June 15, 2011; Vancouver, BC, CANADA; General view of Rogers Arena before game seven of the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals between the Vancouver Canucks and the Boston Bruins. Boston defeated Vancouver 4-0. Mandatory Credit: Jason O. Watson-US PRESSWIRE
Well, as everyone in Boston knows by now, Bobby Valentine, controversial general manager of the Boston Red Sox has been dismissed from his job. Now, before you remind me this is a hockey site let me remind you of one thing. From day one, a lot of Boston sports fans thought Valentine in a Red Sox uniform was a god awful idea. It only took management an entire disastrous season to realize that it should have never happened in the first place. A lot like the lockout we’re all trying to get through now.
The National Hockey league cancelled eighty-two regular season games so far. Technically, it’s only a postponement. If the NHL and the NHLPA cant have a come together moment in the immediate future though, they will be cancelled. Out of those eighty-two games, the Boston Bruins lost six of them. Three of those games were at home, and three of them were away.
The three lost road games would have been a good display of what we had for this season. The first game would have been against the Philadelphia Flyers(10/11). It would have been a good gauge to see how ready Tuukka Rask is, and if Nathan Horton is fully recovered from his concussion riddled season last year. The next game would have been even better. The Bruins would have been up against last year’s Eastern Conference Champions, the New Jersey Devils.(10/13) After two tough games, the Bruins would have headed up to Canada to take on their old nemesis, the Montreal Canadiens(10/16). Would have been great to see how many pleasant discussions on the blue line would have ended up with time in the box for “expressing a difference of opinion.” Away games: I think Boston would have beaten the Habs and the Flyers, and lost in a shootout with the Devils.
The three home games hurt more. The Canadiens would have returned(10/18) to finish any previous unsettled discussions held over for the last game. Again, I think the Bruins would have made the Habs sorry on the ice, on the scoreboard, and in penalty time. The next game(I had tickets) was the Dallas Stars coming to the Garden(10/20). Dallas is a second home to me, and my very first NHL game was a Stars game back in November 1998. I’m pretty sure the B’s would have handled the Stars. The last of the lost games would have had the Carolina Hurricanes (10/23) stopping in for some ice tea and some cross-checking. Honestly, I’d like to think the Bruins would win, but Carolina seems to have two modes… powerhouse or out to lunch.
Well, we could still see those games being played, but if the NHL CBA talks don’t reach some sort of consensus soon, I’ll be writing about more missed games, and what could have been an amazing season for our Boston Bruins.