T’s Take on the NHL Playoffs
Written by Thomas Regan
Playoff hockey is like no other sporting entertainment on earth. It combines grit, fatigue, blood, devastation, euphoria, sweat, character, tears, and excitement – all leading up to the disappointment of 15 teams and cities – but to the pure joy and satisfaction of one. It’s almost more than a fan/player can handle. The Bruins playoff run this year has encapsulated all of that and more. Since the utterly ridiculous three goal comeback in the third period of game 7 against Toronto, the B’s have looked nothing short of spectacular and they’ve managed to do so in “Boston Strong” fashion (i.e. Gregory Campbell finishing a two minute shift after blocking a shot that literally BROKE HIS LEG just to name one example). After the Leafs, the Bruins made the Rangers look like a Pee-wee B team with a dominant 4 games to 1 yawn of a series. They then made Sidney Crosby and the pretty-boy Penguins look like the crying school boys that they are with a four game sweep for the world to see.
But now, Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals is in the books. It took almost six full periods of hockey, that’s basically two full games, for a victor to emerge. Unfortunately for Bruins fans, Chicago found the triple overtime win. If you were like me, you stayed up and watched the game thru the wee hours of Thursday morning and you woke the neighborhood with an exclamatory expletive as that puck found its way past Tuukka Rask. Onward and upward from Game one! I think we can look forward to a long series of nail-biting one goal games with hair-pulling losses and ceiling-fan-punching celebrations.
I’m sure that’s enough hockey analysis from an amateur analyst, so I’ll leave you with a few tips from my area of expertise – watching hockey in Southie:
The Southie bar scene has everything needed to put together a successful team. You’ve got the old and tough, the young and skilled, the dependable role players and the aged and decorated veterans. Over years of playoff hockey viewing, I’ve tried out them all and have loved each and every one in different ways for what they bring to the table. I’ve watched games on the projector screen at the flashy-yet experienced Boston Beer Garden. I’ve celebrated OT winners with the young and talented stud that is Stat’s and Lincoln. I’ve clutched random strangers as close friends thru victories at the dependable-role playing Playwright and Junction. All are great places to watch a playoff game and you’ll have fun no matter where you land. But tonight you’ll find me at the Mark Recchi-esque, leader on and off the ice, the one any coach wants on his team, you’ll find me at The L Street Tavern.
Go Bruins!
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