By: Tommy Rowe

The Boston Bruins were 3-7 at one point this season and as we Boston fans get with our teams, worry and doubt started to creep into the minds of the bean town faithful. but with the the sense of urgency that the Bruins were lacking they reeled off 10 straight wins and climbed from the bottom up to be back in the division lead where they belong. Even thought their record and standing in the league doesn’t show it, the Bruins are the best hockey team in the NHL and have started to make people believe that they indeed do have a shot at repeating for the Stanley Cup.

We all know that repeating in the NHL is one of the more difficult tasks to face in all of professional sports. It hasn’t been accomplished since 1997-98 when the Detroit Red Wings had their miracle rein in the Hockey world. now with the lack of talent in the NHL since that great era, a repeat in hockey seems as impossible as a 3-peat in football. But, in my honest opinion, if their is any team that can break that streak it is the Bruins due to their brotherhood and team work, because not even the Pittsburgh Penguins and Sid the Kid can match the Big Bad Bruins when they work as one.

The competition in the East is not what it seems now, you really only have 3 title contenders when talking about the Eastern Conference power houses. The Penguins, Flyers, and Bruins are the only teams in the east that people should fear, everyone else has a shot but it is not easy if you have to face 1 of those 3 teams, who have all represented the Eastern Conference in the last 4 Stanley Cup Finals. The road is still long and the Bruins still have to better if they want to be a sure favorite in winning a second Cup this year. Last year they didn’t have to face the Penguins or Sidney Crosby, they played a Flyers team without Chris Pronger and the road won’t get as easy as that was.

I am not taking away the championship run the B’s had, they won that Cup fair and square. They were at that point a team of destiny and were the best Hockey Club in the hunt that Spring. They can be the same for even longer this season. The magic is still there, it never left when Chara and Thomas hoisted the Cup over the Vancouver Ice and it has been appearing more and more this season as the days go on. The Bruins have talent, skill, determination, and heart. All those qualities and more make a champion and they never are just found, they are made into the players that strive to be more than they are and that is what every player on the Boston Bruins roster has.

There will be bumps on the way back to the post season and they may not finish number 1 or 3 this year. They may lose the season series between their two main opponents, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, but as long as they remain fierce and hungry for another taste of glory they will be the best team in the NHl as they stand now with that swagger and persona. The Bruins have a great shot as anyone else does this year, but only the strong willed get to hoist the Cup.

By: Tom Rowe

The Bruins knew what they were getting last year when they drafted Tyler with the 2nd overall pick from the Phil Kessel trade. The chats by fans “Thank you Kessel” and the success the Bruins have been having over the last year says it all, but to add on to it is the explosive arrival of the super star within Seguin.

Seguin’s 8 goals and 15 overall points have put him in the NHL’s top 10 in 2011 and at the rate he is playing he may never leave those standings for the rest of the season. The talk all offseason and during the Cup celebrations was that Seguin would need to grow up quick and become the franchise caliber player he has become now in order for the Bruins to have a shot at repeating, check that off the list for now folks. Seguin has become the center point of the Bruins offensive and defensive attack units. He creates plays and opportunities to score that most NHL stars cannot or fail to execute properly. He has developed so quickly and has been amazingly effective for Boston who are digging themselves out of the last place hole due to this outstanding display of hockey.

To think that GM Peter Chiarelli almost said no to the deal that gave the Bruins the chance to draft Seguin is outrageous. To think that they were seconds away from saying no and walking away from Toronto is scary, because who knows where both teams would be at right now had the trade been called off and #19 would be playing for his home town team instead of Boston which he has called “his new home”. Seguin had the talent and reputation to become the number overall pick and go to Edmonton had that been the case. Originally the B’s were more interested in Winger Taylor Hall then Seguin. The difference between the two was that it was clear when Hall would immerge as a super star, unlike with Seguin it seemed more time would be needed. He may have not been more popular than Hall or other drafted players in the past, but Seguin is proving that he is indeed that he was the best player out of the Draft in a long time. He will match up against the kid picked before him and Edmonton at Boston where he continues his journey into becoming the franchise of the Boston Bruins and hopefully soon the best player in the NHL.

The bruins have not had a player of Seguin’s magnitude since the days of Ray Bourque and if want to get technically with Titles, he shows similarities to Boston’s favorite athlete; Bobby Orr. The more games he plays the better he gets. He has shot out of a cannon this year where most didn’t expect to this Tyler Seguin for at least another year, but no one is complaining that he is finally bursting with life and energy now then later. Has the season progresses I guarantee He will be one of the talks for MVP of not only the Bruins but the NHL. He can only go up from here and he sure is sky rocketing to the top quicker than most thoug

By: Tom Rowe

Talk about falling flat on your face; after a week of celebrated hype and excitement, the Bruins came out and got their tails kicked in by the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-2 in Game 1 of the Eastern Finals on Saturday Night. Many of the fans are not totally worried but are very fustrated and upset that the B’s had no answer for the Lightning’s quick flashy attack strategy. 3 of Tamp Bay’s 5 goals were scored in the first period and all 3 were scored within a 2 minute period. Goalie Tim Thomas could not explain exactly why they (Boston) were caught so off guard, but he says there are no excuses for their preformance and guarantees it will not happen again and with the surprising play by Rookie Center Tyler Seguin, he may be right.
Seguin’s first post season action of his career could not have been scripted better by an oscar winning director and, in a way, it was inspiriational for his teammates to watch and be apart of. Though Seguin was a -2 for the Game, it had nothing to do with his play. Seguin answered Tampa’s 3 goal onslaught in the 1st by scoring his own, and I mean his own, goal. The goal may of looked ordinary to some fans, but it shined brighter than all of Tampa Bay’s goals combined in many’s eyes. To those fans, it was a sign of things to come from the 19 year old “Franchise” who had been questioned and doubted almost all season. He showed all his critics that he wants to be the best he can be for this team and if they did not see that from him in Game 1 then they need to get there eyes checked or find another line of work. With Bergeron out for a while, Seguin will be seeing more playing time in this series and he will take full advantage of every minute of ice time he is given, just like he did in Game 1; no doubt about it.
But again despite his play, the Bruins are down 0-1. They need to find the momentum and passion they played with when they faced Montreal and Philly if they want any shot of going to the Stanley Cup Finals. Tampa Bay may sound like a soft team to Boston fans who don’t pay attention to them and because of the fact they are from Florida it would make any traditional Hockey team look over them, but the Lightning are legit and will easliy take the Bruins out just like they did to Washington and Pittsburgh. If they do not find their stride by tomorrow night, then it may be a quick exit for the Bruins and the hopes of a Cup Parade will be pushed off for yet another year.