One last chance for the Men in Black

It’s time to be the other guys for once.

If you’ve watched the Bruins over the last 15 years you probably feel like tonight is the last game of the season. And you probably have every right to feel that way. The Bruins have been really flat on the offensive end of the ice and defensively have been pre-occupied with doing “playoff things” to the opposing players.

There’s cliches about the playoffs where you’re blocking more shots and you’re making more hits, etc. The Bruins have gotten out of their game in these playoffs and more specifically this series. It’s why Coyle and Zacha have been so quiet, along with the rest of the Centermen for the team. I can’t remember a team going into the 3rd period with single digit shots this many times.

But I have a unique fandom with the Bruins and the other Boston teams. I don’t have the luxury of being a Patriots fan who can lean back and assume my teams will just go out and win. I’ve been the hidden underdog for as long as I can remember, I watch games with the mentality of what can go wrong and how fast can it go wrong.

Sometimes it feels like the Bruins play this way, particularly in the back stretch of the Toronto series, and the over cautious play style they fall into has led to absolute disasters all the way back to the Flyers in 2010. We saw this last year against Florida, where the Bruins were an empty net goal away from the next round for 3 games.

It’s time to flip the switch. In 2011 the Bruins came back against Vancouver from 0-2 and then 3-2 to win the cup in 7 games, they also came back from 0-2 in the opening round to Montreal and won Game 7 in overtime.

The Bruins have blown 3-1 leads, it rarely happens in pro sports, but the Bruins have 2 of the most painful losing to heavy underdogs when it looked as if they were primed for a deep run. Like the Bruins, their opponents looked dead in the water. But that changes tonight. Sure there needs to be some Sam Bennett retribution. Someone needs to take a run, and if it’s not him on the receiving end than fine, but something needs to happen. Someone needs to take a stand for Marchand and I’m not sure that person has to be Pat Maroon. Maybe it’s Frederic, maybe it’s Coyle, but someone needs to catch a Florida Panther in open ice and make it count. Once that’s out of the way the Bruins need to put some pucks on net. Bobrovsky is hovering around an 86% save percentage and the fact that the Bruins have barely eclipsed 20 shots in single game this series is malpractice. If you’re going to start diving in front of pucks and finishing checks in the playoffs than there’s no reason not to up your volume and try to manufacture some dirty goals. Florida has found that’s the only way to get past Swayman and it’s been the difference in this series.

Get back to Boston for game 6 and repeat, and then deliver justice in Game 7 in front of fans the retirees from Boston that missed their flight home for the Summer.

And sure, the refs have been terrible. The Bennett goal in Game 4, the OEL ghost interference in the same game have been killers but that’s sports. Trust me. If there’s anything I know it’s bad refs in sports. Looking at you GENE.

Sometimes the ball never hits the ground, and the dumb ref talks himself into seeing the wrong thing in the review. In fact, most of the time that’s what happens. Make your plays inside the whistle and maybe you get lucky on a call, the pendulum has to swing, and you can’t wait for the officials to do it for you.

The Patriots have skewed the identity of Boston Sports. The Boston sports culture is not that of elitist domination and corner cutting the rule book. Boston sports are built on the backs of teams like the 2004 Red Sox and 2011 Bruins, teams who you fall in love with and have you on the edge of your seat until the bell rings. It’s not about showing up and winning because you’re supposed to. It’s the Jack Daniels shots in the club house, it’s Nathan Horton squirting water from Boston onto the ice in Vancouver.

For those two teams, they just kept going until they had a trophy, and the bell never rang. Here’s to one more night without a bell for the Boston Bruins. Get up off the mat and keep swinging. Make them feel how you felt last year. Crack the seal and let the panic sweep in, after all, you have the better goalie, and sometimes that’s all it takes.

And if you hero Tom Brady really gives a shit, he’ll show up and wave the flag in Game 6.

Also Swayman over saves. He’s stealing one tonight. Take the line up to 30

Til next week.

TT