Why the Bruins Are the Best Cup Contenders in the East

            As a blue-and-gold-blooded Sabres fan, writing what I’m about to write might be one of the more painful things I have to do this year. In fact it is right up there with tooth extraction, really big splinters, and getting a colonoscopy. However, being the mature hockey fan I am, I must present the argument that the Boston Bruins have shown themselves to be the Best cup contender in the East.

            Winning the cup is going to take three things this year. I’ll write more about those three things later, but in brief it will take Goaltending, Offense, and Physicality. Boston has proved through the first round and into the second that they not only embody these traits, but that they excel in these categories more than other teams in the East.

            From the first game, Boston came out swinging behind their polar-bear-on-skates Chara (actually I think a polar bear would look more natural on skates than Chara does…). You would be hard pressed to find a 10 minute span in any of the Buffalo-Boston games where a post-whistle scuffle involving multiple players did not erupt. The physical play of Boston frustrated the Sabres so much that it took a 3-on-1 gang style takedown of Chara, with .2 seconds left in the game, to try and regain some of the momentum that had been face-washed out of them.

Oh well – that didn’t work.

This style hasn’t slowed down as Boston has continued to pound on Philly, a city with a reputation of being the tough guys of hockey. Even Marc Savard in his post-concussion state has shown heart in these scuffles, allegedly biting Daniel Carcillo. Carcillo claimed that he felt like he was in grade school, which I am fine with because I think seeing Chara drop the gloves and give Briere a wedgie would be the greatest moment in hockey fight history.

            It’s no secret that the Bruins have been powered through this season largely by Tuukka Rask’s astounding performance. This is another difficult step for me to take, considering none of my clocks have numbers any more – just hands pointing to the words “It’s Miller.” I could go on about how he upstaged Vezina trophy winner Thomas, or detail his regular season statistics – but we are talking about playoff hockey and Rask has shown no sign of slowing down. Even rookie d-man Tyler Myers who exceeded all expectations showed some fatigue against the B’s, but against Sabres and Flyers alike, Rask has been a wall with very few cracks in it. His GAA is 2.31, which is largely affected by the 4-1 loss to Buffalo (unfortunately a fluke).

            Offensively, the Bruins are still not the best. They currently rank 6^th in team goals out of the 8 teams left playing hockey. They are also only 7 for 30 in power play opportunities, which is less than their 3 competitors in the East (Pit 11/35, Phi 10/38, Mon 8/37). However Miro Satan is looking like his former self streaking with assists and goals, additionally Savards return and Lucic showing signs of life means that Krejci and Recchi are no longer being leaned on to score the bulk of goals. Savards OT goal proved that maybe it was just his brains and not his skill that got knocked out of him on that vicious hit from Cooke. Oh, and then there is Patrice Bergeron who loves winning face-offs almost as much as Buffalo loves disappointment.

            So assuming Boston beats Philly, let’s take a look at their potential matchups. Statistically speaking, Pittsburgh should beat Montreal. If it comes to a Bruins-Pens series, it comes down to goaltending. Fleury has rarely let up less than 3 goals a game in the playoffs. Although it is to a lesser extent, they fall into the same category as the Capitals and goaltending woes have been ignored due to their offensive capability. Fleury is in no way bad, but with Rasks undeniable ability to outduel most veteran goaltenders, and Malkin being featured on milk cartons all over Pittsburgh, I would have to give the B’s in 7. Maybe 5 if Chara gets hungry during an earlier game in the series and decides to eat Crosby like a power bar.

            There is the possibility Montreal will upset the Pens as they did with the Washington Ovechkins, and I certainly do hope that happens. I’ve been pulling for Halak and those guys, and they sure are fun to watch. Montreal’s biggest asset right now is momentum, and if they beat the Pens the momentum is bound explode. The Bruins will realize this and inevitably lay a crushing blow to the Habs momentum… in the form of a crushing blow. Montreal would need someone to set the tone from the beginning and with Markov potentially out with a torn ACL (oh, Cooke injured someone, I’m shocked) the D-line is taking a big hit. Both teams are lower seeds working off the energy of upsets to make a big run, and I don’t know if there is anyone on the Habs who will stand up to the physical play of the Bruins enough to pull the momentum in their direction, but I suppose this is how legends are made. I can almost see the commercial.  

            Right now I believe the Flyers have the best shot at knocking out the Bruins. They have been playing tough but have thus far failed to produce. With lackluster offense the Flyers are resting on Boucher to stay hot and pull them through this series. Let’s hope that his streak continues or the Flyers are going to have their wings clipped, leaving the Bruins one step closer to the cup.