Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Bring on the Pens...errr, the Flyers...WHO THE HELL ARE WE PLAYING?

It would figure that just as the playoffs are starting, my computer would blow up. It has physically pained me not to be able to write about how well the boys have been playing.
They seemed to have picked the perfect time to start banging on all cylinders.
Wideman has appeared to recover from a regular season that we would all like to forget. Hunwick is moving the puck beautifully, and Satan is proving to be a bargain, having scored some big goals.
The emergency of Johnny Fucking Upchuk is giving all Bruins fans something to talk about. He was a healthy scratch the basically the first quarter of the season and he obviously took the time to learn the game, listen to his coaches and practice practice practice. His maturity is showing now.
There are so many positives right now...Tuukka coming up HUGE shot after shot...Patty Cake showing that he should be a contender for the Selke...Old Man Recchi showing the pups how it's done, even after all these years...Sobotka finally showing what he can do (I'm racking my brain to find the last Bruin his size that has had such a sudden impact on the physical tempo of a game...any suggestions?)...Looch playing like we all know he can...
And above all that, Savvy is healthy. Getting their best passer and PP god back in time for the whoever the hell they're going to play in the 2nd round is huge. Unfortunately, it most likely means that Edgecrusher Thornton is going to be sitting. I think they should dress him as an extra forward. The Begin/Thornton/Paille line has resulted in some great cycles down low and some breakout passes that let Paille show just fast he can skate.
With a smug smile on my face, I've read all of the articles on ESPN and TSN that have basically stated, "Ummm, sorry. We thought that the Bruins sucked. Our bad."
This doesn't mean that the boys can rest. They're going to have to dig deep and keep playing just as hard and fast as they have been.
If they face the Pens: Crosby. Malkin. Two of the biggest names in the NHL today. Make Patty Cake shadow them and they should do okay. And although they can't get distracted by him, you better believe that every player will hit Matt Cooke every chance they get.
If they face the Flyers: they're a team that bounced the newly-mortal Martin Brodeur out of the playoffs. They can't be discounted. The Hockey News picked the Flyers to win the Cup this year. Yes, they're a low seed, but we've seen what low seeds can do.
Everything hinges on how the Caps/Habs series ends tonight. I would love to see the Habs get bounced. I wouldn't be a Bruins fan if I didn't. I still don't feel as if the Caps are a Cup-winning team. They have shit tons of skill, but I don't feel it. Either way, it will be interesting.
I just hope that the boys skate fast, hit hard and score some goals. Getting Savvy back, who is a purely sublime passer, might be just what they need to make a deep run.
Can't wait...but we're gonna have to for just a little while longer.
Go B's.