The Bruins took a 5-1 decision against the Dallas Stars last Saturday in one of the most entertaining regular season games I've ever half-watched while waiting for food at a bar. However, that was not enough for some Bruins fans, so I invited Mike Walsh, brother of the highly-esteemed Tim Walsh, to tell VendorBall Nation about the game, and why Bostonians ought to spend their time caring about the B's. Without further ado: Mr. Mike Walsh.
If you are a Boston sports fan it's plain and simple: in the summer you watch the Red Sox and in the winter you watch the Patriots. When those two aren’t on you scramble for a replacement. Last year it was the Boston Celtics, and who could blame you? The Celtics hadn’t won a championship since 1986 and looked unbeatable all season long. Celtic fans enjoyed the luxury of seeing their team in the playoffs, and not as an 8 seed. They were the favorites to win the East. The hype was there, and the team was responding. It was finally time for the green to return to glory.
Now here we are in 2008. The Red Sox didn’t win the World Series, and the Patriots are tied with both the Bills and the Jets and only 1 game ahead of the lowly Dolphins. Time to resort to the men in green right? Well, not so fast. Believe it or not there is a fourth major sports team playing in Boston and they happen to play in the same building as the all-of-a-sudden fan favorite Boston Celtics. Yes I am talking about the Boston Bruins. I had the privilege of attending both the Celtics game on Friday night (Boston won 96-80) and the Bruins game Saturday night (Boston won 5-1) and hands down the more enjoyable night was when the garden displayed a sheet of ice and was draped in black and gold. By no means am I trying to hate on the Celtics. In fact I attended 8 of the 14 playoff games last year and paid good money to attend 3 of them. I was at Game 6 when we defeated Los Angeles, stormed the court at the end and had the time of my life. Then, 4 months later, I attended a regular season NBA game in October, and almost fell asleep. Let’s face it, the Celtics are good. They are very good. Basketball will be played at the Garden in May. But what about Hockey?
The Bruins game Saturday night against the Dallas Stars was one of the more enjoyable nights I have ever had at a regular season professional sports event, and I wasn't even drinking, nor did I have a bet on the game. I simply went to watch my team. In 22 years I cannot recall a more alive Boston Garden for a non-playoff hockey game, let alone a game in November. As soon as the puck dropped the chant, “Let’s Go Bruins!” began buzzing around the building. Electric.
The Bruins had a 2-1 lead going into the 3rd period. Tim Thomas stopped 21 Dallas 2nd period shots. Great game right? The excitement had only just begun. After Andrew Ferrence planted a vicious but clean hit on Stars forward Steve Ott, Dallas forward Sean Avery fought the Bruins defenseman at 4:54 of the third. Then at 7:02, following an interference call on Turco, Ott went low again on Lucic, appearing to target the winger's knees. The Bruins took a 3-1 lead and the crowd started chanting “Turco…Turco…Turco” like you only hear in May.
Then the Bruins went up 4-1, and Steve Ott was ejected from the game. Fighting you ask? No. Not Steve Ott. He’s what we call a "coward." You see, Ott just takes cheap shots on players, and then when they drop the gloves, he skates away. Similar to Mr. Ott is teammate and one of the most hated men in all of hockey, Sean Avery. Avery is a doll-loving goon who belongs in the octagon, not an NHL rink. He stepped out of the penalty box at 11:50 of the 3rd period, six seconds later the whistles blew as 4 members of the Bruins were pounding Avery after he delivered a cheap shot to young Milan Lucic head first into the boards. Avery curled up into a ball on the ice until the referees came to his aid. What did he do next? He got up and look like he wanted more. We are talking about a guy who is such a pest to the NHL there is a shielding the goaltender penalty created due to his petty acts. Needless to say Avery was finally ejected, and the Bruins went on to win 5-1.
The Red Sox are Boston’s team. The Celtics will be there at the end. Even without half their starters and the league MVP, the Patriots are still in 1st place in their division. These are 3 teams Boston expects to see win. The most exciting thing in sports is watching the unexpected. The best Super Bowl victory: hands down 2001 against the Rams as 14 point underdogs. The best World Series victory: without a doubt 2004 beating the Yankees 4 straight when no one thought it could be done. The best NBA title: maybe not 2008, but for those in my generation who don’t remember the Celtics of the 60’s... yes, 2008. The Boston Bruins haven’t made it out of the first round of the playoffs in 10 years. If the Bruins were to somehow bring home the Cup, or even just make a run to the finals, it would be the most exciting event in Boston Sports this year. Getting a little ahead of myself? Yes. But the team to pull for right now is the Boston Bruins, period.
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