Boston Bruins: 2012 Round One Game One (Capitals)

     The Washington Capitals have to be one of the scariest 7th seeds ever.  This team has all the offensive talent it had from when they were a number one seed.  But for whatever reason, it hasn't worked for them all season.  As much talent as they have, they played most of the 2011-12 season like a team not even worthy of the playoffs.  And that scares the crap out of me.  This team feels like a ticking time bomb and the last thing I want is for them to suddenly pull it all together in round one of the playoffs.
     Game one certainly wasn't an explosion from the Caps, but it didn't do anything to alleviate any fears I have of the Bruins not making it out of the first round.  Washington is playing with what is essentially a third string goalie and they needed more then 60 minutes to put one behind him.  Boston dominated play from the drop of the puck and for the first two periods peppered the Cap's goalie, Braden Holtby, to no avail. That's not a good sign.  Holtby had to walk away from this game with a strong sense of confidence even after giving up the game winner in overtime and the one thing Boston needed to do was shake the young goalies faith.
     But, in the playoffs, a win is a win and the Bruins now only need three more to move on, so there's no need to be totally negative.  What can I say about Chris Kelly?  He's the type of player that turns a good team to a great team, the type of guy who does everything asked of him at the highest level and mostly does so unnoticed by the rest of us.  You can't win a cup without a Chris Kelly on your team.  That third line has been great for the Bruins down the stretch and could easily be credited with pulling the team out of the funk it had found itself in.  Kelly is the guy who does a little of everything.   Rolston is the willy veteran who brings a ton of experience to the table, not to mention a  rocket shot.  For you old school Bruin fans, Pouliot reminds me of Rosie Ruzica, you won't even notice he's on the ice for most of the game and then he suddenly dances through four players or makes an unbelievable pass.  Luckily for us, he's been more noticeable then not recently.
     Of course Thomas was as great as ever.  People talk a lot about winners, players who are able to turn things up a notch when it matters most, names like Montana, Jeter, Jordan, Brady, Bird.  I don't want to jump the gun of this one or jinx things, but if the Bruins are able to make another cup run I think Thomas could be mentioned in the same breath.  Some of the saves he made last night were incredible.  He just seems to have that higher gear he can put his game into when it matters most.  As much as I may fear the Capitals, or the Penguins or the Rangers, at least we have Thomas between the pipes.
     It's still super early, but one game down, one win closer.  Let's hope the Bruins can make quick work of Washington because there is still a long road ahead.