On Hockey Eve...

No joke... the Bruins' season starts tonight. Here in the sunny Southland, it's 90 degrees and humid. The only place you're going to find ice is in your sweet tea. Nevertheless, the puck drops in four hours at Madison Square Garden, kicking off another pursuit of Lord Stanley.

Story time! In late September of 1997, the Bruins opened their preseason against Florida. The game was played in Charlotte, home of the Bruins' ECHL affiliate, in front of a crowd of a few thousand. I was 15 at the time, freshly enamored with the sport of hockey, and stood in awe of REAL NHL HOCKEY in my own hometown arena. The otherwise-meaningless exhibition carried one significant footnote: it was the first time that the world saw young phenoms Joe Thornton and Sergei Samsonov in a Bruins uniform.

In the 50-year-old Independence Arena, which was not built with professional hockey in mind, any fan could freely loiter around the locker room doors and talk to the players as they came in and out. One of my most cherished hockey memories is seeing Thornton and Samsonov, twin first-round picks who carried the weight of an Original Six franchise on their shoulders, marching purposefully down the thin rubber runway toward the ice. It was the beginning of a new era, and it happened in the most unlikely of times and places.

Of course, I wish that the Thornton Era hadn't left such a bitter aftertaste. But that moment of gravity impressed upon me that hockey is a game for all people, and can grow in even the most balmy climates... as long as the game becomes meaningful to those in attendance.

Bruins History 101: Seven Heartbreaking Game 7s

1952 - Semifinals vs. Montreal

Boston rallied from a 2-0 deficit to take a lead in the series, only to fall in OT in the sixth game. In the tiebreaking matchup, an injured and woozy Maurice Richard scored the game-winner to eliminate the 4th-seeded Bruins. The game is immortalized in an iconic photograph of a bloodied (and probably concussed) Richard shaking hands with black-eyed Boston goalie "Sugar" Jim Henry.

1959 - Semifinals vs. Toronto

The Bruins had been to the Finals in consecutive seasons, and that experience played a role as they quickly jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the series. Leading 3-2 late in the third game, they surrendered a goal in the final minutes to Leafs sniper Gerry Ehman, and then saw Ehman score the OT winner to get the Leafs back in the series. The Bruins lost control of the series, falling behind 3-2 before forcing a 7th game. It was none other than Ehman who scored the series-winner with minutes to go in the final period.

1971 - Quarterfinals vs. Montreal

In the heyday of the Orr/Espo dynasty, the Bruins had dominated the regular season and looked well on their way to a second Cup. After winning the opening match, they took a 5-1 lead in Game 2, only to improbably allow 6 consecutive goals in a stunning loss. Boston regrouped to win the next two games, but Montreal closed out the series with consecutive victories. Rookie goaltender Ken Dryden played a key role in the upset.

1979 - Semifinals vs. Montreal

In perhaps the most heartbreaking loss of all, Don Cherry's Bruins looked to have finally solved the Habs in the 7th game. Rick Middleton scored with 4 minutes to play, breaking a 3-3 tie. In one of the most notorious moments in team history, the Bruins were called for too many men on the ice with less than two minutes to go; Guy Lafleur tied the game with a goal on the subsequent power play. Yvon Lambert scored the OT winner to send the Habs to the Finals, where they beat the Rangers.

1982 - Conference finals vs. Quebec

After a first-round sweet, the Bruins dominated the first two games and looked to be headed to a showdown with the dynastic Islander. The Nords, who had previously upset the rival Habs, spoiled the celebration by reeling off 3 consecutive wins to take control of the series. Boston forced a 7th game with an OT winner, but lost the final match 2-1 in the Nords' second straight stunning upset.

2004 - Conference quarterfinals vs. Montreal

The division-champion Bruins again jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the series, but were steamrolled in games 5 and 6. The final game was scoreless after 50 minutes, with highly-touted (ha!) goalies Andrew Raycroft and Jose Theodore exchanging saves. Montreal's Richard Zednik broke the tie and added an empty-netter for a 2-0 victory, sending Raycroft and star center Joe Thornton down a path of notoriety from which they have yet to recover.

2009 - Conference semifinals vs. Carolina

The heavily-favored Bruins, top-seeded in the East and fresh off a sweep of the hated Canadiens, ran headlong into a red-hot Carolina team. The Hurricanes reeled off 3 straight wins to push Boston to the brink, but the Bruins recovered with two dominant efforts to force the tiebreaking Game 7. After 78 minutes of intense end-to-end action, Carolina's Scott Walker scored to eliminate the Bruins.

Bruins waiting, watching -- and thoughts on other stuff.

Still no answers on the Bruins' second-round opponent -- depending on how Tuesday's elimination games play out, it could be any of 3 teams. So we wait.

• As expected, Tim Thomas is a Vezina finalist. The general buzz around the league is that he's a shoo-in over Western Conference contenders Steve Mason and Niklas Backstrom. And rightly so... Timmy has by far the most sterling resume' of the three, and a media-friendly personality to boot. Remember who does the voting!
  

• The other big story of the day is Joe Thornton's attempt to rally the Sharks past Anaheim after being down 3-1. I can't remember any player being under so much pressure to perform in a first-round series. You get the sense that if the Sharks lose, even in Game 7 double OT, the golden age in San Jose may come to a quick and bitter end.

• If the Rangers can manage a Game 7 win over Washington, the Bruins will happily face the lowest-hanging fruit left in the playoffs. New York has done almost everything wrong since taking a 3-1 lead in the series, but might squeak past the Caps because Mike Green is suspended for the final game... or is he?

• What's really sad is the two best series in the first round have been Jersey/Canes and Hawks/Flames. Both have been steamrolled by coverage of other, "name brand" matchups.

Bruins vs. Sharks: Preview Central

So much has already been written about this game, there's little left to say. See yesterday's post for some number-crunching and general hype. It's going to be an amazing night, plain and simple, even if the on-ice product falls short of expectations.

Here's a rundown of what others have written across the interwebs:

Blogs

Stanley Cup of Chowder - "Maybe Milan Lucic or Shawn Thornton will recreate the famous scene where Claude Lemieux turtled and Cam Neely threw him like a ragdoll into the corner."

Hub Hockey - "The "Open Rink" chat session is now open for the game."

Hockey Journal - Chiarelli: "I’ve just looked at the Washingtons, the New Jerseys, the Philadelphias, and the San Joses, and how we match up against them. That’s going to be like playoff hockey against those types of teams. "

Mike McMahon - Interview with Tim Thomas. "And did I know it was coming up? Yes; basically only because the media keeps telling me."

Rink Rap - "The noise you hear tonight will be like a sound version of that No. 77, half-Bruin/half-Avalanche sweater."

Kynch's Korner - "Hard working Bruins take on the surfer dudes from Cali."

Caveman Strong - On Thornton: "He's like Marc Savard, if Marc Savard ditched the faux-hawk, got taller, stronger, and stamped a 'chokes in the play-offs' sign on his back."

The Hockey Blog Adventure - "Basically every category that there is in hockey, these two do well in."

Battle of California - "See if you can find the number of wrestling references in this post."

Fear the Fin - "Tonight is where the big dogs show who has the bigger bite."

Sharks Hockey Analysis - "Like the great David Bowie, the Sharks fortunes vs. Boston could go both ways"

Barry Melrose Rocks - This week's Versus drinking game. Drink... "If Claude Lemiex gets in a fight."

Mainstream Media

Versus' Adrian Dater - "if you're not watching it, don't call yourself a hockey fan ever again. Just don't."

NESN - "If the Bruins want any chance of walking off the ice with those two points they will need to tighten up their game when and if they get a lead."

ESPN - "The best of the West taking on the best of the East. A potential Stanley Cup finals preview?"

ESPN's Pierre LeBrun - "The man who traded away Joe Thornton can hold his head high."

The Sporting News' Craig Custance - "The evolution of Boston center Marc Savard into a more complete player has helped fans in Boston forget Thornton was ever there."

The Boston Globe - "All Joe Thornton wanted for Christmas was a surfboard."

Boston.com - Thornton: "There aren't too many ex-teammates over there, and it's just really an important game in the schedule"

San Jose Mercury News' David Pollak - "Though their teams are in different conferences, Sharks and Boston Bruins players confess they check each other out."

Game on!

How Awesome Is This Game Going To Be?

The Bruins host the Sharks tomorrow. How awesome will it be? It'll be this awesome:

- Boston leads the Sharks by 6 points in the overall standings, but San Jose has 4 games in hand. Therefore, this matchup could very well determine the eventual President's Trophy winner.

- This is the first, and probably the only time this regular season that the conference leaders will play head-to-head.

- San Jose is mired in a "slump" (loosely defined) involving a couple of OT losses to playoff bubble teams. Boston has split a pair of OT games in its past two contests. Both teams are facing long road trips ahead and could really use a boost in confidence.

- This will be the second time that Joe Thornton has returned to Boston since the infamous trade two years ago.

- The first time he returned, Thornton was ejected after two minutes for this illegal hit.



- Goaltenders Tim Thomas and Evgeni Nabokov are 2nd and 5th, respectively, in GAA among goaltenders who have played 30+ games, and 1st and 12th respectively in save %. Yet both struggle to be widely considered top-10 at their position.

- These are the second- and third-highest-scoring teams in the league (the Wings are #1).

- These are the first- and third-stingiest defenses in the league (the Wild are #2).

- Marc Savard and Thornton are possibly the best passers in the league, along with Sidney Crosby.

- Four defensemen -- Zdeno Chara and Dennis Wideman for Boston, Dan Boyle and Rob Blake for the Sharks -- are in the top-15 scorers among defensemen.

- Boston and San Jose are 4th and 5th, respectively, among all power plays. San Jose has the league's 4th-best penalty kill whereas the Bruins are 10th.

- 6 of the league's top 10 +/- ratings can be found on these rosters.

- San Jose's Joe Pavelski and Boston's Stephane Yelle are 6th and 7th, respectively, in blocked shots. That's right, even the shot-blocking defensive forwards are elite in this game!

- The only bummer about this game is injuries -- former Shark Marco Sturm will not get the chance to face off against his former club. Michael Ryder will join Sturm on injured reserve after undergoing surgery to repair his fractured orbital bone. Bruins defenseman Aaron Ward is a gametime decision, but likely to return after missing a game due to the flu. The Sharks will be missing defenseman Brad Lukowich and geriatric chatterbox Jeremy Roenick.

- Both teams have suffered a bit from mid-season fatigue, so perhaps it's a good thing that they've both been idle since Saturday.

It's been the hottest ticket in hockey for months, ever since it become obvious that the Eastern Conference was a one-horse race and that the Sharks were set for a franchise-best season. Expect a lot of media talk about Stanley Cup previews and "setting the tone", but the coaches will undoubtedly do their best to maintain focus on getting 2 points in the here and now.

Regular-season hockey doesn't get much better than this!