Chuck’s Friday Night

Let me preface this by saying that I’m not typically a girl that goes to bars alone.

Mainly, because it makes me feel more acutely single than I already do and also because I try not to drink alone.

Last Friday, I set aside my rule and ventured out to my local in the pouring rain to watch Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

And when I mean pouring rain, I mean pouring, cats and dogs, Noah’s Ark type rain.

My roommate was away for the weekend.  I didn’t feel like cooking.  And I wasn’t about to watch the Bruins sweep the Penguins alone.  I needed to be around my people.

For sixty minutes, I was just a cacophony of emotions. Elation. Joy. Fear. Anxiety.

Good thing I was in a place with an endless supply of alcohol.

 

So I get my drink, order me ups some delicious fish tacos, and get it going.

This was me for the the 1st and 2nd periods….

And then the duration of the 3rd…

 

Then the final buzzer sounded.  I was all….

Then this happened…

And I was all….

 

And that is pretty much the way I felt the entire weekend.

I’m sure that Pens’ fans have some choice words to describe this series.  As a Bruins fan, I have only one.

Domination.

From the drop of the puck in Game 1 till the final buzzer on Friday,  the Bruins straight up dominated the Penguins.  They managed to shut down the Penguins’ high powered offense and render Crosby, Malkin, and Neal virtually non existent.

The players that should have been factors for the Pens were not, thanks to an far superior Bruins’ defensive corps and a goaltender that was all sorts of bad-ass.

 

In the ECF, the Bruins gave a complete, standing-ovation performance.  They played as one, collective Borg hockey unit.  They were all in from the beginning.

No egos, no excuses. Just hockey.

Pants gets upset when people criticizes Crosby and blame him for his team’s loss.  And justifiably so.  One player does not a team make. There are 19 other guys on that Penguins bench.

Simple fact is that for those 4 games, the Bruins were better.  They were the best team.

I’ve known from the beginning of the season that Bruins were a great team capable of winning the Stanley Cup again.

Now so does everyone else.

Bring on the Blackhawks.

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  1. Wishing and hoping and wishing and praying Only Friend…

  2. jana Reply

    It’s going to be an interesting (read: hair pulling, white-knuckling, screaming so loud my cats run from me) series. Tuuka and Corey have been play exceptionally well and both teams have a lot of depth.

    I can’t wait!

    • Agreed. This is a match up that has the NHL and NBC salivating. Two Original Six teams. Both have one the Cup in the last 4 years. Both play very similar style of hockey.

      This is going to be amazing.

  3. Becky Reply

    After McQuaid scored on Friday that 3rd period took forever to end. My son and I were huddled together on the couch counting down the playing time…12 more minutes, 10 more minutes, 8 more minutes, c’mon! end already! It was brutal but the B’s got it done. Bring on those Hawks!

    • 3rd Period was glacial. That 1-0 lead is never safe, especially with a team like the Penguins. They could have flipped the switch and I could have ended quite differently.

  4. Casey Reply

    Chuck, I felt the same way on Friday. It was my birthday, along with Lucic’s, and this was the best birthday present (at this present time). I was so overwhelmed with joy! I called it when the playoff teams were announced, I said it will be a Blackhawks/Bruins final series. Bruins will win.
    nuff said. 🙂

    • HBD! Best Present EVER!

  5. Becca Reply

    First off, I wish I could have done what you did and gone to a bar alone….I was alone and it sucked. Well, in the sense of having nobody to celebrate with.

    I love that the puck went off Iginla’s stick on that goal. It just seemed….fitting.

    And I agree, this is NOT Crosby’s fault. Having been virtually nonexistent didn’t help his team, but it’s not his fault. Malkin, Neal, and Iginla were virtually nonexistent too but you don’t hear people blaming them. (at least I don’t anyway). I may not like Crosby, but I still think he is (albeit a whiner) one of the best players in the world and I think he just got RIDICULOUSLY unlucky in this series. Then again…our defense is THAT.DAMN.GOOD.

    Now, is it Wednesday yet???

    • Malkin, Letang, Kunitz, Dupuis, Morrow, Neal, Ignila.

      Those guys have contributed to the Penguins’ success all season long but in this ECF, they just disappeared. I’m sure Pens fans are scratching their heads wondering what the heck happened.

      I’ll tell ya what happened. Bruins happened. Chara happened. Tuukka Time happened. 🙂

      Here we go, Bruins! Here we go!

      • Cassy Reply

        What Chuck said. Not that I’m rubbing it in.

        Should have my new Bruins t-shirt and crocs in 4-10 days. BOOM.