SOMETHING SPECIAL IN BOSTON

Great time right now to be a sports fan in The Hub. The Pats went 18-1, the Red Sox won the World series a few months back, the Celtics are in the playoffs as the #1 seed and the Bruins remarkable journey. Let's take a look back at the week that was.
The Celtics begin their playoff trek in a couple hours from this post. The green machine won both games this week without any real minutes from their starting lineup. Instead, the bench thrashed both the Knicks and the Nets to bring the regular season to a close. The team had the best record in the NBA since the opening night; they finished the season at a stunning 66-16! The team begins the playoffs vs. the Hawks, whom the C's beat in all three meeting this year. The average margin of victory was 14 in those games! They should smoke the Hawks, probably in four but possibly in 5. We wish them the best in search of #17!
The Red Sox have been just as impressive. With a new season upon us, the boys of summer are pounding good ballclub's without key contributors such as Lowell, Crisp and Schilling. The team had an impressive week, via sweeping a short 2 game set in Cleveland 5-3 and 6-4. The team then lost a wild game at NY 15-9 but Beckett baffled the Yanks through 8 and Ramirez and the bats crushed a washed up Mussina the following night to split the brief 2 game set. The team headed home and won all 3 games versus the Rangers to push their record to 13-7, good for first in the division and American League! The team scored at will all weekend and came back late against the Texas bullpen in the latter 2 games. Casey, filling in for the injured Lowell, has played exceptional, as has Youkilis, Pedroia, Drew and Ramirez. All are off to great starts.
Now to the key stuff. The black and gold are locked in an epic series here in April. Much like the playoff series that went 7 games in 2004, this series is difficult to describe in print. The games are all physical and quirky, as the two teams seem to go long blocks without scoring and then a flurry of goals late in the games change both club's approaches. Amazing series, arguably the best I've ever witnessed. The two teams despise each other and the hits keep on coming.
Looking back, the Habs pushed their lead in the series to 3-1 after a win in Boston. Price and Thomas dueled, but a PP goal with less than a minute to go in the 2nd frame proved to be the lone goal. Game 5 was a different story. The two clubs headed north to an extremely loud Bell Centre with elimination in play. Things looked bleak until Phil Kessel, who was benched for Games 2, 3 and 4, tied things up and the 2 teams entered the final frame tied. In what can be described as a tornado named Bruin, the Bruins put 4 goals on the scoreboard against Price and won 5-1 at a stunned Bell Centre. Metropolit put one in as Price dropped the puck to him mistakenly instead of taking a whistle and faceoff. Soon thereafter, Chara, Sturm and Sobotka tallied scores and thus the 5-1 shalacking. The team scored 5 goals through the first 4 games an suddenly scored as many in the 5th game. Scene shifts to Bean-town for a 6th game.
With their backs against the wall once again, the Bruins took on the Habs hoping to stay alive. And that they did. In arguably the greatest and wildest game I have ever witnessed in the postseason, the black and gold won 5-4 to force a 5th and final game. With the pressure squarely on the top seeded Habs, the teams battled hard but the Habs took a 2-1 lead into the 3rd period.
That's when things went chaotic for both clubs. Bruins youngster Sobotka tied it up at 2 apiece but minutes later the Habs went up 3-2 with under 10 minutes to play. With the team in jeopardy of bowing out, another Bruins kid came through, as Lucic tipped in a Ward slapshot heading towards Price to tie it at 3 with less than 8 to play. With under 5 minutes to go, the furious play continued and Kessel scored his 2nd of the game to give the black and gold the edge with under 5 to go. Then, in what can be described as titanic, the Habs devastatingly tied it up at four 11 seconds after Kessel's tally. The game was even once again with 4 minutes left.
Incredibly, another goal would come............in regulation. Marco Sturm made a gutsy drive towards the net and followed up his own rebound to beat Price and the Habs 5-4! A game 7 indeed. The teams are dead even in almost every category and a final game will decide who goes home and who moves, not to mention the pride at stake.
The Bruins enter tomorrow's live or die game at the Bell Centre with clearly less to lose, the momentum and near zero pressure. On the other hand, the Habs face a great deal of pressure in front of their home fans and are the #1 seed who held a 3-1 series lead but could not put the hard working and confident black and gold away when they had the opportunity. Price is clearly very good but not unflappable, as his 10 GA in the past 2 games show. The new-look Bruins have built momentum and have changed their style, especially defensively, in recent games and look poised for a great effort and hopeful victory tomorrow in the final game.
In 2004, the roles were reversed. The Bruins were the higher seed and had home ice advantage. But they blew a 3-1 series lead and had a rookie netminder. Seem ominously familiar? Well it should. The numbers are downright scary if your a Habs fan. The Habs won 3 straight including 2 on the road. Now it looks like the Bruins are poised to have a great opportunity to do what the 2004 Habs did to the Bruins; come back in the series to win 3 straight. But to do so, the team has to continue their great play of late and turn 2004's nightmare into a new one for their foe. For them, and all the diehard black and gold fans, revenge against the Habs here in the 2008 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs would be a dish served in the coldest temperature. No matter what, the team has left their mark. But this is no time to look at the glass half-full because the glass is full and it's the Bruins that have just filled that same glass. We wish them the best as they hope to win Game 7 tomorrow. Go Bruins!