The Boston Bruins SWEPT the Pittsburgh Penguins. I can say this to myself a million times a day and not get sick of it. If anyone actually had the Bruins in four, I’d like to firmly shake your hand. Bravo you.
The Bruins put every ounce of themselves into that series. They got under the Penguins skin in game one, and didn’t let up. There wasn’t an inch of the ice the Penguins could take before running into Bruins defense. Or even offense, the boys were everywhere.
The final four minutes of that game killed me. I had my hat twisted into a knot with an overwhelming sense of hope, dread, and anxiety washing over me. It was almost worse than game seven against the Leafs waiting for that tying goal.
However those games are behind us now as the Bruins move on to face the Chicago Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup Finals!!! Raaaaah!
How exhilarating. Second go at the Cup in three years. Fun fact, want to know a pattern? The Bruins won the Cup in 1939 and 1941, and then later in 1970&1972, and if the pattern holds up we’re looking at a pretty fun coincidence.
Another fun fact, when the Pittsburgh Penguins won the Cup in 1992, they went through the New York Rangers (whom they beat in 6) and they swept the Bruins, and went on to sweep the Chicago Blackhawks for the cup. Guess who was on the team? JAGR!
HMMMM.
In any case the Bruins seemed to have hit their stride. Tuukka Rask is proving how phenomenal he is between the pipes, having shut down Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin completely and only allowing two goals in the four games.
Why were the Bruins so successful? David Krejci shed some light,
Krejci: “I think [Crosby & Malkin] are best players in the world. We don’t have guys like that. We have a team. We all play as a team”
— Joe Haggerty (@HackswithHaggs) June 2, 2013
The Boston Bruins pride themselves on their camaraderie. They work together as a unit, with all four lines rolling and crazy depth. Their depth was highlighted with the call-ups of Torey Krug, Matt Bartkowski, and Kaspars Daugaviņš. The loss of Gregory Campbell had the potential to open up a gaping hole in the Bruins offense, particularly on their special teams, where Soupy and Daniel Paille are commonly seen fighting off penalties. However Daugaviņš was able to slide onto our third line, and I recall he had a wicked chance in the third to score.
I guess I should spend a little time talking about game one. Obviously the duo to look out for are Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane. However just as dangerous is Marian Hossa. These three players lead their team in points during the regular season, and the playoffs are no different. They are all tied at 14 points. Duncan Keith is their leading D with the most assists (in regular season and playoffs), and someone to keep an eye out for when he is on the ice.
Another reason why Hossa is dangerous? He claims to know the secret to breaking Chara.
“I try to joke with him because he likes to be serious all the time on the ice,” the Hawks forward said. “I know he doesn’t like to talk on the ice. I try to throw some funny stories on the faceoff, make him laugh a little bit.”
Hossa knows these tricks not only because he was Chara’s teammate with the Senators [but] because their apartment buildings in the Czech Republic are across the street from one another.The Chicago Tribune.
It all starts tonight! Where will you be?
GOOOOO B’s!
-Kaylin
Back to Black & Gold 