Believe In Boston

NO NEED TO SHAVE TONIGHT, BOYS!! BRUINS WIN, 1-0!!!

Stanley Cup Finals, here we come. The Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning played one of the best games of hockey I have seen in my entire life, battling the entire game until Nathan Horton netted his third game-winning goal of the Playoffs with 7 minutes to go in the 3rd period, slamming the door closed on Tampa Bay's hopes.

This game saw some big hits, unbelievable goaltending, and Steve Stamkos getting his nose beat in by a Johnny Boychuk slapshot...only to come back 15 mintues later.

The series ended at 21 goals apiece in the 7 games for both Boston and Tampa Bay. The Eastern Conference Finals may have been some of the best hockey in the NHL this season.

Tim Thomas had 24 saves in net, posting another clean sheet, his second of the series, but the even more impressive stat was 41-year-old Dwayne Roloson making a baffling 37 saves. For 60 minutes of hockey, zero penalties were committed, much to the delight of Boston for many reasons.

Horton's goal was assisted by Andrew Ference and David Krejci. Both teams played 110% the entire game, with the Bruins kicking it up to about 170% with about 10 minutes remaining in the tilt.

Next stop: Vancouver, Wednesday night. Tough task ahead with the Canucks. They've had a lot of time off, but are still the best hockey team in the NHL as far as the record is concerned. If you thought this hockey was good, wait til the Stanley Cup Finals. Damn...

LET'S GO B'S!!!

All Bolts, No Nuts

Don't think you can come into Boston for Game 7 and beat the B's. It happened 2 years ago when Carolina did it in overtime, and it happened last year when Philadelphia won, but no one really remembers what happened in that series, I think something to do with a referee scandal, or something? No one is quite sure.

We've already beat Montreal in 7, and we swept Philly. Yeah, Tampa Bay's fast. The Bruins still put up 4 goals on Dwayne Roloson, including a hat-trick from David Krejci.

Tomorrow night--8pm--TD Garden--Lightning vs Bruins. Keep that Chara-on-Lecavalier match-up, work out this practice running the penalty kill formations, and play some physical hockey. The Bruins are the hardest hitting team in the NHL, and still have yet to truly show it. Either way, this is going to be an absolutely amazing, ridiculously fast hockey game.

Let's Go B's.

Game 6 Tonight -- B's vs Bolts

Get ready for some great hockey. The Vancouver Canucks clinched the Western Conference Championship in a double-overtime thriller, and are awaiting an opponent.

As the great Kevin Millar said before Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS when the Red Sox trailed the Yankees 0-3, "Don't let us win one." Boom, Sox go on to be World Champions.

The Bruins are hungry, and pissed off after the Lightning players threw a hissy fit right after the final horn in Game 5.

Let's Go B's.

One Win Away From the Stanley Cup Finals, B's Take Game 5, 3-1

One minute and nine seconds into the tilt, the Tampa Bay Lightning lit the lamp. Simon Gagne was fed on a one-timer by Steve Stamkos that he slipped by Boston goalie Tim Thomas and through the legs of defender Johnny Boychuk.

The Bruins tied it up 7 shots later--which took them almost 25 minutes of hockey--with an absolute laser off the stick of Nathan Horton. The B's only managed 19 shots on the entire night, but scored 3 times to take Game 5, 3-1.

Brad Marchand took a pass from Patrice Bergeron that skimmed just in front of Mike Smith, and tossed it top shelf to take the lead, 2-1. With under a minute to go, Rich Peverley broke out down the ice to lock the game up with an empty-net goal.

Tim Thomas, brilliant again with 33 saves on the night, made one of the best saves of the entire season. The puck was launched off of Steve Downie's stick with about 11 minutes to go in the third period, but just in the nick of time, Thomas reached out with his stick as the puck dinged off of the left pipe and slapped it out of the fray.

The Bruins took Game 5 in front of 17,500 at the TD Garden, and are one win away from their first Stanley Cup finals berth since 1990. The Vancouver Canucks are also a win away from the Finals, and will host the San Jose Sharks tonight for Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals. Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals will be from the St. Pete Times Forum Wednesday night.

Go B's.

Bruins Played 20 Minutes of Hockey

Last night’s Dunkin Donuts ‘Play for the Boston Bruins’ sweepstakes was ill-timed, as the bruins dropped Game 4 to even the series...wait, what? Oh, those were the real Bruins who played? Even the 2nd and 3rd periods?

Ah, well, one way or the other, the Lightning evened the Eastern Conference Finals at 2 games apiece by winning Game Four 5-3, with the next game coming Monday night in Boston.

Bergeron chalked up two goals, both on turnovers from the Lightning, with Ryder adding the other goal. The Lightning stormed back to score three in the second period, two of which came within two minutes of each other, both scored by Teddy Purcell. The Bolts would tack on one more, and then an empty net goal with under a minute to go, sealing the victory.

Like I said in the last post, this series is definitely going 7 games. It has to, these teams are just too damn good.

Bruins - Bolts: Game 3 Preview

The Boston Bruins are on the road tonight at the St. Pete Times Forum for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The B's were one game away from reaching this stage last year, when something happened, no one really remembers.... But this year, they beat the Canadiens in 7 games, swept the Flyers, and are knotted up at 1 game apiece with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

19-year-old rookie Tyler Seguin came out banging on all cylinders the first two games so far. He has five points in the series, including two goals in the last tilt. Nathan Horton chalked up three points of his own in the 6-5 Bruins victory. Was it Tim Thomas' best game? Not even close. At times, he looked confused, with little to no help from his defense. The penalty-kill lines looked like they were formed by the equipment managers and a few fans, and need to be able to lock down the dangerous power play of Tampa Bay.

The Lightning may be the fastest team in the league this year, and are a serious threat to the livelihood of Boston. Stamkos, Lecavalier, and St. Louis are three snipers who know how to score against Thomas. Hopefully Claude Julien whipped the shoddy defense into shape yesterday, otherwise we could be in trouble.

Final score: 4-2, Lightning. The Bruins have the advantage of home-ice for Game 7, and I think it'll take all seven of those games for a winner. Tough loss tonight, but nothing the Bruins can't come back from.

Go B's

Do the Sharks Have a Chance?

No. This fight says it all. The San Jose Sharks are a good team, there is no doubt about it. They handled the Bruins 2-0 in February, one of the most frustrating games to watch (even though there are so many to pick from over the course of the '10-'11 B's season.)

When they reach the third period, the Sharks fall apart like the Yankees in the '04 ALCS. Between that and the dominance of the Vezina Trophy-candidate Roberto Luongo between the pipes for the Vancouver Canucks, the Sharks look like they're done.

I Miss Hockey

I miss hockey like a pregnant teenage misses her period. Those refs must've felt like rodeo clowns at a rodeo gone horribly wrong. Donald Brashear getting things start...Everyone else getting them finished. That's what hockey is all about. Mark Recchi getting in on the action a few times, gotta love it.

This Weekend's Poll Winner

Congratulations to these two crazy bastards. There probably has never been a greater taunting in all of sports. And you gotta give it up for the darker shade of Green Man, guy's on top of his game in every way possible. Doing that crazy drag-my-face across the glass move, then busting out the handstand on his seat.

You don't see that every day, folks. Cheers, gentlemen.

It's About Time...

The NHL has just put a new "cheap shot" rule into action that will remain in effect until the end of the 2009-2010 season. The rule was voted in by the NHL Owners, even before the Players Association caught wind of it, but now it appears everyone is on the same page.

"The league will prohibit lateral, back-pressure or blindside hits to an opponent where the head is targeted and/or the principal point of contact."

The picture at the top of is Marc Savard down on the ice after a concussion given to him by Penguins' defenseman Matt Cooke. Watch any highlight of "superstar" Alexander Ovechkin from this past season, and watch how much of a goon he is. I understand he's a great player, and he can score goals like he's drinking a cup of tea, but let's be real, he plays like a scumbag. I bet if you think about it for a second, you can think of a bunch of dirty hits that happened in the past few years that should've prompted this rule sooner.

Cooke on Savard

Ovechkin being his scumbag self

Janssen on Bradley