Wednesday 4/17/24
Well, here we are. The Bruins' regular season has come to a close and the playoffs--and the Toronto Maple Leafs--await.
What do I think of this team? Admittedly, not a lot. My belief-meter is very low because 1. They're the Bruins and 2. I still can't believe they won 65 games last year and then dropped three at home to get bounced in the first round after having a 3-1 lead. They might have to win a couple of Cups after that for me to believe they're going anywhere again.
There is talk that they lost their last two games on purpose in order to face the Maple Leafs rather than the Lightning in the first round. As to the veracity of this--I don't know. They didn't have much to play for at the end, they had, I guess, the outside track on Florida in the standings, so you could say they ended up where they should have.
Having said that: The Bruins choke. They're soft. The Maple Leafs are softer and choke more, so, no, I wouldn't put it past the Bruins to try and bring about a battle of the chokers rather than go up against the Lightning, a team with guys who have won and are good at winning and are clutch. Victor Hedman is clutch.
Also, the Bruins don't like playoff hockey. They like regular season hockey. The Maple Leafs play regular season hockey in the playoffs, like the Bruins do. That means things are less physical, the game is more open, everything is less contentious. The Bruins' D-corps is soft. They don't like to be hit. They'll benefit from the style of play.
Here's the thing, though: Toronto isn't always going to choke. You can't just bank on them melting down come Game 6 or 7. I would not pick the Bruins in this series. But what do I know with my picks? There I was all rarin' to go with the Bruins at this time last year, and then it was fairly early on in that Florida series where I thought, "These Bruins have a problem here." I said it on the radio at the time.
Something else: Ullmark started the final game of the regular season last night in net for the Bruins. Does that mean Jeremy Swayman gets Game 1? And if they're really going to do the goalie rotation thing and it goes seven games, that means it's automatically Swayman in net for that? What happens if Ullmark got a 2-1 win in Game 6? What are we doing then?
But here's what's most interesting to me: Jim Montgomery. What happens if the Bruins lose, as I think they will? Does he get fired? Two years on the job, a 65-win season, a second very successful regular season, and then you're done? Could very well be. I think it's more likely than not that he'd be fired if they bow out in the opening round again. Someone will be blamed, fairly or not.
I think the guy's a good coach. I thought Bruce Cassidy was a good coach. I remember writing in these pages after Cassidy was fired that he'd win a Cup or two in his coaching career, and sure enough, that very next year he won it all with Vegas. Montgomery would get hired immediately. And he might win a Cup or two somewhere else.
I have no confidence in this Bruins team. I believe very little in Charlie McAvoy, I don't think he's close to a stud defenseman, Pastrnak was so much--as in too--much of the team's scoring this year, and there will be an effort to focus on him during the playoffs. He'll have to play tough and physical and battle through that like an elite player. Then again, he might not have to do much of that against the Maple Leafs and could go for 11 points in 7 games.
