Update: I also find it despicable that the NHL is siding with Versus/Comcast in this dispute by pushing website visitors to request DirecTV to reinstate the Versus channel.

I think that it would be in the NHL’s best interest to make their GameCenter Live service available for free for at least the first week of the season, or at least until DirecTV resolve their dispute. This would at least provide an alternative for Bruins, Capitals, Sharks and Avalanche fans / DirecTV subscribers who will otherwise be blacked out of their team’s season openers.

Normally I’d be pissed at this…but I’m not. Why? After a four game sweep of the hated Canadiens followed by a quick disposal of the Hurricanes in Game One, the Bruins put on the cruise control and coasted through games 2-4, losing each one. For whatever reason, they seemed unable to get motivated despite digging themselves a deeper hole every night. But this is a team that has thrived on emotion this year. If you look back on their best outings this year you’ll see that they played a physical, intimidating style. This team needs bulletin board material…something to keep them fired up. After the Canadiens, they seemed unable to find anything to really hate in the Hurricanes. Now, with this travesty of justice, they have something to get mad about.

I can’t wait to see how this plays out in Game Six.

Last night’s game gave Bruins fans what they’ve been yearning for: a display of energy that didn’t mimic the supporting cast of “Dawn of the Dead”.  They moved quickly, they finished their checks and they moved the puck. The result was a dominating 4-0 shutout of the Hurricanes, forcing a game five. The question now is whether they can continue this performance on enemy ice.

On a personal level, last night’s pre-game activities were somewhat unusual. We started out at my mother-in-law’s house where we had to make the call to gather the kids up and race home eight minutes before the puck dropped or to wait until the end of the first period and do it. Since baths for the kids were involved, we decided to race home. So on the 10-minute drive home, I was forced to tune in to 1030 AM to listen to the start of the game. Usually, that’s no big deal for someone in the Boston area but it’s quite a challenge for someone in central NJ. So after catching the first minutes of the game inbits in spurts, we managed to make it home in about eight minutes. But as I’m hastily dropping all of the kids accessories (and almost the kids) in order to put the game on, my wife makes a disturbing discovery: the family goldfish died. Now if my kids were teenagers, no one would have blinked an eye. However, with a four-year old and a two-year old, losing DubDub was devastating. My older son took it worst, never having to deal with death before. Since no one wanted to deal with a dead fish, it was decided that an inpromptu backyard burial was best.  Once the dust was settled, I was only delayed about 20 minutes before I was able to watch the game. Thank God for DVRs.

All I know is that if dead goldfish = good Bruins fortunes, I’ll have a sacrificial goldfish at the ready for Tuesday night.

On to Carolina next for the feast!

And before I wrap up, I want to mention something I figured out recently that I want credit for in case anyone else discovers it. You know how Tie Domi used to get crap because the anagram for his name was “Me Idiot”?  Well I found one for Milan Lucic: Maul Clinic! How awesomely appropriate is that!

Credit where credit is due: a little digging in Google revealed that a guy going by Walpole Joe also figured this out back in January. Congrats Joe! Great minds think alike!

For those of you you follow me on Facebook, let me repeat the mantra I’ve maintained about playoff matchups, even before the Montreal series. First of all, I never wanted to see the Canadiens in any round, mostly because of the voodoo curse associated with that jersey. It often seems that you can put your local high school hockey team in the bleu, blanc et rouge and they’d manage to upend the Bruins in a playoff series. However, the bottom line is this: you play in the playoffs to prove you’re the best team in the world. If there is a team…ANY team…that you cannot beat in seven games, then you are not the best team and you don’t deserve to have your name etched on the cup.

That all being said, HOW ‘BOUT THEM BRUINS??? Taking it to the Canadiens and sweeping them! On Montreal ice! Ending their centennial season!

Some notes from tonight’s game:

• Dear God, David Krejci is good. The pairing of Ryder and Krejci looked more magical tonight than ever. Priority 1a in the offseason needs to be getting Krejci signed to a multi-year contract. Kessel, to me, is priority 1b. That’s certainly not a knock to Kessel but Krejci to me seems the more valuable player of the two. Kessel’s a damn good scorer, but Krejci has been more of a two way player. Every time he’s on the ice, you know it. If he doesn’t already have the puck, his stick is in there trying to get it. And if a goal is scored on his shift, you know he had something to do with it. He is a person that this team cannot afford to lose.
• I knew that if the game started to get out of hand Lucic would be dropping gloves with someone. How nice that Komisarek tried a rematch with him and lasted one punch. ONE PUNCH!  HAHAHAHAHA!!  And then his late game high-stick on Lucic? Lucic one-upped him at every opportunity during the season and he apparently didn’t like all the humiliation. What a pathetic jerk.

So who’s next? Part of me wants the Rangers to knock off the Capitals since I’d rather skip the possibility of playing Ovechkin, Semin & Mike Green in the playoffs, no matter how one-dimensional and goalie-less they are. But then I remember the mantra: “If there is a team that you cannot beat in seven games, you don’t deserve to have your name etched on the cup.” So bring it on. The Bruins tonight casually shrugged off the only big monkey they had on their back. There is, however, a smaller monkey in the New Jersey Devils who are 3-1 in playoff series against the Bruins and have won their last three. God I hate the Devils. But, again, the mantra…

As it turns out, one of the benefits of staying home was being able to catch Mike Milbury’s comments on the Sabres’ Tim Connolly, but more on that later. Tonight’s game was another hard-fought affair, something I’m getting quite used to. Although I prefer the blowouts (the last game won by four or more goals was against Carolina on January 10th) it’s hard to complain when the Bruins usually wind up winning in the end and, in fact, currently sport a 38-8-6 record. Besides, as I’ve said in the past, the close games are GOOD…they build character.

My one gripe about the game was of a personal nature. I stapled myself to the couch for the first two periods but as soon as I got up to empty the dishwasher, the Bruins scored twice in 35 seconds. Fortunately my kitchen is right next to my den, but I had to rely on the DVR for the replays.  On a positive note, I now know what to do when the Bruins need to rally…head for the dishes.

Back to Milbury. For those of you paying attention during the 2nd intermission, Kathryn Tappen and Milbury were recapping the Sabres-Leafs game thus far. After Tappen finished the blow-by-blow, Milbury chimed in with this instant classic about Tim Connolly: “Tim Connolly, a former fifth overall pick…when he’s not injured or acting like a self-centered little dick he’s a very good player”. Wow! I had to replay that several times to make sure I heard that right. It’s also very possible that he said “dink”…something I’m leaning towards the more and more I replay this. Still, it’s close enough to make you wonder.

It’s also important to note that Milbury and Connolly have a history.  Connolly was drafted (5th overall, as previously noted) by the Islanders in 1999 and was traded two years later. The Islanders GM during both of those events? I’ll give you a hint…he’s also known for beating up Rangers’ fans with their own footwear.

It’s probably too soon to see if this is going to affect a trade decision regarding Manny Fernandez (or, less likely, Tim Thomas). However, a couple more starts like this (assuming he gets them) and you have to wonder if the Bruins…provided the right opportunity…would choose to trade a more establsihed goalie for, maybe, some left-handed scoring punch. The boys in the NESN booth has been promoting the idea of Doug Weight, which may not be too bad of an idea, especially if the Islanders want to add a decent goalie to their team for the rest of their year and possibly sign him to timeshare with DiPietro next season. We’ll see…but in the meantime, the Bruins face off against the Canadiens today in an afternoon game that may get overlooked due to the Super Bowl.

The Bruins started off somewhat off-kilter. In the first period I counted no fewer than four beautiful passes into the slot in front of Jose Theodore that the Bruins just couldn’t connect on.  Although they never led in the game until David Krejci’s OT score off of the skate of former Bruin Shaone Morrison, the Bruins played great throughout.

The matchup between Chara and Ovechkin was phenomenal. Chara hooked Ovechkin late in the 2nd period, causing Ovechkin to lose balance and careen headfirst into the boards without being able to get his hands up in time to protect himself. A pissed and injured Ovechkin left the game but returned for the 3rd period. Upon his return, he and Chara appeared to exchange a few friendly words on the ice so it appeared there were no hard feelings afterwards. Either way, it didn’t affect Chara’s play as he continued to shut down Ovechkin, most notably on a one-on-one play late in the third period where he matched Ovechkin move for move as he streaked down the ice and, ultimately, poked the puck away from him while making a backhanded, twisting stab at it.

What was defintely refreshing is that the Bruins won in overtime. There have been few complaints about the team this year, but one of the things that bugs me is how subpar they’ve been in OT. The win last night made them an even 5-5 in games settled after regulation. Plus, it was their FIRST overtime win at home. Thank God the game didn’t go to a shootout where they’re an anemic 3-5.

On the positive side, the timing is relatively good. The team has a solid lead over the rest of the Eastern conference and Kessel should be good to go by mid-February…well before the playoffs begin. Not only that, mono usually doesn’t cause any long term effects. For him, it’ll just be a matter of him getting his strength back.

Fortunately, the NHL is able to fix the issue by assigning others as reserves, meaning more deserving people like Alexander Ovechkin and Thomas Vanek as well as Bruins Zdeno Chara, Marc Savard and Tim Thomas made the team.

Still, what a bunch of assholes.

Coming up tonight: the Sens come to Boston. Hopefully playing a team like the Senators will help the B’s turn their suddenly struggling game around. And calling it “struggling”may be a reach. Losing two hard-fought games isn’t exactly embarrassing, it’s just somewhat of a shock considering how freaking good this team has been recently (losing just two games outright in all of November and December). I mean, hey, they can’t go EVERY month like that.