Jun 5, 2013; Boston, MA, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins center Brandon Sutter (16) and Boston Bruins center Gregory Campbell (11) battle for the puck during the first period in game three of the Eastern Conference finals of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports
Bruins center and Merlot Man Gregory ‘Soupy’ Campbell underwent surgery yesterday to repair damage to his right leg. That injury was caused by a block shot in game three of the Eastern Conference Finals. A lot of players get injuries during a game, but few play an entire minute on the ice with a broken leg. He’s the player that the fans have been rallying around. (The same way we did for Nathan Horton in 2011.) #WinForSoupy has become one of the popular hashtags around Twitter, and his fellow Bruins are determined to win as well.
Dan Paille, fellow Merlot Man commented on Campbell as he was boarding the bus to head to Logan Airport yesterday. “I was thinking about him yesterday but haven’t spoken to him yet today, but he’s in our thoughts and I’ll keep in contact with him as this keeps going. It’s definitely different for our line because we’re so used to having him there. Hopefully for us, we can carry the load with him not there. He’s someone we’ll think about going forward, and we’ve always tried to play for someone that’s been there for us and not able to play for us at this time of the year.”
Chris Kelly has been moved from the third line to the fourth. While Kelly is not as physical as Campbell is, he plays the same type of two-way hockey as all the Bruins do. The transition should be seamless and it will help the fourth line stay steady in the Finals. Hopefully, the switch will give Kelly a chance to get some offense for himself and for his new line. Shawn Thornton had made a joke to Campbell over the phone saying that the Merlot Men had just got ‘upgraded’.
Game One is tonight, and the Boston Bruins will play for the Stanley Cup. Let’s win it for Soupy, Bruins!