Boston’s a Hockey Town Once Again!

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Friday, April 30, 2010

By Scott Cordischi

Wow! Let me see if I have this right? The 6,7 and 8-seeds all won their Eastern Conference quarterfinal round series in the Stanley Cup Playoffs…….right? This is great news for the 6^th-seeded Bruins who now get the #7-seed Philadelphia in the conference semi’s instead of Sid the Kid and Pittsburgh! The B’s will have home-ice advantage to boot where they were 3-0 against the Sabres last series.

I’m trying not to get too excited because the Bruins are what they are, as Bill Parcells would say. They have a terrific goaltender in Tuukka Rask but they are still offensively challenged. Getting Marc Savard back may help. He’s as talented as anyone Boston has offensively but hasn’t played in almost two months since getting clocked by Pittsburgh’s Matt Cooke on March 7^thwhich resulted in a grade 2 concussion. We just don’t know what to expect from him.

Still, for a team that looked like it wasn’t even going to make the playoffs in the months of January and February, the B’s are all of a sudden alive and well. They have energized Boston sports fans unhappy with the start the 2010 Red Sox are off to.

It’s somewhat sad that the Bruins have fallen to a distant fourth on the radar screen in Boston but they have done so for good reason. It’s been almost two decades since this franchise has enjoyed any type of sustained success on the ice and 38 years since they last won the Stanley Cup! Think about that for a moment. For someone in their early 40’s like yours truly, I don’t remember the 1972 Stanley Cup. I remember the Big Bad Bruins of the 70’s and successful teams in the 80’s and early 90’s. For someone who is in their mid 20’s, they have never experienced any type of Bruins glory.

Still, Boston is a great hockey town and Bruins fans are hardcore. That is why we are all enjoying this unexpected run. And you have to admit that while regular season hockey can be a bore, playoff hockey is outstanding!

So while this may not be the Big Bad Bruins against the Broad Street Bullies, it’s still Boston vs. Philly – two great sports towns. And if there’s a God in heaven, it’ll be a Boston-Montreal Eastern Conference Final. I’m sorry! I’m getting ahead of myself with all of this excitement.