It's been awhile.

But what a note to come back on, huh?

Woo! I don't think I'm the only one who was biting my nails when it was decided that we'd play the Canadiens in the first round. Couldn't have history repeating, right? But the boys decided to remind us that in the epic battle royale that is Bruins vs. Canadiens, this was our year. We got contributions from all sources, both likely and unlikely through the series, and the whole team just shined as a whole. We outskated, outplayed and outdid the Canadiens and it led to a sweep, cleaner than a Swiffer Wet-Jet could bring.

Claude Julien and Michael Ryder showed good old Mr. Gainey that he made a gigantic mistake letting them go. Patrice Bergeron showed us that his concussion did absolutely nothing to quell his spirit (and even dropped the gloves, and dropped Josh Georges). Shane Hnidy played solid the whole series and even scored a goal. Mark Stuart was an unsung hero. Phil Kessel was a playoff hero. Tim Thomas did amazingly as expected (in his own, special, heart attack-ish way). Shawn Thornton scored more goals in our series than Joe Thornton did in his. David Krejci was a stud. Marc Savard was Marc Savard. All the guys (even Manny, who kept that bench nice and warm) did their very best, and came out on top.

Schaudenfraude at it's finest, if I do say so myself.



And now we go to the next round, where it's either the Rangers, Canes, Pens or Flyers. Hoo boy. None of these teams will make it easy on us, but I get the feeling that we can do it.

...What the...

After the Habs had their fun with rigging the All Star votes, the league FINALLY decided to take some action.

Well gee, thanks, guys.

Now that, you know, the damage has been done and their lead is insurmountable. I implore each and every one of you who reads this blog to VOTE FOR THE BRUINS IN THE ALL STAR FAN BALLOTING! We can't just let this happen. It's ridiculous.

Now, to more fun matters, ie: the clobbering we laid on the Montreal Canadiens last night. All legitimately, might I add (no, I am not angry, why do you ask?). Firstly, I recommend that all of you watch the video on this page entitled 'Fighting for unity.' Therein lies Mr. Marc Savard's postgame interview. He talks about team unity, beating the Habs, taking Don Cherry to dinner and his relationship with his stick. It's a definite 'must-watch.'

Seriously, though? Last night was proof that this team is no joke. All our top players were top players. All our fourth liners were top players. And Manny Fernandez? I mean, COME ON! This is what we were looking for when we signed the guy. Granted the one goal he let in is one that I'm sure he wants to have back...he was still very, very solid in net. I'm almost sold on him. Almost.

Good old fourth line.

Flying under the radar, as per usual, is the play of Marco Sturm. Finally back to his goal scoring ways, I think this will be the breakout season that was expected from Mr. Sturm. Which is good, because we need him to continue rolling on. Also not to be lost is the absolutely solid performance of Stephan Yelle. And Shawn Thornton. Those guys round out what has turned into a pretty darn scary Bruins lineup. And I really, really think that we finally have a team that's capable of running away with things. Someone who will be sorely, sorely missed over the next few games: Andrew Ference. He was having an incredible season. Figures it would be a game against the Canadiens that we lose him for a stretch. Here's hoping Hunwick can pick up the slack, and Ference can pick right up where he left off when he comes back.

One last thing before I depart...

IT'S ABOUT TIME!

I'm very, very surprised I got through that post without a harsh word to a Montreal Canadiens player, but I did. Go me.

Why start a new trend...

...when the old one is working so well? Yeah, we'll go with that. I made a bullet list of things to talk about from last night's game, so...shall we begin? We'll start with the good things.

When you're hot, you're hot.

Marc Savard. What can I say that I haven't already said? Five goals in three games? Talk about starting the season with a streak. His first goal was a thing of beauty. Absolute beauty. But the second? A lucky bounce in Montreal...going our way? That's an insane concept and I'm wondering what in the world happened there. Maybe the ghosts are colorblind and thought that the black and gold jerseys were suddenly bleu, blanc et rouge. Either way, mess up of a ghost or just a genuine lucky bounce in our favor? I quite like it. And when you're hot, the bounces go in your favor, right?

Tough calls beget tough goals.

And the fact that Dennis Wideman cross checked whichever Kostitsyn brother that was, isn't a question, no. But when a ref calls a retaliation? They have to call the initial penalty, too. I don't know what kind of gunk the ref had in his eyes, but...did he miss when Kostitsyn scissor tripped Wideman to the ground? I have a slight Wideman bias, I'll admit, but...I'd feel the same way if roles had been reversed, so...I really think they need to find refs who won't bias either way. That may not exist but it's worth a try, because the refs always seem to have a bias toward the Canadiens when we play them.

The boo birds were flying high last night, as is standard with a Boston/Montreal tilt. Poor Michael Ryder...that must have been rough on him, going back to his old haunt and being pretty much booed to the point of a screw up each time he touched the puck. He did, however, notch an assist, so it was sort of a 'I can still do this' thing for him. Which is good.

Also, what was Tim Thomas thinking?! I don't know whether it was at the end of the third or at some point in OT, but...when he went chasing after the puck like he was walking a dog? Oh Timmy, I love you right to bits, but please don't ever do that again.

No comment on the shootout. It was rough. But we could have had two points if not for that momentary collapse. Keep that in mind next time, boys.

I love the smell of a Habs game in the morning...

Well, in the evening, but you know what I mean. This is the Canadiens' centennial season, so no doubt they'll pretty much be out to prove that they're still the same evil team who's always vexed us in the past. Good thing I was already pretty sure of that fact.

Montreal has won 11 straight regular-season meetings, the Canadiens' longest active winning streak against any team. Boston's last victory at the Bell Centre took place on Dec. 4, 2006 (6-5).

Um...I'm thinking it's time for that streak to end tonight. Eleven regular season meetings in a row is just embarrassing for any team. Let alone us. People are starting to expect losses when it comes to Habs games, and we need to feed off that and make ourselves better. Just like we did last season.

It's always a party when Boston plays Montreal.

Aaron Ward blogged about how he feels about the game:

I feel like I can close my eyes and replay every shift, every moment of every game we played against Montreal last year, so I think it’s comforting to know that there’s shouldn’t be a whole lot of surprises coming at you.

He has a very good point. On Saturday, we played a team we're not familiar with at all. Not that it makes it okay to go down 4-1 over the course of five minutes, but with familiarity comes recognition of tendencies and with that comes a better ability to shut down plays. If there's anyone we're familiar with, it's the Canadiens. Fifteen games against them last season? Yeah, I think we know them well enough.

I think that knowing that this is a big game -- a rivalry game -- we should have learned a lot from last year, from our mistakes, considering we put ourselves behind the eight ball many times with penalties.

Okay, we recognize the problem. That's a start. Recognition is only half the battle, however. 'Don't get behind the eight ball with penalties.' Meaning don't take stupid, lazy penalties that are going to cost you. Meaning no hooking, no holding, and for the love of god when you clear the puck, please try and keep it low to the ground so it doesn't go over the glass. Stay out of the box, because if that game against the Maple Leafs is any proof, they're still just as lethal on the PP.

It’s the score at the end of the game that matters. That’s the one that will be remembered, not if you took a guy’s head off or evened a score from a previous game.

Nothing else relevant – it’s the two points in the standings and the team’s outcome that matters. So I think it’s key that we draw upon our most recent experiences: patience, composure, discipline, because we’ve got to know if you give them an inch, they’re going to take a mile.

Aaron Ward is a wise, wise man. We have every chance to win this game tonight. We're just as talented as they are, and we have almost all the same components to our team that we had when we beat them a couple times in the playoffs last season, remember that guys? Now, we have the added component of Michael Ryder, who will be challenged tonight in playing his old team. But I think he can do it.

I think we can do this. Let's not make my hoping and faith in vain, all right?