Bruin and Stewin'

A couple of thoughts that have been swirling in my head since watching last night's Bruins-Canadiens playoff game:

That was as much fun as I've had watching a hockey game in a long time. It was a true, edge-of-your-seat playoff game right from the opening drop to the Bruins' goal in OT. End-to-end rushes, fantastic goaltending, and good hard hitting. While it would have been a bitter disappointment if the Bruins had lost, it still would have been worth watching. Even the Canadian press liked the game:

BOSTON - If you want to sell the National Hockey League, you don't need more scoring, bigger nets or smaller equipment for goaltenders. All you need are more games played with the same intensity as last night's war between the Montreal Canadiens and the Boston Bruins.

Neither team gave an inch as they battled for more than 69 minutes before Marc Savard of Orléans scored on a delayed penalty at 9:25 of the first overtime to give Bruins a 2-1 victory.

This was old-fashioned playoff hockey which kept the sellout crowd of 17,565 on edge all night, and the victory gave the Bruins new hope in this series. They trail the best-of-seven Eastern Conference quarterfinal two games to one, with Game 4 here tomorrow night.

Unfortunately, the Globe decided it was Dan Shaughnessy's duty to write the paper's column. You'd think he hadn't even seen the game in person:

The Bruins haven't been in the playoffs since 2004 (also a first-round loss to Montreal) and it felt pretty flat - especially given everything that's going on with the Red Sox, Celtics, and the Boston College men's hockey NCAA championship.

Perhaps he'd have rather spent four-plus excruciating hours at Fenway Park.

Milan Lucic is a budding star. There are those who have compared him to a young Cam Neely and anyone who watched lsat night's game understands why. He finished his checks--and finished them hard--he was aggressive in front of the net and in the slot, scoring the first goal of the game. He was the dominant player on the ice last night. Now, he doesn't yet have the scoring touch of a Neely (number 8 would have had a hat trick if he'd had the same two breakaway chances that Lucic was unable to finish) and probably never will, but he could be a dominant player for years to come.

I didn't mind the influx of Canadiens' fans, but I was put off that the Jacobs family ended up selling ad space on the boards to Montreal companies. I noticed at least three ads for companies that do business exclusively in Canada, including one which was written in French. I suppose the Jacobses can (and will) do anything for money, but you'd think that there would be a couple of companies doing business in New England that would like to buy ad space.

Tags: Boston Bruins Montreal Canadiens NHL