This whole bubble hockey thing must be harder than we thought. The big bad Presidents Trophy winning Bruins went 0-4 against the top teams in the Eastern Conference in the round robin seeding tournament. It didn’t look good. Tack on to the fact that two games into the first round series against the Hurricanes, Tuukka Rask opted out of the remainder of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, leaving the weight on the team on the shoulders of (ever capable) Jaroslav Halak. I think we can safely say we didn’t see that coming either.

Brad Marchand, to both the delight and demise of Boston fans’ ears, tried to calm the masses by explaining that the Bruins evidently were treating the round robin games like preseason games, and that we have nothing to fear. Well, I suppose he’s partly right as the Bruins currently have a 2-1 series lead over the Hurricanes, and contrary to the round robin play, they’re scoring goals again. Although the B’s are seemingly having trouble keeping zeroes on the scoreboard, it’s definitely more promising than we thought after a dismal four games.

As unfortunate and unprecedented as Tuukka Rask leaving is, it shouldn’t detract from what he did this season to help the Bruins to a Presidents Trophy and a Vezina nomination. Sadly, this will undoubtedly douse gasoline on the Tuukka hater crowd fire, but Tuukka has dusted that off for years, and we wish him all the best. It’s been 102 years since sports have been played amidst a global pandemic, I don’t exactly blame him for not being 100% sure how to properly deal with it.

How far will the Bruins go? Quite honestly, I think it’s hard to tell right now. Even with Halak between the pipes, their chances are higher than people might think to make the Cup Finals. But in order for that to happen, they need to avoid the catastrophe of last year’s issues: top line scoring. Bruce Cassidy certainly has his hands full for this one.

 

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