The Boston Bruins have seen and heard enough about how the Montreal Canadiens have their number. Following last night’s 167 penalty minutes, two bench clearing brawls, and a goalie fight, the Bruins had come out victorious in the TD Garden, 8-6 and had made a firm statement that they are the top dogs and the badest dogs in the Northeast Division.
The Bruins had come off a mind-numbing 2-0 loss versus the San Jose Sharks on the weekend and had the Canadiens coming to Boston for a chance to tie the Bruins on top of the Northeast Division. On Monday play-making Center Marc Savard announced, with Bruins General Manager Peter Chiarelli next to him that he will be shut down for the season due to another serious concussion, the Bruins looked ripe for a shelling in the hands of the Canadiens. Add in the fact that the Bruins had struggled versus the Canadiens all season including a January overtime loss in Montreal that saw the Bruins lose a 2-0 lead in the final three minutes, and everything was pointing to a titanic clash, the stage was set.
The climax of the game had to be the second period which saw eight goals overall and seven within six minutes. The second period also saw the first of the bench clearing brawls, which saw mostly piles of bodies trying to punch each other, which wasn’t that fun to watch to be perfectly honest. But it was also when the Bruins showed that they can hit a team into submission, they can mentally get you off your game, and they can skate stride for stride with the Canadiens, who probably felt that they were superior to the Bruins before the game.
By the third period the crowd in the TD Garden was rabid, and probably could have gone on to riot if it were a playoff game, and honestly I was going berserk in my apartment watching the game.
I hate to use the term “statement game” but I am in this instance. The Bruins had truly made a statement and showed intent to be the toughest team and best team in the NHL with their performance last night. The Big Bad Bruins are back in the Hub of Hockey and they plan to not let anyone in the Eastern Conference and possibly even the League to get in their way.
