It’s finally here. The long hot summer is finally over. Bring on the long cold winter. That’s right, the “Boys of Winter” are back tonight against the Colorado Avalanche. The new slogan, “We want it as bad as you” remains to be seen, but I must say I am encouraged by the 2008-2009 Bruins chances.

While I was bummed to see Jeremy Reich sent down, it made sense. Milan Lucic, and Shawn Thornton both play the agitator, and Blake Wheeler played his way right onto the roster. Reicher will be back though, as I would imagine he’ll be the first called from the Baby B’s should they need a little grit, and honest effort. Speaking of “Wheels”. My word is this kid impressive early on. He has size, and good body position in front of the net, and I love he’s wearing 42. If he can drop the mitts and go, I think I might drop one in my pants. If Phil Kessel can have a go in pre season, anything is possible.

My big concern for the Bruins is, and always has been, goaltending and defense. They are anchored by the most over rated player in the NHL (Zdeno Chara) a scary presence in Dennis Wideman, a question mark in Andrew Alberts, and other piece parts. They need a true puck mover, and a skilled stay at homer. The Bruins don’t score a lot, so it’s going to be up to this group to help keep pucks out of the net.

This brings us to the goaltenders. Tim Thomas has always scared me, and I am really not sure about Manny Fernandez. I know Tuukka Raask isn’t ready, so I dread the thought of having to bring him up. Over all, I think this team is improved over last year, and I am excited for the season to start. I have them losing to Washington in the second round. I want it more than them.

I subscribe to the theory you never wear another man’s uniform, which is one reason why I don’t buy or wear team jerseys. One exception is my Syracuse Bulldogs sweater. Its part of a Halloween costume the year I went as Oglethorpe. I wore the jersey, and a giant afro wig. For about 15 minutes. Anyhow, having said that, the Carolina Hurricanes unveiled their third jersey today, and I gotta say its pretty fucking sweet. I might consider lifting my ban on wearing and buying another man’s uniform. I love the hockey stick flag pole, and how the emblem looks like its being blown by Hurricane force winds. Kudos to the all black deign too. Really sharp. Did you know the only other teams in the NHL to never have donned a third Jersey? New Jersey (obviously. That would be fun and God forbid Lou have any fun) and the Detroit Red Wings. It’s true. You can look it up. I think Boston was going to do another third this year. I saw a design of it on TV and it looked pretty snazzy too. Still, Carolina really captured the spirit of the thing here. Tell you guys what. Trevor Gillies makes the big club; I will get a third jersey with his number on it. I swear, I’m not mental.

MOL, George, and I went to Feng Shui for a very serious throw down, two Mai Tai’s and the division of Bruins tickets for the upcoming season. If you are in the Chelmsford area, I highly suggest stopping in. In fact, here is a quick ranking of my top 3 local Chinese restaurants.

1. Feng Shui. Chelmsford, MA. Try the General Gau’s shrimp, salt and pepper shrimp, and the house rice. Very strong Mai Tai. Nice buffet on weekends
2. Bamboo. Westford, MA. Johnny is the heat! Strong Mai Tai. Excellent shrimp tempura, salt and pepper pork, and lo mein. Excellent buffet as well.
3. Makaha Acton, MA. Excellent Pu Pu. Mai Tai strong enough to run your car on. Excellent Juke Box. If you’re looking for a dark place to get a Pu Pu and get loaded…this is it. No real redeeming qualities other than they let me drink in there when I was 16.

In keeping with the Public Service spirit, I thought it appropriate to let you know the games in which I have drawn. Reason being, if you are a faithful Goonblog reader, you might want to stop by and say hi, or if you are a faithful Goonblog reader you know what happens at these games when I go, so you might want to avoid being in the City of Boston all together. Should be a great season, and I am getting more pumped by the day. I can almost hear the roar of the Zamboni, OK, the propane whine, of the Zamboni!

I have 9 games on my own. I’ll probably need a date for 8 of them. MOL will go to opening night, and that’s about it for her. Maybe I’ll run a contest. Go to a Bruins game with a guy that is trying to disprove Dean Wormer’s fat, drunk, and stupid theory…..that’ll be cool.

George has 10 solo games. We were very surprised how easily the schedule was divided. It just kind of fell into place easily. No arguments at all. Sort of the opposite of MOL and me.

We will both be in the house for 20 games, and are giving away 2 games that neither one of us can attend. It looks like January is going to be a busy month of hockey for me. Between the Bruins, and the Lowell Devils, I will be at 15 hockey games. That’s a lot of hockey. This is going to be great. Breakdown is below.

My solo games in BOLD in case you want to enter my Fat Drunk and Stupid contest.

Oct. 20th. Opening night. Penguins. Probably MOL’s only appearance of the season. Come see her in all her glory.

Oct. 23rd. Maple Leafs. George wasn’t too happy about this one. He saw every Leafs Bruins tilt last year, and admitted the 10-1 or 10 something loss the Bruins took at the hands of Toronto was the only time he’s ever left a game early. Can’t blame him. I was there too, and I left early.

Nov. 1. Stars. Sean Avery is a shit disturber, and I love it.

Nov. 6th. Leafs. George couldn’t take it (seeing the Leafs again), so I took one for the team here.

Nov. 13th. Canadiens. Now way either one of us was missing the Habs, or Georges Laraque’s debut in the Garden as a Canadien. This one will be electric.

Nov. 28th. Islanders. I love the annual day after Thanksgiving game. Kinger and I had a blast two years ago. MOL might actually want to come to this one.

Dec. 8th. Lightning. I am interested in seeing Steve Stamkos.

Dec. 18th. Maple Leafs. See what I mean? George hates the Leafs.

Dec. 20th. Hurricanes. I am happy Tom Rowe has a job in the NHL. There are still a few faces left on this roster from the old Lockmoster days.

Jan. 1st. Penguins. MOL and I were going to Chicago, but decided a trip to Florida for a couple of Bruins games was probably a better idea. I can’t think of a better way to ring in the New Year than by watching the Bruins and Penguins slug it out. The last time I went to a game on New Year’s Day was against Philadelphia a few years ago. Dave, MOL and I went, and I assure you. It did not end well.

Jan. 3rd. Sabres. Not sure why I agreed to go to this game. I have an unexplained and unnatural hatred of the Buffalo Sabres. Not sure why.

Jan. 6th. Wild. Boogieman. That’s the reason I’m here.

Jan. 8th. Senators. This is going to be an interesting club this season. Eager to see how they react after all that has happened to them over the last season. Jason Spezza, when he wants to be, is a God.

Jan. 10th. Hurricanes. Love the Matinee.

Jan. 13th. Canadiens. Hopefully the bad blood is really boiling by now.

Jan. 27th. Capitals. If you have never seen Alex Ovechkin live, I highly suggest doing so. You can’t take your eyes off of him.

Jan. 31st. Rangers. Original Six matinee. Doesn’t get any better than that.

Feb. 10th. Sharks. Joe’s second trip as a Shark. His first one was short lived, but a great performance. If you remember, he got kicked out very early for “boarding” Hal Gill. Questionable call at best. I just don’t like Gill, so I was cheering wildly. Pretty sure the people in my section didn’t like it.

Feb. 24th. Panthers. What else is there to do on a Tuesday in February?

Feb. 26th. Ducks. George Parros and his awesome Porn ‘stache in the house. Can’t miss it.

Feb. 28th. Capitals. A matinee and the Caps?! I can’t lose!

Mar. 3rd. Flyers. Shawn Thornton and Riley Cote. I am looking forward to these guys having a go.

Mar. 5th. Coyotes. Probably my most anticipated game of the year. Todd Fedoruk, Brian McGratton, and Daniel Carcillo all on the same club? This could be my Center Ice West Coast team of the season.

Mar. 14th. Islanders. Nothing better to do.

Mar. 19th. Kings. This should be another interesting team. Revolving door in goal. Some decent talent in Dan Boyle, and Teddy Purcell possibly coming in. Very young on defense. Really could go either way.

Mar. 31st. Lightning. Barry Melrose will field a scrappy team. No doubt.

Apr. 2nd. Senators. We’ll know by this point if the Senators have put all their troubles behind them.

Apr. 4th. Rangers. Original Six matinee. Can’t miss it.

Apr. 14th. Canadiens. Great way to end the regular season.

So, there it is. I am really looking forward to this year. It should be awesome. I may need a good divorce lawyer after as that is a lot of hockey. I think MOL understands the psychosis by now though. Let’s get it on.

Dangerous combo here boys. It’s a thousand. MOL is off at the Germ Factory leaving me unsupervised with at least a dozen of the “Workingman’s Brew” in the fridge. I just booked my ticket to hang with Dave at the beginning of August (we PROMISE a Podcast) and the NHL schedule came out today. You guys think I’m in a good mood? Hold on….

Walking down hall…..

Turning left into kitchen….

Opening fridge…..

They call me the Working Man……open, and sip……..AHHHHHHHH

Much better! Now then, here are some highlights of the Bruins Schedule. Before that, a tribute to my trip to the Great White North!

October 9th at Colorado. It’s back, its back, thank God it’s back! Boston opens their season on the road, per usual. Stupid circus.

October 15th at Montreal. The Habs open their 100th season in style against their hated rivals. Goosebumps thinking about it.

October 20th vs. Penguins. My first game as a season ticket holder. MOL is my usual date for opening night, so they may not see me in full plumage until…..

October 23rd vs. Toronto. Yup. Could be my last game as a season ticket holder.

November 13th vs. Montreal. First game for the Habs in Boston. Hopefully bad blood from October is still fresh.

November 28th vs. Islanders. Love the day after Thanksgiving game. Two years ago Kinger and I went, got wasted, and came home with a Hanson Brothers picture I bought for $150.00. Good times.

December 8th vs. Tampa Bay. I think these guys are going to be scrappy as hell under Barry Melrose. I’m also excited to see Steven Stamkos for the first time.

January 1st. Chicago vs. Detroit. I really want to go to Wrigley for this! If not, I guess I’ll watch on TV before going to the Bruins and Penguins.

January 19th vs. St. Louis. Hopefully Cam Janssen goes nuts.

February 7th vs. Flyers. I hate them.

March 7th vs. Blackhawks. Annual game I take my brother to against my other favorite Original Six Team?! I love it.

April 9th vs. Montreal. Hopefully there is some real bad blood here going into the playoffs!

Does anyone know how to build a time machine? I swear I won’t mess anything up. I won’t kill Hill Valley, I swear. We’re just going ahead a few months…no big whoop…..

I’m sitting at my desk today around three, and I’m thinking I need some food. What to do? What to do? I’m trying to not be on the see food diet anymore, so I have a choice of pistachios, apricots, or some grapes. Grapes involve standing up, so that’s right out. Now it’s down to pistachios or apricots, when it hits me. I need a Tsongas Arena burger. As soon as I thought it, I could smell it, and taste it. Visually I could see the ketchup oozing out the side. A quick look to my calendar confirmed it, its mid July. DAMMIT! What makes this “fantasy” even stranger is that the “Paul” has the worst rink food ever. Seriously, one thing the Lowell Devils are lacking, other than fans in general, is good food. The burgers are the most edible thing. Taz will attest to this. Think high school hamburger. Kind of grayish, not really hot all the way through…oh man, I’m getting aroused here again. It makes me think of hockey season all over again. Stupid baseball.

Speaking of hockey, I am pumped Montreal signed Georges Laraque, and Ryan Flinn. Man, if ever there was a reason to keep the current schedule format, this is it. When was the last time the Boston/Montreal rivalry featured two legitimate heavyweights? 90’s? Has to be right? This “rivalry” is more watered down than the cocktails MOL makes me when I’ve had one too many. These two guys will bring some big time toughness to the Habs roster, and I hope Milan Lucic, and Shawn Thornton is ready for them. I would hazard to guess Flinner will be down in Hamilton, but the brass will be glad he’s only a phone call away.

Part of the reason I was watching the Penguins over the last year and a half (OK, a big part) was to watch Georges Laraque. I was at the game this season when he “fought” Zdeno Chara twice. While both fights sucked (they actually were assessed only 1 fighting majors each for two dust ups. I know. Laughable) it was great to see him ask Jeremy Reich to go, and get turned down no fewer than 5 times. Lucic wanted no part of him either, and come to think of it, neither did Thornton. Maybe seeing the Habs 87 times in the regular season will fan some distaste for each other. Here’s hoping they have a nice 400 PIM game while I eat a crappy Garden dog in my Hungry for Hockey seats eh?

I am a Boston Bruins season ticket holder as of Monday afternoon. My buddy George and I were talking at game 3 of the Montreal series this season about how many games we’d been to throughout the season. It seemed to us that the games we had been to, the other was there as well, and the games one of us had missed, the other was there. We got to thinking; perhaps getting a season ticket package might be a more economical way to go. We did some math, and we estimate we were at 20-25 games last season, and it could have easily been more if not for a lack of tickets. Well, we talked it over and it did in fact seem like a good idea, but truth be told, good seats at the Garden are expensive, and I couldn’t justify paying that much money for the seats. In the end, I decided it wasn’t in my best interest.

All of that changed Monday when George presented me with the “Hungry for Hockey” promo the Bruins ran. The promo is Sections 327, and 328, rows 2-15. What you get is the ticket, all you can eat hot dogs, nachos, popcorn, and a bottomless cup of soda (probably remain un used) for $39.00 a game. George e-mailed me in a panic….”Do we want to do this?! Seats are going fast!” Well shit. $1700.00 for the season in pretty good, not great, but pretty good seats. Heck yes. Sign me up. So, if you want to meet George or myself, we’ll be in Section 328, Row 2, Seats 1 and 2.

I gotta say I’m pretty pumped. MOL was not pissed at all by me doing it, and George already said I could have opening night for me and MOL because he has to take all his kids. That’s a bonus. On top of that, I feel pretty good about the team this year. I love them getting Michael Ryder even if he did have a down year. The Bruins had no one to score other than the top line last year, and Ryder now helps that cause. Metropolit being gone might hurt the chemistry, and the “Bruin” mold, but that’s what you have Milan Lucic, Shawn Thornton, and Petteri Nokelainen. Those three will chip in points as well, especially Cheech. I like the forwards a lot with Marc Savard, Chuck Kobasew, Phil Kessel (if he doesn’t get dealt), Michael Ryder, a healthy Patrice Bergeron, and Marco Sturm. Plus the unknown of Blake Wheeler? That’s a very under rated signing, and could pay huge dividends for these guys. They got the toughness covered in Lucic, and Thornton. Defense is pretty good too. Hopefully Alberts can be healthy all year. I was hoping Mike Commodore was in their plans, but oh well. Obviously the question mark is in goal, but I think Timmy Thomas had a stellar year last season and can repeat this year. I’m telling you, watch out for this club, and while you’re at it, swing by Section 328 to say hi. Is it September yet?

June gets a little busy for me. It’s the end of the second quarter at work, and it’s usually one of the busier times. See, I work in IT sales, and despite what you may hear on the news, there is not a recession on. As such, people with purchasing power want to get a lot of purchase done now, so the minions will have something to do and report back to him on when he returns from his week on the Cape for 4th of July. What I’m trying to say is June is tough. Plus, I work for a publicly traded company, so anyone that also works for a public company can relate as to being slaves to Wall Street. They say jump, we say how high. As such, there is extra pressure from the higher ups to stay late, and drive results and so on. I have not had much time to come home and write on this blog like I would like too, but with Rush’s “Working Man” playing, and me drinking a “Working Man’s Brew”, Miller High Life, I find myself hard at work on this blog once again. You can call me the working man. I guess that’s what I am.

I hope everyone’s having a great summer so far. I’ve been busy, but enjoying myself. I’ve been thinking about what I should write on Goonblog a lot lately. You see, I am inspired to write almost every day. Like for instance. Goonblog favorite, Tom Rowe was promoted to Assistant Coach in Carolina. I had an idea about a post congratulating him, as well as predicting he will be the head coach by the All Star break next season. Didn’t happen. Staying in Carolina, I’d get to their camp if you can. The Canes acquired Darcy Hordichuk, and re signed Trevor Gillies. The chances of those two NOT having a go in Camp are as good as me NOT sleeping with Jenny McCarthy . In other words, bet on it. Again. That post didn’t happen.

I’d say the biggest thing I wanted to post about, is the Boston Celtics. No, seriously. I have not lost my mind. There will be no name change to KGBlog, or whatever. In fact, I didn’t even get on the bandwagon. I mean, as a Bostonian, or Masshole in general, I am happy they won the title. Let’s put it this way, I’m glad they won the title. It really didn’t have enough bearing on my life to sway me from happy or sad. For me watching the Celtics accept their trophy in the Garden with streamers coming down around made me think, “I wish that were the Bruins.” For those of you scoring at home, here’s how they look in terms of last titles won for big four in Boston.

• Celtics 2008
• Red Sox 2007
• Patriots 2005
• Bruins 1972

As a diehard Bruins fan, that is a tough pill to swallow. In 1972, the team on the bottom of that list could have arguably been the most relevant in the town. Now? I am sure some people aren’t even aware there is still a pro hockey team in Boston. Watching the Celtics win the title made we want the Bruins to become relevant again in the worst way. I mean, could you imagine if the Bruins won it all? For me, I’d be gone. I would be off the reservation for at least a week. Here’s the thing. They are a couple of pieces away from being a very good hockey team, but I think ownership cares more about the Celtics going deep and reaping the rewards of concession stand sales, then actually shelling out their own money to have a team go deep in the playoffs. I think for us Bruins fans, the only time we will see the Black and Gold hoist Lord Stanley ’s Cup, is when the DNC sells the team. I don’t know if I will be alive to see it.

If you had told me the Bruins were taking Montreal to seven games when the series started, I would have called you a damn dirty liar. Anyone that saw game one would agree. It was so bad; I thought maybe just asking the NHL if they could concede the series then and there wouldn’t have been a bad idea. Hell, they were in a 2-0 hole before 5 minutes had elapsed in the seven game series. For those of you new to hockey and Earth for that matter, that is bad. It didn’t get much better from there. Boston was flat, and looked soundly overmatched. After all, this was Montreal. A team they had lost all eight regular season games to. They weren’t supposed to be in it.

Game two was a bit different. The Bruins had to come out and play a better game than they had in game one. Honestly, short of maybe one of the Bruins having a nervous breakdown and doing a Ned Braden strip tease, game one couldn’t have been worse, so outplaying themselves in game two shouldn’t have been an issue. As it turns out, Boston did play much better, and stayed with the Canadiens. While they lost in overtime, they played a vastly superior one to the egg they laid two nights before. I think maybe if they weren’t in Montreal, and some of the calls that always go Montreal’s way hadn’t been called, maybe things may have been different. Alas, one can’t blame the referees because in the end, the players need to make the plays. The Habs made more, and sent Boston back home up 2-0.

Game three was a do or die situation for the beloved Bruins. I detailed the day here, but I must say again, the mood was electric in Boston. It really felt like hockey was back in Beantown, or at least, thinking of coming back. Boston played very well in game three, especially goaltender Tim Thomas. He saved their bacon a few times, and the boys rewarded him with a big OT win. Had Boston lost that game, it would have been over right then and there. Sure there would have been another game to play, but it wouldn’t have mattered.

With it being a series now, Boston played a very strong game, but lost 1-0 in game four. It was a back and forth affair, and had it not been for some superior goaltending by the very impressive Carey Price, Boston could have made the series 2-2 heading back to Canada. Unfortunately, they didn’t and they headed back up North down 3-1.

The fifth game of the series was when the black and gold faithful really started to believe the Bruins had a chance in the series. At least I did. These guys just wouldn’t go away. Boston outplayed Montreal soundly, and got timely scoring for a change. Phil Kessel’s tally off the rebound was a dandy, and proof to Coach Julien that he got the message from the three game rest. The previously unflappable Carey Price looked rattled, and showed a chink in the armor. Boston had avoided the reaper’s grasp and would come home for game six at the Garden.

How to describe game six to someone that wasn’t there? Imagine if you will its Christmas, and you really want the Millennium Falcon. Before you can get to that though, you get a new bike, a wicked cool Atari system, some really cool Legos, and then finally the Falcon. That’s game six. It was the best hockey game I have ever been to in my life. Boston just wouldn’t go away. They kept coming, and we all believed. When Marco Sturm scored the fifth goal to win it on a beautiful wait-wait-wait play the Garden went CRAZY. I have never heard sound like that before. Pure unbridled joy for the 17,000 faithful.

All of these games had me believing Boston would win it all last night, and for the first 30 minutes of the game, I thought for sure they would. With the exception of the misdirected goal Montreal scored, Boston controlled that game. They were buzzing and making plays all over the ice. Again Carey Price was superb and kept them at bay. In the end, Boston ran out of steam, and Montreal’s superior talent took over. The 5-0 is not a good gauge of how Boston played, but the scoreboard doesn’t say 5-0* the other team played really well.

So the Bruins season is over. While I am sad, I must say, I really enjoyed this year. Marc Savard is so fun to watch. He is a magician when passing the puck. Phil Kessel really improved this season. Shawn Thornton had a superb second half in the fight department. After a slow start, he had some great bouts after the All Star break. And how about Milan Lucic? Who saw this kid coming? He is a God in Boston right now, and will continue to be a fan favorite for years to come.

Some final notes on the series.

1. The NHL has to do something about the amount of diving penalties Montreal took. Maybe make diving a non releasable 2 minute minor? It was getting re god damned diculos after a while.

2. The Habs fans chanting “Go Habs, Go!” during the National Anthem last night should be ashamed of themselves. I know you are passionate about your team and all, but that was a fucking disgrace. Try to act like a normal human being and show some respect for three minutes. I think their disrespect made me want them to lose even more.

3. This Boston team is a couple of pieces away from being really good.

Another Bruins season in the books. It was better than some prior years, and I think they’ll be good next season too. All I can say now, is Go Pens, GO!

Now. We are in it. Thursday night, Boston looked over matched, and very out played. Last night, while flipping between the BC game, and the Bruins, I noticed the Black and Gold had a lot more life. In spite of the overtime loss, they were still in the contest. After returning from the Garden tonight, I think these boys have a chance.

The evening started with the “Dave” special at the Fours. I had a Miller High Life, while George had a Michelob Ultra. We then moved on to the poppers and wings, followed by the Bobby Orr for George, and the Bambino (a ¼ hot dog) for me. Tasty buddy. Causeway Street, and all the surrounding bars, looked like St. Catherine’s St. as there was a shit load (actual attendance number) of Habs fans on the streets. George and I were seated between a group of four Canadiens fans on our right, and another two on our left. Both groups were really cool. The guys on our right had been at Fenway earlier, and the guys on our left had just arrived via car. The left guys were headed back to Canada tonight for work tomorrow, only to return for Tuesday’s tilt back in Boston. That is a hockey fan. I don’t even like driving to Lowell for Devils games, and these guys are going between two countries for their team. Both groups were a fun bunch, and it made it hard for me to want to punch them out.

After we killed a few beers and snacks, it was into the Garden for warm up. I have never seen as many fans in the building for the skate around, and to say the mood was electric was an understatement. Chants of GO HABS GO! and LET’S GO BRUINS!, cropped up everywhere. George and I were seated in section 12 row 7 seats 17 and 18 so we were close enough to see the intensity in everyone’s eyes. Shawn Thornton was at the redline trying to stare everyone down, and Marc Savard flipped about 10 pucks to kids. Milan Lucic has his own cheering section, much like old number 42 PJ Stock did. It was electric in the building, and it was only warm up.

The puck dropped, and it was clear the Bruins were not going to be beaten outright in their own building. They had an intensity and purpose about them that was matched by their old foes from the North. It was an up and down game filled with intensity and desire on both sides of the ice. When Milan scored at 6:57 the place went crazy! His goal was a real goal score4rs goal, and the Bruins faithful couldn’t have asked for a better person to score. Like I said, he is a God in Boston. At the end of the first, “Sheriff” Shane Hnidy, and Guillaume Latendresse had a big disagreement that led to a fight. It wasn’t much of a scrap, as neither landed many of the punches thrown, but I must say Latendresse is a pussy for not taking of the shielded helmet before engaging with Hnidy.

Boston found themselves on the power play to begin the second because Latendresse was given an extra two for roughing plus the five for fighting, but they couldn’t score. Much like the first stanza, it was an up and down affair punctuated by a Tom Kostopoulos goal in which he was damn near killed by a Bruin while tapping in a puck from his side. TK scored a playoff goal, and by that I mean a goal in which he had to fight for all the space given. I hate his guts, and I hate the Canadiens, but I must give props for the goal, and their resilience.

Period three was another back and forth number. Naturally, any shaky call went in Montreal’s favor, and the Bruins could only take it. Scoring chances were a plenty, and Tim Thomas held the fort for the hometown club, per usual. I haven’t been a big fan of his over the years, but this season, he’s really pulled them out of the fire on several occasions. The Hab fan I was seated next to commented as such, and I told him it was the SOP for the Bruins. Get in trouble. Timmy bails us out. Speaking of the Hab fan, that guy was a good guy. We talked a little hockey; and both agreed Carey Price has a great glove. It’s a shame he got a beer thrown on him. I got a little on me too. Here’s what happened. Bruins won, someone threw a half empty brew. Could have hit anyone. It hit him….and a little on me. Oh well.

The OT was awesome, and I want to thank Marc Savard for slamming home the slapper he unleashed on Price. Boston is back alive in this series thanks to him, and I could not think of a better way to spend a Sunday evening. George is working on seats for Tuesday. Hopefully I am the good luck charm, and don’t think I won’t go to Montreal for game seven if I have to. As it was said on the way out by “Sully” or whatever his name was, “I’ve never had a job I couldn’t get fired from for a game seven in Montreal!” Well said “Sully”. Well said.

On paper, I’ll give it to you - the Boston and Montreal series should be over before it begins. Montreal has owned Boston this season winning all 8 times they played. I think the only good game the Bruins mustered was the last meeting in which they got a valuable point by forcing the shootout. There is also a little bit of history between these two teams going back to the beginning of NHL hockey, and the past hasn’t been kind to Boston. Montreal has taken their lunch several times in the playoffs, and I hate them for it. This series looks like the Boston Massacre part Deux. On paper.

Let’s set aside for a second that I think one of the two teams involved in this series is winning the Cup. Hint: They don’t wear black and gold. We’ll just shelf that for a second. I think this series has the making of a decent series for a couple of reasons.

1. It’s April. Playoff hockey is different than regular season hockey for obvious reasons. After slogging through six months of games, they finally get to the heart of the matter, and the intensity goes up. It matters not Boston is 0-8 against the Habs from October to April. Right now, it’s 0-0.

2. The Bergie factor. Boston forward Patrice Bergeron has been cleared to play by team doctors. While he won’t play in game 1, I’d be willing to bet my house if they lose, he’ll play game 2. The time is neigh to pull out all the stops, and pulling 37 out will give the boys a huge lift.

3. They aren’t supposed to win this series. No one, but no one is giving the Boston Bruins a chance in this one. What’s that? The ’08 Patriots, ’01 Rams, and the 1980 Russians are all on the line…they want to talk to the Canadiens? Counting a team out before it’s begun is a very dangerous thing, especially in a game like hockey.

In the end, I think it will in fact be Montreal that is moving on. There is just something about them I really like. I mean, I hate their guts, but I saw quite a few of their games this season and I think they are a pretty good club. I want the beloved Bruins to kick them back to the motherland. Sadly, I just don’t think it’ll happen.