Can you spot the Loge 19 crew?
Here we are, Game 7 tonight of the Eastern Conference semi-finals at The Boston Garden. This is why the Bruins fought all year to keep their top spot in the East. To be rewarded with home ice for a decisive game 7 that will decide who moves on to face the Penguins and who has to admit the old cliche “we just didn’t get it done”.
The easy favorite tonight is the Boston Bruins. They have won two games in a row; a strong 4-0 home win against Carolina in game 5 and a resilient 4-2 road win over Carolina and their tailgate-happy fans. The Bruins have home ice and 17,000+ screaming fans behind them while Carolina will be settling for a few red shirts and some pathetic Whalers fans that still think that their rivalry with the Bruins lingers.
I know I made the comparison to the 2004 Yankees-Red Sox, when Kevin Millar made the famous “don’t let us win this game’ speech in my game 6 preview . However this is NOT the same situation, series, game 7 or team that the Red Sox were waltzing into game 7 at Yankee Stadium against (h/t to Cameron Frye for the intial reference).
First, the Hurricanes are not crippled by three losses in a row. Yes, they have lost two in a row but that is nothing for a team that twice climbed back from behind in their first round series against the NJ Devils, the #2 team in the East, and ultimately pulled off an amazing regulation win in game 7 when trailing 2-3 with less than 2 minutes left. Second, the last 6 games are already out of the Hurricanes heads. These guys have shorter memories than a gold fish. They know this is do-or-die and nothing in the past is relevant anymore. Sure there is momentum, but momentum can last about as long as it takes Staal to come down the right side and snipe low-toe on Thomas. Third, this team is full of playoff vets. They have been here before. As I notes in the series preview, they have 10 players that have won a Stanley Cup! That is huge in games like these. When they last won the Cup in 2006 they played two game sevens on their road to the Cup; against the Sabres in the Eastern Conference finals and against the Oilers in the Stanley Cup finals. That is some great experience to draw on. Fourth, they have Cam Ward. The Saskatoon native is a great playoff goalie and a former Conn Smythe trophy winner. All it takes is one strong game from your goalie in a game like this.