Okay. To begin, I’m still numb from that game, from the outcome, from fighting with NKOTBSB fans for seats at the bar beforehand all the way through to the end, and from the entirety of these two games in Vancouver. It’s painful. Heartrending. To come so far and to just roll over, two games to none, in the STANLEY CUP FREAKING FINALS, is just not something I really have words for.

What to say about that game. The top two lines really have GOT to improve their play. Krejci’s dipsy-do moves through the neutral zone just aren’t working. The Bruins have to find a way to neutralize the Canucks’ incredibly fast counterattack; it’s something the B’s aren’t capable of, turning a missed opportunity into a shot their way. They’ve been playing obvious dump and chase hockey for this series, all 120 minutes and 11 seconds of it, and when that dumping and chasing fails and goes the other way, it become blatantly clear how weak our defense truly is, aside from the pairing of Chara and Seidenberg.

Tim Thomas has bailed this team out of so many poor situations this series; it’s completely unfair to fault him on that final goal in OT, considering the terrible turnover by Ference in the neutral zone that lead to yet ANOTHER odd man rush. Timmy may be amazing, but he’s not superhuman; he can’t stop them all, and eventually, if you odd-man-rush him enough, something’s going to go in.

So this sucks. But you know what? It’s not over.

The Bruins can go one of two ways in the next four days, the next two games, both on home ice. For this, I’m going to draw on a little history that you St. Louisians may not like. There are two iterations of another Boston team that this could possibly follow, in two subsequent years: the 2003 and 2004 Red Sox in the ALCS. Both years? Against the Yankees. But each year, obviously, had a drastically different result.  In 2003, the Sox were the victim of funny bounces and weird home runs  (Aaron F*cking Boone, anyone?)

In 2004…well, I don’t need to tell this story. Down 3-0, they rallied back to win, and then won it all. The Bruins have rallied already once this playoffs, who’s to say they can’t do it again? They were 0 for 19 when down 2-0 in playoff series before this year.

Bring it home, boys, and please don’t break my heart.

Final thought: Alex Burrows. It had to be Burrows, after the nonsense in game one. He’s like our version of Aaron Boone; this year’s version of Scott Walker. But watching him make the gesture of firing a bow and arrow after he scored that OT goal – a gesture he does in tribute to his fallen best friend, Luc Bourdon – is heartwrenching. You can’t hate it, and maybe that’s what makes this harder.

I just….I don’t know what to say to you all. I thought that maybe after eight days off, eight days to rest after a trying series against the Habs and a whirlwind series against the Flyers, that you would come back READY TO GO, but I didn’t expect you to lose that spark so quickly. The Bolts had nine days off, so saying that your time off was the cause for this is officially an invalid statement.

To say that watching this game was disheartening would be an understatement. I mean seriously? Three goals to the Lightning in 85 seconds? Eighty-five seconds. Three goals. I can’t put the blame entirely on Timmy for a couple of those. Guys, he can’t win these games himself. And after that third goal went in, he stood on his damn head to make sure this game didn’t end in a blowout of monumental proportions. Yes, mistakes were made, but he’s human too.

I know you’ve heard it before, but guys? That powerplay? It has GOT to get better. I mean, now you’re at 2-for-42? Forty-three? Eleventy-billion? Does it even matter anymore? In that respect, if 5-on-4 doesn’t score you goals, what on earth makes you think pulling the goalie with almost a full three minutes left for a 6-on-5 will help? Oh wait. It didn’t. And then there was an empty net goal to add to the misery. Sweet.

Then, on top of everything, what was the point of the sucker punches at the end of the game? Lucic and Horton, I’m looking at you two. It’s one thing to stand up for your teammates. It’s an entirely different thing to resort to cheap shots when there’s seemingly no way to win a game. It’s not impressive nor admirable. Honestly, it makes you look like goons. There was a mere 37 seconds left. Why not save that anger/irritation/aggression/whatever it was for game two, then make them pay on the scoreboard?

Even with all the disappointing things, there were some bright spots. How bout that goal from Tyler Seguin? Though, truth be told, I wasn’t entirely thrilled that after he scored his goal, he didn’t reenter the game for another 14:53. Sure, pull the kid who just scored. Neat. I was also pretty happy with the PK. Tampa Bay had one PPG, but with as good as the Bolts powerplay is, those were some huge kills. Huge. And there was much rejoicing (yay).

This is just one game though. One game. I recall you guys dropping the first two to the Habs and still coming back and taking that series. How about you not make it that emotionally trying and just take this series handily? I know plenty of people who would certainly appreciate it.

I still really like you guys.

Love,

Ann

P.S. Memo to Timmy: You’re still my favorite goalie. Please keep making those ridiculously awesome and beautiful saves.

As a very special gametime post, I am beyond thrilled to present a post written for this site by none other than Sarah Connors. As the Bruins fan extraordinaire, it was only right that she was able to tell us how Bruins fans are truly feeling. Without further ado.

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So the Conference Finals begin today.

As a fan who’s only been around for the last few years, this is incredible. Everyone knows the stories: of Bobby Orr, of Ray and Cam, of the Dave Lewis Era, of the terrible teams immediately after the lockout, of the second-round bow-outs the last two seasons. It feels like the Bruins have punched through a ceiling; everything from here on out is unknown, new, novel.

But that’s from my perspective, from the viewpoint of a Bruins fan who was only six years old last time they made the conference finals. I went home after game four against the Flyers mostly because I wanted to gauge my dad’s reaction. A little background: my dad was 18 when the Bruins last lifted the Stanley Cup. He’s been a diehard fan since the 60s, watching as many games as he can manage while still maintaining that old Boston sports attitude (we’re talking pre-2004 Red Sox, here): always and always assume that your team will break your heart.

I wish I were kidding.

When I decided after college that I wanted to get into NHL hockey, my dad was there to guide the way. He explained everything about the players to me, and took me to my first NHL game (fun fact: we went to college hockey at the Garden two years before I ever saw an NHL game!), January 1st 2009 against the Penguins. He taught me about Crosby and Malkin and pointed out tidbits in the game that I’d never have thought to look for; in looking to further hook me, I’m guessing, he pointed out a massive hit that Vladimir Sobotka laid on Jordan Staal and prompted me to go home and look up both players. We watched fight videos on youtube together; laughed together at shenanigans like Alex Semin playing the bongos in Marc Staal, and really it’s his fault that I’m as into this game as I am.

But – and this was true even in the later rounds last year – whenever they fail, he just shakes his head and sadly says “They always know just how to break my heart,” which never fails to shatter mine.

This year, he said it after game two against Montreal. For all intents and purposes, the Bruins looked like a sweepable team, and my dad had geared up to move on.

Cue the day after the Flyers sweep. He hadn’t said anything for fear of last year and the year before and years before that; was this a team that could actually pull this thing off? Thankfully, the answer was yes. He looked at me, I looked at him, and we both just heaved a sigh.  “How about that,” he said.

So here we sit, with puck drop shortly, and I know my dad is at home watching this game. He’ll grit his teeth every time the Lightning score; he’ll make stupid jokes about our players when we score, with a huge smile on his face (last year, with Miro Satan on our team, the “could it be…..SATAN?” jokes flowed forth like water over Niagara Falls, and it was simultaneously hilarious and awful). But most importantly, he’s hopeful again; all traces of “well, they could be done in x number of games” are gone. The only team coming out of the second round that he feared was Detroit, and they didn’t pull off their upset; nope, the Bruins are still the only team to lose after being up 3-0 in the last however-many years. But whatever; that’s in the past.

So, Bruins, this is big, this is huge. You’re bringing us newbies into uncharted territory; you’ve gotten the diehard oldbies to hope again in ways they haven’t in years. Do I think they can pull this off? Yes. Does my dad? Yes. Are we nervous? We’d be stupid not to be.

But that’s part of why hockey is awesome; the adrenaline, the nerves, the excitement of not knowing what will happen. Both teams are coming off extensive layoffs; both teams have superb goalies; one team is better on special teams, one is better at even strength. But the Bruins have new momentum; the momentum from finally punching through that second-round ceiling, and I believe wholeheartedly that they have the ability to get this done.

Prove me right, team.

Three games. Two game sevens. THREE chances for teams to move into round 2.

For the Bruins, there’s really only one thing to say. Or…um, link to.

This.

Bruins? Tonight is YOUR night. Make this happen.

I can’t watch the game. I am angry.

Bruins best be getting this done. Like now. I don’t like being wrong.

Also, Big Z is a game time (so, like half an hour from now) decision. The B’s need him, so, well, go Z. Yay electrolytes!!

BUT! I get to watch Ryan Miller, so I’m pretty stoked about that.

Holy crap I love playoff hockey.

Hockey rules are important. Incredibly.

If play has not stopped, do not walk in front of people. Do not make Franken-jerseys. Don’t lean forward in your seat; let the people behind you see. Do not wear pink jerseys.

Ok, so that last one is mine, but I still stand firmly by it. NO PROFESSIONAL ATHLETIC TEAM’S COLOR IS PINK. Just saying.

Tangent aside, as we prepare for yet another glorious day of playoff hockey, there are a couple very important rules that the Bruins marketing department (their brilliant and witty and hilarious marketing department, with whom I would love to go out for beers) has made known to the public. Let’s take a look, shall we?

Game airs at 6pm CST on Versus.

Like a bruise!! Oh wait. Bruisin’ Bruins?

I am not so good at puns today. Moving on.

First off, let’s start with a little bit of Blues stuff.

Super huge congratulations goes to all of our boys heading to the IIHF World Men’s Championship. Petro and CGDS will be on the ice for Canada, Halak will work between the pipes for Slovakia, Technoviking will suit up for Sweden, Tarasenko will play for Russia, and Porter, Shatty, and Conks will show us what they can do for the US.

That’s a lot of our guys. Much congrats to all of them!

Now, one of my favorite Blues writers is Beat Writer Lou Korac. He’s awesome at keeping Blues fans informed, and is always willing to answer questions and engage in a little debate with people on Twitter. It’s nice to see someone so involved with our favorite team actually give us that first-hand knowledge that is straightforward and incredibly objective. Plus, from what I can tell, he’s a super nice guy.

After the season ended, he sat down with a bunch of the guys for some conversations, and was awesome enough to let us know what our boys were thinking and feeling. So, if you’re curious, here are some links to pretty awesome posts I think you’d enjoy. Conversations with: GM Doug Armstrong, Coach Davis Payne, David Perron, Kevin Shattenkirk, Carlo Colaiacovo, David Backes, Jaroslav Halak, Patrik Berglund, Alex Steen, Andy McDonald, Chris (Goddamn) Stewart, Matt D’Agostini, and Barret Jackman.

If you’re on Twitter and don’t follow him, you are VERY MUCH missing out, on things like this PLUS insight during the season. It’s worth it. I promise.

Now, on to what I’m supposed to be writing about for right now. Last night’s Bruins/Habs game.

Guys, was it just me or was this kind of……lackluster? These teams are supposed to ABHOR each other, and yet I saw more fire from the Kings/Sharks game (which was just kind of ridiculous, from what I saw, before I fell asleep). They’ve had one of the longest running rivalries in the NHL, the Bruins are FULLY aware of the fact that the Habs can come in and upset people, and the Habs are STILL ANGRY over the Patch hit (as the have every right to be). So where was the intensity?

I have gotten used to playoff hockey being intense to the point of me sitting on the edge of my seat even when I don’t even care about the outcome of the game, and I did not really see that last night. Maybe I just missed something.

Maybe it just looked a little tame because of just HOW MUCH OF A BOSS Carey Price was. Seriously. If he was a cat, he’d have a caption like “Iz in ur netz, blockin ur shotz.”

Beast mode. For real.

And in Boston, no less. I thought having home ice was supposed to make a team play with MORE pizazz, not less?

Dear Boston, if I am going to continue to cover you, I’m going to need you to step it up and not break my heart like I’m so used to, ok? Ok.

Next game, Saturday on Versus.