- Damn

- … seriously, damn. What a hockey game. After the game that the NBA Finals gave us last night it became only fitting that the NHL delivered their own classic a night later. All it was missing from my point of view was a Boston Bruins victory.

- Let’s start with the bad because the Bruins did a lot of good things in this game despite the loss and I want to highlight those to make myself feel better.

- First, the shot totals that the Boston Bruins gave up were inexcusable. From the early part of the game, it was kind of clear that it was one of those typical games where I could only imagine Tuukka Rask sitting and staring at his defense and asking “Guys? Guys? Guys, a little help here!” In total, the Boston Bruins gave up a total of 45 shots to the Blackhawks. Some of it were caused by poor turnovers in the defensive zone, others by the Blackhawks sustained pressure swiping the puck away from the Boston Bruins. For the most part, however, it seemed fairly easy for the Blackhawks to gain the zone wide off the rush and get shots on net. When playing a goalie that is on their game, it becomes important to just get pucks on net and see what happens. As a defense, and it sounds obvious, but the shots on goal have to be prevented somewhat. 50 save performances aren’t normal and chances are if 45 shots reach net, a good number of them will go on. In a way, the Bruins were lucky to only have given up six goals. You may insert your “Tuukka Rask is very good” line here. and

- Something has to change about the Boston Bruins first periods. In games two and four, the first period has been an ugly start for the good guys and it has resulted in them trailing in these games. When the eight minutes remaining mark of the first period hit, the Boston Bruins had zero chances in the score-sheet and only one shot. Obviously, the Boston Bruins turned it around. Rich Peverley’s return from the dead got the Bruins on the board and they ended the period with a flurry, but just imagine if they did not let the Blackhawks out of the gate strongly. Yes, the Blackhawks were desperate and were skating and playing hard, but it doesn’t excuse the Bruins for not being good.

- For the second period, just repeat everything I just said for the first period. Ugly, ugly period until the end of it when the Bruins (surprise) had a couple of goals and had a flurry of chances at the net. In my opinion, the Bruins only “won” the third period, and even that was a literal tie on the scoreboard.

-Let’s wipe out all the bad things I just said now and put smiles on our faces. The Bruins did an awful lot good this game. When they did wake-up, they played the fastest I have seen them play all season long. They found a spot that was working, glove high on Crawford, and kept going to it. It didn’t matter how it had to get done. If it was an open high slot pass, they were looking to shoot. If the puck bounced off the boards and right in front of the net, the Bruins pounced on it. When the Bruins were playing at their best, they outworked the Blackhawks for their goals. It’s just a shame they failed to show up for a good chunk of it. That, and the Blackhawks played really, really good too.

- Has Patrice Bergeron put himself into the Conn Smythe argument? Maybe, and three power-play goals in a series isn’t hurting his cause. In fact, the Bruins power-play was a bright spot in this game, amazing considering the first one was dog crap and they gave up a shortie. After that, the puck was flying around the ice, landing in the sticks of offensive players looking to shoot an often generating fantastic scoring opportunities. Shout outs to Torey Krug who has rebounded nicely after a horrific game one and Jaromir Jagr whose puck possession skills and vision should make the “HE HASN’T SCORED YET” idiots look like…well… idiots.

-Why should I be confident about game five? I am, which should be worrisome because I never am. Here’s the thing. When the Bruins played with desperation tonight, they looked like the team that many thought could have challenged for the top spot in the NHL. Lack of effort and injuries curtailed their chances in the regular season but since game seven of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals this Bruins team has looked like one of the best teams in the NHL. Tonight we saw what happened when this team is back against the wall. Down two goals twice and one goal late in the game, they kept pushing and clawing and fighting to even up the game. Maybe that’s why they gave up so many shots, but I do know that on Saturday the Bruins will be desperate.

- When the Bruins had their final day with the cup at the start of last season, many of the players remarked about how awesome it was to finally skate around with the cup in front of the home crowd. The 2011 championship was clinched on foreign soil and you can bet they would want to do it this year on home ice. Saturday allows them their last opportunity to set themselves up to do such a thing. The Bruins want to win, but I think they want to win in front of the home crowd more than anything. I can bet they do whatever they can to get it done on Saturday.

After a weekend of talk and rumors and speculation and firing up of the trade machine, the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Clippers broke off their talks for the massive deal involving Celtics coach Doc Rivers and power-forward Kevin Garnett. Many Celtics fans see this as a blessing. There was growing speculation that the Boston Celtics might just run it back in 2013-2014 and hope that they just avoid the massive amounts of injuries and under-achievements that plagued the team last season. If they weren’t contenders by the time the trade-deadline came around in February, they could have made deals to contenders involving their players with high trade value.

The biggest elephant in the room was Doc Rivers. For what seemed like the umpteenth off-season in a row, Doc Rivers was contemplating whether or not he wanted to come back and coach in 2013. This wasn’t anything new to Celtics fan. It was simply becoming a part of the off-season of the Boston Celtics. Of course he would be back by the time the draft came back, and so would Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett. By Christmas with Rajon Rondo fully healthy and things starting to click, the Boston Celtics might just have a chance in 2014. Was it a long shot? Sure, but Zach Lowe said last year that if teams have a 5% chance at contending for a title, they take it.

Somehow the 2013 off-season took a turn for the worst. Doc Rivers never told the team what he wanted to do and speculation grew that Doc Rivers did not want to continue to be involved with the Boston Celtics. Then he started working out his own exit strategy. This would be okay in an NBA world where people who have paid their dues to an organization get to plan out their own exit, but he seemingly didn’t tell anyone he was talking to the Clippers. Then he roped Kevin Garnett into it despite the fact that both KG and Doc were under contract with the Celtics for at least another year. Then they were convincing Mr. Celtic himself, Paul Pierce, to come when the Celtics bought him out which at this point is the worst kept secret in the NBA.

It was pretty clear. Doc Rivers didn’t care about the contract he was signed on for or the fact that he knew that there would be rebuilding in the latter part of that contract that he signed on for. Throughout Boston, Doc Rivers is getting a free pass because of how beloved he is in Boston. He is the coach that facilitated the new wave of Celtics pride, he was the soul of the Boston people after the marathon bombings in April. Now, Doc Rivers wanted out at what seems like the worst possible time.

And despite the pleading from the Celtics fans that the falling out between the Celtics and the Clippers means that Doc Rivers could be coming back to the sideline for the Celtics, it just can’t happen now. Doc Rivers has passed the point of no return. Doc Rivers doesn’t want to be in Boston and Danny Ainge doesn’t want a coach that does not want to be in Boston either. Plus, if Rivers comes back, why would the players respect a guy who did not want to be here anyway. Doc Rivers has reached a point of no return with the Boston Celtics. There is no way he can be back.

Is it too early to tank for Andrew Wiggins?

The NHL is one of the few sports that rewards an entire playoff MVP at the end of the Finals. If the Boston Bruins were to win the Stanley Cup, it would likely be awarded to their goalie Tuukka Rask who has been incredible throughout the entire post-season. Without him, the Boston Bruins are not two wins away from capturing their second Stanley Cup in three years.

If the NHL were to give away a just an MVP for the Stanley Cup Final – call it the Gretzky award or something – the winner of such an award this year might currently be controlled by one Danny Paille.

It is strange the evolution that Paille has gone through in the 2013 season, mostly because Paille never seemed to be a player that would do anything more than being an efficient penalty killer and hard-working fourth line player. Paille always had wheels and innate toughness which helped him as a fourth line player, but he never had skill enough to finish. His nickname among Bruins’ fans was “Stonehands” which was a shame because over the years that speed led to many breakaways that he would ultimately bumble away.

A rash on injuries in addition to the compressed schedule of 2013 gave Paille his first real chance to do something more than simply be a fourth line forward and Paille did not disappoint. He grew hands and finished with ten goals, tied for the most he had scored in any season in a Bruins uniform. Mostly playing on the fourth line, but hopping around to wherever he was needed, Paille should have won the seventh player award for the Boston Bruins. If only the award was not simply a popularity contest.

In these playoffs, the biggest move that Bruins coach Claude Julien has made, besides the move of Jagr to the line centered by Bergeron, was to switch Paille to the third line in the Stanley Cup Finals. In game two of the Finals, the switch was made and Paille’s speed gave that line a boost it hadn’t had all post-season long. He scored the game-winning-goal in both games two and three and his speed up and down the wings resulted in numerous chances for the Boston Bruins. He also provides the third line another hard-working player which has allowed them to win more pucks deep and get better opportunities. Both the game-winning goals happened because of such plays.

As the series continues, expect Danny Paille to continue to play with the third line guys. For someone who was destined as a career fourth line player, his play has sparked the Bruins and continued to highlight him as one of the Bruins most pleasant surprises in 2013.

“That’s the definition of grinding one out and stealing one right there.” It was a text message that my buddy Sully sent to me moments after game two between the Boston Bruins and the Chicago Blackhawks was over. In overtime, Danny Paille got free after a turnover between the circles and fired one off the inside of the post and into the net to give the Boston Bruins a win and tie the series at a game a piece.

Quite frankly, the game never should have got there. The Blackhawks should have won the game a lot earlier had it not been for the performance of Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask. In the opening barrage of the game, the Bruins showed up just like they did in the regular season, uninterested in the going on with the game at hand. They gave up 19 shots in the first period alone and the only way that the Blackhawks beat Rask was by having what seemed like six Blackhawks players in front of the net just hammering away at the puck.

Slowly but surely, the Boston Bruins seemed to wake up in the game. If there was a moment that they could point too, it was Chris Kelly’s tying goal in the second period scored in a similar matter as the Blackhawks one. The Bruins won the puck deep, forced it to the front and hammered away at it until it went into the net.

From there, the game was back and forth. The Bruins finally woke up and both teams generated scoring chances. Overtime came, and it was the Bruins that were the last ones standing.

Other than that? I’m spent. The entire overtime I was pacing, thanks to the pace of play. The fight in the Bruins from late in the second period on made it a game that felt like something they just could not lose, even though their play up until that point was of a team that should have lost.

I’m drained. Four overtimes in two games will do that to a hockey fan. Paille’s shot to win the game was just something that was needed for the Bruins fans who likely couldn’t take another overtime loss at this rate in the Stanley Cup Final. As the road team, all that is asked from the fans is a split. The rest can be done at home.

It may have taken four overtimes and an insane second half effort in game two, but the Boston Bruins got it done.

Nathan Horton may or may not play tonight in game two of the Stanley Cup Final. Turns out he has a shoulder that has been dislocating over the past two months more than Mel Gibson’s in Lethal Weapon 2. If there was ever more proof that hockey players are the toughest players in the world, Nathan Horton would be up there on that list.

Losing him would hurt. He has been the top +/- guy in the playoffs to this point and he has scored many a timely goal in this playoffs. In addition, his chemistry with his line-mates has led to goals like this:

A baby will be born nine months from now because of that goal, but I digress.

Tyler Seguin is almost the exact opposite of Nathan Horton, but bless his soul he is trying. Seguin has scored once in the playoffs, in game four of the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals. He’s supposed to be the Boston Bruins most natural goal-scorer, but clearly that hasn’t happened for him this post-season.

Getting moved down to the third line with the corpses of Rich Peverley and Chris Kelly certainly didn’t help Tyler’s cause, but it doesn’t excuse the fact that Tyler Seguin needs to start putting the puck in the net. It isn’t as if Tyler is playing poorly. He is getting plenty of chances and he is skating hard and doing (hockey cliche alert!) little things, he just hasn’t put it all together.

Sometimes all a player needs is to let someone else do the playmaking. If Horton is out, that’s exactly what Tyler will be able to do.

See, on the third line, Seguin is the only offensive player. Chris Kelly is really a penalty-killer and defensive player only at this point and Rich Peverley died last April in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. For the third line to score, Tyler Seguin not only has to get himself open, but he also has to score the goals too. A lot to ask for sometimes.

With Horton out, Seguin will skate with #BestPlayerInTheWorld (God, kill me for that hashtag) David Krejci, the playoffs’ leading scorer. He is because of his playmaking. With Krejci on his line, all Tyler would have to do is win some space in the circles, work hard in the cycle, and David Krejci will find him for easy opportunities. David Krejci is playing at a level that makes the game easier for everyone, something Tyler Seguin desperately needs.

They need his production too. Since coming onto the scene in game two of the Eastern Conference Finals in 2011, Tyler Seguin has been somewhat of a playoff ghost. At some point, the highly touted Bruins scorer has to bring that 30-goal production with him into a playoff game. What better time to start than the Stanley Cup Final?

A couple of months ago, ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith brought forwards an interesting proposition, if crazy one. With the Boston Celtics on their last legs as a contender and head-coach Doc Rivers unsure if he wanted to be a part of another rebuilding plan in Boston, an idea was brought forward that would essentially send Doc, and forwards Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett to Los Angeles in exchange for some package of players that might even have included high-flying forward Blake Griffin.

This is the first thing to remember whenever someone bashes the Doc Rivers rumors as just “something he does every year”. That has been a common statement this off-season, but this type of move was being discussed as far back as April. If that is not a sign that this years round of Doc Rivers rumors has real legs than I really need too get better at making reads.

Friday night, the Doc Rivers saga reached another fever pitch as it was reported that Doc Rivers and the Clippers have mutual interest in each other  and the idea that some kind of coach and player trade could legitimately happen has certainly been raised to a level it was not at before.

Forget about the Del Negro rumors or what team is involved or why Doc Rivers signed a five-year contract a few years back knowing that the Celtics would be entering a rebuilding or retooling time sooner rather than later. There was a growing sense among Boston Celtics fans that the Celtics would “run it back” one more time and take another shot at the championship. Last years team was derailed by injuries to key players and high-profile signings not reaching their expectations. While the Celtics would not be favored by any stretch of the imagination, there was little doubt the Boston Celtics could make another run at the title. By retaining the core and getting creative in their quest to find another big-man, a healthy Celtics could challenge the top of the East for a spot in the Finals, or so the thought was.

Even if the Celtics were clearly out of it and done by February, the trade market would be much more plentiful and would allow the Celtics to begin the rebuilding process. In reality, running it back one more time seemed like a no lose situation.

Not if everything we are hearing happens. If Doc leaves, so does Kevin Garnett and so does Paul Pierce. What is left is a collection of players featuring only one real difference maker (Rondo) and a bunch of players that can be good third, fourth or fifth cogs in a championship team.

If Doc Rivers goes to Los Angeles and take the heart (Kevin Garnett) and the soul (Paul Pierce) with him, the countdown until the Andrew Wiggins lottery will officially begin.

Twenty-three years ago, the Boston Bruins opened their Stanley Cup Finals against Edmonton by playing a triple-overtime game. I was still over a year away from even being born, but as a fan of the Boston Bruins, I know the story. The Bruins dropped game one at home in what ended up being the longest game in Stanley Cup Final history. By the time the game ended, everyone just wanted to go home. Numb and drained from the length of the hockey game, the game just needed to end.

After dropping game one, the Bruins lost game two 7-2 and ended up losing the series four games to one. Having not been around when the last time something like this happened, it was hard to figure how the Bruins simply lost their way the rest of the series. Every long overtime game in recent Bruins history has come up roses for the Bruins. They were the ones that always made the big saves and capitalized on their opportunities. If the Bruins lost in overtime, it seemed to come quick and somewhat painless.

After last night, it is somewhat understandable. Losing a single hockey game that nearly lasts the length of two games is simply draining to a team. Not just are the minutes absurd and physically draining, but it is mentally draining as well. Being so close to winning a game numerous times over a double length hockey game and coming up losers cannot be good for the mental psyche. When the third overtime comes along, fans are just drained. Down to just drinking water and staring at the television, colors begin getting washed out and it becomes hard to tell whether the light on the television is the glare from the back of the room or if death is imminent. If that’s how it is for the fans, it is impossible to imagine how it is for the players.

To make matters worse, the death blow goal is never delivered through a brilliant opportunity from beautiful hockey. David Krejci between the circles or Kaspar Daugavins on the doorstep are never how overtimes end, although it looked like it was about to happen for the Bruins. It’s always either a bad-turnover leading to a rush or a goal that gets tipped and deflected more than the final putt in Happy Gilmore that ends up in the back of the net. All of it is a product of the tiring and physical nature of the sport where mistakes are made and heroes and goats created. Last night, it was a puck that was tipped twice before getting past Tuukka Rask. Game over.

It was a heartbreaking loss but what is now more important is the next game. That sounds obvious, but sometimes looking back to see what worked or carrying momentum can be important game to game. Not in this case. If the Bruins look back on anything from game one, the chances are more than likely it will be stories of missed-opportunities, unconverted chances that could have put the Bruins in the driver’s seat of the series.

By the time the game ended, everyone just wanted the game to end and move on. That’s the key. That game is over, but the series isn’t. It’s time to look ahead and get ready to take a game in Chicago and win home-ice advantage.

This has to be some lame joke right? The New England Patriots just signed Tim Tebow? That doesn’t make sense. Good joke everyone. Well done. You got us good. Everyone carry back on with your days.

Wait… this isn’t a joke? Is it like a tornado drill? No?

Well…. shit.

Go on to the popular social media website and tweet something along the line of “I’m feeling extra sweepy tonight” or “The Bruins are going to close out the series tonight. Count on it!” on twitter and just look at the responses.

This assumes, of course that you have enough followers that will respond to you. Believe me, I don’t either. The point is the responses that you’ll get back will for the most part be Bruins fans on the edge of their seats. Responses such as “Don’t say that! You might jinx them.” or “SHUT UP! THE BRUINS HAVE BLOWN A SERIES BEFORE!” might be some of the responses.

How do I know this? Because I would totally be one of these people. Trust me. Tonight, I will probably buy the same steak sandwich I bought for game three, I will totally be buying the same jersey and I will probably pop open a bottle of Sam Summer Ale because that’s the beer I was drinking when the Bruins finished the game in double overtime. I only do things like this with the Bruins because they are the team I feel needs the most “mystical” help through superstitions.

Even after winning the Stanley Cup, Bruins fans still carry a feeling of dread and uneasiness with the team. Being snake-bitten for 40 years between Stanley Cup victories with numerous heart-breaking losses with evil names will do that to a franchise. Even after they won the Stanley Cup, the Boston Bruins came back the next season and lost in the first round.

Winning tonight will help ease the Bruins fan-base. Coming into this series the Bruins were the underdogs and now are one game away from not just going to the Eastern Conference Playoffs and finishing it in a sweep. Since going down 4-1 in game seven in the first round, the Boston Bruins have lost one game. The Bruins are good, very good. In the pre-season, they were many peoples pick to at least represent the Eastern Conference in the Stanley Cup Finals. At some point, the Bruins fans will be normal like a lot of other fan-bases. Passionate, yes, but not nearly as self-loathing and worrisome as they are now.

A win tonight will help that.

If there ever was a moment that defined the Boston Bruins in game three of the Eastern Conference Finals, it came in the second period. In what would become a trend in the second period, the Boston Bruins were killing a penalty and forward Gregory Campbell dove in front of a hard-shot from the point. It hit him in the leg, and he immediately was in intense pain. He lost his glove, he started hobbling around the ice, just trying to lunge his stick into the passing and shooting plays to try and make a play. He was hurt, he looked done, but he kept fighting, knowing he had to kill the penalty in order to give his team a chance to win. They killed the penalty and Soupy sprinted to the bench, only to be grabbed by team trainers and dragged to the locker room.

It came out this morning that Soupy broke his fibula. For those unaware about the anatomy of the human body, the fibula is the largest bone in the body, a vital part to actually standing on their legs. A friend of mine once broke his fibula in a skiing accident and I asked him about it this morning. He could only describe it as the most intense pain in his life, that being skied down the mountain every bump and jerk only heightened the pain to a point where he nearly went into shock. From the sounds of it, it is a pain that I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy.

Soupy broke his fibula and finished his shift, doing everything in his power to keep the Boston Bruins in a tie game.

After scoring the game-winning goal in overtime, alternate captain Patrice Bergeron went to the podium. The Boston Bruins “player of the game” jacket this post-season is a camouflaged army jacket and Bergeron look like he had just been in the fight of his life. His stitched gash on his nose from the second round series looked as if it had been reopened, his eyes already had bags from the long night and it was hard to tell if he had just gotten out of the shower or if he was still sweating. Bergeron appeared as a defeated man, but was the victor. His tip-in goal deep into the second overtime sent the Bruins home crowd into a frenzy, winners in the game and into a situation where they were one game away from the Eastern Conference finals.

Finally in this series, the Boston Bruins got the Penguins best effort. The Penguins were the better team on Wednesday night and probably deserved to win the game. They played with a desperation of a team down two games to none and just desperately wanting to get back into the game. If it wasn’t for the positioning of goalie Tuukka Rask, the Bruins would have lost the game about 4-1.

By the time overtime rolled around, both teams were gassed. It got to a point where it felt like the only winner of the game was the Western Conference Champion, a team that would have faced a tired Bruins or Penguins team. They were each fighting and clawing and just hoping to get the winning goal, and it took a turnover in the neutral zone to make that happen.

It was the Bruins who finally got it and now lead the series three games to none. For the first time, the series feels well in hand. Listening to the Penguins coaches and players, they sound like a team defeated. They gave their best effort, and it still was not enough. The Bruins also gave a pretty good effort, one that left them panting, exhausted and nursing broken fibula’s in the post-game. They took any momentum the Penguins could have won from winning the game and squashed it.

The Bruins are one game away from the Stanley Cup Finals. After the effort from Wednesday’s double overtime, any rest the Bruins could win would be well deserved, and well needed.