Bruin’s Notebook: Game 7

This has been a long day of waiting. I’m not quite sure if it’s hit me fully the weight of this day. The Cup win in 70 and 72 were when I was a small kid (3 and 5 years old respectively) so I have no memory of it. I didn’t get heavy in the Bruin’s until 80’s  culminating in the the Cup appearances in 88 and 90. Unfortunately they ran into the Edmonton Oiler dynasty was in full swing and and only managed one win in two appearances. So in just two weeks I’ve seen more Stanley Cup wins than ever seen before.

Let’s go Bruin’s!

Bruin’s Notebook: Game 6 in Boston

The last game at the TD Garden this post season is tonight and to say it’s a “must win” is an understatement. The thought of Lapierre, Burrows or the Sedin Sister’s (aka: Thelma and Louise) hosting the Cup around the Garden makes me want to gag. If that happens the ghost of Eddie Shore will appear and pummel Burrows into a bloody pulp on the ice with the Cup itself.

I do believe the Bruin’s have a very good chance to win tonight. Throughout the regular season and playoff’s they have shown up for most part in clutch situation’s. Last Friday’s loss was pretty predictable(to me at least). Unfortunately it seems as if you give them the least bit of slack guess what happens? They lose. The only consistency has been Thomas most of the time. The offense seems to either run hot or cold.

What gives me hope is the intangible item I feel this team has missed for many years: Heart. For many years since the early 90’s I felt this team had lacked that quality in a big way. I’d see sparks along the way but they’d always seem to come up short or just fade away. Maybe it took Cam Neely’s rise to President of the club to finally bring it back. It had kept me from fully committing to this team in the past. This year I believe they brought it back. I believe this team and franchise has turned a corner and brought the team back from the depth’s of mediocrity to be within two wins of the Stanley Cup.

Go Bruin’s!

Bruin’s Notebook: Old issues coming back?

"Well goals against isn't an issue, it's goals for that's an issue," he said. "The power play is an issue. I think the name of the game is you've still gotta score one more goal than the other team. It's not about trying to win zero-zero."

-Cam Neely

It seem like it’s the issue of the power play and scoring in general rearing it’s ugly head again. These words were spoken back in December 2010 long before the Bruin’s great playoff run who’s story isn’t finished yet. Should the Bruin’s pull off winning the Cup then it’ll go down as curious footnote in NHL(and Bruin) history. If the hated Canucks take the Cup you can almost guarantee this issue will be a glaring scapegoat. Unfortunately it’s a tough issue to try and fix when your facing elimination in the finals. Even though it may be safe to say Claude Julien’s job is safe next year you can be sure he’ll be facing some tough scrutiny if the Bruin’s don’t pull off the championship.

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Bruin’s Notebook: Game 5

The Boston Bruin’s blew a nice opportunity to put the Vancouver Canucks on their heels. Sometimes working a second shift can be a mixed blessing because I miss watching a lot of games, but on the other hand if a game is a real stinker I haven’t missed much. Not much incentive to watch a game the Bruin’s lose. Here are some thought’s I had about the current Bruin’s situation:

• The poor power play performance still continues to haunt them. Though in games 3 and 4 it didn’t matter much. In a low scoring game and 4 missed opportunities on the man advantage was a a big blow. Even if the Bruin’s win the Cup whoever is in charge of the Power Play should be fired.
• If Bruin’s can’t win a game 5 in Vancouver how much optimism can we have about a game 7? Sorry that’s just the pessimist inside me. On the other hand I’m fairly optimistic about game 6 on Monday and I do believe they’ll be a game seven. It will be the ultimate test of this team’s resiliency.
• Their does seem to be a unanimous feeling that Tim Thomas will win both the Vezina (best goalie) and Conn Smythe (Playoff MVP). I’m sure he’d trade both for the Stanley Cup though.
• Tim Thomas can’t do it all. He has gotten better goal support this year than in the past. He can’t be expected to play for shutout’s every night. He needs some more goal scoring to help out at times.
• The future looks bright for this team whatever the outcome. The nucleus of this team is till fairly young and many players are yet to hit their prime. We’ll be in the playoff’s I feel for the next few years at least.

Prediction: The Bruin’s will have a dramatic win come Monday at home. The fan’s will be insane and supportive as usual(including myself). Game seven in Vancouver though…….

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Heater Channels are coming!

With some extra tax refund cash I was finally able to order a set of heater channels for my ‘71 Super Beetle. As you can see above they are quite gone(drivers side in similar shape) and I’ve got my work cut out for me(pardon the pun). I ordered them from California Import Parts online and they should be arriving in the middle of next week. The poor car has sat cold and lonely most of the winter unfortunately. The weather is warming up and I’ll be able get to work on it in earnest. Wish me luck!