Boston Sports Then and Now

David Krejci Will Be Missed

The Bruins stand on the brink of their first Conference Finals appearance since 1992. They need just one win in their remaining four games of their series against the Flyers to advance.

Game 3 was another splendid performance by a team the hockey gods have a vendetta against. Despite losing David Krejci and Adam McQuaid early, despite giving up the first goal, the Bruins forged on.

Miroslav Satan continued to build upon his playoff lore in Boston. Mark Recchi once again showed why a veteran presence on a playoff team is so important. An unlikely player, Blake Wheeler, once again stepped up for the Bruins in the face of adversity.

Tuukka Rask, the rookie with no prior playoff experience, made 34 stops to guide these Bruins to victory. The constant stream of players to the injured list continued on, but so did these victorious Bruins.

Krejci is joining Sturm in the press box for the remainder of the playoffs, a devastating blow to a team that just got Savard back and was picking up swagger. But they didn’t lay down, they didn’t dwell. They pressed on, they fought and in the heart of Philadelphia they pushed these Flyers to the brink of elimination.

One can’t help but feel like this team has a touch of destiny, a bit of fate on their side despite the constant injuries. As they were going through a 10 game losing streak in January, they were left for dead. When Savard went down with a concussion, the dirt was filling the grave. When the Bruins fell 3-0 to the Penguins in March the tombstone on this season was put in place.

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This Band Of Bruins Will March On(Barry Chin/Globe Staff)

Shakespeare said it best when he said, “We few, we happy few, we band of brothers. For he today that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother.”

This Band Of Bruins has come together in a year of turbulence.

A year where they lost 10 games in a row.

A year they lost their star player to a cheap shot by a goon from the fake Black and Gold.

A year that they lost countless players to injuries.

A year where everyone from the coach to the front office was being called to the gallows.

A year that the Bruins brass plucked a player in Miro “The Devil” Satan, off the NHL scrap heap to help the floundering offense.

A year that the Bruins star players like David Krejci and Zdeno Chara underachieved.

A year where the much maligned Dennis Wideman and Michael Ryder were being booed and ridiculed to no end.

The Bruins could have thrown in the towel in and said it’s just not going to be our year.

However, being a Bostonian and a New Englander is all about dusting yourself off, getting up, rolling up your sleeves, and getting back in the fight.

And the Bruins did just that.

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Zombie Bruins: The Black and Gold Undead!

If the Bruins season was a horror movie, it may be entitled, “Zombie Bruins: The Black and Gold Undead!”

This hockey team would not die.

Matt Cooke, as vile as Freddy Krueger himself, nearly decapitates Marc Savard and puts him in a concussed state of darkness for the rest of the season.

The NHL Axis of Evil looks the other way and the Pittsburgh headhunter walks away unpunished.

The Battle of Black and Gold between the Bruins and Pens was supposed to be a bloodbath. Any horror fan or hockey fan would love this script of revenge and retribution.

It was straight out of Hollywood.

Unfortunately, this dud went right to DVD.  The Bruins fans all but wrote off this band of underachievers.

But they were the undead.

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Boston has a great shot at landing either Taylor Hall or Tyler Seguin at the upcoming draft.

The Boston Bruins are not an elite NHL team this season. At times it is hard to take off the black and gold glasses but anyone still claiming the Bruins should be favored against the East’s more elite clubs in the playoffs should enroll themselves in the Perkins School for the Blind.

Boston’s season has been defined by injuries, disappointing play, questionable coaching decisions and even more questionable management decisions. The Bruins are barely hanging onto an 8^th seed and are still in danger of falling out of the playoffs with just three games left to play.

But the old adage “defense wins championships” is not just a cliché saying. Sure many past Stanley Cup winners were offensive powerhouses but look at teams like the Washington Capitals and the Bruins of last year. Both went into the playoffs with incredible offensive teams and were expected to easily roll over their less offensively talented counterparts.

Boston lost in 7 games in the second round to an aggressive forecheck and sound defense played by the Carolina Hurricanes. The Capitals snuck by the Rangers in a 7 game first round series and only made it to 7 games against the Penguins because Semyon Varlamov stole a few games. Once the Penguins exposed the Capitals defensive weaknesses and Varlamov’s play came back down to earth, the Capitals were eliminated.

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Boston needs to come out on fire tonight against the Habs

With the Olympics over and the medals handed out, all those who generally wear black and gold sweaters begin the taxing job of making a playoff push.

Boston entered the Olympic break on a semi-high note, defeating the Florida Panthers in an uninspired, sloppy game to win their fourth game in a row and climb back into the weak Eastern Conference playoff picture.

Marc Savard had time to rest his injured knee, Johnny Boychuk had time to recover from a broken orbital bone and Claude Julien had time to get a heavy dose of blood pressure medication after watching his team continually allow the opposition back in the game after big leads. For the first time in months Boston will finally ice a healthy roster.

“Time off is so important at this time of year, for the injuries. Even the mental break,” said Julien. “And it was nice to see the guys come back that were excited to be back and practice again. It’s a long year and so those sort of things aren’t bad.”

Boston needed this break as much as any team in the NHL. The injury bug has been especially harsh to the Bruins over the course of this extremely disappointing season. All the injuries have lead to a lack of chemistry in their lines combinations while questionable goaltending from the Vezina winning Tim Thomas has paved the way for Tuukka Rask’s opportunity to carry the team.

The last place Boston offense scored 14 goals during their 4 game win streak and Rask allowed just 8 goals during that game. Heading into the break Boston had swagger, they had momentum but most of all they had confidence. The Bruins were starting to look like they did last year on their way to a first place finish in their conference.

The key question for the Bruins, and team management, is whether or not they can re-ignite that fire after the break or if their mini-vacation will snap the momentum they were building.

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Peter Chiarelli and The Bruins' Brass need to ACT NOW!

What can they do to right their ship and not mortgage their future?

The Bruins are stumbling and plummeting to the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings. Something has to be done to win NOW.

Peter Chiarelli on an interview on 98.5 the Sport Hub said he didn’t want to trade away the future. What future? Boston has not won a Stanley Cup in 38 years! Bruins fans are at wits end with this team.

There is NO FUTURE, there is only NOW.

What have you done for me lately?

Boston traded their only legit scorer, Phil Kessel to the Toronto Maple Leafs over the summer. In exchange, the Bruins received a first- and second-round pick in the 2010 draft, plus a first-round pick in the 2011 draft.

Can you say stockpile?

The Bruins need to move these picks and perhaps some players to conjure up some team chemistry. Boston does not have time to wait for a young player to mature. They can’t wait two years down the road for a player to become a 30 goal scorer.

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