Bruins Would Not Be Denied
BOSTON (CBS) - I've written this before in this space and think it relates to this Boston Bruins Stanley Cup run.
This Bruins team reminds me of the 2003-2004 Boston Red Sox story.
Those Red Sox teams suffered one of the worst play-off losses ever, losing to Aaron Boone and their arch-rival NY Yankees in Game Seven of the '03 ALCS.
That Sox team then added the likes of Curt Schilling and Keith Foulke and immediately erased that demon, the NY Yankees the following season en route to winning its first title in 86 years -- amazing as we all know.
The 2009-10 Boston Bruins suffered one if the worst play-off series losses ever as they blew a 3-0 series lead and 3-0 Game Seven lead, losing to the Philadelphia Flyers.
They go out and add the likes of Nathan Horton, Chris Kelly, and Rich Peverley and immediately erase those demons.
They nip their arch-rival Montreal in seven dramatic games and then steamroll those Philadelphia Flyers in a 4-game sweep.
And now the Bruins are driving their way to a possible Stanley Cup. They dispose of pesky Tampa Bay in seven games and look to top Vancouver. It's Boston's first Cup Finals trip since, 1990 and would be its first Stanley Cup since 1972.
Give this Bruins team all the accolades you want. They deserve it.
Game Seven Friday night was one of the most complete games you'll ever see in the play-offs. They truly saved their best for when they needed it the most.
They played a game from the back to the front. The defense and Tim Thomas was rock solid. Thomas made every save he needed to, while the D in front of him wouldn't allow the explosive Lightning much room to do anything. Zdeno Chara and Dennis Seidenberg were unbelievable. Seidenberg logged a game-high 27 minutes and 57 seconds while blocking a ridiculous 8 shots.
Up front, the Bruin forwards rang up 38 shots against Dwayne Roloson, who was superb -- the game-winner coming with 7:33 to go on a beautiful feed from David Krecji to Nathan Horton -- Horton with his eighth goal of the postseason. That gives Horton series-winning goals in two of the three series(can you say Big Papi?).
And, don't forget to give some love to Claude Julien and his staff. They pushed all the right buttons along the way and have gotten this team to respond to every tough situation -- down 0-2 heading to Montreal, losing Game Six in Montreal, erasing the Flyers in four straight after last season's collapse, bouncing back after Game One, Four, and Six losses to Tampa. Great stuff.
Oh, and kudos to you Bruins fans for making the Garden "electric" from start to finish in Game Seven. You people were awesome, as every player noted in the post game festivities Friday.
And now, on to the Stanley Cup Finals… how great is that to say?
A very formidable foe in the Vancouver Canucks... a loaded foster with Henrik and Daniel Sedin, Ryan Kesler, Alex Burrows, Kevin Bieksa, Christian Ehrhoff, and Roberto Luongo… a tough, tough team to play against.
For the Bruins, their 18th trip to the Stanley Cup Finals. Since winning itinerary 1970 and 1972, the B's have dropped their last five trips. They lost in '74(Philly), '77 and '78(Montreal), and in '88 and '90(Edmonton).
Can this Bruins team win a Cup? A-b-s-o-l-u-t-e-l-y.
They've got all the right ingredients starting with the Vezina Trophy winner-to-be in Thomas, great defense led by Chara and Seidenberg, and depth at forward. They also have heart and character.
It will be tough to beat Vancouver, but don't doubt this Bruins team.
They've proven a lot of people wrong along the way.......and.....why stop now?
Enjoy the ride...
