Duckboats or Devastation?

Brad Marchand's late third-period goal lifted the Boston Bruins to a 2-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers last night, clinching a playoff spot for the black and gold for the fourth consecutive season. Tim Thomas was spectacular and the game was a little bit reminiscent of the way Boston played last season down the stretch. Sound fundamentally, protecting their own goal as a first priority. It's no secret that Bruins fans are excited. Hell, they have even gained quite a few "fans" recently. It happens every year come playoff time -- the bandwagoners jump in, acting like they haven't missed a beat all season. But whatever. The main point of discussion is about this team, not its fan base. Can the Bruins finally make the run this city has been waiting for since 1972? Will this season end with duckboats, or will just get our usual annual dose of devastation from the boys?

If you think I'm going to answer that question, you've gone crazy. Anyone who tries to answer that question has gone crazy -- well, at least if you try to answer with the "duckboats" choice. That's as silly as predicting the Red Sox were going to win the world series in any year from 1919 through 2003. But then again, it would have been foolish to predict that same world series championship in 2004. All droughts must end eventually, right? The rain will fall on this city at some point. But doesn't the 86-year curse make you cringe? Thinking about the idea that the Bruins could have a drought that long? For the math-challenged readers out there, that would mean the B's would go cup-less until the 2058 season. My far-from-existant grandchildren might be in high school by then.

By the same token, it could end in a mere two months. This squad was pretty close last season, despite the brutal ending they suffered. With a more improved team and a better seeding (although we still had home ice against Philly last May), could this B's unit quiet its critics and join the rest of the championship-littered Boston sports shrines of the 21st century? It starts from the top. Claude Julien will need to get these guys motivated every single night, period. It's not about X's and O's with Julien at this point. The B's have a system, and the players know the system. Right now, it's about chemistry, player management, roster management, and motivation. Being a moderator. If the Bruins will be able to find the grit to move past their previous failures, it will need to be instilled by their head coach, first and foremost.

But the coach can only do so much. This team needs to show the heart that it has shown for stretches this season. It needs to prove its critics wrong, the ones who say they have no balls come playoff time. Who's to say those critics are wrong? What as Boston shown us come playoff time? In my lifetime, nothing. In my parents' lifetime -- most of it, anyway -- likewise. Although Glen Wesley did come pretty close once. Those empty nets can be awfully hard to hit with the Stanley Cup on the line for a championship-deprived city.

There's loads of history and tradition on the line. How much longer can we wait for the Bruins to come around? The more years that go by, the more elusive that promised land seems to become. It takes a truly special group of men to win a Stanley Cup. I cannot say whether or not this is that special group. But they play the games for a reason, and all bets are off in the Stanley Cup playoffs. I'll be counting the days until Game 1.