After sweeping the weekend series in enemy territory (no phone calls, relatives??), the Bruins have locked up the Northeast Division and the #2 seed in the playoffs. I can't get over how much I hate watching games on TV when they are either at the Coliseum or at MSG. Both those buildings SUCK. I know the Islander's owner has been trying to get a new arena down there for a little while now, to no avail, but come on it's like half the light bulbs are burnt out. Anyways...
Playing Turco against the Islanders and saving Thomas for the Rangers was a no brainer, my only worry was that the B's could've been the one getting the broom. Even though the Islanders are sitting towards the bottom of the barrel, they have some great goal scorers and I still don't have a whole lot of confidence when Turco mans the pipes. He got some help, as the B's netted 6 goals, and we leave the Island for the mainland with a victory.
The Rangers victory was huge. I mean HUGE! The B's hadn't beaten them all year, though 2 out of the prior 3 games were close. This win locked up the division, locked up first round home-ice, and most importantly gave the B's that confidence to know that if they do see these guys in the Eastern Conference finals (knock on wood, kiss the rabbit foot, hop up and down on my left foot), they can beat them at their shitty arena. This was a fun game to watch as it had a playoff type feel; low scoring (2-1), great goaltending, and very physical play.
When the B's were on fire back in November/December, I kept saying it doesn't matter what they do now, but how they finish. When the B's were struggling horribly, I kept saying they had time (though not much) to turn it around, if they can catch a little fire going into the playoffs I'll feel good. Since the Florida Road Trip Massacre, the B's have gone 7-1-1, but more importantly going 3-1-1 against teams that are currently in the playoffs.
With the division locked up, I expect to see Claude giving his players some rest over the next three games. I'm hoping there's another two months of hockey to get out of this team! Anton Khudobin was called up today and hopefully we'll start seeing a few more prospects be brought in. If I had to guess, Thomas plays 2 out of the last 3. Ideally, I'd like to see either Khudobin play 2 out of the last 3 or Khudobin gets one, Rask gets one, and Thomas gets one, but I don't think Rask is ready quite yet.
It's almost time folks. The greatest time of year. There really isn't anything better than playoff hockey. It's also an excuse I get to use to grow out the beard!!!
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