The Bruins Make History… The Worst Kind

Boston and New York again have something in common.

So Boston… how does it feel? You know, to be so sure things are going your way only to see them crash down in a flaming heap? It ruined a sure fire ratings, and historical hockey dream of a matchup, the Bruins vs. the Canadiens. A matchup I was waiting for and hoping for just to feel the hate between two rivals and to see if it was anything like the much over played Yankees-Red Sox matchups. But that’s over.

Losing happens, just not like this. Besides the Yankees only the Red Wings and Penguins had lost a 3-0 series lead in the history of 7 game series in three of the four major sports, they have one new member in their hall of shame. The Bruins collapse was weird, not just that they lost, but because of everything within the series that lead to it. At the end of Friday night’s game 7 I stood and could only utter this, um, wow, that was depressing. So depressing that it brought back memories of 2004 when it happened to the Yankees. The Boston Bruins 3-0 series collapse however, is worse than the Yankees because there were so many eerie things that led to the collapse.

First off, the David Krejci injury at the end of game three when the B’s went up three games to none. For an offensively challenged team like the Bruins, Krejci was undoubtedly their best forward in the playoffs up until he went down scoring 8 points and logging close to 22 minutes a game in the series. Up until game four with Krecji in the lineup the Bruins dominated the action and beat up the Flyers. Once Krejci went down, the tables turned. The B’s gave up nine goals in the next two games and well… you saw what happened in game 7 (more on that later).

Secondly, Tuukka Rask, you know, the guy who took Tim Thomas’s job with an amazing regular season where he finished up with a 1.98 Goals against average, was terrible in net in the final four games. He went from allowing seven goals in the first three games to fifteen in the final four. The first goal the Flyers scored last night by James Vanriemsdike was horrendous. His shot was deflected by Bruins defenseman Dennis Wideman, yet Rask somehow allowed it to trickle under his right pad and into the net. In comparison with Flyers net minder Michael Leighton, Rask looked like the guy that had been thrown into the fire and couldn’t handle the pressure.

Tuukka Rask's great playoff run came to a stunning hault.

Leighton on the other hand was and has been outstanding in net. Since replacing the injured Brian Boucher, Leighton has allowed only four goals in two and a half games, three in last night’s first period and nothing more. At some point I wondered why Claude Julien didn’t go back to Tim Thomas. Thomas has been in these situations before, including last year’s game seven loss to Carolina. He could’ve been a better option than Rask who was undoubtedly shaky.

Third was funny enough, the Celtics epic win in that same arena the previous night. The C’s set up what was bound to be an epic two night period by ousting the Cleveland Cavaliers the previous night with spirited performances and a rowdy crowd. It seemed like the perfect ending to both series. The teams from Boston, who, no one expected much out of at the beginning of the playoffs, now would be two teams in the Eastern Conference Finals in rivalry matchups. It certainly seemed that way as the B’s followed up the C’s win last night with a spirited first period. Milan Lucic came out of hiding with two goals and the Bruins were ahead 3-0. Then the air came out of the Bruins and everything began to crumble.

The Vanriemsdyk goal was the beginning of the end as the Bruins play gradually slowed and slowed while the Flyers, especially Daniel Briere and Mike Richards, flew around the ice creating havoc and swinging the momentum towards the Philly side at the end of the second period.

The third period saw the Bruins regain that intensity as they found scoring opportunities from veterans Mark Recchi and Marc Savard. The B’s controlled the action throughout most of the period and if not for some unlucky bounces (or lucky if you’re a Philly fan) they would be gearing up for a Finals matchup with their rivals the Montreal Canadiens. Then well…

Thing number four, the too many men on the ice penalty at 11:10 into the third period. If you’re a longtime Bruins fan the words “too many men on the ice” are painful to listen to. For those that don’t know what I’m referring to, in the 1979 Eastern Conference Finals the B’s and Habs played a classic overtime game that ended with a Guy Lafleur power play goal thanks to a too many men on the ice penalty by the Bruins. The Habs went on to win the Stanley Cup and the Bruins haven’t been the same since. Last night, history repeated itself.

With only 18 seconds remaining on the power play Simon Gagne, who hasn’t been the same goal scoring threat that he was at the beginning of the decade thanks to a rash of Eric Lindros-like concussions, found a wide open top corner of the net and beat a sprawling Rask. 4-3 Flyers. Somewhere Don Cherry probably did a combination of throw a chair, then chug a bottle of Crown Royal, then had a heart attack.

You knew the end result was coming; I just stopped watching and began taunting a Twins fan after A-rod hit a grand slam in the bottom of the seventh to give the Yankees a win last night (I mean it is May, so A-rod is clutch for these things). As the clock wound down and the Bruins tried their hardest to get a tying goal, they fell short. Flyers win the game and the series 4-3, down 3-0 in both instances. You can’t make this stuff up. As the Flyers swarmed Leighton, the Bruins and their fans were stunned. Yellow, “Go Bruins!” towels littered the ice. Wiseman and other players couldn’t lift their heads for the postgame handshake. As the fans stood in shock a smattering of Flyers fans cheered and ran to their entry way screaming for Gagne and other players. The scene was the epitome of the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.

The good part, if any, of the Yankees game seven loss was that they got killed. The drama was over by the third inning and the rest was just a slow alcohol induced death. For Bruins fans this was worse. They watched a team lose two 3-0 leads and lose thanks to a throwback penalty from yesteryear that haunted them up until this game. You tell me what’s worse.

The good news for the Bruins is that they have a top 2 pick in the draft thanks to dealing Phil Kessel to Toronto, yeah the Bruins get Taylor Hall or Tyler Seguin while the Leafs 25 goals and underachievement. Brian Burke is probably beating himself with a stick right now. The bad news… well you’re seeing it. The playoff run hid a lot of questionable in this team such as age, lack of offense and consistent play from the wings (ahem, Lucic). It was a great run, but it was bound to end. However, I don’t think anyone could’ve seen it play out like this.

The King Crowns Boston

Lebron had his way with the C's all night.

Things went south in Boston really fast night. Josh Beckett let his fastball fly around Fenway Park last night and got rocked because of it, the Bruins, who were looking to get a head start on the Eastern Conference Finals, instead found themselves down by two goals to the Flyers in the first period… but none of that compared to the carnage in the TD Bank Garden last night.

The Celtics left their swagger, attitude or whatever in Cleveland, or maybe Lebron James just slapped it out of their mouths.

That Monday meltdown that Cleveland had seemed like it was ages ago as the Cavaliers came into Boston and landed an early knockout in a 124-95 beat down last night, and it wasn’t even that close.

All five Cavaliers starters scored in double figures and Delonte West added 14 off of that bench. Meanwhile for Boston all they could muster was another great performance by Rajon Rondo, great considering the circumstances, and Kevin Garnett. Other than that, they were dead as you could get. Paul Pierce shot 4-15 and Ray Allen was 2-9 and the bench was just as ineffective. “Big Baby” Davis and Rasheed Wallace played 15 uninspired minutes as they committed lazy fouls and were beat to every rebound and loose ball as the Cavs controlled the tempo for the entire game.

Most importantly though it was King James leading the way from beginning to end as the King jumped on the C’s early with 28 first half points, ten more than his entire total from game two. There’s been a lot of talk about Lebron’s elbow and whether or not the pain in the elbow was causing some problems and limiting the way he plays the game… Friday night ended all of that talk.

“I know I’m going to hear a lot about the elbow, but I’m here to play basketball and give our team a chance to win,” James said. “We knew how important it was to come out and play aggressively after giving away Game 2.” Not just game two but almost game one as well. The Cavaliers were as unimpressive in the first two games of a series as you can get. They trailed at the half in both games at home and if not for a Mo Williams spark in game one the Cavs could easily be down 2-1 as they are up.

Yet all of that seemed irrelevant as the Cavs shot 67% in the opening half of game three and scored 65 points, 36 in the first quarter all while getting back to what makes them what they are; good defense and letting Lebron work his magic.

“It was great to see LeBron set the tone from the jump,” Cleveland coach Mike Brown said. “And the rest of the team followed.” they sure did. Lebron’s performance in this game from the jump was all about aggression. He had three first half assists as the greedy side of Bron Bron took over, although it should be noted he finished with seven assists in addition to his 38 points, 8 rebounds and 2 blocks.

Lebron’s entire demeanor had changed for this game. He barked orders at teammates, snarled at referees and was nothing like the playful, exuberant superstar that we’ve come to know. Dare I say that he got some Jordan in him and the killer instinct took over. My buddy Will put it plain and simple after game two, “he’s gotta start being like Jordan. He’s gotta get mad at people when the (bleep) up. That’s the one thing about Bron, he doesn’t get abrasive with his teammates when he has to, cuz you know Kobe is quick to yell at his boys when they (bleep) up.” Maybe Lebron got the message. Maybe he got tired of the elbow, and the lackluster play of his teammates and decided to get everything in gear and start becoming aggressive towards everything in sight. That’s what the Cavs need honestly. They need Lebron to get in their tails and get them to work harder and not be lackadaisical on the floor. It worked in game three and should continue throughout the rest of the series.

As for the Celtics? Well, the worst is over for now anyway. It’s becoming clear that Paul Pierce is a shell of his former self and their bench is all but worthless at this point. If they have any shot at beating Cleveland they need Rondo to continue to play at his current level and hope everything falls into place.

That seems farfetched at this point however. With Lebron feeling better and the Cavs rolling it’s looking like an early exit for the C’s and questions will start up about the future of this team. They got a kick start last night once their beat down ended. Good thing for them they weren’t they only bad show in town last night. They have a little company in Josh Beckett and Tuukka Rask in the Boston doghouse.