Scott Cordischi On Sports: B’s and C’s Trading Places?
Thursday, May 05, 2011
Amazing! The Boston Bruins seemed to have found their moxie this postseason while the Boston Celtics seemed to have lost theirs.
Last night, the B’s jumped on Philadelphia early scoring twice just over a minute into the game. They cruised to an easy 5-1 win over the Flyers and now hold a commanding 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference Semifinal series.
And before you tell me to be careful about declaring this series over because of what happened last year between these two teams, relax! This Flyers team appears incapable of winning 4 straight against Boston due to some serious issues between the pipes.
When Mount St. Charles grad Brian Boucher was pulled in the second period following Boston’s 4th goal of the night, it marked the 7th time in 10 games this postseason that the Flyers had to play more than one goaltender in a game.
What’s better is that Boston finally ended its long power play drought in the playoffs when Zdeno Chara’s one-timer beat Sergei Bobrovsky glove-side late in the third for the final 5-1 margin.
But Boston’s power play ineptitude to this point has not been a deterrent to this team winning games. The Bruins superb 5-on-5 play and terrific goaltending by Tim Thomas have made this team a force to be reckoned with.
Boston could close out the Flyers Friday night at the Garden when the two teams meet in game 4 of the series. Waiting in the wings as their opponent in the Eastern Conference Finals is the Tampa Bay Lightning who swept the Washington Capitals 4 games to none.
-Call it role reversal or trading places but the Miami Heat and the Boston Celtics are now mirror images of what they were in the first half of the regular season. Once it was Miami who seemed confused on offense and now it is the Celtics. Boston was also the tougher team and better defensively. No more! The Heat is that team. Call it the passing of the torch in the NBA’s Eastern Conference.
-Rashard Mendenhall should have thought before he spoke. The Pittsburgh Steelers’ running back criticized Americans for celebrating the death of Osama bin Laden and had to apologize for his comments one day later. In theory, Mendenhall is correct when he says that celebrating a man’s death seems barbaric. However, when that man is an evil human being responsible for the deaths of thousands of innocent people, there is reason to celebrate his removal from this planet.
-Philadelphia Phillies fans chanting, “U-S-A…..U-S-A” upon learning of the death of bin Laden Sunday night was as good as it gets.
-But not as great as the those brave men and women who perfectly executed operation “Geronimo,” also known as operation “Neptunes Spear.”
-Like the Celtics, the New York Yankees are starting to look old with some of their injuries. Derek Jeter was the latest to leave the game last night in Detroit with a sore hip.
-Then again, as old as the Yankees may look, they still lead the Red Sox in the A.L. East.
-Two words as to why Boston won’t blow a 3-0 lead to the Flyers this year: Tim Thomas!
-Don’t forget that Tuukka Rask was between the pipes for Boston last year.
-Based upon the way the first two games of the series were officiated, you’d swear that the NBA league office would like to see LeBron and the Heat in the NBA Finals and not the Boston Celtics.
-Another week and still no pass-rusher for the Patriots.
-Rex Ryan talks tough in his newly released book “Play Like You Mean It,” but he hasn’t backed up that tough talk in many of the recent interviews he has done.
-And, in case you’re wondering, Rex says that the Jets “will” win the Super Bowl next season. That is, if we have a 2011 NFL season.
-Did you see where they found many marijuana plants outside of the bin Laden compound? Maybe he was running a Pakistani compassion center.
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