Jun 5, 2013; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask (40) celebrates as they defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins 1-0 in game four of the Eastern Conference finals of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports
At the end of the season, Coach Claude Julien called the Boston Bruins a Jekyll and Hyde team. Julien was pretty accurate. The Boston Bruins had the second seed practically locked up before they fell apart in the last ten games of the season. The Bruins inconsistency plagued them in the first round of the playoffs as well. It required the entire seven games for Boston to vanquish Toronto. Even in game seven, we weren’t sure which team was going to be there. Going into the third period, the Bruins were down 4-1, and it looked like the season was over.
Then the impossible happened. Down 4-1, the Bruins scored three late third period goals. Two of those goals came without Tuukka Rask in the net. The Bruins went on to finish the miracle. Patrice Bergeron scored the overtime goal, and rocketed the Bruins in the second round. That game seven has been the focal point of all the Bruins successes in the post season. Coach Julien believes that game is what has spurred the Bruins to their current place in the Stanley Cup Finals.
“I think the fact that we did that certainly catapulted us into our level of play and performance, definitely.” said Julien. “You could see the team pick itself up. Going back to when it happened, you could feel the momentum. Watching the team as often as I have, you could feel the momentum after we scored the second goal. I’ve never seen something like that happen, with two empty-net goals like that, but I could feel it coming, and I could see the Toronto team see that it was coming too.”
“Whether it was going to happen our not, as the minutes progressed I thought, ‘This might happen.’ That’s a testament to the team. There wasn’t really a switch. We had some good games in that series, we had some not so good games, but I think it was more of a realization to these guys that, ‘Hey, we’ve got to get this thing done. They waited a little long, but certainly it was a boost to their play the rest of the way, without question.” They got it done alright.
The Bruins continued to get things done. They only needed five games to take out the Rangers. (They could have done it in four.) Then they swept the Penguins. Now, we’re taking on the Blackhawks. They’ve got an explosive offense (just like the Penguins), they’ve got solid goaltending (like the Rangers), and the ability to be very flexible on the ice (like the Maple Leafs). The Bruins have faced it all before and have won twelve games. They’ve got the momentum, and now they’re going for the Cup. Game one is Wednesday night.