Round 2: Hurricane Season

Ah, the playoffs. When damn near anything can happen in the blink of an eye -- such as a division winner led by the greatest goalie of all time blowing a lead to lose Game 7 in the final minute and a half.

Now that the first round is finally in the books, we look forward to our next victim: the Carolina Hurricanes. I have a feeling that a lot of Bruins fans are going to be surprised by this team. They get almost no media coverage, and to be honest I probably wouldn't know much about them if I didn't live in SouthLeast Division territory.

But mark my words: this team is money. They're old-school, they're clutch, they play as a team, and they aren't far removed from a Cup run. It's an easier matchup than the Pens (which would have been brutal as a second-round opponent) but this will not be a cakewalk. The Bruins could lose.

This could get ugly.

Fun facts about the Hurricanes:

1) Hey, did you know they used to be the Whalers? This is definitely something we should talk about every single time we play the Hurricanes. We should also act really bitter about it, regardless of whether we gave a crap about the Whalers when they were in Hartford.

2) They don't actually play in the city of Raleigh-Durham. In fact, there is no such city. Raleigh-Durham is an airport. If you want to really piss off a resident of the area, continuously call their hometown "Raleigh-Durham" as a sign that you know nothing about it and have probably only been there on a layover.

3) Prior to this season, the Hurricanes were the last team Boston had defeated in a playoff series. In 1999.

4) Their mascot is a pig. No kidding.

5) In the past 45 years, the Hurricanes won more Cups than the Maple Leafs. In the past 35 years, they've won more Cups than the Bruins (getting angry yet?). In the past 25 years, they've won more Cups than the Flyers. In the past 15 years, they've been in more Finals than the Penguins.


Believe it or not, the Canes also have a respectable presence in the blogosphere. Below are the most relevant, up-to-date blogs I've been able to find. If you know of any others, post them in the comments and I'll add to the list.

Canes Country
Carolina On Ice
Let's Go Canes
Life and Times of a Caniac
Luke DeCock of the Raleigh News & Observer
Study of Sports
Sweet Tea, Barbecue & Bodychecks

Let's Get It On.

Admit it: you were hoping this would happen.

A year ago, when the Bruins fell one game short of a miracle...

Back in November, when they broke an interminable regular-season losing streak...

When Blake Wheeler spoiled Patrick Roy Night...

When Lucic/Komisarek got personal, and then got even MORE personal...

Last week, when the Habs used a charity point to open the back door....

... you were hoping this would happen. Because it's the only right ending for this saga. Scores need to be settled. Legends need to be written. And at the end, a lot of hearts are going to be broken.

Whether either fanbase admits it or not, both were pumped about this series before it was even official. The Habs have one last shot at redemption after one of the most trying seasons in their history. The Bruins have a shot at redemption for the past 3 playoff seasons. Both teams will face an offseason of being raked through the coals if they fail.

With the Game 1 still half a week in the making, the opening salvos are already being fired.

• It started some time after the last game, when I questioned the character of a Canadiens franchise that has made a habit of bending the rules to try and steal victories.


• A certain Habs blogger took the criticism to heart, and responded by calling Bruins fans "cocky". Of course, he had spent the previous week launching no fewer than five taunts in the Bruins' direction. It involved monkeys and toilet paper. Winters are long in Montreal.


• Laughably, what began as a bunch of trash-talking at Four Habs Fans quickly degenerated into Habs fans speculating that either Jacques Lemaire, Denis Savard or Patrick Roy will be their next coach.


• That's when it started in earnest over at Habs Inside Out. The chest-thumping sounds a little too loud from a fanbase clearly insecure in its identity and not entirely confident about their prospects in this series.


• Stanley Cup of Chowder jumps into the fray with a gentle tweak of Quebec stereotypes, followed by some bad advice about staying "classy". I disagree; we should definitely burn some cop cars if we manage to dispatch of the Habs in 7 games or fewer.


• In a well-written and eerily convincing farce, All Habs says that Price will have to be "consistently very good" in order to win this series. For the first time ever, a Google search of the phrase "Carey Price" and the word "consistent" will now return a result.

We wanted it, now we've got it. Thursday can't come fast enough.

Who Should We Cheer For?

We've reached that time when playoff matchups start to become tangible. Right now, there are four teams (Sabres, Panthers, Habs, Rangers) who could likely become the Bruins' first-round opponent. The obvious question: which poison would we pick?

Over the next couple of days, we'll break down the potential matchups according to traditional "who's ready for the playoffs" categories. These should reveal any red-flags which might signal a potential first-round upset. First up...

SABRES

Matchup: Early in the season, the Sabres were seemingly the only team who could figure out the Bruins. They play a fast-paced game and sometimes carry a large chip on their shoulder. Generally, divisional matchups favor the underdog.
Record vs. Bruins: Split 4 regulation games, and won a shootout.
Notable performances: Miller has been subpar against the Bruins, with an ugly stat line of 3.36 and .895. Pominville led the team with 1-6-7 and Derek Roy chipped in 3-3-6.
Recent play: Despite collapsing under the loss of Miller, picked up some timely wins against playoff competitors -- including an inspiring comeback against Florida.

Clutch player: Miller is the heart and soul of the team; he has to play big for them to win. Coaching: Lindy Ruff is the league's most stable and experienced coach.
Injury Situation: Mair and Numminen are banged up, but the real question: Is Miller 100%?

Recent playoff history: The Sabres made Conference Finals runs in '06 and '07. Historically, they lost their first 5 playoff series against Boston before winning the past 2. It was an epic matchup in the early '90s and still has that division-rival flair.
Tough barn?: Yes. Buffalo might be cursed for championships, but you don't want to play there in April. That's about the snow starts to melt and the local residents come out of hibernation.

Overall: C-minus. The Bruins would rather play a team who doesn't have their number lately, but the Sabres are clearly not a major postseason threat. The bigger question is whether the Bruins would survive this series in a condition to win the second round.

PANTHERS

Matchup: The Panthers can't seem to crack the Bruins' defense, and even a phenom like Vokoun can only hold a game close for just so long.
Record vs. Bruins: Brutal. A tight 2-0 win doesn't compensate for their 3 losses, in which they were outscored 14-3.
Notable performances: Vokoun (2.30, .941) would surely get the start over Anderson (5.04, .864). Against the Bruins, Horton (0-1-1), Weiss (0-0-0) and Zednik (0-0-0) were invisible.
Recent Play: Cooled off considerably. They've shown little poise under pressure.

Clutch players: Vokoun. There would be a lot of pressure on Bouw, Booth and Horton.
Coaching: Rookie Peter DeBoer has done an admirable job, but is not a magician.
Injury situation: Hulking D Bryan Allen is a longshot to return from a knee injury.

Recent playoff history: None. Upset B's during '96 Finals run, their only successful playoff year.
Tough barn: No, barring any rat-throwing.

Overall: A. This is the sort of opponent that a #1 seed is supposed to draw. The Panthers are spunky but they would be clear-cut underdogs in this series.