrong with the Original 6 franchises in this league? The teams with the history, the cache, the rabid fan bases…Do you know that 3 of the last 4 Stanley Cup winners come from Carolina (ex-Harford Whalers), Anaheim, and Tampa ‘bleepin’ Bay! Teams called the Hurricanes, Ducks and Lightning? Is this a joke? Outside of the New England Patriots of hockey, the Detroit Red Wings, the last Original 6 team to win the Cup was the New York Rangers in 1993-94. I was still skipping morning high school classes having breakfast down the IHOP back then. The Red Wings and Blackhawks are having an Original 6 showdown in the Western Conference Finals, maybe one day soon the Bruins, Leafs, Canadiens or Rangers can get back to where they belong. Teams with little swirling hurricanes or lightning bolts on their jerseys don’t belong in your neighborhood.
I guess, thanks for the entertainment and a great regular season guys. Thanks for the inspiring play in a do or die game last night in particular from Timmy Thomas and Milan Lucic. What an all around great hockey game Lucic played, and Thomas stood on his head last night. Marc Savard was playing hurt and also played well. It just wasn’t good enough. This is Boston, we don’t get excited about regular season success. Damn it, I was already thinking about B’s/Penguins and having Ulfie Samuelsson and Cam Neely flashbacks. There’s always next year…
Chuck Hanf
Two Cents From Beantown
| 69 |
| Vote |
subscribe to this blog
Comment by Ann 2
Muzikal Mafia
Canadiens Watch