I wasn't born yet, but I've heard enough stories to know the emotional scar left on the Bruin fan psyche when a young Montreal goaltender named Ken Dryden popped up out of nowhere to shut the Bruins down in the first round of the '71 playoffs. Although not as jarring, a similar thing occurred in '86 when rookie Patrick Roy shut down the Bruins in on his way to a Stanley Cup championship as well. Now, I'm not suggesting that Braden Holtby is going to be a Hall of Fame goalie. And I really don't think the Capitals have a shot at winning the Cup this year. What I am pointing out is the Bruins franchise seems to have a problem beating rookie goalies in the playoffs. Holtby's performance in the first two games has been stellar. He looks calm and composed for a guy with 21 career starts (14 last year, 7 this year) playing in his first playoffs. It's not like the Bruins haven't been taking the play to him either. He made 28 saves in the first game and 43 in game two. The Bruins could be doing a bit more to make things uncomfortable for Holtby, having more of a presence in front of the net, driving stronger and frequently to the goal, but it wouldn't be fair to Holtby to take away what he's accomplished in these first two games. I'm not sure why Washington was waiting on this kid. Why sign Vokoun when Holtby proved last year in 14 games with a 10-2-2 record that he was capable of playing in the NHL? Why put him in the minors and not at the very least have him backing Vokoun up? It looks to me that the Bruins have once again run into a future franchise goalie in the first round of the playoffs. Fingers crossed that he isn't enough to knock them out.
As far as the Bruins go, the first two lines need to take a cue from Kelly, Rolston and Pouliot and step up their game. Since the Bruins picked up Rolston as the trade deadline, this line has carried the team. They skate harder, the dig deeper in the corners, they make things happen. They are the third line yet they are by far the best Bruins on the ice game after game. If we are going to get out of the first round, the rest of the team is going to have to elevate their level of play to this line.
A few other notes after game three...
I nominate Johnny Boychuk as the best open ice hitter in the NHL. The way this guy lays out people legally in the middle of the rink is awesome. And man did he lay out Nicklas Backstrom in this one.
Speaking of Backstrom, boy was he getting under the skin of the B's in this game. It was interesting that he ended up with the game winner after all the anger he seemed to be causing on the Bruins bench. It seemed like every whistle when he was on the ice ended with a Bruin in a physical confrontation with him. Bergeron grabbed his face shield, Krejci wrestled him to the ice, Thomas punched him in the face, and that's just a few. Something to look for the rest of the series.
I get that Marchand is a pest and has a bad reputation with the league, but does that give the Capitals the right to beat the crap out of him? I know one of the cross checks got called, but Marchand was mugged all game and that was all that came of it. Capital players went out of their way to slash and cross check him, mostly after whistles, and the refs did nothing. I'm sure he brought some of this on himself, but the refs need to call penalties penalties no matter who they are being inflicted on.
Game three is Monday night. Let's hope the Bruins figure out how to score goals on the plane ride to Washington. (By the way, if you aren't watching the Flyers/Penguin series you are missing playoff hockey at its best!)
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