Priceless

Soak it in, Bruins fans. We don't get this feeling very often.

It might be the post-sweep euphoria speaking, but I'm going to lay it out there: no matter what happens, no matter the disappointments and travails we'll face in the second round (and beyond?), this season is a total, unmitigated success. We're playing with house money now. We could lose the next four games eleventy-billion to nothing, and I will go into the summer with a huge, cat-ate-the-canary, shit-eating grin on my face.

Before we go any further, into the part of the season when hearts really get broken, let's take a week and appreciate the sheer awesomeness of this team. Tim Thomas is our goalie. Milan Lucic pwns the Habs every game. Claude Julien might well be the smartest coach in the league today. Zdeno Chara will be truly terrifying to behold after 10 more days of playoff beard. Even Michael "Overpaid Bum" Ryder has become a clutch-scoring hero. Teams like this come along once in a generation... once in five generations if you're the Rangers.

There's a sea of commentary to wade through this morning, but here's the best I've seen so far:

• Big Bad Bruins will bring a tear to your eye. But you'll be glad you read it.
• Silver Seven Sens points out the startling similarities between the '09 Habs and the '08 Sens.
• Pension Plan Puppets rolls out the Antropomorphic Mocking Numerals. Another bit of dirt on the Habs' grave.
• KPD of boston.com must've really savored the chance to write this article.