As a hockey-loving youngster, the Bruins were the Sun my solar system revolved around. It was a Bruins game I went to while my mom was in the hospital dealing with complications while pregnant with my younger brother (some would say those complications never stopped thanks to having two precocious young boys bouncing around, but I digress.) It was a Pete Peters crystal white Bruins jersey that remains to this day the best Easter present I ever received. I have mentioned this before, but I forced my mother (further adding to her complications) to open car doors for my imaginary friends who were always a member of the Bruins team. Most memorable and influential were my annual trips to Bruins Stanley Cup playoff games with my dad and his business associates. It was ironic that as the weather turned warmer, the sport that took over my winters became the end all and be all of my existence. But such was the case.

From the 1987-88 season until 1991-92, the Bruins advanced to at least the conference final in four of those five seasons. Players like Ray Bourque, Cam Neely, Andy Moog and Reggie Lemelin made sure that the Boston Garden was rocking until late May. Along the way, the Black and Gold erased decades of historical persecution at the hands of the Montreal Canadiens and were so successful that a new arena was built. As a kid who dreamt of following in the footsteps of those heroes, tuning in to WSBK or NESN from Rene Rancourt’s bellowing anthem all the way until John Pierson’s last telestrated breakdown of a breakout was as much a part of my daily routine as cross-checking my brother during out games of knee hockey in the basement.

Needless to say, after the 1992 season ended unceremoniously at the hands of Mario Lemieux’s Pittsburgh Penguins, the years became lean. It took 18 seasons and numerous heartbreaks, but finally the Bruins are back on the sport’s grandest stage in the Stanley Cup Final. Of course, the Bruins didn’t do it the easy way, but would Bruins fans have it any other way? After winning the Northeast Division, the B’s spotted the Canadiens a 2-0 lead with two losses at home in the first round. Once the Bruins were able to come all the way back, winning three games in overtime against the Habs – including the clincher in Game 7 – there was reason to think this year would be different. That is, until the second round opponent was penciled in.

Globe Photo

It had to be the Flyers. It just had to be. The 2010 playoffs which looked to be bouncing in Boston’s way – what with the 3-0 lead in the semifinals and then a 3-0 lead in the surprising Game 7 – ended in a heartbeat as the Flyers scored four in a row to complete their epic comeback. And there the Broad Street Bullies were awaiting Boston in the second round, chock full of confidence based on the crazy series one year ago. Three games in, the B’s had another 3-0 lead, resulting in almost every hockey pundit using the same “Has any team up 3-0 been as scared as Boston?” joke. This team was different. Rather than shy away from any comparisons and blank out 2010, the Bruins stared it down and annihilated the Flyers in four games to advance to the conference finals.

Awaiting the Bruins in the East final was Tampa Bay. A talented team, no doubt, but one that didn’t really get the blood boiling. Instead, the goal at the end of the series did that for Bruins fans. Four more wins and the Cup was within sniffing distance. The series, which went the full seven games, was a microcosm of the Bruins’ season in general. A putrid start followed by a furious rally and then missed opportunity. Why shouldn’t any possible Bruins berth in the finals be earned in a Game Seven? There was no more appropriate way for both the franchise and fan base to cross that hurdle. And the game was a beauty. Well-played hockey on both sides, and for once the sole mistake which ended a season was not made by the Bruins. Instead, it was a player whose absence in 2010 (David Krejci) was perhaps the turning point on a potential Cup run finding a guy who was never in the playoffs before this season and was on his way to a third game-winner and second series-winner (Nathan Horton). That goal – and the seven minutes of defense that followed – allowed Bruins fans to celebrate at once the joy of the present, the promise of the future and the familiarity of the past.

The past. In a strange way, that is what this journey over the past two months has been about and what excites me most about the next two weeks. Friends of mine on Facebook have followed my countdown from 16 to 4 at the moment, with the last four wins using pictures of great Bruins to signify one less victory to score to bring back the Cup. Before Game Seven against the Lightning last week, I watched highlights from the last Game Seven the B’s played in the conference finals against New Jersey in 1988. Everyone has that moment from their youth which signifies their first true sports memory. For me, it was that game against the Devils. I remember my mom having a work party at our house and all the men ditching their wives to gather around the TV. I remember a few of the guys baffled I knew all the lime combinations and was so intense. I remember one of my heroes, Ray Bourque coming in to take a faceoff after the center was kicked out and winning it perfectly back to Rick Middleton who scored. Most of all, I remember my favorite player at the time, Craig Janney, stealing a pass, breaking in alone and deking out Sean Burke for the goal that sealed the deal. Amazingly, he was tripped up after the goal and proceeded to sail through the air afterwards – just like Bobby Orr did in 1970.

The memories haven’t stopped since that night. Maybe the steadfast belief of the young that things will never change is true. I spoke with my best friend since first grade on Friday night. We talked about all those years of heartache and how this is just like when we were young. Then I asked him to be one of my groomsmen in my wedding. Next, I called my younger brother. Still a tinge mad that my dad took him to Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final in 1990 which went three overtimes and was a classic, we cried about the Bruins being back in the finals again. Then, we cried some more when I asked him to be my Best Man at my wedding. It wasn’t me and my brother in our matching Bruins sweaters in the basement throwing our sticks in the air at the same time Reggie, Cam and LB did, but I know that from almost 500 miles away, we both had our sweaters on and were experiencing the same emotions.

John Tlumacki/Globe Staff

All types of people have spent a lot of time the past five days offering predictions and prognostications about what will happen once the puck drops in Vancouver Wednesday night. Do I have any clue what will happen? Absolutely not. I do think the Bruins have the better defense and the Canucks have the better special teams, but does that mean Tim Thomas will pitch four shutouts and the Sedins will score 15 power play goals? Nope. Truth be told, I don’t want to have a prediction. I grew up thinking the Bruins will win the Stanley Cup every year. Hell, I still do. But, 18 years of being wrong at that prediction has effectively retired me from that. Instead, I offer a challenge to Bruins fans. One that will be difficult for all of us.

Enjoy this.

If the 7,678 days which have passed since the Bruins lost to Edmonton to close out the 1990 Cup Finals have taught Bruins fans anything, it is this – experiences like this do not come along often. Instead of worrying about Tomas Kaberle and Milan Lucic, step back and appreciate that it was our team which was a featured player in Media Day on Tuesday. It is the Spoked-B all over NBC, Versus, NHL Network and the thousands of pieces of merchandise available. While it is unfortunate that tickets to the three games at the Garden look to cost upwards of $800 just to get in the door, also keep in mind that TICKETS TO GAMES 3, 4 AND 6 OF THE STANLEY CUP FINAL IN BOSTON COST THAT MUCH. Will it break our hearts if it isn’t the Bruins who hoist the Cup? Yes, it will. Will it erase the fact that the Bruins won three series-clinching games on home ice, took over the Boston sports scene and created such a stir that Bill Belichik was standing and waving a rally towel during games? Not in my mind.

The City of Boston, the loyal legion of Bruins fans and the team we all care for with a passion hard to describe is set to play the game under the watch of not just our region, but the entire hockey world. They deserve it, their play in the first three rounds shows that. At the same time, we deserve it. Our relationship with the Bruins, whether it is from a day in 1985 when you watched the Bruins and Winnipeg Jets battle in a cramped Boston Garden while your mom and future Best Man were engaged in their own battle or from a Mother’s Day in 1970 when a young Bobby Orr flew through the air, has brought us to this point.

Where things go from here, only the parties directly involved can shape. I know that my television would be tuned to NBC Wednesday night regardless of who was in the Stanley Cup Final. But to know I will be donning my sweater, putting on my hat and eating my usual pregame meal has me smiling as wide as Nathan Horton.

Enjoy the ride, Bruins fans.

Still, there is lots of work left to do in order to make this team a true Stanley Cup caliber squad. That work continues on Friday with the first round of the 2010 NHL Draft. The Bruins have the second overall pick that night and carry on with more picks in rounds 2-7 on Saturday. Of course, the cherry on top of this draft pick sundae is that second pick – guaranteed to be either big, sturdy sniper Taylor Hall or smart, skilled center Tyler Seguin. Whether you are on Team Taylor or Team Tyler, there is no doubting that the B’s are slated to land what amounts to a franchise player. Which player dons the Black and Gold will come down to who Edmonton chooses with the first pick — that is, if the Bruins can’t sway the Oilers to trade picks.

Before about 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, the Bruins had two of the first 15 picks in the draft, coupling their own pick at No. 15 with the second choice they acquired from the Maple Leafs in the Phil Kessel trade. However, with the Horton deal, they stand with just the early pick. All season long, the B’s have staved off calls to deal that valuable choice and are set to reap the rewards for that patience.

Already, fans of the team and residents of the blogosphere are questioning why the Bruins would include the No. 15 pick in a trade this close to the draft. The debate between prospect and NHL-ready player is waged in every war room and every fan base this time of year, and with good reason. Mock drafts expound the virtues of the young players and the thought of “what could be” sometimes tickles ones fancy more than the reality of “what is”.

Time will tell if Gregory Campbell is worth the 15th pick.

One school of thought on the Horton trade is that it breaks down into two mini deals. The first was Horton for Wideman and the second being Campbell for the 15th pick this year and the third rounder in 2011. This thinking is logical, as clearly Horton and Wideman are the centerpieces of the trade while Campbell, if signed is a nice depth addition on the third/fourth lines and in sandpaper department. Now, what is on everyone’s mind is whether Campbell is worth a potential top player who could be drafted at No. 15 and another player next season.

Campbell’s skill set notwithstanding, who says that the 15th pick is a surefire hit? In fact, who says that any pick is a guarantee? While marketing teams and ticket sales groups love the idea of selling a high draft pick, coaches and GMs are looking for players that can help them win right away. While Hall or Seguin are certainties to start the season in Boston and contribute right away, the probability of the 15th pick having a bigger impact on the 2010-11 or even 2011-12 Bruins than Campbell is low.

With that in mind, this is a good segue into something that has been cooking for a week or so. With the draft coming up, I was looking back over the past drafts by the Bruins back to 1994 and finding some of the best picks made by the team and some they may wish they had back. Looking back like this is fun as it shows you some of the times the Bruins lucked out with who they chose and some times they zigged when they should have zagged.

We will skip the 2009 draft as it is still way too early to judge that draft. For each year from 2009 back to 1994, we will look back at some picks the Bruins made and whether or not they were the right call. In addition, we will take a look at some picks other teams made late in drafts that show just how much of a crapshoot this whole process is. The Bruins won’t be judged poorly unless they made what could be called a bad choice when a star player was then taken shortly thereafter. Basically, we are looking 5-10 picks after a Bruins choice to find players who were at least in the discussion (or should have been).

2008:

Bruins Choice: Joe Colborne, C – 16th pick
Redo Choice: John Carlson, D – 27th pick by Capitals

This is a tough redo at this point because Colborne hasn’t played higher than collegiate hockey with Denver so far. However, there are multiple players drafted after him who have seen NHL ice time already. Included in that list is Carlson, the consensus choice to lead America’s defense corps in international competition for the next decade. He won gold with the U.S. junior team this winter and has already won two Calder Cups with Washington’s AHL affiliate, Hershey. He was a +6 in seven playoff games with the Caps this year and is primed for full-time NHL run next season. The Bruins obviously weren’t the only team to miss on Carlson, so there’s that. However, Colborne will need to turn his 6-5 frame into a front-line center to match the projected performance of Captain America.

2007:

Bruins Choice: Tommy Cross, D – 35^th pick
Redo Choice: P.K. Subban, D – 43^rd pick by Canadiens

While it is hard to argue with choosing a local kid as the Bruins did with Connecticut native and current B.C. player Cross, his chronic knee injuries have to be giving the Bruins concern. He injured his knee playing baseball in high school and reinjured it during his freshman season. Last year, he played in 38 of 42 games and had 10 points, so maybe he is working his way back. Subban played just two games so far in his NHL regular season career, but suited up for 14 of Montreal’s playoff contests and went for eight points. In 56 junior games in the 2008-09 season, he had 76 points in 56 games while playing +47 hockey. You never want to congratulate the Habs or anything, but they made a good choice here.

2006:

Bruins Choice: Levi Nelson, C – 6^th Round, 158^th pick
Redo Choice: Viktor Stalberg, LW – 6^th Round, 162 pick by Maple Leafs

Very difficult to harshly judge a draft where the Bruins chose Phil Kessel fifth overall and then selected Milan Lucic 50^th overall. Also have to remember that the four picks above Kessel were Erik Johnson, Jordan Staal, Jonathan Toews and Nicklas Backstrom. If any one of those four players had slipped down to Boston, who knows where this team would be right now. Instead we slide deep down the draft board to the sixth round, where faulting teams is just getting on them for guessing wrong. The B’s went with Levi Nelson in the sixth round, a 5-11 center from Canada who struggled to find a role with the team’s minor league affiliates. He had 61 points in his final junior season, but just 10 points over his one season­ in the ECHL and AHL. Stalberg, a hulking winger from Sweden, had 14 points in his first 40 NHL games this year and is looked to as a key factor in Toronto’s rebuilding process. For a team in search of punch and size up front, Stalberg would have been a great find late in the draft.

2005:

Bruins Choice: Petr Kalus, C – 2^nd Round, 39^th pick
Redo Choice: Paul Stastny, C – 2^nd Round 44^th pick by Avalanche

This is a draft where the Bruins had about four picks they may want back. In

the first round, they chose Matt Lashoff 22^nd and watched T.J. Oshie go two picks later to the Blues. In the fourth round, the Bruins chose Jonathan Sigalet, a defenseman from Bowling Green. Five picks later, the Coyotes chose Keith Yandle from Cushing Academy. Both are slick, puck-moving defensemen, but only one (hint: not Sigalet) is playing top-four minutes in the NHL. Right after Yandle was chosen, the B’s selected Vladimir Sobokta. A fine player for the B’s, two choices later the Blackhawks selected Niklas Hjalmarsson from Sweden. He is another top-four defenseman right now in the NHL while Sobotka fights to find a full-time niche in Beantown. The big misplay was going with Kalus in the second round over Paul Statsny. Kalus ended up playing nine games with the Bruins, scoring four goals. He was traded to Minnesota for Manny Fernandez in 2007 and has played all of two games for the Wild. Maybe the Bruins were scared of Paul Stastny after his brother Yan was a bust, but it has to hurt watching Paul turn into a 20+ goal/70+ point player in Colorado. Stastny was a key player on the U.S. Olympic team this year and would be a beautiful fit in the middle for the Bruins. The bonus for the Bruins in this year? Toronto took our franchise goalie, Tuukka Rask, one pick before the B’s selected Lashoff in the first round. Then, they traded Rask to the Bruins for Andrew Raycroft. Thanks Leafs!

2004

Bruins Choice: No real bad choices…
Redo Choice: Have to wish that they didn’t trade 5^th round choice Kris Versteeg for Brandon Bochenski

B's Found Gold in 2nd round with Krejci

The Bruins didn’t have a first round choice in 2004, trading it to the Capitals for Sergei Gonchar. Thus, it must pain the Bruins now to watch Mike Green whirl around for the Caps with a choice they made two spots after the B’s would have picked. However, this draft was a pretty good one for the Bruins despite no first-rounder. Late in the second round, the B’s went back-to-back and selected David Krejci and Martins Karsums. Krejci, obviously is a top-flight center in waiting and a focal point of the Bruins’ offense. Karsums played six games for the B’s before getting traded to Tampa Bay for Mark Recchi. That is pretty good value on two second round picks. In the seventh round, the Bruins chose Matt Hunwick who has been one of Boston’s rare late-round steals as he slides into a role among the top six in Boston. In addition, fifth overall pick by Phoenix Blake Wheeler has been a contributor for two seasons with the Bruins and 16^th overall pick by the Islanders Petteri Nokelainen had two seasons with the Bruins and fetched Steve Montador for the playoff push in 08-09.

2003:

Boston Choice: Mark Stuart, D – 21^st overall
Redo Choice: Mike Richards, C – 24^th overall by Flyers

Bergeron was another 2nd round gem in '03

Let me get this out of the way first – I like Mark Stuart. When he is in the line up his intensity, defensive work and physicality help set the tone for the Bruins as a team. He is a future captain and already a great leader. That being said, this draft of 2003 is widely considered one of the best classes in the history of the NHL and there are players taken after Stuart who are better than him. My choice would be Richards. He is already a captain in the NHL and consistently hovers around 30 goals and 75 points while playing a physical, defensive game at the pivot. Richards does everything and the fact that he slipped to No. 24 has about 18 teams kicking themselves. Another player taken after Stuart was Vancouver’s Ryan Kesler at No. 23. Another big center, Kesler may have fell victim to Boston having Joe Thornton on the team back then. But, in 2010, Kesler’s 75 points and 104 PIM would have looked great in Black and Gold. However, the Bruins made up for missing out on those two-way centers when they drafted Patrice Bergeron in the second round. A probable future captain of the Bruins, Bergeron has done it all for the B’s in his career with 99 goals and 280 points despite missing almost all of one season with his serious concussion. There were some late steals in this draft, with San Jose taking Joe “Big” Pavelski in the 7^th round and Chicago taking 2010 Stanley Cup hero turned trade bait Dustin Byfuglien in the 8^th round. Even Ottawa made a good pick with the second-to-last selection of the whole draft, finding goalie Brian Elliot with pick No. 291. All he has done is post a 46-26-13 record in two full seasons.

2002:

Bruins Choice: Vladislav Evseev, LW – 2^nd Round, 56^th overall
Redo Choice: Matt Stajan, C – 2^nd Round, 57^th overall by Maple Leafs

The Bruins have not had much luck over the years drafting Russians with only Sergei Samsanov being a plus pick. The Evseev choice was no different. The B’s went with the 6-2 winger from Moscow who had 10 total points in Russia that season and 12 total since then. Stajan on the other hand, has been a serviceable winger for the Leafs and Flames, with 239 points over six seasons on some bad teams. While that pick wasn’t the best outcome for the Bruins, the rest of the draft wasn’t much better. The team took Hannu Toivenen with the 29^th overall pick and the goalie never got on track in Boston, losing his job to Tim Thomas before being traded for the ghost of Carl Sodeberg. Two choice from that draft have made noise for the Bruins, but were chosen by other teams. Johnny Boychuk was selected by Colorado with the 61^st overall pick and just signed a new two-year extension with the B’s. Recently dispatched Dennis Wideman was chosen in the eighth round by Buffalo, and some Bruins fans may argue that was too high. All in all, a forgetful draft weekend for the B’s brain trust.

2001:

Bruins Choice: Shaone Morrisonn, D – 19^th overall
Redo Choice: Tim Gleason, D – 23^rd overall by Senators

Clearly the Bruins were in the mindset of choosing a defenseman in the first round and went with the big Morrison over Gleason. May want a mulligan on that one. Not that Gleason is the second coming of No. 4, but he is a solid NHLer who has the ability to dish the puck a bit while locking things down is his own end. He was an Olympian this February and is currently wasting away in Carolina. Morrisonn, on the other hand, is underachieving with the Capitals after the B’s dealt him away for Gonchar in ’04. Nothing against Morrisonn, but he is more of a Andrew Alberts-type player and those guys shouldn’t be first round choices. Other interesting choices from that draft were the Flyers taking newly minted top-two defenseman for the Bruins Dennis Seidenberg in the sixth round while the Avalanche found former 30-goal scorer Marek Svatos in the seventh round.

2000:

Bruins Choice: Lars Johnson, D – 7^th overall
Redo Choice: Anyone

In sticking with the rules established before, it is hard to find a single player taken 5-10 picks after the Bruins missed on Johnson with the seventh pick who would have been any better. Maybe Ron Hainsey who was taken 13^th by Montreal, especially of the B’s were going defenseman there. A look later in that first round finds some late steals in Brooks Orpik by Pittsburgh at No. 18 and Niklas Kronwall at No. 29 by Detroit. Both have won Cups and excelled on the international stage. The Bruins had two first round picks that season and went back to Sweden to nab Martin Samuelsson at No. 27. Teams that swing and miss on two first rounders in one year tend to struggle and that is what the Bruins did for a while. However, those two bad choices may not even sting as much as what transpired deep down in the seventh round. The Bruins chose Chris Berti with the 204^th pick. The big guy never played above Juniors. With the next pick, the Rangers went out and found 177 career wins and an Olympic gold medalist in Henrik Lundqvist. Again, 28 other teams missed on King Henrik, but to see him go the pick after the Bruins choose makes it hard to swallow.

1999:

Bruins Choice: Greg Barber, RW – 7^th Round, 207 overall
Redo Choice: Henrik Zetterberg, LW – 7^th Round, 210 overall by Detroit

Henrik Zetterberg was one of two Henriks two slip past the B's

Hard to get all over the Bruins for making bad choices in the seventh round, but man would it be great to have had Harry Sinden pick up Zetterberg back in ’99. However, instead of his 475 career points in just 506 games, the B’s went with Greg Barber. How a guy who starred for the Victoria Salsa of the BCHL was a bust is beyond me, but he had a nice career at Denver before toiling in the AHL, ECHL and UHL for a few years. In the first round that year, the Bruins chose Nick Boynton with the 21^st pick in front of the Garden crowd which watched Brian Burke pull off the heist of that draft to take both Sedin twins. Other picks of note were Dallas’ choice of B.C. High star Mike Ryan in the second round and Buffalo finding a Vezina Trophy winner with its selection of Ryan Miller in the fifth round.

1998:

Bruins Choice: Ryan Milanovic, LW – 6^th Round, 165 overall
Redo Choice: Pavel Datsyuk, C – 6^th Round, 171 overall

By now, the fact that the Red Wings practically built their dynasty on late finds and great scouting is well known. The fact that they did so right after the Bruins choices should begin to grate on people. This one saw the B’s go with 6-2 winger Ryan Milanovic from Kitchner. Not sure why he was drafted in ’98 because that year he had one goal and nine points. The next year he went for 15-18-33 with 114 PIMs so maybe he was projected to be a good enforcer, who knows. What I do know is that a reach on the fine Russian Datsyuk would have been a better call. 592 points, +176, two Stanley Cups, three Selke and three Lady Byng trophies later, we all can agree that Datsyuk would have been a better choice. However, the Bruins always fail when taking Russians so he would have stayed in Mother Russian and never been heard from.

1997:

Bruins Choice: Sergei Samsonov, LW – 8^th overall
Redo Choice: Marian Hossa, RW – 12^th overall to Senators

Nothing against the Magical Muscovite, but his career with the Bruins was a bit underwhelming and Hossa has been a key ingredient on three-straight Cup finalists including the champions this year. Hossa has evolved his game as he ages, but still finishes around 70 points a season while playing exceptional defense. Productivity in his own end was never one of Samsonov’s better traits, but you can’t overlook the fact that he won Rookie of the Year honors in 97-98. However, you have to assume if it was Hossa arriving along with top pick Joe Thornton in that draft, things would have turned out better for the Bruins. This draft also saw two current B’s taken, Shawn Thornton in the 7^th round by Toronto and Andrew Ferrence in the 8^th round by Pittsburgh.

1996:

Bruins Choice: Jonathan Aitken, D – 8^th overall
Redo Choice: Derek Morris, D – 13^th overall by the Flames

While there may not be many Bruins supporters wishing they had Derek Morris for the last 14 years, he would have been a more valuable choice than Aitken. Morris has 869 games of NHL service while Aitken played 44 (only three with the Bruins). On the plus(minus?) side is that this draft’s first round was pretty weak overall. A lot of okay players, but the two best may be Danny Briere who was taken 24^th by Phoenix and Marco Sturm who went 21^st to San Jose. Both are fine players, even first-liners, but they aren’t what teams are looking for as sure-fire top picks. Bruins fans will be interested to note that the B’s chose someone named Eric Naud with the first pick of the third round while the Islanders chose Zdeno Chara three picks later. Naud played 27 games with one goal for the Providence Bruins in 1997-98 before languishing in the ECHL for a while. Chara is now the backbone of the Bruins defense and a former Norris Trophy winner.

1995

Bruins Choice: Kyle McLaren, D – 9^th overall
Redo Choice: Jarome Iginla, RW – 11^th overall to the Stars

Iginla would have been a good Neely follow up

Another one of those “nothing really wrong with the Bruins’ pick, but man I wish they chose this guy” selections. McLaren had a fine career for the Bruins on the backend, with about 20 points a year and some physical play. He never seemed to be fully healthy and was traded to San Jose while holding out in the 2002-03 season. However, it is very difficult to not drool at the thought of Iginla patrolling Cam Neely’s place at the Garden. As good a leader as there is in hockey, Iginla has 920 points in 1,024 games with 726 PIMs. He led the NHL in scoring in 2001-02 and has two gold medals in his pocket. If not Iginla, how about J.S. Giguere who was chosen 13^th by Hartford and backstopped Anaheim to a Stanley Cup? Bruins fans will note that Marc Savard was chosen in the fourth round by the Rangers and P.J. Axelsson was selected in the 7^th round by the Bruins. The finding of Axe that late is one of Boston’s rare success stories in the later stages of the draft. He went on to an 11-year career with the Bruins and was one of the best defensive forwards in the league. Late in his career, it seemed like coaches tried to turn him into a first-line guy to make up for Marc Savard’s defensive issues at the time, and that turned some fans on him. That is unfair to P.J. who was played out of position by coaches looking to find lightning in a bottle. In his role as a shut-down winger, there were few better, just ask Jaromir Jagr.

1994

Bruins Choice: Daniel Goneau, LW – 2^nd Round, 47^th overall
Redo Choice: Patrik Elias, LW – 2^nd Round, 51^st overall by the Devils

Goneau never signed with the Bruins, re-entering the draft to be chosen 48^th by the Rangers in ’96. He finished with 15 points in 53 games over three partial seasons with the Rangers. Elias, on the other hand, has 754 points in 880 games with the Devils with two Stanley Cups. While people talk about the ’03 draft as a great first round, this 1994 draft may have as much depth as any in history. The Quebec Nordiques made sure Colorado had some players to go with Joe Sakic and company after they made the move by drafting Chris Drury and Milan Hjeduk in the 3^rd and 4^th rounds. Future NHL captains Sheldon Souray and Chris Clark also went in the third round. In the fifth round, the Stars chose Marty Turco who went on to win 262 games over nine seasons in Dallas. In the sixth round, Ottawa stumbled upon its captain, Daniel Alfredsson who has compiled 992 points over 1,002 games in Ottawa. In the 10^th round, Detroit chose Tomas Holmstrom who has 118 goals over the past five years and 214 over his 13-year career in Motown. Tyson Nash and Richard Zednik were also taken in the 10^th round in ’94. Mr. Irrelevant, Kim Johnson (chosen by the Islanders) just finished this season with the Blackhawks and has played 739 career NHL games.

Tim Thomas was a 9th Round pick in '94 by the Nordiques

However, the craziest find from this draft is the ninth round, or “Goalie Paradise”. The following goalies were taken in the ninth round: Tim Thomas (No. 217 – QUE), Johan Hedberg (No. 218 – PIT), Evgeni Nabakov (No. 219 – SJS), Tomas Vokun (No. 226 – MTL) and John Grahame (No. 229 – BOS). If you add up the wins, you get 879 wins from those five goalies found in a round of the draft that doesn’t exist anymore. Also of note, three of those goalies – Thomas, Nabokov and Vokun are available this offseason.

There you have it, a long list of cautionary tales as the Bruins head into the draft this weekend. History shows that the second overall pick is a sure bet to be a very productive, if not franchise-caliber, player. However, it would be of the Bruins’ best interest to find more players ready to be long-standing NHLers at the bottom of the draft.

How was your offseason, Bruins fans? Get all that stink from the way the playoffs ended washed off? Put away the 2009-10 Playoffs rally towels? Give a gentle nod and pat on the back to all your Celtics fan friends? Good. The epic collapse at the hands of the Flyers is in the past. Instead, the future of the Boston Bruins is upon us. With a few offseason moves under his belt, Peter Chiarelli looks towards Los Angeles and the 2010 NHL Entry Draft this weekend.

Peter Chiarelli will be a busy man this week.

With two of the top 15 picks in the draft, Chiarelli has a chance to make an instant impact on the organization and add the pieces that will have the Bruins a legitimate factor in who hoists Lord Stanley’s Cup next June. Make no mistake about it, the Bruins are not too far off from the Chicago Blackhawks, and the right sequence of moves this offseason can put in place a system that leads to the first Stanley Cup title since 1972.

This is actually possible. One thing that kept coming back to me while watching the remainder of the Stanley Cup playoffs is how the Bruins were not too far removed from the teams competing for the Cup. Obviously, the ability to win one of four against Philadelphia would have proven that, but the B’s would still have had to defeat Chicago. Were the Bruins really capable of beating the ‘Hawks this year? As constituted during the actual playoff run, no. The loss of David Krejci and Dennis Seidenberg made that a tough mole hill to climb. However, breaking down the Bruins as they may appear in 2010-11 and the Blackhawks team that is currently in possession of the world’s biggest shot glass shows some pretty good comparisons if you are a Bruins fan.

So, before we get into the upcoming draft and the picks, trades and signings on the horizon for the Bruins, let’s look at the players who are currently under contract/likely to be resigned and compare them to the Blackhawks group which just won the Cup.

Goaltending:
This is the area in which both teams are the closest. Entering the 09-10 season, both the B’s and ‘Hawks had a veteran goaltender making a big salary and a young Finnish goalie pushing for playing time. By the end of the season, the young upstarts had pushed the high-priced vets to the pine and were primed to carry their team through the playoffs. Tuukka Rask outplayed the reigning Vezina Trophy winner in Boston while Antti Niemi knocked Cristobal Huet out of the crease. Of course, Niemi went all the way while Rask seemed to fatigue a bit towards the end of the Flyers series. That isn’t a poor reflection on Rask, but moreso on his defense’s inability to keep play out of his zone. Niemi wasn’t called upon to be the world-beater Rask was against Buffalo and for parts of the Flyers series, but he was right there to make the stops he was called upon to make. Rask had the best GAA in the league in the regular season while Niemi was fourth. Clearly, each team has a young goalie to build around for the future. The good news for the Bruins is that Rask is locked up through the 2011-12 season where he will still be a restricted free agent. Niemi is due for arbitration this offseason and will add even more pressure to an already tight payroll in Chicago. Both teams will be looking to find takers for the old, pricey backups as Thomas is due $5 million for each of the next three seasons while Huet is due $5.625 million until the end of 2011-12.

Defense:
As stated above, one of the reasons Niemi had a lower save percentage and wasn’t getting the same highlight reel love Rask did in the playoffs is because the defense in front of him was doing a better job holding off opposing attacks. However, when looking at the top 6-7 of the two teams, when healthy, the Bruins aren’t far off from what is widely considered the best group of defensemen in hockey. The Bruins boast a legitimate No. 1 defenseman in Zdeno Chara. The 2009 Norris Trophy winner is a shutdown defenseman who draws opposing teams’ best forwards on a nightly basis. The Blackhawks have one of those in Duncan Keith. The prohibitive favorite to usurp Chara as the Norris winner

The B's need someone to take over like Duncan Keith

this week, Keith averaged 28:11 of ice time in the playoffs, while scoring 17 points. He had 69 points in the regular season and was +21. Where the Bruins were lacking for most of the season was a complimentary part to go with Chara on the top pairing. They found that guy in Dennis Seidenberg at the trade deadline. In 17 games with the Bruins, he had nine points and, more importantly, he was a +9 while averaging 23 minutes a night. The Bruins understood how valuable he was, signing him through 2013-14. They hope he can be the Brent Seabrook to Chara’s Keith in the upcoming years. Seabrook was another play +20 for the Hawks in the regular season and he and Keith were the best pairing in the NHL, also suiting up together for Team Canada in the Olympics. The difference between the two teams is Brian Campbell. Don’t get me wrong, Campbell is a very good player who the Bruins would take in a second. He is not worth over seven million dollars however if he is your No. 3 defenseman. Campbell’s contract is a big reason the Hawks are over the cap with only 14 players signed for the upcoming season. Of course, they just won the Cup so I don’t think anyone minds too much.

The point is, once you get past the shutdown pairing each team has coming back, there are similar parts. With the trade of Dennis Wideman, the Bruins will likely turn to Johnny Boychuk as the puck-mover while Mark Stuart will be the rock in front of the net, keeping space clear for Rask. Andrew Ferrence and Matt Hunwick will need to gel as a pair, allowing the Bruins to use all three groupings. That is where Chicago was so good defensively, taking care of both its own end and the transition game on each pairing. In the Final, Philly played their bottom pair maybe three minutes a game. Chicago could roll all three all game. The Bruins need to do that in order to be successful.

Forwards:
Now, if anyone tries to tell you the Bruins have the forwards to skate with the Flyers in a goal-scoring contest, they are delirious. However, that is not to say both teams did not try to line things up similarly, just with the ‘Hawks having better talent at the top this season. Take a look at the top lines for both teams. The Blackhawks had Bruiser/Crease Presence (Dustin Byfuglien)-Heady Center/Playmaker (Jonathan Toews)-Finisher (Patrick Kane). The Bruins were hoping to enter the season with a similarly fashioned line of Milan Lucic-Marc Savard-Marco Sturm. Of course, only Sturm’s mother and wife would say he is as good as Patrick Kane, but he is capable of scoring when healthy. The reason the top line of Chicago worked so well is that everyone did their jobs perfectly. Byfuglien went for 17 goals and 34 points with 94 PIM while clearing space in the zone for Toews to feed Kane and vice versa. Think about how the Bruins were as an offensive unit when Kessel was playing with Lucic and Savard. That is what a top line should be in the NHL. The Bruins spent too much of this past season having to create something from nothing due to injury or subpar talent. Hopefully, this won’t be the case next season. With Tuesday’s trade for Nathan Horton, the Bruins may have found their sniper on the right side to put the biscuit in the basket.

Bergeron's two-way game can carry a team.

The second line for Chicago was Sandpaper (Tomas Kopecky)-Versatile Two-Way Player (Patrick Sharp) – Veteran Goal Scorer (Marian Hossa). A line that was just as capable of scoring as it was to shut you down. Sound familiar? While Daniel Paille may never be called a sandpaper-type player, his 19 points was equal to Kopecky’s 21. Patrice Bergeron and Patrick Sharp are about as similar as you can get, with a jack of all trades. Mark Recchi plays the Hossa role, scoring the goals and committing to defense.

Again, when it comes to third lines, both organizations fashioned them in similar veins. The only difference was that Chicago’s wingers (Andrew Ladd and Kris Versteeg) weren’t as streaky as Michael Ryder and Blake Wheeler were for Boston. Ladd and Versteeg combined for 37 goals and 45 assists while Ryder and Wheeler went for 36 goals and 35 assists. However, if I asked you which pairing you would choose for your team, no doubt you would want Chicago’s. That would be a fair choice, but in terms of money and production, the two sets of wingers are quite equal. In the middle, the Bruins have a burgeoning superstar in David Krejci while Chicago has David Bolland. Both are 24 and on the cusp of stardom in the NHL. Overall, these two units are a wash as well.

Rounding out the forward groups on each team were crash and bang fourth lines. The Bruins group of Enforcer (Shawn Thornton) – Veteran Defensive Player/Penalty Killer (Steve Begin)-Young Agitator (Vladimir Sobotka) would match up quite nicely with Chicago’s Ben Eager-John Madden-Troy Brouwer/Adam Burrish. Both sides valued the ability to agitate and protect while receiving supplemental contributions from this group on penalty kills. Both coaches could roll their fourth lines over the boards throughout the game without too much worry in regards to defensive liability. That is a lucky asset to have in the NHL, especially when hoping to keep your top players fresh in a playoff series. Another part of Tuesday’s deal with the Panthers, Gregory Campbell should slide in nicely on this line. He is all pest, averaging about 55 PIMs a season while pissing off the entire Southeast Division.

Anyways, this doesn’t mean that the Bruins are simply going to roll to the championship next season. What it does mean, however, is that this next stretch is the most important of Peter Chiarelli’s tenure in Boston. On Friday night, he will likely add two players expected to be not only building blocks of a Stanley Cup-caliber team but immediate factors. He has to try and turn some contracts (Tim Thomas, Blake Wheeler, Andrew Ferrence are candidates) into

Has Tim Thomas played his last game in Boston?

offensive punch. He has to put together a defensive corps of 7-8 players who compliment each other and allow each player to utilize his skills. There are many ways to accomplish the task at hand. The easiest way is to stay put at No. 2 and No. 15 and add young talent. Another way is to package that No. 15 pick with either players from the organization currently or with other picks and move up to get back into the top 4-10 range. Or, much like Toronto did with Boston last year, dangle those picks for players already established in the NHL. Chiarelli, Neely and the gang are playing coy right now, but there is no doubt that the 617 area code will be one of the most used from the floor in Los Angeles this weekend.

However, before we get all doom and gloom about the loss of Krejci, the way the Bruins again plugged on with a limited bench for the whole game needs to be applauded. For the second game in a row, the B’s lost a significant contributor on offense early in the first period. In Game 2, it was Marco Sturm who was lost to injury on the first shift of the game. On Wednesday, Krejci played 2:45 before he was run over in open ice by Mike Richards, leading to a dislocated wrist that will knock Krejci out for the playoffs. Being a hockey player, Krejci still managed to have the whiplash of his hit send the puck to Milan Lucic at the blue line and Lucic then hesitated and fed a pass to a streaking Miroslav Satan who scored Boston’s second goal in 1:34 to wipe away an early Philly lead. So, Krejci’s last play of the 2009-10 season was similar to many over the campaign, a selfless assist on a key Bruins goal.

Also knocked out in the first period was Adam McQuaid, who went down with a leg injury. While McQuaid is not as valuable as Krejci, no team wants to lose a defenseman in the early stages of a game. He only played 1:49 and forced the trio of Dennis Wideman, Johnny Boychuk and Zdeno Chara to all be over 25 minutes in ice time for the game. If McQuaid cannot go tonight, expect Mark Stuart to be back in the lineup. Stuart has been out with a hand injury and is awaiting clearance on an infection that has been lingering to get back into a game. He has been skating the last week or so and should be ready physically to play 12-15 minutes tonight. If Stuart isn’t cleared, look for Andy Wozniewski or Andrew Bodnarchuk to get the nod. If so, there will be extra pressure of the top four to play big minutes and for the Bruins to end this series tonight.

The reason the Bruins are in position to close out the series in four games is because they came out and whupped the Flyers in Philly on Wednesday. An old, but true, adage in the playoffs of any sport is that “a series doesn’t truly begin until a team wins on the road”. Home ice is so important and having control of that allows a team to feel like it is in a series no matter what the score. Countless Flyers fans I discussed the series with before it began and even in the hours leading up to Game 3 said that all they needed was one win in Boston because the Flyers would overwhelm the B’s in Philly and win all three games. My friend Rich, who sold me his second ticket for Wednesday’s game spent the better part of the three hours we were tailgating in the parking lot explaining to me how the Flyers would be so juiced up by their crowd and a chance to get back in the series that the Flyers would score in the first five minutes and pull away for a 5-2 win. To some extent, he had a point. I have been to many Flyers games, including a few playoff games during my three years living in Philadelphia, and the crowd at a Flyers game does get insane and they do give that team a jump. It was allowable to expect the same thing to happen on Wednesday. And it did. Aaron Asham converted a 2-on-1 with Claude Giroux 2:32 into the game to give the Flyers their first lead of the series and send the crowd into a frenzy. Every person in the building with an orange jersey on was feeling “Okay, now we have a lead and the crowd is into it and the Bruins now know what it feels like to be the underdog in this series. We have it under control”. However, before the Flyers could even rest on their accomplishment, Blake Wheeler scored his first of the playoffs on a slick deflection of a Matt Hunwick shot 1:39 later. Then Satan scored his fifth of the playoffs shortly thereafter and the lead was evaporated before the first TV timeout.

The second period was Tuukka Time as Tuukka Rask made 15 saves to keep the Bruins in the lead. The Bruins were defending the end I was sitting in that period and I was able to watch all those saves. He was a cool and calm as ever in that period, never appearing to be rattled or uncertain of where he was position-wise in the goal. Unlike the first two games of the series, the Bruins did not allow Philly to get back in the game with a late goal, even killing off two penalties in the period.

In the third, Mark Recchi came back to haunt his old team with a vintage Rex-style power play goal 2:50 into the period. He collected a loose puck off a Chara bomb, and tucked it past Brian Boucher to give the Bruins a two-goal lead. The B’s would kill off two Delay of Game penalties for shooting the puck over the glass in the third as Rask made eight more saves, giving him 34 on the night. The B’s stuck to defense in the third, understanding that protecting the lead was just as important as adding to it. The B’s took just three shots in the third period, scoring on two of them.

As it stands, the Bruins are one win away from advancing to their first conference final since 1992. They don’t need to go far to understand that a 3-0 lead is completely insurmountable as anyone in Boston knows, so don’t expect the B’s to lift up in terms of intensity and drive. A win tonight gives the Bruins at least four days off as the Canadiens-Penguins series will go until at least Monday. Many Bruins, especially the top four defensemen and forwards like Bergeron, Recchi and Satan have been playing a lot of minutes in the first nine games of the playoffs and could use a good break to recharge and prepare for what will be the biggest playoff series for the Bruins since that ’92 conference final against Mario Lemieux’s Penguins team.

The Flyers are in a vulnerable state right now, knowing that their season is on the brink. However, they must have watched the Red Wings put a licking on the Sharks while down 3-0 last night and understand that all they have to do is win one game to get a good feeling back. The wild card here is the Philadelphia crowd. There was a mass exodus from the Wachovia Center even before Bergeron scored the empty-netter on Wednesday. As passionate and supporting as the Philly crowd can be, they are known to turn on their team quickly when things go wrong. If the Flyers come out and crash and bang early, get the crowd up in a dander and take a lead, the Philly Phaithful will have the feathers up and think they can take over the series. On the flip side, if the Bruins do what they have been doing so far in the series and secure an early lead, the “Boooooch” cheers for Boucher will definitely turn into “Boooooo” and things could get ugly quickly. The Bruins need to understand that there is a higher goal than just winning this series. Engaging the Flyers in what will no doubt be dirty play if the series appears to be over can only lead to injury/suspension for the Bruins. All hands will need to be on deck in the Eastern Conference Final whether or not the Penguins or Canadiens are the opponent. Players like Chara and Lucic are too valuable at this moment to be lost because they got tangled up with Dan Carcillo or Scott Hartnell.

To wrap up today, here is the Game 3 Pop Culture Comparison…

For the Flyers, things started out pretty good in Game 3, they were on fire and playing with a little spice to their game. One could almost say that the Flyers were warm and salty, just like a Philly Soft Pretzel. Go anywhere in the city and you will likely find a food cart selling “Philly’s Best Pretzel!” for $0.50. And depending on when you get said pretzel, it might actual have some good qualities. However, the later in the day you get one, the more likely it is that instead of a warm, toasty pretzel, you are about to get involved in a stale or soggy piece of dough that no one really wants. The Flyers were both ends of the spectrum on Wednesday. The first three minutes were like a freshly baked pretzel – hot and pleasing to the buyer. However, each shift after Asham’s goal was like that last one in the bin at 4 p.m. – a sorry excuse for a treat and unfulfilling to the masses.

The Bruins, however, were like my personal favorite offering at Dunkin Donuts – the Boston Crème donut. The first three minutes were like the tenuous process of getting the donut out of the bag – difficult to get things going because the counterperson undoubtedly put the donut in upside down and it is now stuck to the bottom of the bag. However, once things settle down there is nothing better. The combination of the chocolate frosting on the outside and the Boston Crème filling on the inside is a powerful 1-2 punch, much like Krejci and Satan have been this postseason. Now, some of the pressure will fall on Bergeron to be the crème filling to Satan’s chocolate frosting, but the feeling here is that he is up to the challenge.

Finally, a beard update. As it stands right now, I am ranked in a tie for 40^th on the Bruins Beard-A-Thon list with $50.00 pledged, behind the top-ranked Ken Casey of the Dropkick Murphys who has $6,230.00 pledged. I have updated a new picture with how the growth is going, and I must say I am pretty impressed.  Once again, all the proceeds from the contest go to the Boston Bruins Foundation which is a great cause. And don’t forget that one person who pledges will be selected to received a $20 gift certificate from our friends at SupahFans.com. Click here to pledge.

The Bruins have the 2-0 lead and are in control of the series, but it is not like they have been far and away a dominant team. The B’s have never trailed over the two games, but couldn’t put the Flyers away in either game until late in the contest. Two plays the other way over two games and the Flyers could be heading back to Philly with a 2-0 lead.

Not that the Bruins should feel lucky to be ahead in the series. They have earned that right with great starts and even better finishes. However, the middle of the game is also important and the B’s need to work on that.

In Game 2, the Bruins twice allowed the Flyers to score late in a period to tie the game. Rather than take a lead into intermission, the B’s gave the Flyers life. The second period goal that Danny Briere scored was especially tough to swallow. The Bruins failed to get anything going on a power play that came about due to a Briere hooking penalty and then watched as he snuck in down the right side and snapped a laser past Tuukka Rask with 25 seconds left in the period. The reaction from Claude Julien said it all as he was disgusted that his team would lapse into slumber at such a key moment. One cliché that is abundantly accurate in the playoffs is that “every shift matters” and you can’t take any off. The Bruins did that late in the period and paid the price.

Out of the break, though, the Bruins turned it on again in the third period and outshot Philly 11-5. Michael Ryder had a good chance early, but Brian Boucher turned everything aside until there was less than three minutes left. The Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Miro Satan line came through again, this time with Lucic getting the game-winner. The sequence started with a good forecheck by Lucic to force the defense into a dangerous clear attempt. The puck bottlenecked in the corner and then the second clearing push deflected up in the air and right to Lucic who was manning the high slot in his defensive role. With his back to the goal, Lucic turned and fired a slapper that was behind Boucher before he even saw it to give the Bruins the lead. Just good, solid hockey from that line which has clicked since the middle of the Sabres series. Satan and Lucic now have three game-winners between them out of Boston’s six wins. The trio has a total of 20 points over eight games.

Heading into the series, the injuries to Jeff Carter and Simon Gagne were key points when people were making the choice as to who would win the series. Those two are big components of Philly’s offense who factor into the power play and penalty kill as well. What wasn’t mentioned was how the loss of Carter would impact the face off dot. In Game 2, the B’s had a 38-26 advantage in draws. Mike Richards, who won 14 draws in the opener was 5-for-21 on Monday. With Carter out, Briere had first crack at second-line center and was moved out for Game 2 after looking more lost than Dr. Jack Sheppard in his own zone on Saturday. Philadelphia’s mismanagement of faceoffs in its own zone has led directly to a pair of Bruins goals – both involving Patrice Bergeron. ON Saturday, he won the draw back to Dennis Wideman (after Richards was kicked out of the draw on a false start) and then Bergeron got the rebound when he was unmarked in the crease. On Monday, Bergeron won the draw back cleanly and no Flyer picked up Johnny Boychuk who snuck across the top of the circle and fired a wrister past Boucher. Boston’s ability to win a big faceoff has given them control of play more than the Flyers and allowed the Bruins to dictate the course of the game.

Speaking of courses, after last night’s game, certified cementhead (Note: All respect mentioned for Carcillo in the last column no longer exists) Dan Carcillo claimed after the game that Marc Savard tried to turn his finger into an appetizer last night during a post-whistle scrum. Now, excuse me if I have trouble believing the words that come from the one of the biggest divers, whiners and embellishers in the playoffs not wearing a Penguins jersey, but I am having trouble smelling what the Car Bomb is cooking. Before I get too far, I also want to state that I don’t completely disregard what he is saying. Is it possible that Savard took a chomp? Sure. No one has ever accused Savard of being a choir boy on the ice. He enjoys chirping and sticking as much as anyone in those little meetups after whistles. The situation in question came about after Savard “slashed” Boucher’s glove in an attempt to get at a rebound in the second period. After the whistle, Carcillo and Kimmo Timonen came at Savard pretty hard and took him to the boards. It looked like for most of the scrum Carcillo had his glove in Savard’s face and then as players converged it is hard to see what happened. After things settled down, Carcillo’s gross mug came out saying “he bit me” while pointing his finger at the ref to show him those deadly, non-blood inducing or permanent mark-leaving chompings. Here is my point. If Savard had bitten Carcillo, why would Carcillo not have just leveled Savard? If the action was so egregious, so against the honor code that Carcillo clearly lives by (see his head shot to Steve Begin earlier in the game followed by crumpling like his head was chopped off on the retaliatory cross check) then Carcillo would have responded to show Savard how “real men” play the game.

Is biting okay? No. Carcillo has somewhat of a point there, that biting another player’s finger while in a scrum like that is not cool. However, Savard is claiming that Carcillo was jamming his slimy digits into his mouth and pulling at Savard’s teeth. These skirmishes shouldn’t be conducted like the bottom of football piles where everyone is pulling and punching on anything they can find. Hockey has long held itself to the standard of settling things with fists to face. If Carcillo is going to be mad that Savard closed his teeth around his fingers, maybe he shouldn’t be trying to jam them down his throat to begin with.

Okay, that is more talking about biting and jamming things into a player’s mouth than I ever wanted to write about here, so let’s move forward to today’s “Pop Culture Comparison”.

For Game 2, we are moving away from television and into the music industry. Today’s category is “Songs from 1990s Rappers Turned Academy Award Nominated Actors”

Will Smith came to fame as The Fresh Prince back in the 1990s, not only combining with DJ Jazzy Jeff on many great songs, but also leaving West Philadelphia (where he was born and raised) for Beverly Hills. After his TV run ended, Smith went on to a great movie career with two Oscar nominations to his credit so far and one great – but nominationless – performance in Independence Day. While his lifestyle and song list at the moment isn’t as edgy and hip as it was back in the 90s, he is still producing music at times and staying true to his family. One of those songs that have come out in recent years is “Just the Two of Us” an ode to his son. While the relationship between Mike Richards and Danny Briere is not one of father and son (although I could picture Richards carrying Danny B around in one of those things they carried Carlos around with in The Hangover) they are the only two players up front who have shown up so far this series for the Flyers. As Big Willie Style says in the song, “Just the two of us, we can make it if we try …Just the two of us, building castle in the sky … Just the two of us, you and I,” that has been the offensive firepower for the Flyers so far. Briere, much to my chagrin, has two goals and two assists so far, as does Richards. Besides that, the Flyers have four assists from the other 10 forwards. No goals from any other forward. Claude Giroux, masterful in the first series, is 0-fer so far. James van Riemsdyk, who had 15 goals in the regular season, has one assist all postseason and no points in two games this series. If the Flyers are to get back in this series, they will need more from that supporting cast to help out Richards and Briers.

Around the same time that Will Smith was telling the cabbie, “Yo Homes, smell ya later”, Marky Mark was lounging on the other side of rap, bringing the energy and anger while urging the masses to keep feeling those “Good Vibrations”. And that is exactly what is being felt at the TD Garden these days. The Bruins are 5-0 at home in the playoffs, taking full advantage of a new-found home-ice advantage. The B’s had the worst home record of any team that made the playoffs during the regular season and too often saves their biggest disappointments of the season for the home crowd. Now, in the second season, it is second life for the B’s as they are scoring big goals, making big saves and keeping the crowd into it. As Marky Mark says, “It’s such a good vibration … It’s such a sweet sensation.” In the Buffalo series, when the Bruins were not scoring first, the crowd never got down. The chants of “Let’s Go Bruins!” and the serenading of the goalies after any goal have to be echoing down to the teams on the ice. Already, the goals from Miro Satan against the Sabres, and Savard and Lucic against the Flyers have to rank in the top five of goals scored in the Garden (Ray Bourque’s goal in the 96 All-Star Game and Savard’s winner against Montreal in 2008 being the other two). Boston is a hockey town whether it wants to admit it or not. Back in the late 60s and early 70s, the Bruins were the hottest ticket in town as the other three teams stunk. Today, the people who grew up on that team are in their 50s and 60s and have children who they raised to be Bruins fans who grew up on Bourque and Neely. There is a third generation who only know heartbreak and mediocrity before these last three years of excitement. But those young fans have heard the stories of what it is like when the Garden is rocking with good vibrations from a Bruins playoff win. Last week, the whole fan base got to celebrate a series win on home ice for the first time since 1999. Now, they are prepared for more. As the good prophet Marky Mark implores, “If you ain’t in it to win it … the get the hell out.” It is safe to say that there were 17,000 strong in it to win it in the stands last night.

Now, the series heads down to Philly. The Flyers always play well on home ice in the playoffs and their crowd is going to feel like it has an important role to play in keeping the team afloat. Wednesday is expected to be 85 degrees and sunny all day so expect plenty of tailgates and a very fired-up crowd. The Flyers cannot let this series get to a 3-0 Bruins lead. The Bruins must understand that a win by the Flyers makes this series a toss-up again for all intents and purposes. Will there be any carryover from Carcillo’s carnivorous claims? How quickly will things get out of hand if the Bruins score a few quick goals? Will the Flyers having last change give them a chance to set the matches they want and keep Richards away from Chara? How will Tuukka Rask handle the most vicious crowd he has ever played in front of? All important questions. More importantly, will I survive my trip to the game? A full report will come your way on Thursday and hopefully live updates throughout the day from the parking lot at Wachovia Center.

In the extra period, the Bruins were the aggressor early, and held a 14-4 shot advantage before the game-winner found its way past a very game, Brian Boucher. That goal? Well it came off the stick of one Marc Savard.

Marc Savard showed no ill effects on his hang time after the game-winner

In his first game back since his concussion on March 7, Savard followed Dennis Wideman to the half boards and pounced on a loose puck when Wideman had his stick tomahawked out of his hands by James van Riemsdyk. The B’s were on a delayed penalty and Savard could have reset to gain the extra attacker. Instead, he whirled around and unleashed a cannon between Boucher’s arm and body for the winning goal.

The celebration that ensued was as much joy for Savard as it was for the entire team. He was THE story heading into this game. It was his first competitive skating since the hit and the Flyers are one of the more physical teams in the league. How would he hold up? Would his timing be back immediately? Initial reports are that he passed with flying colors. He was only put in the situations the Bruins staff wanted him in – namely, power plays, offensive zone face offs, and end of game sequences. He played 15:16 total, averaging 0:39 a shift. He was under 50% on face offs but also was willing to engage in some physical contact. He went for a few body checks and withstood hits from the Flyers’ defensemen. He even engaged Daniel Carcillo after a whistle and got a roughing penalty. (Side note: Have to give Carcillo credit for not just swinging at Savard and instead going for the Undertaker’s patented choke. That was actually respectful.)

It was just great to see 91 back on the ice and for him to contribute. No question, Bruins fans would have rejoiced even if Andrew Ferrence scored the winner (except no one would have given the stick back like they did when Savard tossed it into the stands). Yet, there was something poetic about Savard scoring in that way.

Now, the win was not all grins as Marco Sturm left the game after 41 seconds with an injury that has now been confirmed as a torn ACL and MCL in his right knee. He will not even be able to have surgery for 4-6 weeks and is out at least six months (November for you non-math majors). What that means for Sturm’s long-term viability with this team is for another time, but his injury has an impact on the rest of the playoff run.

One would assume Shawn Thornton can turn in his suit for a game sweater now and return to the fourth line with Vladimir Sobotka and Steve Begin. That means Blake Wheeler will fill Sturm’s role on an offensive line. Does Wheeler play with Patrice Bergeron and Mark Recchi or does Claude Julien try and rekindle the Wheeler/Michael Ryder connection with Savard? The bet is that Wheeler plays with Savard and Ryder and Daniel Paille goes up to the Bergeron line where he spent some time this season already.

AP Photo/Elise Amendola

People seem to be asking “How much will the Bruins miss Marco Sturm?” a lot today. I think the question should be “Will they miss Marco Sturm?” After the Buffalo series, all but three Bruins had zero points – wide-eyed defenseman Adam McQuaid (three shots), Thornton (three shots) and Sturm (11 shots). There is no hiding the fact that Sturm’s 22 goals led the team in the regular season. There is also no hiding that including the Buffalo series, Sturm had two points (a goal and an assist) over the last 22 games. Is it possible he could have gotten hot at some point and turned it on? Sure. It is also just as likely he wouldn’t have. Now, Wheeler isn’t exactly a Hart Trophy finalist out there with his two assists and -5 though seven games, so who knows. Sturm was a focal point of this series and his effectiveness may have had a large role in whether or not the B’s advanced, but now he is out and that onus transfers to players like Wheeler to pick up their pace a bit.

What does this game mean for the rest of the series? Well it means that these two teams are evenly matched with very good top lines, strong defense and two goalies that will do whatever they can to keep their team in the game. Clearly, the Bruins and Flyers understand the second chance they have been given and are doing what must be done to take advantage of it. One thing noticeably missing from the first game was a multitude of post-whistle skirmishes. There was the one in the second period where Savard and Carcillo had a chat (and somehow Savard took both Carcillo and Mike Richards off with him to give the B’s a power play which they scored on) and the one with old dogs Recchi and Pronger in the third. Most likely, neither team wanted to lose its cool first and the game became tight instead of becoming a laugher with the Flyer’s play in the second period. Expect more urgency and intensity on Monday as the Flyers know that a win gives the home-asylum advantage in Philly and the B’s understanding that a 2-0 lead gives them a solid grasp on the series.

A new feature for this round of the playoffs is “Pop Culture Comparisons”. After each game, I will compare how the game went for both sides to a pop culture phenomenon special to that city. I would have done it for the first series, but there is only so many times you can compare the Sabres to buffalo wings, a bad field goal or a movie about a bad field goal. Luckily, Philadelphia is a nice city (“Lotta Culture” says the old Southwest Airlines ad) and has given us some great TV shows, movies, bands, etc. over the years. So without further ado…

Bruins vs. Flyers

“Pop Culture Comparison” – Game One

For Game One, we are going with TV sitcoms. Cheers versus Boy Meets World:

TD Garden - Where Everyone Knows Your Name

The play of the Bruins on Saturday reminds me very much of how Cheers played out. The show was very reliable and never tried to do too much.  Over the 11 years the show was on the air, you really felt that the gang who hung out at the bar really did care for each other, and not just because Sam Malone wanted to get it on with every woman in the place except Carla. Heck, they were even able to replace the staff on the fly to make sure things went perfect. When Nicholas Colasanto (the actor who played ‘Coach’) died in 1985, Woody Harrelson was brought on board. All throughout the season, and especially yesterday when Sturm was out and Sobotka was limited, players stepped in and carried the mail. The obvious play-in is that when Savard came on the ice and after he scored, numerous deafening cheers came down from the rafters. However, only true Cheers fans know that the Bruins had a small storyline in the show.

Fictional Bruins Netminder Eddie Lebec

Starting in season five, Carla starts dating Eddie Lebec, a goalie just traded to the Bruins. They eventually get married, but Eddie tragically dies in an accident while performing with an ice show in his retired life. The most central plotline involving hockey was when Carla and Lebec first started dating, he was on a winning streak and deep in hockey superstition. At the first game since they became “official” Carla blew Eddie a kiss before overtime against the – wait for it – Flyers and he then lost. Cheers was great with the sports references during its run, and the Bruins were not left out.

For the Flyers, you have to go with Boy Meets World. The TGIF staple was pretty much my introduction to Philadelphia and showcased the trials and tribulations of young Cory Matthews as he worked his way through puberty. The same can be said for Danny Briere, who, much like young Matthews ( © Mr. Feeny) is working his way through that special time in a man’s life when he is experiencing new things. Unlike Cory, who was figuring out a way to buy low and sell high on Topanga, Briere is working on getting serves at restaurants to let him order off the adult menu and allow him to ride the roller coasters at Canobie Lake Park.

Twins?

All kidding aside, Briere did his best Cory Matthews dealing with puberty routine yesterday, with Dennis Wideman and Matt Hunwick playing the roles of a cracking voice and interesting new feelings about women. His end-to-end rush to tie the game would have been the opener to Philadelphia’s playoff video if the Flyers had ended up winning the game. Alas, Marc Savard played the role of Harley Keiner and kicked the Flyers out of Chubby’s. For the Flyers, taking on the Bruins after easily dispatching the Devils in round one was like a young man experiencing the world for the first time. The Devils were an easy out with their aging team and lack of heart. The Bruins, however, are cruel like the world and will not roll over easily.

Now, the series moves on to Game 2, a swing game that can send the series to Philly tied 1-1 or give the Bruins a strong grasp on the outcome with a 2-0 lead. The Flyers have to come out with more urgency, as they are no longer coming off an eight-day layoff. Tuukka Rask will most likely not allow the Flyers to overcome any more two-goal deficits and playing catch-up on the Bruins for seven games is not palatable. Zdeno Chara, who had an assist on Savard’s winner somehow, needs to be more active in his own zone, where he had just two hits. No predictions needed, just enjoy the show.

Here's hoping this series lives up to the one's Bobby Clarke(left) and Bobby Orr put together in the 19702.

All four of the previous meetings came in the 1970s, including a heartbreaking Stanley Cup Final loss for the Bruins in 1974. From 1976-78, the teams met in the semifinals three times, with Boston winning twice. It was those four playoff meetings in five years that truly defined the rivalry between the “Big, Bad Bruins” and the “Broad Street Bullies”. Those two teams were the sandpaper of the NHL and did not like each other. It was mostly a case of familiarity building contempt, because the two organizations were so similar – superstars (Bobby Orr and Bobby Clarke), the ability to outscore you and outfight you, and fanbases that would fight right alongside the players if allowed to.

Since those epic battles in the 1970s, the B’s and Flyers have each been regulars in the playoffs and both teams have made countless conference finals and a few Stanley Cup Finals. Still, they have not met in the playoffs, somewhat taking away from this old rivalry as the Bruins refocused on Montreal and the Flyers kept up their turf wars with the Penguins, Devils and Rangers in the tri-state area.

That will all change on Saturday afternoon on Causeway Street as these two teams continue on their 2010 resurgence tours through the Eastern Conference. Both teams were counted among the top four along with Washington and Pittsburgh when the season started. However, injuries to key players (Marc Savard and Milan Lucic for the B’s and Jeff Carter and Ray Emery for the Flyers) left both teams fighting for their playoff lives in the final week of the regular season. In fact, the Flyers are only in the playoffs because Brian Boucher (Rhode Island’s own) came up with a big save in a shootout on the last day of the season against the Rangers. Now, they are four wins from an Eastern Conference Final’s appearance.

It is safe to say that neither team, once they made the playoffs, has backed their way into the second round. The Flyers steamrolled the Devils in five games, barely ever trailing to Martin Brodeur and the vaunted Devils defense. The B’s needed an extra game to down Buffalo, but showed extreme gumption in coming back from multiple two-goal deficits. Both sides have to feel confident heading into this series, but the tipping point should be in favor of the Bruins on the confidence meter, if at least only early in the series.

The B’s will be welcoming back Marc Savard on Saturday who has received full clearance after his concussion suffered at the hands of Matt Cooke in early March. While he may not have complete game legs and will need a while to get his timing back, he gives the Bruins an added weapon on the power play and in situations where offense is needed. The Flyers, on the other hand, are without two top weapons for the start of the series. Both Simon Gagne and Jeff Carter broke a foot in Game 4 while blocking shots. It appears as if Gagne is closer to returning, perhaps as early as Game 1. Carter is up in the air in terms of his return. Both play wing on the Flyers’ top lines and see extensive power play time. The massive juggling of lines due to these injuries could mess with the cohesion the Flyers have had on their lines all season as the forward group hasn’t been too impacted by injury. Trying to bring up AHL players to play big minutes in the playoffs is always a dangerous proposition, but that is what the Flyers face in the first few games of the series.

For those of you faithful readers, you know that I am looking to go 2-for-2 on my predictions in regards to the Bruins. In the first round, I said that the Bruins would get a split on the road to start, sweep the two home games and lock up the series at home in Game 6. Consider my back patted…

Tuukka Time All The Time

Goaltending:

So, Tuukka Rask goes from facing the presumptive favorite for the Vezina Trophy to a career journeyman backup who is playing out of his mind at the moment. Still, it is hard to consider Rask the better goaltender based on the first round performances. After the first round, Brian Boucher led the playoffs in GAA (1.59) and save% (.940) as he stonewalled Ilya Kovalchuk and company. He was not as flashy as Rask was in his duel with Ryan Miller, but he was effective. Similar to how Rask has provided a calming presence to Boston’s defense this season, so has Boucher to Philly after the madness that is Ray Emery in goal. The question is can Boucher keep it up for a second round. On the flip side, the question could be raised whether or not Rask is capable of continuing his Cam Ward impersonation from Carolina’s Cup run. He was continuously one save better than Miller and was without  question the MVP of the series. In Philly, he will face a team with more firepower even with Gagne and Carter out. He went 1-0-1 against the Flyers, during the regular season including a 5-1 win in the teams’ last meeting.

Edge: It is probably even, but I am leaning towards the Bruins. Both goalies are in the zone to start the series and have no reason to feel worry. However, the pall that hangs over Philadelphia goaltending could get difficult for Boucher to handle if things get tough. Plus, if the teams need to go to a backup, the Bruins have Tim Thomas while the Flyers have Sebastien Caron.

Defense:

This matchup is a very interesting one. The Flyers have two of the most sound veterans in the playoffs in Chris Pronger and Kimmo Timonen. They give the Flyers a chance to matchup against two Boston lines pretty well. Behind them, Matt Carle and Braydon Coburn have had their games lifted by playing with the two vets. They play physical and make teams pay to get space in the zone. Similar to the Bruins, the third pairing is a crapshoot and doesn’t see much ice after the first half of the game if it is a tight one. The three guys who played spots 5-6 in the first series averaged about 10 minutes a game. Clearly, Peter Laviolette doesn’t want to play them if he doesn’t have to. For the B’s, Zdeno Chara anchors things as always. He has the cage off and is free to get as nasty as he wants. He will see a lot of Mike Richards’ line in this series as they are the de facto top line with Carter out. Johnny Boychuk as slid in amazingly as Chara’s partner, throwing his weight around and patrolling the neutral zone with a fury. The Dennis Wideman/Matt Hunwick pairing is a roller coaster, alternating between inspired offensive play and bumbling defensive clearing attempts. The Flyers, even with the injuries, have solid depth on the second line and this pairing will need to be more secure in its own end if the Bruins are to succeed. There was some good news on Thursday as Mark Stuart started skating and could be back if this series goes 6 or 7 games. Until then, the B’s have to hope a gimpy Andrew Ferrence and a uneasy Adam McQuaid don’t hurt them any more than Philly’s third pairing does.

Edge: Much like goaltending, this is somewhat even. However, Pronger has the experience in carrying a team past the second round and Timonen is one of the best two-way defensemen in the NHL. There is no absolute trust in anyone on the Bruins blue line past Chara and Boychuk. Slight edge to the FLYERS.

Offense:

Can Marco Sturm do it again versus the Flyers?

It is interesting that for two teams who won their first round series, the Flyers and Bruins both enter Round 2 with juggled lines. Usually you don’t mess with success, but injuries have forced both sides to do so. The Flyers have moved up slick winger Claude Giroux to the first line with Richards and certified pest Dan Carcillo. The French-Canadian Hobbit Danny Briere has slid over to center on the second line with the ugliest man in the playoffs Scottie Hartnell and season-long scratch Ville Leino. The third line as a guy who spent all season in the AHL (Jared Ross) centering struggling rookie James van Riemsdyk and glue guy Aaron Asham. The fourth line has penalty killing wizard Blair Betts between Daryl Powe and Andreas Nodl (i.e. a pure defensive/crash line). With the injuries to Carter and Gagne as well as the devastating head injury that Ian Laperierre suffered while blocking a shot in the final game against New Jersey, not one of the four lines is the same as in the Devils series. Will these new groups find chemistry? At the same time, the Bruins have Marc Savard back and are moving some bodies around to fit him in. Based on yesterday’s practice, the Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Miroslav Satan line that clicked in Game 6 will stay the same. Marco Sturm will move back to left wing with Patrice Bergeron and Mark Recchi to see if he can find his offensive game. Savard will center a line Michael Ryder and Daniel Paille. Vladimir Sobotka sticks at center with Blake Wheeler and Steve Begin. Hard to argue with those lines. Sturm has always played his best with Bergeron, so maybe the switch can help him get back in a groove. Krejci and Satan have good chemistry and Lucic helps clear space for those two. Putting Savard with Paille helps on defense and with as hot as Ryder has been playing, all Savard has to do is get him the puck. Plus, I would expect to see more of Sobotka at center with them as games progress to keep Savard fresh and on the power play as needed. It is tough to see Shawn Thornton sit, but Begin and Wheeler are ace penalty killers and that will most likely be needed as the series goes on. However, if things get spirited and the B’s don’t respond well, expect a hungry Thornton back in the lineup.

Edge: As the teams currently sit, one has to lean toward the Bruins. The Flyers have a dangerous first line, but unless Hartnell and van Riemsdyk turn it on, there isn’t much behind them at the moment. Now, if Carter and Gagne are back by Game 3, then they get a whole lot more dangerous on paper – but I still don’t trust two guys with a broken foot. The B’s found an offensive game against the best goalie in the league last series and showed a knack for the clutch.

A few other notes:

• Special teams will be a huge turning point in this series. There is no hiding the fact that these two teams are passionate and can teeter on the edge of sanity at times. Put the both of them on the same ice five or six times in 10 days and anything could happen. In the first round, the Flyers had eight power play goals in five games while the Bruins were 19-for-19 on the penalty kill in six games. The Flyers need to settle down a bit, if they give the Bruins 32 power play opportunities (as they did to the Devils in the first round), the B’s will make them pay at a much higher rate than the Devs did.
• One player who bears watching on the Flyers is Carcillo. He came into the league as a headcase and still has moments of cement-headness. However, he has developed in a nice little offensive player with Mike Richards. In Game 3 against the Devils, he forechecked a defenseman off the puck behind the net and made a quick backhand pass to Richards for a goal. Then, in overtime, he crashed the net and scooped up a juicy loose puck for the winner. However, he also had 18 penalty minutes. He will try to goad Chara or Lucic into something they don’t want to do, mark my words. If those guys can wait him out, Carcillo could come back to haunt his team.
• If Stuart gets healthy for the Bruins by Game 5, and McQuaid settles down a bit in his first playoffs, I think the B’s need to sit Ferrence. Why go with an injured guy over a healthy one? It doesn’t matter if Ferrence is a veteran. You need the healthy, strong player.
• Here’s hoping that the B’s get up by like six goals in a game and Tim Thomas gets a period to play. Then, he makes 15 saves and stands on his head. The Flyers need a goalie next year, as do Washington and maybe Chicago. Let Timmy show what he can do so the B’s can dish off his salary and open up space to add weapons to the team.

I have a hard time seeing the Bruins losing this series. They are looking to this as vindication for last year’s playoffs and the 2009-10 regular season. The B’s need a sweep at home to start, as giving the Flyers life as they head back home is often deadly. The Wachovia Center crowd is legit in terms of its effect on a game. Plus, I want to have a big swagger about me when I step into the barn for Game 3 on Wednesday. I am taking my life into my own hands, but will feel better about it if the Bruins are up 2-0.

In the end, the Bruins will win this series in six games.

Other predictions: Marco Sturm shows up big in one of the first two games at home. At least one period ends in a full line scrum/brawl after a late hit by Daniel Carcillo on either Krejci or Savard. Danny Briere potentially hits puberty when he walks by B.U. on a sunny May Sunday day. NBC shows 1000 highlights from the 1970s during Saturday’s game. I get 3 beers thrown on me Wednesday night and am told how much I suck 72 times. I make roughly 25 jokes (not counting the one above) on how little and French Briere is to my girlfriend, resulting in 25 dirty looks and a serious lack of kissyface. When the series is over, my ladyfriend accepts her loss like the gracious woman she is, sports her Cam Neely shirt she bought for last year’s playoffs and heads off with me to Pittsburgh to yell nasty things at Cindy Crosby.

In preparation, here are a couple Bruins-Flyers videos to get you all fired up for Saturday.

Plenty of Reasons to Celebrate for the B's

However, around February, the Bruins were just hoping to make the playoffs. The team was in a battle with four other teams to find a seat at the table in pursuit of Lord Stanley, and was entering that fracas without its best scorer and any semblance of an offense.

However, this team did not wilt and instead pushed forward. After one of the most embarrassing games in team history in a 2-0 listless loss to Pittsburgh, the Bruins went 7-3-1 to finish the season, not only making the playoffs but securing the sixth seed in the process.

For their efforts, the B’s would match up against long-time division foe Buffalo. Rather than squeak in and take on Washington or New Jersey, the Bruin worked their way to a pairing with a team they had a 4-2 advantage over in the regular season. With the way the Black and Gold were playing and the confidence they had in regards to playing Buffalo, there was no reason the B’s should have felt like underdogs.

And they didn’t. The Bruins did almost everything a good playoff teams needs to do in order to win, sending the Sabres to the showers in six games. The Bruins winning in six games? I have heard that somewhere before … Oh yea, I said it before the series began.

“As for a prediction, I see no reason why the Bruins cannot win this series. It will not be easy and if Olympics Ryan Miller shows up all bets are off. But, the Bruins have been playing what amounts to playoff hockey for the last month or so and have done well. They are primed and ready to show they are still a commendable hockey squad. Many pundits are saying this series goes seven games, but I say the Bruins win in 6. The B’s will split out in Buffalo before winning both in the Garden to take a commanding 3-1 lead, finally clinching on home ice.”

For once, I was right. And I am glad it was with regards to this series and not the Olympics. As predicted here, the B’s salvaged a split in Buffalo, came back home and swept both games in the Garden and captured the series in Game 6 on home ice. It was not easy. Until last night, the B’s did not score first all series. In Game 2, they had to come back from a two-goal deficit. They did the same thing in Game 4 to force overtime. A bumbling effort in Game 5 gave Buffalo life and made last night an important game for the B’s.

And the B’s took the Buffalo by the horns last night, opening up a two-goal lead and hanging on for the clinching win, 4-3. With the victory, the Bruins advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals for the second consecutive year. Their opponent is yet to be determined, but it will be a Pennsylvania team. If the Capitals hang on to beat the Canadiens in Game 7 tomorrow night, the Bruins will head to Pittsburgh to take on the defending champions. If The Habs pull the upset, the Bruins will have home ice against the seventh-seeded Philadelphia Flyers. We will get into matchups once the opponent is set, but each have juicy storylines. If the B’s take on the Penguins, there is the fact that Marc Savard will return against the Penguins and Matt Cooke. If it is the Flyers, an old rivalry will be renewed in the playoffs and two rough and feisty teams will be looking to keep on saving their seasons which started with so much promise.

Anyways, back to last night and the series which just ended. Let’s hand out some awards…

Most Valuable Player: A no-brainer, this award goes to Tuukka Rask. He outplayed Ryan Miller, doing what was needed to give the Bruins a chance to advance. His 2.18 GAA is fourth in the playoffs as is his .927 save percentage.

Tuukka Time was the Right Time

His performance in game four is something that minstrels will write songs about. His diving lunge to stone Mike Grier reminds me of Reggie Lemelin’s diving stop against the New Jersey Devils in 1988. As Kevin Paul DuPont said in today’s Globe, Rask ended the season of two Vezina Trophy winners – taking the starting job from Tim Thomas in Beantown and sending Miller to the golf course in the playoffs.

Least Valuable Player: A tie between Marco Sturm of the Bruins and Tim Connolly of the Sabres. Between the two of them there was one assist (Connolly in game three). At least Connolly was dealing with injuries and had not played the final two weeks of the regular season. Sturm, on the other hand, was 0-0-0 over the six games and has only scored one goal since March 11 (two total points). He was pretty much dead weight with David Krejci and Miroslav Satan who had a monster series.

Play of the Series: Hard to argue against any of the saves made in overtime of Game 4 by both goalies as they were all game-changers and possible series-changers. There is no question that if Tuukka Rask doesn’t stand on his head for a period and a half in overtime the Bruins most likely do not win this series. Also, you can’t overlook Johnny Boychuk’s bombastic hit on Matt Ellis in Game 3. In a 1-1 game and series, that was a big turning point. However, the play of the series was unquestionably Miro Satan’s overtime goal in Game 4. Capitalizing on a power play (thanks to a too many men on the ice call in Boston’s favor this time), Satan sped in from the bench and collected a Michael Ryder pass. After patiently stickhandling around Miller, Satan slipped the puck in and sent the Garden into a frenzy. Buffalo never recovered.

Awesome Development of the Series: “Miro the Hero” and his Slovakian Dance of Joy. After scoring Boston’s fourth goal on the clincher, Miro Satan broke out in dance while waiting for teammates to crowd around him. What proved to be the game-winner came on a nice give and go with Dennis Wideman late in the third period. After corralling the puck and slipping it past Miller, Satan started hoping around and shaking his arms in some fantastical combination of Frank the Tank’s machine guns in Old School and something you would see on Dancing With the Stars. Already it has generated many You Tube tributes including these two beauties.

Player on Buffalo I Hope is on Boston Next Year of the Series: Is there anyone more destined to finish his career in Boston than Mike Grier? He grew up in Boston, went to high school in Boston and won a NCAA Championship in Boston. He is up there in age, turning 35 this year, but he still plays a very important role on a hockey team. He is as defensively sound as it gets, kills penalties, gets physical and has a knack for a big goal. He loves it in Buffalo and the organization value shim greatly. But, if there is any way the B’s can sign him for a year or two and let him ride on a third line with Patrice Bergeron and Mark Recchi, they should make it happen.

The Bruins will know Wednesday who they have in the second round. There are no easy matchups this time of year, but you have to think Philadelphia is the desired opponent. The Flyers are without Jeff Carter and Simon Gagne up front and are holding things together in goal with Brian Boucher. The Fly Guys destroyed New Jersey in the first round, and are well-rested. Still, the B’s were 2-1-1 against the Flyers in the regular season and have much more depth up front. Plus, a date with the Flyers means home ice advantage for the B’s, something that means a lot when the crowd is as amped as it has been so far in the playoffs.

Full disclosure, I was not home to watch the first two periods as work kept me away until the second intermission. So, I cannot discuss how things really went in the first 40 minutes, but I was able to watch the final 47:41 and it is now clear that this Bruins team is firing on all cylinders.

Here is the craziest thing about two of the three Bruins wins. In the regular season, Buffalo was the only team in the NHL with a 1.000 winning percentage when leading after two periods. The Sabres were 30-0-0 when holding a lead after 40 minutes. On the flip side, the Bruins were 3-23-3 when trailing after two periods. Heck, the B’s only came back to win seven games when trailing after the first period.

A team that was often left for dead after falling behind had twice rallied from two-goal deficits against the widely-considered best goalie in the NHL this season. And they are doing it by making Ryan Miller look silly – both in a good way and in a bad one.

In tonight’s game, Miller was victimized by a soft goal on the game-tying strike by Patrice Bergeron. Skating out on the left-hand side, Bergeron whirled and fired a low shot under the pads of a surprised Miller.

In the first overtime, Miller was silly good on a stop of Blake Wheeler’s shorthanded attempt and silly ridiculous on a lunging stop of a Miro Satan swat. There is no reason Miller should have stopped Satan’s doorstop shot, and even the fog horn guy at the Garden agrees – he sounded the horn prematurely.

Satan struck back in the second overtime, taking a Michael Ryder feed in full stride in the slot, deking out Miller and sliding the puck between Tyler Myers’ legs for the winner. It was a slick move by Satan, but once again Miller was overplaying the pass, committing too far out from his crease to stay in position. Satan is hoping for a chance to out-dazzle someone and enticing him to stickhandle is what Miro wants. Miller should have forced him to go with a far-range shot.

Instead, the Bruins head back to Buffalo with the 3-1 advantage and a chance to clinch the series Friday night. It is imperative that the Bruins do so, because the other three series are all 3-1 and could be closed out. The B’s do not want to be playing extra games while Pittsburgh and Washington – their probable opponents are resting. The Bruins want to be on even terms or better than those teams when it comes to freshness and health.

This Sabres team has to be reeling. They are ravaged by injuries. They had a big lead in game they needed to win to tie the series. Now, they head back home facing elimination with no semblance of momentum or reason to believe. The B’s need to step on the gas and end it quickly.

I don’t think I am going out on a limb here to say that Monday night’s Bruins game may have been the best they have played in six years. This is a complete generalization, and I am sure that at some point in 2008-09 when they were the best team in the Eastern Conference there was a game as good as or better than last night, but I can’t remember it.

Last night, the Bruins played a 99 percent complete game. They allowed one goal from Boston’s own Mike Grier and that was it. Even that goal was pretty unstoppable. Once Rafi Torres came up with a slick spin-pass to Grier and the former B.U. star snapped a shot before Tuukka Rask could set up, there was nothing the B’s could do to keep that puck out of the net.

That was an aberration though, with the Bruins skating up and down the ice the rest of the game in a manner most Bruins fans have never seen – unless it was the opposition doing so. It was such a joy to watch the B’s engage in that type of game – and ultimately win it.

Five quick hits as the B’s take the series lead…

1. As Shawn Thornton said after the game, “There were no passengers” last night when it came to effort. Each of the players in the game did something to help the team win. It was an overall team win, the kind that can give a club serious momentum heading into the meat of a series. As nervous as I was in the waning moments of the third period, it was just as easy to remember how great the game was and how exciting that team on the ice was to watch. For once, there was not a single player you could point to and wish they had been replaced. That is the type of team that can go far in the playoffs.
2. Awfully hard to pick a MVP of the game for the B’s last night, but there are three candidates. First is Vladimir Sobotka. The young center has again stepped up his game in the playoffs as he did in 2008. He got lost in the shuffle in ’09 and couldn’t get away from fourth line duty much of this season. Now, with some faster players who can carry the mail offensively, Sobotka has been charged with disrupting the Sabres’ breakout with aggressive forechecking. He has relished that role, creating havoc throughout the attack zone. Last night, he was lightning quick down the wing and his drop pass to Dennis Wideman was as pretty as they come. Then, in the third period, he threw down in his first NHL fight. Now, neither him or Andrej Sekera actually connected with a punch it seems, but good effort from Sobotka to back up his truculence.
3. Another possible MVP is Johnny Boychuk. He was a force on the ice, credited with three blocked shots while playing 26:22. His hit on Mark Ellis in the second period may be the hit of the series and the hit of the playoffs when it is all said and done. Boychuk did it the right way, as well. He saw his target and came at him clean and from the front with his shoulder. No one on the Sabres could even bother retaliating it was so cut and dry. Impressive to think that Boychuk missed the first third of the year while sitting in the press box because he was the seventh defenseman. Now, he is on the top pairing and playing in the final minute to protect a lead. Just the kind of development you hope to see from young players.
   

   AP Photo/Charles Krupa

4. A special stick salute to Mark Recchi. The 42-year old winger made a great hockey play in the third period to set up Patrice Bergeron’s game-winner. He put his body into Tim Kennedy just before the puck as both were charging to the corner. Kennedy went down in a heap and Recchi fed the biscuit back to Bergeron for a quick shot. Some wondered if the play was interference. It is clear that both men were engaged in the physical contact, none more so than the other. Nice to see the refs let them play it out and reward the stronger man.
5. Finally, the crowd last night deserves a salute. Partly because of the Patriots Day shenanigans and partly because of the sheer awesomeness of the game, they were in it all night. After Buffalo scored first, the pulse certainly could have gone out. Instead, it was ratcheted up. When Wideman scored, the roof nearly came off and when Bergeron gave the B’s the lead, it did. That is the way a playoff crowd is supposed to sound. No doubt the Bruins fed off that support.

For more insightful quick hits from Chas, follow him on Twitter at @boardsandblades