Kalman: Bruins Complete Miracle, Now Need To Make It Count
BOSTON (CBS) -- The magic of May 13 is now a part of Bruins history.
Six years ago on that date, the Red Sox staged what some people, especially at their television network, like to refer to as the "Mother's Day Miracle." While winning an early-season game against Baltimore shouldn't be something you savor as much as some do, that win at least became part of the legend of how the 2007 Sox went on to win the World Series.
Now we have the Bruins' entry into the May 13 "miracle" finishes. It was a scene out of a movie. A Game 7 of a playoff series with a three-goal deficit and nearly half of the third period gone. A team that up until Nathan Horton cut the Toronto lead to 4-2 Monday had scored just one goal in three straight games. And then the two extra-attacker goals beat James Reimer to tie the score in the final 1:22.
And then the longest-tenured Bruins player, Patrice Bergeron, follows up his tying goal with the overtime winner. If the Red Sox' 2007 win against the Orioles was a miracle, this was a miracle on steroids.
"That was unbelievable," said defenseman Johnny Boychuk. "That's one thing you're going to remember probably for the rest of your life, because it was such a comeback that everybody probably thought that we were done and showed what kind of character there is in this dressing room. Never say die, more or less."
Boychuk's right -- you're going to remember Game 7 against the Maple Leafs and tell your kids and grandkids about it. Plenty of people who left will say they were there, and plenty that never stepped foot on Causeway Street will say they were in the building. However, there was to be more for this miracle to mean something.
If all the Bruins did was postpone their demise, then there will be no reason to make this game daytime filler on television. There won't be more than a small chapter for it in the team's media guide and history books. This season has to end with a championship for the first-round clincher to resonate for generations.
"There's lots to look forward to and what could have been disastrous here tonight ends up going in our favor," forward Milan Lucic said, "and we've got to build some momentum off of that, so lots to look forward to and just happy to get past this round, which was another tough round, and hopefully we can keep it up."
A lot of history was written and then rewritten after three pucks found the back of Toronto's net Monday. For this Game 7 win to truly change history, however, it can't be the only highlight of the 2013 postseason.
Matt Kalman covers the Bruins for CBSBoston.com and also contributes coverage to NHL.com and several other media outlets. Follow him on Twitter @TheBruinsBlog.
