For all the grief Celtics fans give Rick Pitino for a disastrous tenure in Boston and his quotable reminder that Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parish would not be walking through the door, thanks to him, one man did.

Paul Pierce.

The former Kansas standout and future NBA Hall of Famer was a projected top five pick in the 1998 draft but on June 24 of that year, the man who has given us countless memories slipped to number 10. In time, it would become clear to those who passed on him for the likes of Michael Olowokandi, Raef LaFrentz, or Robert Traylor, among others, that he’s far more than a top 10 player in that draft – he’s a top 10 player in the history of the league’s most storied franchise.

With Thursday evening’s news that Pierce and fellow all-time great Kevin Garnett, along with Jason Terry and his Lucky tattoo, had been dealt to Atlantic Division rival Brooklyn in exchange for five players and three future first-round picks – a deal that cannot become official until July 10 – that closed the book on a 15-year chapter in Celtics history that simultaneously featured some of the organization’s finest and lowest moments.

Before recalling some of those tales, it’s tough to first think what may have been.

On September 25, 2000, Pierce was stabbed 11 times in the face, neck, and back, and also had a bottle broken over his head while out at a nightclub in Boston. Just as basketball is a game of inches, so too was the star guard’s life from potentially ending. It was then that he could have joined Reggie Lewis and Len Bias as tragic stories of wonder. Instead, he did not miss a single one of his team’s 82 games when the season started five weeks later. At that time, we began getting to know the mental toughness inside Paul Pierce.

Remember Game 3 of the 2002 Eastern Conference Finals against, coincidentally, his new organization? Pierce rallied the Celtics to victory from down 21 points in the fourth quarter. In that 41-point stanza, the eternally clutch scorer accounted for 21.

Or, how about Game 7 of the 2008 Eastern Conference Semifinals, when The Truth went toe-to-toe with LeBron James? His 41 points were shy of the King’s 45 but, more important, the C’s prevailed over the Cavaliers en route to Pierce’s biggest stage yet.

The 10-time All-Star and 4-time All-NBA selection, armed with a remodeled nucleus of stars, led the Celtics to their first championship in 22 years with a convincing series win over their arch-nemesis and his hometown team, the Lakers. Pierce was the Finals MVP, and he’ll forever be remembered for being carried off the court in serious pain in the third quarter of Game 1, before emerging from the tunnel minutes later and sparking a run that won Boston the game.

That success was a far cry from the 18-game losing streak he endured only one season earlier, when the loyal but frustrated captain was interested in leaving the Celtics if they didn’t put some quality pieces around him.

One of those pieces, more significant than any other, was Kevin Garnett.

Following 12 years in Minnesota, on July 31, 2007, a hesitant 31-year-old KG was traded to Boston in exchange for rising star Al Jefferson and several corresponding pieces. Like Pierce – then 30 years young – he was an aging superstar who had achieved everything there was to attain short of the ultimate prize. Along with Ray Allen, imported from Seattle, the trio formed the city’s “New Big 3” and Garnett made the shamrock his personal emblem from the second he landed in town.

KG’s off-court humor and candor with the media coupled with his on-court intensity that could be mistaken for insanity transformed a culture desperate for change. In practices, games, and even in life, he quickly became the Celtics’ emotional leader.

He had his quirks, sure, like banging his head against the stanchion before each game, or his apparent unwillingness to begin playing before receiving acknowledgement from each of the referees on the floor. There was the chest-pounding and that scoreboard-scream that could scare small children. Who could forget his love for Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight,” or how quickly his eyes went to the jumbotron when it was Gino Time? And, he never hesitated to make us smile, like when he hummed the Superman theme during a press conference, or reminded us that “anything is possible.”

But, on the court, that’s where the five-time Celtics All-Star and 2008 NBA Defensive Player of the Year was in his element. When he had to score, he did. When he had to rebound, he did. When The Big Ticket had to make a defensive stop, you can bet he did that too. If not for significant knee injuries in two of his six seasons in Boston, who knows if that lone Larry O’Brien Trophy would have company? As it was, the Celts were five points from a second ring in 2010.

It was supposed to be a three-year window for Pierce, Garnett, and Allen, but the belief that they had more to give stretched it to five. The beginning of the end came one year ago when Allen unceremoniously accepted less money for a chance to win – and he did – in Miami, and that was followed earlier this week when head coach Doc Rivers took similar flak on the way out the door.

At that point, and maybe it was the plan all along, Danny Ainge had little recourse but to make good on the promise few of us ever thought he’d keep: Just as he said Red Auerbach should have done, he pulled the plug before his stars got too old.

Sometimes, though, the right decisions are the toughest to make. With Pierce and Garnett back next season, plus a healthy Rajon Rondo, Jared Sullinger, Jeff Green, and Avery Bradley, even a mystery coach could likely have guided the Celtics to the playoffs, a team too good to lose badly and too bad to win it all. That's NBA purgatory, and it’s the last place a franchise wants to be. The only way out may be to start over.

After six tremendously entertaining seasons, that process is in full swing with Rondo – the only holdover from the 2008 title team – as its centerpiece. In order to rebuild, a team needs assets to flip, a bit of luck and, potentially, a brief period of mediocrity. The Celtics have nine first-round picks over the next five drafts. Ainge has drafted well since arriving in Boston in 2003, selecting stars and serviceable players alike, such as Rondo, Green, Bradley, Jefferson, Tony Allen, Delonte West, and Leon Powe. Several others were involved in deals that gifted the C’s Garnett, Allen, and Kendrick Perkins. It may have been a blessing when the ping pong balls went awry in 2007, but it’s a big question what the future holds this time. Young draftees Kelly Olynyk and Colton Iverson became the first of the new faces for the coach-less crew on Thursday and, rest assured, Trader Danny’s not done dealing yet.

Garnett – no doubt with some disappointment – had to waive his no-trade clause to make this move work. But the man who claimed a few months ago to bleed green while expressing a desire to retire with the Celtics did so, both for his own future and that of the team that made him whole.

Pierce never expected to land in Boston when he was selected on that night in 1998. Now, he leaves the franchise as its second-leading scorer with 24,021 points – 2,374 behind John Havlicek – he ranks second in games played at 1,102, and he’s also first in both 3-point field goals made (1,823) and steals (1,583), and fourth in assists (4,305). For the first time, he’ll also wear another uniform. It’s a gut-punch to the nostalgic but a necessary evil for the future.

Eventually, Pierce will return to Boston to retire, though the act will feature nothing more than a signature on a piece of paper. Maybe Garnett will do the same. Either way, they will both ultimately raise their numbers to the rafters as two of the best to ever don the Celtic green, and they'll be sorely missed.

Follow me on Twitter at @AdamMKaufman

Today at The Boston Globe, I sat down for some lively sports talk with the cameras rolling.

First up, Boston Sports Live with Chris Gasper. We focused on the football side of the Aaron Hernandez saga and debated whether the Patriots would take a risk on a player with a checkered past again.

We also looked at what moves the Celtics may have on the horizon, and mixed in some John Lackey dominance as well.

Speaking of Lackey, Kevin Paul Dupont and I dove into the pitcher's success this season. Is he the best pitcher in Boston?

On the Bruins, with the incredible willpower displayed by Patrice Bergeron in the Stanley Cup Final, is he now the face of the franchise?

And, circling back to the Patriots, just how careful should they be now going forward?

Follow me on Twitter at @AdamMKaufman

It’s amazing how much can change in a few days.

Last Friday morning, the Celtics announced a press conference featuring the team’s general manager and president of basketball operations Danny Ainge and head coach Doc Rivers, theoretically to announce the coach’s return for a 10th season amid weeks of rumors to the contrary.

Tuesday afternoon, a long weekend after canceling that sit-down with the media, the meeting was back on, this time with Ainge seated beside team president Rich Gotham to detail the 2013 remake of Doc Hollywood.

The press conference was littered with questions, offered few answers, and sprinkled in uncomfortable humor as Ainge tried to engage clean-cut, warmly-dressed reporters. Who could blame him for seeking levity? The once fiery player probably wanted to punch a wall with each passing query.

Ainge went out of his way to thank Rivers for his nine years of service to the Celtics, filled with friendship, teamwork and, when armed with the proper talent, fine coaching. He said, and I agree, that the C’s don’t raise Banner 17 in 2008 without their motivational leader, and he wished his old friend well out west.

But Ainge was also quick to repeatedly note that this situation was not his idea – Rivers is off to a place he “chose to go” and “wants to be.” He claimed he expected his now former coach to be back on the Boston bench right up until the moment the deal with Los Angeles was completed. Frankly, throughout the entire session, Ainge maintained a look of disbelief that any of this was actually happening and it probably still hasn’t set in.

Likely seeing that and hoping for a juicy sound bite, one journalist inquired if Ainge felt Rivers had quit on the Celtics, given the three years and $21 million remaining on his contract.

“I would never say that he quit,” Ainge remarked, while adding that that Rivers has the pulse of the players and felt maybe a change was necessary, or that he needed a change.

Perception is everything, and based on what’s transpired since the C’s untimely ending on May 3, there is only one reality as it concerns Doc Rivers:

He absolutely, unequivocally quit on the Boston Celtics.

Let’s get this out of the way – I believe Rivers did a good job while in Boston and he should ultimately be remembered fondly for his efforts. No one would question that he gave all that he had over nearly a decade with the Green, but he didn’t need a Magic 8-Ball to know what awaited him when he inked a five-year deal in the spring of 2011 as opposed to stepping away from the game as was widely rumored. Make no mistake, a rebuild is coming and the manner in which Rivers left is worthy of the beating it will receive.

Read between the lines of this comment from Ainge:

“When we signed Doc to the highest-paid coaching contract in the NBA a couple years ago, we talked, we knew the ages of our players (Paul Pierce was 33, and Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen were each 35). We knew that we would be here at a phase – maybe it would have been last year, maybe this year, maybe next year – but a time to rebuild and restore. We talked about that. At that time, before it hit him, he was all on board and I felt like I did a very good sales job on Doc at that time. Maybe he did a sales job on me.”

Translation: He got me. We handed this guy seven mil a year and all his aging stars we could possibly retain or acquire to squeeze a couple more years out of what started as a three-year window, and now he’s walking away because he doesn’t feel like starting over. Does he think this is what I wanted? He probably never planned on fulfilling his deal in the first place!

I don’t blame Rivers for biting at the young Clippers talent, the same money with more power, the bright lights and warm weather, and the inevitable late-night talk show appearances that netted the Celtics a mere 2015 unprotected first-round draft pick. There’s nothing appealing about a rebuild ever, let alone when you’ve been to the top of the coaching mountain. He wants to win another championship, and that day’s not coming at the Garden any time soon, unless maybe you’re surrounding yourself with Bruins sweaters.

I do blame him for not displaying the loyalty he always preached to his players and conveyed to the fans. Ubuntu, be damned. Rivers will address the media in the City of Angels this afternoon and he’ll inevitably explain his desire for a change of scenery and how he felt it would benefit all parties involved.

Spare me.

Theo Epstein used a similar rationale when he weaseled out of the last year of his contract with the Red Sox for a promotion and less controlling bosses in Chicago. Sometimes, whether it’s because you’re staring at a playoff-less future, you don’t like the hard-headed point guard, you’re tired of dealing with the same co-workers day-in and day-out, the grass is greener someplace different, or whatever else, you’re ready to move on, I get that. It’s not simply because you felt like a change. Own it.

While Rivers is busy trotting out the same spin Ainge was forced to spew, he should remember what he said last August after Allen departed as a free agent to chase a title in South Beach.

“I was really disappointed, pissed, because I thought it was for all the wrong reasons. It was more about himself.”

Again, Allen was a free agent, not a guy committed for three more years.

This, Mr. Rivers (since, after all, you’re not really a doctor), is about you and your desire to abandon ship now that it’s spouted a couple leaks. You’re no Gregg Popovich, you’re no Jerry Sloan, and you’re certainly no Red Auerbach. And how do you suppose KG feels, knowing now that parameters of your agreement won’t – at least for the time being – allow him to join you? This whole scenario went from what appeared to be a package deal that could really help the Celtics to one man taking care of himself. Consider it the new era of super teams where coaches, too, can finagle their way into more desirable circumstances.

We don’t know who the next coach of the Celtics will be, other than Ainge’s proclamation that it won’t be him, a decent run back in the 1990’s with Phoenix notwithstanding. We don’t know, as decisions possibly loom quickly, what will be of Pierce’s and Garnett’s careers in Boston with another average-at-best season on the horizon. We don’t know if Josh Smith and Rajon Rondo, old prep school roommates, will finally be reunited. We certainly don’t know how many years of postseason futility, 18-game losing streaks, and evasive ping pong balls could be in store before we’re again realistically discussing Banner 18.

We do know, despite weeks of being assured otherwise by upper management, that the man who proclaimed himself a Celtic is gone. It’s not because he couldn’t do the job. He just didn't want to.

Follow me on Twitter at @AdamMKaufman

Finally.

Thanks largely to Chris Paul and pending the approval of NBA commissioner David Stern, the seemingly never-ending – What? You really thought it was dead?! – drama we called the Celtics-Clippers trade talks have a resolution:

After nine seasons of blood, sweat, tears, the lowest of lows, the highest of highs, and just about everything in between, Celtics coach Doc Rivers is jumping ship for Hollywood in exchange for an unprotected 2015 first-round draft pick. The man who helped guide the Celts to Banner 17 will reportedly receive a three-year deal worth $21 million or, if you’re scoring at home, the same specifics that remained on his term in the Hub.

For all of us spectators, the far-too-public negotiations went from fascinating to excruciatingly annoying. “Wake me when it’s over,” became a common sentiment.

Admittedly, the plots were compelling. We heard things like, “Doc doesn’t know if he wants to coach next year,” “Doc doesn’t actually want a sabbatical; he just doesn’t want to rebuild in Boston,” there's a problem in the front office,” “Doc never asked out; it wasn't even his idea,” “Doc’s no longer interested in going to LA and he plans to return to Celts,” and, my favorite, “Doc and Rajon Rondo almost came to blows last season.” After a while, though, enough was enough. Rivers’ old talks of loyalty went from inspiring to hypocritical, and condemning Ray Allen for leaving as a free agent – proven days ago to be the right call, by the way – just looks idiotic.

Thankfully, we’re on the cusp of finality, and we can begin the process of evaluating the trade. Is it good or bad? Well, the answer is both.

On the surface, you could argue that the Celtics got hosed. Consider that they originally wanted two first-round selections in upcoming drafts for their highly-coveted, if overrated, coach and instead settled for one in a draft that’s widely considered far weaker than what awaits in 2014.

Of course, we won’t really know what value the pick has until we see what the C’s do with it. Will they trade it as part of a package for another asset down the road? Will they hold onto it in hopes the Clips continue their run of failure and dysfunction and that it somehow, two years from now, results in a better position than their talent would lead you to expect? Time will tell.

You could also argue that it’s better to get something than nothing for a coach who for one reason or another had one foot out the door for months. No team in any sport should employ a coach or manager who isn’t fully committed to the job, especially when that somebody is the highest-paid coach in his game. The Celtics are ridding themselves of a once-influential and now-disinterested leader, and simultaneously saving a good chunk of change. Tough not to put the edge here.

Rivers should be missed for what he did while in Boston, but his departure undoubtedly leaves a stain on his legacy.

So, what happens now?

That’s the multi-million dollar question, and one that Celtics President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge will be asked about 732 different ways this afternoon, provided this press conference sticks. It’ll be very interesting, too, to see if Rivers elects to attend and finally deliver his side of the controversial story.

First and foremost, the Celtics need to decide which direction they’re headed. The NBA Draft is Thursday and the C’s have just one free agent (Chris Wilcox), $76 million committed to the cap, and no coach, which probably means a couple of frustrated veterans.

The league seemingly won’t allow for a subsequent trade between the Celtics and Clippers for Kevin Garnett to occur, at least in the immediate aftermath of these negotiations, and Stern will probably remind the masses of this shortly because the outgoing commish loves the spotlight. If the trade does happen, it may require additional parts. If it doesn’t, the wonder there is whether KG would waive his no-trade clause to play for a different contender, retire (walking away from $24.4 million over the next two seasons), or return to Boston without the coach he loves. He’s always said he “bleeds Green.” Of course, Rivers stated proudly, “I am a Celtic” and we see how far that went.

Add to that, a decision must be made within a week on aging captain and future Hall of Famer Paul Pierce, who will be traded or bought out for $5 million unless the team sees fit to pay him the $15.3 million he’s owned in his final year on the books. Interestingly, of the three, he’s probably the only one who would really wish to play on the parquet in 2013-14. He’s always spoken about his desire to spend his entire career with one team which, even if he does leave, will eventually land the number 34 in the rafters.

If the team brings everyone back, they’re likely in for another title-less but playoff-bound season under a new coach. If they start the inevitable yard sale, we might see a speedy return to the M.L. Carr days of tanking for top talent.

To that point, how will the Celtics – a proud and historic franchise, with equally prideful owners – fill the void left by Rivers?

Will they hire someone like former Clippers coach and Springfield, Mass. native Vinny Del Negro, who many feel would usher the Celts right into the lottery? Will they chase an established and desirable candidate like George Karl, Jeff or Stan Van Gundy, Jerry Sloan, Lionel Hollins, Nate McMillan, or Clips patsy Byron Scott? Or, will they choose a motivated head-coach-in-waiting like brief Celtic Brian Shaw, an assistant for nearly a decade?

No matter, sooner or later this roster’s going to experience significant turnover – the kind that only Rick Pitino could appreciate. Barring some luck, the team may be stuck with the bad contracts of Jason Terry, Courtney Lee, Brandon Bass and, forgive me but I’m not sold on him, Jeff Green.

The Celts also have a point guard in Rondo whom, if you believe all the rumors, is a chief reason why Allen and now Rivers no longer call Boston home. It’s believable, given how often he’s been on the trade block in recent years. Despite his top-level talent and a cap-friendly deal (almost $25 million over the next two seasons), he’s mentally fragile and may need to go if, given his ACL injury, Ainge can get significant value in return.

And, of course, if you’re ownership, you have to ask yourselves if the ship has sailed on the Danny Ainge era. He’s done well – far better in trades and the draft than in free agency – but the Celtics are in for a long-term climb to grace and will need someone who remains poised to do the job. The miraculous turnaround of 2007 won’t be duplicated any time soon. Those desirable parts take time to acquire.

Numerous personnel questions wait as the draft and free agency rapidly approach. The only thing that will happen faster is Doc Rivers’ flight outta town.

Follow me on Twitter at @AdamMKaufman

The narrative involves a semi-professional football player who never returned home after a night out with friends, a millionaire NFL tight end and his checkered past, a damaged rental car, an untimely visit from a cleaning crew, and a video surveillance system and cell phone, both intentionally destroyed before authorities could access them.

The murder of Boston Bandits football player and Dorchester native Odin Lloyd, whose body was found about one mile from the North Attleborough home of Patriots star Aaron Hernandez, has produced a never-ending stream of questions. But, as each additional query mounts, one answer is rapidly taking shape:

After three impressive seasons, it's time for New England to end its relationship with Hernandez.

The Patriots have been known to take chances on players before. Corey Dillon, Randy Moss, Chad Ochocinco, Aqib Talib, heck, even Tim Tebow for different reasons, can speak to Bill Belichick’s interest in reclamation projects. However, to compare any of their stories to this one would be apples and Chinese food.

Hernandez received his flier from the coach when he was selected in the fourth round of the 2010 NFL Draft in spite of multiple failed drug tests and a recently reported association with people with gang ties that had some teams steering clear. The versatile offensive threat rewarded Belichick and company for their faith with 20 touchdowns and 2,316 receiving yards on 210 catches over the next three seasons (44 games, including the playoffs). His efforts earned him a premature and sizable five-year extension in August of 2012, good for $41 million over seven seasons with $12.5 million of that guaranteed. Seemingly, all Hernandez had to do was stay out of trouble.

He spoke glowingly of Robert Kraft and the organization at the time, while simultaneously donating $50,000 to the Patriots owner's late wife Myra’s charitable foundation.

“He changed my life,” Hernandez said. “Now I’m able to basically have a good chance to be set for life, and have a good life … He didn’t need to give me the amount that he gave me, and knowing that he thinks I deserve that, he trusts me to make the right decisions, it means a lot … You can’t come here and act reckless and do your own stuff, and [I] was one of the persons that I came here, I might’ve acted the way I wanted to act, but you get changed by Bill Belichick’s way. You get changed by the Patriots’ way.”

That all sounded great back then but, as we all know, actions trump words every time. His actions are a breach of the trust and faith offered by a team that paid him more than it had to, before it had to. Less than one year after Hernandez cashed in, he’s a 23-year-old kid linked to multiple heinous crimes in the last five months alone. That’s not good for anyone at Gillette, where the brand and sometimes personal agendas come before all else. Just ask Wes Welker.

It’s been equally fascinating and shocking following the details that have emerged from this case and, unfortunately for Hernandez, each new bit of information has made him look worse and worse. The truth of how deeply the tight end’s roots are intertwined remains a mystery at this hour, but that may no longer matter to the decision-makers with the Patriots. Frankly, it shouldn't.

Innocent or guilty – and it would be unfair to speculate either way – the stain of these few days and the weeks upon weeks of questions to follow will forever be tied to Hernandez. In the court of public opinion, he may wind up a marked man in a similar vein to Ray Lewis, Michael Vick, Ben Roethlisberger, Donte Stallworth, Plaxico Burress, or Adam Jones. For some, time in jail was required and, for others, merely a blemished legacy.

Yes, Stallworth was welcomed back, but his situation was remarkably different. He was playing elsewhere at the time of his DUI manslaughter, he opted to plead guilty to the accident when his lawyers felt he had an excellent chance of being found innocent, and he served his time before returning to the NFL and, years later, the Pats.

The Patriots are not an organization that welcomes distractions of this ilk, and you’ll notice they haven’t uttered a single word in support of a guy once considered a franchise player. If you don't think that's somewhat telling, you're wrong. Hernandez is on a very lonely island right now. The league, too, is waiting to comment. If Hernandez is somehow absolved of any wrongdoing in the case of Lloyd’s homicide – and there are several legal possibilities here – that doesn’t mean there wasn’t a violation of the league’s personal conduct policy. An arrest is not required in order for a player to be suspended, and commissioner Roger Goodell doesn’t take kindly to anything that could hurt his game. It's a safe bet that one way or another Hernandez will be distanced from the field for at least a little while.

At this moment, Hernandez is not considered a suspect, but he is certainly not in the clear. The increasingly fluid details have included, among many other things, Hernandez not cooperating with authorities, time with Lloyd on the morning of the murder, getting barred by the team from Gillette, having a cleaning crew to his home hours before Lloyd’s body was found, and deliberately destroying his home security system and cell phone, which he handed over to police in pieces. He’s been followed in his white SUV by helicopters all over the state a la O.J. Simpson, he’s avoided a swarm of media while pumping gas, and he’s had his home searched multiple times. And none of that includes the re-filing of a bizarre civil lawsuit that he supposedly shot former friend Alexander Bradley in February, resulting in Bradley’s loss of an eye.

It's hard enough to explain away one or two of the above. The piles make you wonder if obstruction of justice, as he's been rumored to be charged with this morning, is his best-case scenario. The bottom line is none of it looks good, and appearance alone may be enough for the Kraft family to part ways with one-half of its ridiculous tight end tandem if the law doesn’t step in first. It’s sad, but Hernandez has no one to blame but himself, if only for the company he keeps away from the field.

As was well-documented today by Shalise Manza Young, the Patriots knew what they were getting into when they drafted Hernandez. Unfortunately, there's no telling which risks end up being worth taking, a debate surrounding Rob Gronkowski and his injury surplus of late as well. Hopefully that one was worth the gamble. This one wasn't.

To think, not even two weeks ago, Hernandez was answering run of the mill questions at mini-camp about the arrival of his old college teammate, Tim Tebow. I’d be willing to bet they’ll never find out what it’s like to practice together again. But, if that’s the worst thing that happens to Hernandez, he’s an awfully lucky guy. Good luck.

Follow me on Twitter at @AdamMKaufman

Bruins head coach Claude Julien was asked on Tuesday how a team, in the wake of April’s tragedy at the Boston Marathon, can help a city heal.

“Everyone’s looking right now for something to cheer about, to smile about,” he said, before delving into how deeply his team was affected by the bombings.

As many have acknowledged, while another Stanley Cup championship in Boston – a second in just three seasons – would not bring back the lost loved ones or heal those who were brutally wounded on Patriots Day, maybe it would help in some small way.

With their side ahead of Chicago two-games-to-one in their best-of-seven series, Bruins fans may find out in as few as 120 minutes of hard fought hockey (Note: That's permitting we don't see 37 more overtime periods). It would be irresponsible to write off the immensely talented Blackhawks after they finished as the NHL’s top team in the regular season but, you’ve got to admit, the Bruins are sitting pretty entering tonight’s pivotal Game 4.

Consider some recent realities:

• Conn Smythe candidate and Vezina snub Tuukka Rask is playing out of his mind. The free-agent-to-be held one of the game’s most prolific offenses ever in the Penguins to a mere two goals in the conference finals and, if not statistically, he’s been arguably as impressive to the eye versus the Hawks. In his last seven games against the two high-powered squads, the positional mastermind is 6-and-1 – the loss coming in triple-overtime – with three shutouts, an almost non-existent 0.81 goals-against-average, and a .973 save percentage. He’s given up seven goals on 261 shots in 521:12. That’s not good; it’s absurd. Plain and simple, as the games get bigger, he’s getting better. Did I mention Chicago hasn’t scored in 122:26?

• While Rask might be the last line of defense, let’s not forget the job the rest of the team is doing in front of his net. Players have acknowledged that their focus was not where it should have been while they were in the midst of surviving the Maple Leafs in round one. Since then, well, I dare ya to challenge any one of them to a Magic Eye contest. Julien’s system has his Blue Collar Bruins working hard, playing a suffocating defense, committing to the forecheck, and doing a tremendous job closing off gaps to limit the Blackhawks’ speed, odd-man rushes, and highly-popularized transition game. The adage has long been that defense wins titles, and the B’s have bought in.

• The penalty kill is downright deadly, and it’s showing no signs of slowing down. The B’s have successfully halted 27 straight power plays to improve to an 88.9 percent success rate in the postseason, while simultaneously making the Hawks’ stars look lost. Despite all their firepower, the Blackhawks can’t muster anything on the man-advantage. The numbers are ugly: 0-for-11 in the series and goal-less in their last 20 chances overall. Shot-blocking has been a big part of the triumph, and the Bruins comfortably lead that category in the series, 75-46.

• Building on all that defensive talk, Blackhawks stars have felt the brunt of the impact. Patrick Sharp, Patrick Kane, Bryan Bickell, Duncan Keith, and the wounded Marian Hossa each entered the series with double-digit point-totals through three rounds. In three games against the Bruins (two for Hossa), the five men have mustered a combined one goal and two assists. Lest we forget Selke Award winner Jonathan Toews, he of a 48-point regular season, who’s been held scoreless. To put it another way, they’ve all been out-scored by the Bruins’ third line.

• That’s right, the third line is contributing. On a hunch, he said, Julien put Dan Paille, Chris Kelly, and Tyler Seguin together and the trio has responded with three goals, four assists and a plus-eight rating in two games. In the prior 16 games, the three totaled three goals, six assists and a minus-10 rating. That unit scored both goals in a 2-1 overtime victory in Game 2, and Paille netted the winner upon his team’s return to Boston. They’re playing with confidence, using their speed, winning puck battles, creating countless scoring opportunities and, most importantly, delivering offensively at a time when everyone but their parents and the guys in that dressing room had given up on them. Well, Paille aside; he was solid on the fourth line before joining his new partners. As Julien joked, if only he’d put them together earlier.

There are also a few historical facts, if you’re one for trends:

• When a Stanley Cup Final set is tied at one, the Game 3 winner has gone on to claim 21 of 25 series.

• Boston’s a perfect 2-0 when leading 2-1 in the Stanley Cup Final. In contrast, Chicago is 0-3 when trailing by that same margin.

Again, to declare this series “over” at this stage, as much fun as it’d be, would probably be foolish. In a game of bounces and inches, the Bruins could be the team down 2-1 just as easily as up 3-0. There’s no telling what will happen in the next two-to-four games.

The B’s could endure another sluggish period as they did in Game 2 but, this time, Rask doesn’t stand on his head. Nathan Horton could take one bad hit to the shoulder (or wherever), and suddenly he’s transporting water to the Windy City. Hossa could return with a vengeance after a few days of rest. Zdeno Chara could inflict a domino line of falling bodies in warm-ups. Jaromir Jagr could burst from goal-deprivation. Or, simply ask the Red Wings, who had to win only one contest against the Blackhawks in the second round and instead lost three.

Fortunately, the Bruins know that. Ever since seizing Game 3, they’ve been busy telling anyone who will listen that they’re living in the moment and they’re focused on winning hockey games. They’re not looking ahead, just taking things one day at a time. Best of all, as good as they’ve been, they want us all to know they’re not playing their best, that there are lapses to be cleaned up and areas they can improve upon.

In other words, if any part of you is concerned that folks on Causeway Street are thinking about getting the Duck Boats ready again, don’t be. That’s for the rest of us to worry about. But with the Bruins having won seven straight at home and 11 of 13 since the first round, it’s hard not to feel pretty good, isn't it? They just have to keep playing their game.

Follow me on Twitter at @AdamMKaufman

Give Stephen A. Smith credit. Almost six weeks ago, he reported a version of the Doc Rivers to form Celtics-West rumors that spread like wildfire on Saturday afternoon and now appear to be dead. Of course, never say never – at least until the Clippers hire another coach.

Like most of you, I thought the story was absurd when it first surfaced, and equally unlikely when it picked up steam last week. It felt like a different team from LA swooping in, except this time to take our beloved Green fixtures rather than our headaches. An opportunity to rebuild with a few young chips and a mystery coach was offered, as opposed to a gigantic bank deposit.

Either way, for the time being, it's a non-issue. At issue now: Can Doc Rivers return to Boston for a 10th season? And, should he?

My first instinct was a quick No and No – after further thought, I'm sitting at Yes and Briefly.

As Celtics die-hards and perhaps even casual fans know all too well, Rivers is adored in the Hub. He, along with some key trades, brought stability to an organization that hadn't employed a coach for longer than five seasons since Tommy Heinsohn was roaming the sidelines in the 1970's. Yes, there were championships after Heinsohn, under the guidance of remarkably successful and briefly tenured coaches Bill Fitch and K.C. Jones, but the 1990's introduced a long and painful lull to the NBA's most storied franchise. It wasn't until the charismatic Rivers and Ubuntu – oh, and a New Big Three era – rejuvenated the Garden and rewarded the fans with Banner 17 in 2008.

It shouldn't be ignored, of course, that after Rivers led the Celtics to 45 wins in his first season on the bench in 2004-05 – following a 36-win campaign in Boston while Rivers was busy getting fired for a slow start in Orlando, mind you – he endured two years of 57-107 play that would have cost him his job in most other places. Patience and loyalty from the C's paid off as the likeable Rivers and his new collection of aging superstars found their groove and never looked back, that is until this past season when they limped into the playoffs and were too old, too tired and too overmatched in the first round of the postseason against the Knicks.

After that emotional exit, the man with three years and $21 million left on his contract, as he has done before, asked the media for some time to gather his thoughts; to basically weigh the idea of a return versus a sabbatical. That was May 3. I'll save you the trouble of checking your calendar. Today is June 17.

The message is clear. As has been widely reported, Doc Rivers is ready for a change of scenery. That's fine. It's been nine years, he's had a lot of success, and – despite an annual salary that ranks first among all NBA coaches and tied for fourth across American professional sports – he's not interested in trying to rebuild around a few promising young talents with recent injury or health concerns. The Celtics won't, in all likelihood, be raising another banner anytime soon unless you're including the retirement of Paul Pierce or Kevin Garnett's numbers, so it's understandable for him to seek a new challenge elsewhere to get those competitive juices flowing again.

My issue with Rivers is what seems to be his perception of his worth. He's a good coach, heck a very good coach. By today's NBA standards, some may even consider him to be great. One thing he is not is elite.

Phil Jackson could get away with this Will He-Won't He return behavior with the Lakers or any team that's courted his services since then because he's won 11 rings. Lump Pat Riley in there, too, before he settled on building teams rather than leading them. Gregg Popovich has earned the right to choose his destination if he ever contemplates leaving the Spurs. He's won four championships, and a fifth may arrive in a few days.

Rivers has won one ring and his club squandered a 3-2 finals lead in an effort to win a second. Despite a few deep runs, many could argue those five years of Pierce, Garnett, Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo – even if they weren't all in their prime – should have resulted in more playoff banners and wins than they did. He has a lifetime 587-473 record in the regular season, along with a 64-57 mark in the postseason. Not good enough, but players love him and that fact among others has inflated his status as a coach.

I don't care how nice a guy Rivers is, those credentials don't justify him dragging his feet well into June when he's had more than a few occasions to respond definitively to the media as to his status while, by the way, upper management has beat the drum that he'll return and apparently denied other teams the right to speak with him. The NBA Draft is June 27. Free agency begins shortly thereafter. Other coaches – even if the list is underwhelming – are being hired elsewhere. The Celtics, at least publicly, are going in no clear direction entering the 2013-14 campaign and one question in a sea of several that shouldn't exist at this stage is, "Who's the coach?"

Let's get back to that word "publicly" because it makes all the difference for Rivers going forward. Unlike Dwight Howard, when he couldn't decide whether or not he wanted to leave the Magic, Rivers has not uttered one word about a desire to coach elsewhere, and neither have his bosses. Nothing but "sources," "sources," and more "sources." Should the deal with the Clippers fall through, he can simply pass off all the reports as media drivel and needless speculation and return to the Celtics.

In today's breaking-news-by-the-second Twitter reality, lots of rumors come right out of thin air – haven't you heard??

Sure, he'd have some some explaining to do to his players but, as long as he has his veterans returning with him, he's capable of smoothing over any friction the last several weeks may have have caused.

Fans might be a bit insulted for a moment that the man with the kind eyes, gracious smile, and generally forthcoming nature would be tempted to ask a cuter girl to the dance, but they'd still be ready to applaud when his name's announced at the Garden by the regular season home opener – probably the preseason.

Plus, who else is realistically available that you'd rather have? Phil Jackson? Never gonna happen. Jeff Van Gundy? Don't bet on it. George Karl? Time's running out. Brian Shaw? No thanks. Personally, I wanted Rivers to step away a few years ago for Tom Thibodeau, but that ship sailed when the 2010-11 Coach of the Year left for Chicago, and he's got another three years with the Bulls. Of course, guess the same could be said for Rivers?

The franchise-altering idea of Rivers, Garnett, Pierce, and one of the Celtics' overpriced contracts heading to Hollywood for Eric Bledsoe, DeAndre Jordan, Caron Butler, and a first-round draft pick or two is undoubtedly intriguing, and anyone free of nostalgia – in other words, you level-headed folks – would sign off in a second. The C's can, if not immediately, find another qualified coach to take them to greatness eventually.

But, again, it looks like a crazy weekend of too-bizarre-to-be-true rumors will unfold as such. Rivers will likely return to Boston, but it should only be for one season. It can coincide with the swan songs for Garnett and Pierce before they, respectively, retire and move on. Rivers must come to terms with that decision entering the year so that he's ready to walk away at season's end, whether to the broadcast booth or another team by way of an agreement with the Celtics that actually pans out. It's clearer now than ever, he's no longer fully devoted to a future in Boston.

Follow me on Twitter at @AdamMKaufman

Like most people, I picked the Bruins to beat the Maple Leafs. From there, it was basically believe-it-when-I-see-it time. I reluctantly chose the Rangers, and then star power forced me into selecting the Penguins.

That’s it; enough of the skepticism. I’m a believer, baby. Bruins in six!

The puck drops on the first Original Six Stanley Cup Final matchup since 1979 tonight with Boston at the United Center for Game 1 against President’s Trophy winner Chicago.

Make no mistake, the Blackhawks are the favorites. They’re the popular pick by record (36-7-5 vs. 28-14-6), seed (first overall vs. fifth), Las Vegas odds (-140), and most “experts.” People fell in love with Da Hawks when they reeled off points in an NHL-record 24 straight contests to start the 48-game lockout-shortened year and, save for that pesky 3-1 series deficit to the Red Wings in round two, they haven’t looked back.

The Bruins, in many ways, are the flavor of the month. In fact, it was almost exactly one month ago on May 13 that the B’s shocked the Leafs with four goals in the game’s final 17 minutes to mount a Game 7 comeback never before seen in league history. On that night, the Black and Gold saved a few jobs and started a string of nine wins in 10 games, during which time they overmatched the Blue Shirts and positively punished the consensus-superior Pens. Was it easy? No. But it sure looked it.

Now it’s a new challenge for both teams. Thanks to a work stoppage that no one can remember, the regular season was East against East, and West against West. To view the opposing conference, teams needed the Center Ice package. The B’s and Hawks last faced off some 20 months ago, with nothing but video scouting since.

Before the present day facts, a little history:

The Bruins have triumphed over the Blackhawks in five of six playoff series all-time, the last coming in the quarterfinal round in 1978. Also, just for fun, it’s the rubber match between cities. Boston has only faced Chicago for two other championships: a World Series win over the Cubs in 1918, and a Super Bowl thrashing by the Bears in 1986.

Fast-forward to today, here’s what we know:

These teams are remarkably similar, and each has hoisted Lord Stanley’s Cup in the last four years. Both are deep, work hard, skate well, roll four lines, get production from everywhere, and have blueliners who like to get involved offensively. Defensively, they can shut you down, their penalty killers thrive, and there is little room for complaint in net. The word “complete” comes to mind.

The Bruins are more physically aggressive by nature, which is fortunate because a game plan similar in that regard to what was employed in the conference finals may prove vital to earn four wins in this round. As for the numbers, the B’s are out-hitting the Hawks this postseason, 571 to 458, and blocking a few more shots, 256 to 217.

When considering offensive firepower, the names – as was the case with the Penguins – favor the Blackhawks. On paper, David Krejci (despite his NHL points-lead), Patrice Bergeron, Nathan Horton, Brad Marchand, Milan Lucic and (gulp) Tyler Seguin, are no Marian Hossa, Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp, Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith and Bryan Bickell. Of course, ask Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Chris Kunitz, Jarome Iginla, Pascal Dupuis, Kris Letang or James Neal if games are played on paper. And…BROOM goes the dynamite.

You’ve probably heard about how Chicago possesses better mobility and transition from the back end. Maybe, but it’s Boston’s defensemen who have chipped in more on offense with 15 goals and 35 points in the postseason to the opposition’s six and 27 totals.

Overall, the goal-scoring edge goes to the Bruins. They rank second in the postseason with 3.12 goals-per-game to the Hawks’ 2.76, good for sixth. Neither team has proven to be too powerful on the man-advantage, which was the case during the regular season as well. Each squad currently sits at less than a 16 percent success rate. Despite all the star power, their preference is 5-on-5 play, where the clubs rank 1-2 in goals for/against ratio. Boston’s at 1.77 to Chicago’s 1.44. Both were top four in the regular campaign as well. If power plays continue to have outages and penalty killers still block, clear, change and chase – something the Hawks do a ridiculous 94.8 percent of the time to date – 5-on-5 play may very well be a difference-maker.

This series, like any series ultimately, will be won on defense, and that edge goes to the Bruins.

Don’t get me wrong, both squads are stingy in this area. The B’s pace the NHL in goals-against-per-game at 1.88, a hair and two spots ahead of the Hawks at 1.94, but they’ve taken very different roads to get to this point.

Tuukka Rask has earned every dollar he's got coming to him as he and the Bruins have ousted three top-15 regular season offenses in the Leafs, Rangers and Penguins, including two ranking in the top six. Along the way, the Conn Smythe candidate has only gotten better. Rask allowed 18 goals to Toronto, 10 to New York (nine, if you’d prefer to ignore the one he watched from his butt) and, against arguably one of the best offenses ever, just two in a four-game sweep. He’s rarely been out of position, is technically sound, and is making it look far easier – if less impressive – than when Tim Thomas was swimming around the crease two years ago. Rask has a certain swagger that makes you wonder if he just expects this all to be happening.

On the other side, Corey Crawford has been equally solid statistically. While Rask boasts a 12-4 mark, two shutouts, a 1.75 goals-against average and .943 save percentage, Crawford’s right there at 12-5 with one whitewash, a 1.74 GAA and .935 save rate. You might argue this area’s a draw, but not if you’ve watched them play. Crawford is said to be playing with more focus than ever before, and his defenders deserve a lot of credit for constantly clearing the crease, but he also hasn’t had to steal a game the way Rask twice had to against the Pens. Moreover, his series wins have come over two offensively-challenged teams in the Red Wings and Wild, to whom he surrendered a combined 21 goals, and he gave up another 10 scores to the defending-champion Kings, a team that sat 10th in the regular season in goals-per-game and generally wins on defense.

It’ll have to be all about team defense and relentless forechecking for the Bruins, listed on your menus as the Claude Julien Special. Zdeno Chara, Dennis Seidenberg and company must parry the Blackhawks’ speed and offensive threats with physicality, neutral zone traffic, and an overall stuck-on-you demeanor. The B’s did this to the Penguins constantly, helping them to go 15-for-15 on the penalty kill. Crosby et al, had so little room to move, you’d think they were just other guys in Bruins sweaters.

Chicago’s Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Niklas Hjalmarsson and Johnny Oduya are no slouches, mind you, but Boston holds the advantage here and it’s going to result in a second Duck Boat Parade in three years. For Julien, lifetime fame in New England. His club simply – okay, not simply – must establish its game plan early and execute against a team that is rarely outcompeted and, oh yeah, has won nine of 10 at home in the playoffs. Again, it won’t be easy.

No one said the Bruins could beat the Penguins last round or the Canucks in the finals two years ago, me included. Call them underdogs again if you’d like, but that’s not how I see it anymore.

Follow me on Twitter at @AdamMKaufman

The Bruins are in pursuit of a second Stanley Cup in three years. The Red Sox, coming off a disastrous 69-win season, are among the best teams in the majors. The Celtics are in flux with a head coach who refuses to reveal whether or not he’ll return for the inevitable rebuild.

The Patriots had to do something other than run-of-the-mill OTA’s, right?

Twitter damn near broke late Monday afternoon when ESPN reported what a number of people had frequently speculated. New England signed quarterback – a term used very loosely – Tim Tebow, and he’s set to report to minicamp today.

The beautiful thing about a guy as polarizing as the one who brought us Tebowmania is that everyone’s got an opinion. Here’s mine: Who cares?

Repeat: This is not a big deal. Not yet.

This story barely scrapes the surface of relevance until he’s on the roster for Week 1, and hopefully with at least a somewhat defined role. Remember the excitement when the Patriots signed every receiver under the sun last offseason? It was nice on paper to give Tom Brady a few new old weapons in Deion Branch, Jabar Gaffney and Donte Stallworth, at least until they were all cut before camp broke.

Let’s consider the Pats’ options with Tebow:

1) At the moment, we’ve been led to believe by the reports that the wannabe NFL QB will serve as the team’s third-stringer behind Ryan Mallett, or perhaps even as the backup to Brady. Many pundits doubt Tebow’s ability to play the position well at the game’s highest level, despite a shooting star’s worth of success with the Broncos in 2011 in which he even won a playoff game before getting clobbered by Brady’s crew, 45-10, in the next round.

Over two seasons with the Broncos and one with the Jets that probably made him turn to the guy in the sky for sanity every so often, Tebow’s quarterback opportunities have produced 2,422 yards, 17 touchdowns, 9 interceptions and a 47.9% completion rate over 35 games. On the ground, he’s rushed for 989 yards and another 12 scores. He’s mobile, no doubt about it, and it’s his ability as a football player – not a quarterback, per se, but a player – that has always seemed to intrigue Pats coach Bill Belichick dating back to their pre-draft talks in 2010.

Ah, yes, the draft. That’s when now-Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels was head coach in Denver, and he traded away three picks for the right to select a Florida Heisman Trophy winner who’d mesmerized very few others, many of whom saw Tebow as benefiting from the profile of so many other players who despite success in college were unable to get the job done at the next level.

Again, only a few people seem to believe Tebow can be an NFL QB, or player for that matter. Hall of Famer Warren Moon suggested Tebow couldn’t even cut it in the Canadian Football League, and former pro Ron Jaworski felt the Arena League would be the answer. His supporters really may only include Tebow himself, McDaniels and maybe Belichick. Rumors be damned, it turns out Bill likes his game after all.

You’re probably thinking, “Umm … we have a quarterback.” Yes, and one of the all-time greats, who also happens to be under contract until he’s 40. That’s five more years. Barring injury, Tebow wouldn’t take a single snap ahead of Brady. Unlike in New York, there’s no QB controversy in Foxboro. Mark Sanchez stinks; Brady’s elite, even at 35. Need I remind you that Tebow couldn’t – or at least didn’t – start ahead of Greg McElroy when Sanchez was benched late last year? I suppose, in his defense, he only got to chuck eight passes and he completed six. Woo hoo!

What the Patriots could do is keep him around to practice, learn the system, study the playbook, and refill Brady’s Gatorade. Who knows, maybe as a long-term project, with the right coaching and mentorship, Tebow could be molded into an NFL-caliber quarterback after a few years? You at least have to wonder if that’s what they’re thinking in the offices at Gillette. Haven’t you heard? All He Does Is Win.

2) If not a quarterback, maybe Tebow could be used as a tight end. At 6-3 and 236 pounds, there’s no questioning the man’s athleticism and build. He’s tough, can take a hit, could probably block, and he’s a hard worker who genuinely seems eager to find a fit, even if he prefers to be under center. We know the Wildcat experiment didn’t pan out with Gang Green (and wouldn't exit here with Brady still breathing), but there also isn’t much evidence that Rex Ryan and company ever really gave it a shot. The coaching staff determined that he couldn’t play and that was essentially that. He’s a good kid and, regardless of his abilities, he got a raw deal.

If Tebow could handle the position – a big if – it would provide depth at a spot decimated by injuries. The Patriots shouldn’t be rushing Rob Gronkowski back onto the field any time soon, and Aaron Hernandez and Jake Ballard have their own histories of medical woes.

3+) Without blabbering on and on in this space, we may as well also throw fullback, H-back, linebacker, or a special teams role into the conversation. Again, with the right coaching and the Jets not around to screw things up, it’s possible Tebow could thrive under the tutelage of special teams captain Matthew Slater. We've seen guys like Troy Brown and Julian Edelman excel at various positions. Belichick enjoys reinventing guys and Tebow could in theory bring versatility.

That’s all any of the above is: theory. Until Tebow’s on the 53-man roster to start the season in one of the above roles, or even on the 45-man game day roster, this whole thing is moot. It’s not publicity because – unlike the Jets trying to steal headlines back from the Giants after a Super Bowl win – the Patriots don’t operate that way. There won’t be an enormous press conference to welcome a backup quarterback (or whatever he is) to town. Heck, not only would the Pats not think to do it, Belichick wouldn’t allow it. In Foxboro, you keep your mouth shut. The last guy to capture the media's attention with his comments was the greatest receiver in franchise history, and now he’s catching balls from Peyton Manning. Something for Tebow to keep in mind, since he fancies himself a media darling.

One thing Belichick does like, however, is being right while proving others wrong. In Bill We Trust, in part, comes from his long-standing desire to take on reclamation projects – whether for personality or talent-sake – and revitalize their careers. See Corey Dillon, Randy Moss, or the recently-jailed Chad Ochocinco. Obviously some have worked out better than others.

Plus, we’re certainly learning how much weight McDaniels carries in this organization. The man many expect to succeed Belichick one day has, you’d think, been involved in the acquisitions of Brandon Lloyd, Danny Amendola, Michael Hoomanawanui, Greg Salas, and now Tebow? Give the guy a reunion reality show already.

On Monday morning, we thought Tim Tebow’s NFL career was over. With a non-guaranteed contract, maybe it still is. This signing is the definition of “low risk, potential high reward.” The Patriots have nothing to lose so, in that sense, what the hell? But wake me when he actually makes the team.

Follow me on Twitter at @AdamMKaufman

Who needs DVR when you've got today's collection of Boston Sports Live and Globe 10.0 videos? I joined Chris Gasper on BSL, and Kevin Paul Dupont leads me for the quick-hitters.

The Chicago Blackhawks finished as the NHL's regular season champion, and now they'll battle the Boston Bruins for the 2013 Stanley Cup title. Imagine that, the Black and Gold with a chance at two titles in three years! So, how good are those Hawks? If you'd like an extended preview, along with some thoughts on Clay Buchholz and his latest injury, or Doc Rivers' coaching silence, this is for you.

As for those B's, we know how good David Krejci, Patrice Bergeron, Zdeno Chara, and Tuukka Rask have been to this point. Why not debate who's been the best?

Really, the question's got to be asked: Are they a team of destiny?

Most importantly, who wins??

The Red Sox are starting a tough stretch of 10 straight games against the Orioles and Rays but, with nearly 100 games to go in the regular season, is it that big of a deal?

Those same Sox also happen to be leading the majors in runs scored. Stop me if you've heard this before. Should we be shocked by their offensive performance?

Follow me on Twitter at @AdamMKaufman

“I’ve been here six years and I think I’ve been fired five times.”

Those were the words of Bruins head coach Claude Julien following his team’s shocking sweep of the heavily-favored Penguins to advance Boston to the Stanley Cup finals for the second time in three years.

You have to give Julien credit for having a sense of humor, even if his arithmetic is a little off. It’s been way more than five times. He’s the NHL’s Tom Coughlin.

It’s time, though, that the man who does nothing but win in the face of controversy receives the credit he deserves.

Admittedly, I wasn’t sold until the B’s unseated the Pens in the Eastern Conference finals. I wrote following the Bruins’ historic Game 7 comeback win over the Maple Leafs that Julien should have been fired had that game gone the other way, and I still believe he would’ve been. The loss would have been the bellwether for a team that was underprepared, had potentially stopped listening to its coach, and which needed – cliché alert! – a new voice in the dressing room. I know now that those words were misguided.

Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli joined “Salk and Holley” on WEEI following his club’s first round survival and was asked what-if questions about the future of Julien. For instance, suppose the B’s were in the midst of exit meetings, and not preparing for the Rangers?

“I feel strongly about our coach,” he said. “As long as I’m here, his job is safe.”

A fascinating statement, since the Bruins have taken a Patriots-like mentality when it comes to the contracts of upper management. How long either Chiarelli or Julien remain signed is an absolute mystery, though Julien did ink a multi-year extension in the summer of 2012.

A few days after the Chiarelli interview, team president Cam Neely made his weekly appearance with “Felger and Massarotti” on 98.5 The Sports Hub, and he deflected questions as to whether he shared his GM’s feelings, saying only that he was happy with how the year had gone to that point.

It would have been easy and seemingly justified to fire Julien following another abrupt playoff exit. After guiding the Bruins to three division titles and to the postseason in each of his six seasons in Boston, one championship sandwiched between an epic 2010 collapse and an opening-round defeat may have brought his leadership into question. It’d be fair to ask if that memorable series of victories in 2011 to secure the first Cup in 39 years was mere lightning in a bottle for a team that otherwise didn’t play to its potential?

Then you dig deeper and look at a 2010 team that was entirely or partially missing key cogs David Krejci, Marco Sturm, Marc Savard, Dennis Seidenberg and reigning Vezina trophy winner Tim Thomas. That’s no excuse to not win one game in four chances, but it’s worth mentioning.

Or, 2012, when Krejci was again likely playing through injury after taking a pane of glass to the head and neck, and his Bruins were grinding through seven hard-fought games vs. the Capitals, each decided by one goal with four claimed in overtime. Even the most casual fan knows that series could have gone the other way. Unfortunately for us locals, it didn’t.

Consider the total package. For all the ranting and raving fans and media alike do over Julien’s defense-first system or his unrelenting desire to roll four lines, it works. Players have committed to “doing the little things,” “buying into the structure,” and “paying the price.” They genuinely seem to enjoy playing for their coach, and have come to appreciate their roles on a roster littered with depth. Few teams boast fourth lines that could win their squad a playoff series, but Julien’s does. Ask the Rangers.

In 456 regular season games with the Bruins, Julien’s record is 256-144-56, a points-percentage of .623. Only the colorfully-dressed Don Cherry – 231-105-64 (.658) – shows a better mark in that area among B’s coaches who have lasted longer than three seasons or coached more than 200 games. As for wins, Julien trails just Art Ross (361-277-90), whose total required an additional decade on the bench.

No Bruins coach in franchise history has more playoff victories. In fact, only Red Wings boss Mike Babcock has more NHL postseason wins than Julien since he arrived in Boston in 2007-08, an edge of 51 to 48, but the man barking orders to the B’s possesses a better playoff winning percentage at .608 (48-31) to Babcock’s .593 (51-35).

All of those facts are nice, but only one really matters. The Bruins have won six Stanley Cup titles, driven by the leadership of Cy Denneny, Ross, Cooney Weiland, Harry Sinden, Tom Johnson – all Hall of Famers – and Julien. No B’s coach in 88 seasons has ever been to the top of the mountain twice.

Julien’s just four wins away.

If the Bruins upset the regular season champion Blackhawks, Claude Julien is instantly Terry Francona and one ring away from drawing local comparisons to Bill Belichick. He would belong in the conversation of the city’s immortal figures, those forever revered and for whom drinks will always be free.

More than that, however, he would become arguably the greatest Bruins coach of all-time.

The career minor league player who got his first taste of NHL coaching experience in 2002-03 at 42 years of age has – after mixed success in Montreal and a raw deal in New Jersey – matured like a fine wine before our very eyes while we were too busy complaining about his sometimes stubborn approach. That strategy, mind you, has thus far garnered him a Jack Adams Award and the ability to drink from Lord Stanley’s Cup.

Alas, coaching is a What Have You Done for Me Lately line of work, so it is little surprise that Julien has gone from fired to borderline untouchable twice in a span of three postseasons.

As Chiarelli frustratingly noted in that WEEI interview, likely wondering why the topic won’t just go away, “His record speaks for itself. It’s easy to dissect anybody’s record and find negative points, but this guy has won a Cup, he’s been in the playoffs every year, we’ve been in the second round I don’t know how many times, and he’s got the second most [playoff] wins [since 2007-08]. It’s unfair. I know it comes with the territory, but I feel strongly about Claude and his staff.”

Maybe it’s time the rest of us do, too.

Follow me on Twitter at @AdamMKaufman

Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals between the Bruins and Penguins is tonight at the Garden. Below is today's chat with readers to preview the game.

Prediction: Pittsburgh takes the game, and Boston the series (duh).

Follow me on Twitter at @AdamMKaufman

A popular topic for debate since the Bruins’ collective 9-1 thumping of the Penguins in Pittsburgh is whether, after just two games, the series is effectively over.

One subject featuring no mystery, however, is Brad Marchand’s postseason prowess.

The team’s regular season goals and points leader got off to a slow start against the Maple Leafs in the opening round – when he produced just three assists and was largely ineffective – but the infuriating-to-play-against winger has rediscovered his old self and vaulted into the top five in playoff scoring among the B’s with four goals, seven assists and 11 points through 14 games. In the process, he has also brought back the pestering persona opponents and their fans loathe. It’s an act rivaled only by, well, his acting.

Marchand’s performance over the last five weeks – the two most important goals of the night in Game 2 against the Penguins, the game-winning overtime goal versus the Rangers in that series opener, his assist on Patrice Bergeron’s winner to oust Toronto, just to pick a few – should come as no surprise. It’s just what he does.

Remember the 2011 postseason? Of course you do. Marchand, an NHL freshman at the time, ranked second on the Bruins in goals with 11, third in points at 19, and he contributed a plus-12 rating in 25 games. The biggest of all came in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals against Vancouver when he buried two goals and added an assist in a 4-0 road shutout to get the Duck Boats parading through Boston. In that series, he registered five goals and two assists – all in the final five games. He also turned Daniel Sedin into a punching bag.

Go ahead and take a quick trip down Memory Lane.

For many Bruins fans, that’s when his legend really began, despite a Seventh Player Award winning rookie campaign during the regular season. The year prior, he was just some little guy with one career NHL point in 20 games who sat and watched the 2010 meltdown from the press level, patiently waiting for his turn. Tough to imagine these days, isn’t it?

Those who have followed the B’s 2006 third-round pick over his career know all too well, though, that playoff time is when Marchand thrives.

Way back in 2006, the now 25-year-old’s second junior season with the QMJHL’s Wildcats, Marchand led Moncton to a President’s Cup championship and runner-up honors in the Memorial Cup tournament, thanks to 19 points in 20 games.

The following season with the Val d’Or Foreurs, he amassed postseason digits that can only be described as wicked awesome. Try this on for size: 16 goals, 24 assists, 40 points in 20 games. That’s half the point-total he produced during the entire regular season. His club once again reached the President’s Cup finals, where they lost through no fault of Marchand’s.

A year later, as a member of his third QMJHL team in as many seasons, Marchand helped guide Halifax to a round shy of another President’s Cup finals appearance. He was instrumental in the Mooseheads’ success with 19 points in 14 games.

Having already long taken notice, the Bruins finally got to capitalize on Marchand’s efforts for the first time in 2009 when he was a rookie with the Providence Bruins. He took the P-Bruins all the way to the AHL’s final four before falling in five games to the eventual champion Hershey Bears. Along the way, he scored seven goals and assisted on eight others in 16 contests.

Marchand’s been damn near a point-per-game performer every single year, save for last season when the B’s bowed out in the first round to the Capitals and his only two points of the series came in one outing. It was an anomaly, and he’s once again proving so. I’d bet his parents could probably provide some jaw-dropping postseason stories from his days as a mite or pee-wee, too.

Big game players do big game things. There’s a reason he was also a two-time gold medal winner for Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championships in 2007 and 2008. Marchand flourishes on the grandest of stages.

Speaking of stages, if all goes well, we’ll see him on one in a few weeks. If we’re lucky, it’ll look something like this.

Follow me on Twitter at @AdamMKaufman

Matt Cooke does not need to be suspended by the National Hockey League; he needs to be expelled from it.

The 14th year pro and Pittsburgh Penguins forward was up to his old reckless tricks on Saturday night in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals when, just 1:32 into the second period, he lined up Bruins defenseman Adam McQuaid at the numbers and launched him into the boards face first. Watch the video for yourself. It wasn’t clean and it didn’t have to happen. Cooke could have altered his path or simply finished his check with less force. Instead, his subsequent denials and confusion over why he received a major penalty in the first place notwithstanding, he attempted to take McQuaid out.

McQuaid fortunately escaped mostly unscathed, save for almost 10 minutes away from the ice getting examined in the quiet room because of his concussion history, while Cooke received 15 penalty minutes and no further discipline from the league. He could and perhaps should have been suspended for as much as the remainder of the round but because McQuaid returned to the game and since Cooke hasn’t been docked time in over two years, he essentially received the hockey equivalent of “no harm, no foul” and early parole for good behavior.

It should be noted, in case you've forgotten, that it wasn't the pair's first rodeo.

Maybe this will just be an impassioned rant from a Bruins fan, but I’d like to think it is also from someone who loves hockey. It has little to do with Saturday’s singular event and everything to do with one man’s disruptive, tragic body of work.

Hockey is a violent sport when played correctly and within the rules of the game. Skill and finesse aside, there’s an aggressive, physical element that makes it downright dangerous on countless occasions every single night.

The game doesn’t need guys like Cooke, Raffi Torres, or any other pugilist in recent memory running around carelessly and with intent to injure. Consider the fact that Cooke, laughably a Masterton Trophy nominee last season, has been suspended five times in his career – three for direct hits to the head – for a total of 27 games, and that the worst bodily harm he’s inflicted has not even resulted in missed time.

All-Star centerman Marc Savard took a vicious elbow to the head from Cooke on March 7, 2010 that essentially ended his career. The only time he’s ever heard from now is on Twitter. For all we know, he’s spending the rest of his time in dark rooms, away from loud noise and bright light, dealing with post-concussion symptoms that could linger for the rest of his life.

Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson had his Achilles tendon severed by Cooke with his skate blade just a few months ago on February 13, 2013. Following the incident, for which Cooke again avoided corrective action as this one was largely perceived to be an accident, Senators owner Eugene Melnyk said, “To have [Karlsson] taken out by a goon is unconscionable. It’s something that never should have happened. [Cooke] should never be playing in this league. It’s a league for elite players.”

Cooke’s hit on McQuaid prompted an incredible reaction with fans calling for the forward’s head, save for those who root for the Penguins. Had the check been delivered by another player, in all likelihood there would have been some momentary anguish by Bruins supporters before quickly moving on and basking in an impressive victory.

However, Cooke has earned his reputation and he’s considered Enemy Number One in several NHL circles, most certainly Boston. There’s a reason why NBC had video of a three-year-old hit on Savard queued up and ready to air. There was an expectation that something could or would occur involving Cooke. Maybe the network would have shown it regardless but, odds are, if he plays a clean game, that injury receives no more than a passing mention. After all, when a guy has a low-light reel, there’s reason to expect the worst.

Cooke, to echo Melnyk, doesn’t belong in the game. There’s no room for a guy – someone claiming to be reformed, mind you – running around taking opponents’ careers, livelihood and maybe even their lives into his own hands for the purpose of getting an edge for his team. It’s dirty, it’s foul, it’s inexcusable, and no suspension, not even for a full season, would suffice.

There are a breathtaking number of hypocrites in Pittsburgh from owner Mario Lemieux on down, people who claim hits like the ones Cooke provides don’t belong in the game, while simultaneously defending and supporting their player against most of the allegations that come his way. How about some consistency? How would Lemieux feel if another team had a player who inflicted serious injury upon Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, or any of his other Miami Heat-like superstars?

Now, obviously, Cooke’s outright removal from the NHL would never happen for a number of reasons.

Among them, it opens the door to a whole other set of issues for the league since the Players Association would be up in arms and legal fees for the inevitable lawsuits would be substantial. The expulsion wouldn’t stand. Also, the NHL enjoys having its villains. Every sport prefers to advertise a blend of good and evil. The contrast is positive for business. But there’s a difference between villains like Brad Marchand who agitate and whom opposing teams love to hate but aren’t generally dirty, compared to someone like Cooke who’s a magnet for self-imposed controversy.

The simplest way to get rid of Cooke and others like him is to gradually phase them out into retirement. They’re already few and far between because the game has evolved in such a way that suspensions and considerable penalties are becoming more commonplace at the lower levels. Hits from behind or hazardous head shots are resulting in significant suspension for the sake of player safety and making the rules known. Remember when Dougie Hamilton was booted for 10 games in juniors?

Players are learning a new brand of hockey at a younger age that differs drastically from the days when it seemed like anything went. We’ve already seen the one-trick pony fighters virtually eliminated from the game and soon too will be the cheap-shot artists. It’ll just take time.

As for Cooke, enough’s enough. Is the league waiting for the next major incident? The one after that? How many strikes does a guy get? How many more people have to get hurt?

Make a statement, NHL, and do it with the same determined strength with which Matt Cooke delivers each of his devastating blows.

Follow me on Twitter at @AdamMKaufman

I hate the Yankees. As a native New Englander it’s in my blood.

As a child in this region, you’re taught to despise the Bombers with such vigor and venom that you start to think you might actually loath the entire state, its inhabitants, and all of the other teams that, consciously, you otherwise couldn’t care less about. My dad did that for me and my brother, and I’ll do it for my son.

What’s interesting, though, is that with the hatred comes a certain respect. As long as your team is doing well, for instance, there’s a part of you – maybe bigger than you realize – that wants to see your club’s rival succeed as well, just up until that point where your beloved squad squashes that nemesis like the insignificant bug the rest of you believes it to be.

When the 2013 baseball season began just a couple short months ago, the public debate over the Red Sox and Yankees was a different one than in years past. The argument concerned which club would finish last in the division, Boston expected to enter a bridge year and New York simply too old and too hurt.

If we listened to the supposed experts – or games actually were played on paper – the Blue Jays would be sitting atop the East, followed by either the Orioles or Rays, and then the teams of yesteryear.

But here we are. It’s May 31 and the Sox pace the Yanks by two games in the East to rank second in the American League standings and in the top six in the majors. After last year’s misery, you may have to read that last sentence a few more times before actually believing it.

On the diamond, Boston and New York is widely considered the best rivalry in sports. However, let’s be realistic. This “rivalry” is one that exists far greater in the minds of fans than that of the players, and that’s been true for years. Long gone are the days where a player in any sport hates his opponent because of the laundry. There are exceptions, sure, but they are just that. The rule today is one of camaraderie, super-teams and trying to manufacture dynasties with financial creativity. In a salary cap-less baseball, deep pockets are vital.

In the case of the Red Sox and Yankees, there’s a reason why it’s been so easy over the years for men like Roger Clemens, Wade Boggs, Johnny Damon, Mike Stanley, David Wells, Kevin Youkilis, Ramiro Mendoza, David Cone or Tom Gordon – to name a small sample – to change sides. Do you really think Pedro Martinez or Nomar Garciapparra, among other recent Sox greats, wouldn’t have gone to the Bronx if the price was right? Jonathan Papelbon said this week that he’d pitch there.

That’s just the business side of the game. What about on the field?

Yes, the teams are fairly even all-time in the regular season with the men in pinstripes boasting a 1,145-960-14 record and, yes, at least one of the two teams has made the playoffs every year since 1995, but I don’t need to remind you the Yankees won a major league record 26 World Series during that nasty “cursed” period? When the world championship scoreboard reads 26-0 for almost 90 years, you don’t have a rivalry, you have memories, and we have a million between these two organizations that date back over a century.

Some, better termed nightmares, we’ve only read about, like the $125,000 sale of a man called Babe.

Others we’d prefer to forget, like a certain two men who in these parts will forever have “expletive” as their legal middle names in print.

Another, it’s hard not to be embarrassed by, featuring a jovial, lanky righthander with the stuff of fables using his flame-throwing strength to toss an old man on the ground. No, he didn't start the fight, but maybe there was another way to finish it.

Obnoxious chants of “1918” and a series so bad it received the nickname, “Boston Massacre,” never mind the tragic transaction losses – at least at the time – of superstars Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira.

But, surely, they haven’t all been bad.

You could find strong-headed Hall of Fame catcher Carlton Fisk abusing any challenger who dared raise a hand to him, like Thurman Munson in 1973 or the fiery Lou Piniella three years later.

Then there’s dinosaur-skeptic Carl Everett breaking up Mike Mussina’s perfect game bid with two outs and two strikes in the ninth inning.

We can’t forget Pedro’s one-hit, 17-strikeout gem in September of 1999 in the midst of a pennant race, a game still occasionally replayed on TV almost 15 years later.

Of course, there was history, when the Red Sox became the first team in baseball to rally from three defeats to win a seven-game series against the Evil Empire in the 2004 championship round. It happened at the hands of the greatest closer ever to play the sport, and spurred eight straight victories, countless books, movies, “do you remember when’s,” Derek Jeter’s golf schedule, and one unforgettable tale. Just striking up a conversation about Dave Roberts’ steal or Curt Schilling’s bloody sock might get you a free drink in some bars around Kenmore.

And, in all likelihood, none of that last stanza happens without captain Jason Varitek’s gloved face-plant of a hated cheater named A-Rod a few months earlier.

Most if not all of the above occurred at a time when both the Red Sox and Yankees were prospering simultaneously, regardless of the result at season’s end. When one team is good, it benefits the other to be playing well, too. It adds interest, drama, and context to an arena rarely lacking in any of the three. Plus, there’s no minimizing the satisfaction of eventually squaring off with a rival for a chance at superiority; just look at the Celtics and Lakers, Patriots and Colts and, starting this weekend, the Bruins and Penguins. It counts the same, but means so much more.

Admittedly, the theater between the Sox and Yanks has been stale in recent years. The clubs haven’t faced off in the postseason since the “Idiots” showed their smarts nearly a decade ago, and almost 20 regular season tilts a year certainly waters down the excitement to the point where more fun teams to watch or others infrequently seen arguably become more compelling.

That said, tonight starts yet another chapter after Boston grabbed two-of-three contests to begin the year. With Teixeira and Youkilis expected back in the lineup, New York – still without superstars Jeter, Rodriguez, Curtis Granderson, and Andy Pettitte – is getting healthier. Unsung castaways like Vernon Wells, Travis Hafner and Lyle Overbay have carried them to his point, but that probably won’t last forever.

To this point, though, I’m glad it has. It’ll make those seven meetings in September a lot more interesting.

Follow me on Twitter at @AdamMKaufman

It was another busy day on Morrissey Boulevard. I dropped by this afternoon for Boston Sports Live with Chris Gasper and Globe 10.0 with Kevin Paul Dupont. Grab a candy bar and get comfortable.

Gasper and I were joined in the first segment of the show by Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette to preview anything and everything concerning the Bruins and Penguins, a conference finals series I believe the Pens will win in seven games.

Later, in the full episode, we discussed Rob Gronkowski's latest injury and his future with the Patriots. A reminder, the Patriots should take their time getting the hulking tight end back on the field.

We also dove into the bizarre Clay Buchholz injury and the overachieving, injury-riddled Yankees.

When Dupes and I sat down, it was all Gronk talk to start. Have we seen the best of this guy already? Yeesh.

Then, the Hockey Hall of Famer and I debated whether Tuukka Rask can be a savior in net against the Pens.

To wrap, back to baseball...who will be the last team standing in September? The Red Sox or Yankees?

Follow me on Twitter at @AdamMKaufman

It’s hard not to think back to 2011 these days if you’re a Bruins fan.

Not even two years ago, the Bruins were hoisting the Stanley Cup in the land of the Canucks, and yet in many ways it feels like it’s been a decade. But, here we are, the B’s survivors of the Leafs, just as they were the Canadiens, and fresh off a thumping of the Rangers, not unlike the retaliatory spanking they gave the Flyers.

Entering the 2013 conference finals, however, the Penguins in waiting are nothing like the Lightning the Bruins edged along their path to sports immortality. In fact, they’re far more similar to that team that resides in western Canada.

Skilled throughout, deep up front, big, the ability to score at will, and a power play that comes with a back-up generator, are just some of the comparisons.

Make no mistake, for the Bruins to win four of their next seven games, they’ll have to be at their absolute best, and virtually any and all decisions they make must be the right ones.

Should the offensively-challenged Jaromir Jagr remain on the second line as Tyler Seguin continues to try and find himself on the third unit? To start, I say yes…but Claude Julien had better know.

Should Zdeno Chara be paired defensively with the newly healthy Dennis Seidenberg despite Pittsburgh’s staggered superstar offense, when the case could be made for putting one against Sidney Crosby and friends while the other faces off with Evgeni Malkin’s crew? Again, I say yes … but Julien’s strategy could be costly if wrong.

Should rookie surprises Torey Krug and Matt Bartkowski remain in the lineup over experienced veterans Andrew Ference or Wade Redden, if the latter two are healthy? This would seem a resounding ‘Yes!’ across Boston…but imagine the tongue-lashing Claude could be in for from us know-it-alls in the media if rookie mistakes end up losing the Bruins a game whilst elder defensemen watch from the press box.

It’s very, very easy to play the What If game, and if Julien had all the answers there’d be no need to hold the series. The unknowns are a part of why we love sports.

One thing we don't love but can't really dispute is the belief that the Penguins are better than the Bruins. They’ve got an offense that produces 4.3 goals per game, converts 28.3 percent of the time on the power play (13 man-advantage goals in 11 playoff games is just silly), and thrives when shorthanded at 89.7 percent on the penalty kill. The Bruins’ power play has come on of late with four goals – three by Krug – in 12 opportunities against the Rangers, but you still largely don’t know what to expect when those two minutes start ticking down, and the same can be said of the kill in the postseason – 81.1 percent – after that was a strength during the regular season. Did I mention they beat the Bruins in all three meetings this season without Malkin?

If you’re looking for an edge on the Boston side, put a check mark between the pipes. Tuukka Rask, butt stumble aside, has been fantastic with a 2.22 goals-against average and .928 save percentage. Against New York, he was even better, registering a 1.86 GAA and .936 stoppage rate. He’s younger, more athletic and is less susceptible to errant rebounds than his counterpart, 36-year-old Tomas Vokoun. While the goalie’s been a game-changer for Pittsburgh since taking over for Marc-Andre Fleury late in the first round – posting a 6-1 record with one shutout, a 1.85 GAA and .941 save percentage – most pundits would agree Rask holds the advantage. Purely defensively speaking, the blueliners in front of him may as well. Still, I’d be remiss, even if it goes against my point, if I didn’t mention that Rask is 1-4-0 with a 2.63 GAA in his career against the Penguins while Vokoun’s won four of his last five decisions at the hands of the Bruins.

When this series finally starts on Saturday (yeah, it’s really going to happen!), we can stop talking about the lengthy time off and which squad benefited more by the rest. You could argue the Bruins based on age and infirmary reports, plus they flourished in the first half of their abbreviated season when games were few and far between but, in reality, the teams are on equal footing at this point. Both will have had longer than a week to get ready, whether physically, mentally, emotionally or any other “ally”. No excuses.

We can even attempt – hard as it will be – to follow the clubs’ lead and ignore the ugly past histories between the organizations.

Cam Neely and Ulf Samuelsson. Marc Savard and Matt Cooke. Peter Chiarelli and Ray Shero. Jaromir Jagr and Jarome Iginla. Jagr and the place that made him a Hall of Famer. Matt Bartkowski and the team he grew up rooting for. The Penguins’ consecutive playoff eliminations of the Bruins at this point back in 1991 and 1992, helped by a too-young-to-legally-drink-in-the-United-States Jagr. If we’re really reaching, the Pens’ top affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton rallying from an 0-3 hole to beat the Providence Bruins in four straight in the second round of the AHL playoffs only days ago.

We could spend hours dissecting each and every one of those areas but, once the puck finally drops, history doesn’t matter; only the present.

For the Hub’s Black and Gold to pull off the upset, they must build on what they did against the Blue Shirts. Win with speed, physicality, shutdown defense, superior goaltending, production across the board, and even a hint of shock, as they received from their youthful defensemen and an offensively-charged fourth line.

Moreover, old man Jagr will have to take shorter shifts and get on the scoreboard, which has been a problem for over a month. Seguin will have to keep elevating his play, as he did in the final two games of the second round. Chris Kelly’s line will, at the very least, have to play even hockey, rather than the collective minus-12 it’s sitting at to this point in the postseason. David Krejci’s line will have to continue drinking the magic potion it found a dozen games ago. And, Patrice Bergeron…well, his defense against Sid the Kid will be just as important as the offense he creates alongside Brad Marchand.

These teams have been here before. Both have won Cups during the Obama administration. There’s substantial experience on either side. This is the matchup everyone wanted, including the Bruins. Their message after practice on Tuesday ranged from “bring it on” to “we wish the series started tonight.” As the cliché goes, to be the best, you have to beat the best, and the B’s know it. Most expect the Penguins to skate off to another finals appearance in five or six games. I think this thing’s got legs for seven, but it’s still hard to pick against the Steel City.

Then again, there was that 2011 postseason ...

Follow me on Twitter at @AdamMKaufman

I had another enjoyable couple hours this afternoon chatting about the upcoming - we do think it's coming up, right? - Bruins and Penguins Eastern Conference final series. In the transcript below, you'll find just about all the nuggets you're looking for concerning the match-up, how the B's can win, and a brief look at the conference semis out west.

Despite the Red Sox' success of late, we also dove into some of the question marks surrounding the team, and hit on a few of the many unknowns surrounding the Celtics and Patriots as well.

Oh, and the inevitable Jean-Claude Van Damme discussion in hopes he'll finally make me president of his fan club.

I look forward to hearing from all of you again soon. Thanks for joining in!

Follow me on Twitter at @AdamMKaufman

A number of factors have contributed to the Bruins' somewhat surprising 3-1 series lead on the Rangers, and one of them is certainly the play of young defensemen Matt Bartkowski and Torey Krug.

Forced into action by injuries, the two were scooped up from the Triple-A Providence Bruins and thrust into playing big minutes, which have yielded even bigger results. Bartkowski, averaging about 20 minutes a night, scored a goal in the Game 7 win over the Leafs and has added an assist against the Blue Shirts for two points in six games, while the lesser-known Krug, with a rapidly growing legend, is a point-per-game player with three goals and an assist, as he’s averaged roughly 16 minutes in his four contests. It would seem the only thing standing in their way is the health of Dennis Seidenberg and Andrew Ference.

Without the dynamic duo, their P-Bruins suffered the same tragic collapse on Wednesday night as their parent club three seasons ago. Providence grabbed a commanding 3-0 series advantage on Wilkes-Barre/Scranton before the Penguins rallied to become the third American Hockey League club to successfully overcome such a deficit.

The junior Bruins’ loss has been the senior Bruins’ gain, causing many to wonder why and how Bartkowski, 24, and Krug, 22, are playing so well and if that boils down even partially to team strategy.

Below, we’re enlightened by P-Bruins second-year head coach Bruce Cassidy, the team’s assistant for the prior three years.

How do the systems between Boston and Providence differ, particularly as it concerns the defensemen?

“Away from the puck, defensively, they’re exactly the same. When I took the head job, I sat down that summer with [Bruins general manager] Peter Chiarelli, [assistant general manager] Don Sweeney and with [head coach] Claude [Julien]’s input as well about getting aligned. I noticed there were some differences when players went up so we talked about getting a similar structure away from the puck. How you break out, how you get back, how you defend in the neutral zone reading rushes. Defensive zone coverage is the same.

“But, with the puck, we’ve changed it a little bit in terms of our pace. I don’t think it’s anything system-wise; we just encourage our guys to transition quick. Any turnover, any kind of regroup, we try to go quick. We don’t always go D-to-D, make a play, and go back to the defenseman. We get going and try to play fast before the other team sets their defense.

“I don’t know if that’s different in Boston, I just know that’s how we play. Some of it is the personality of the players. We don’t have [Zdeno] Chara, Adam [McQuaid] or [Johnny] Boychuk. We have smaller, quicker guys who have to play to their strengths, so we’ve evolved into that.”

We’ve seen a lot from Bartkowski and Krug jumping up in the play and getting involved offensively for Boston. Would you say there’s more of that in Providence?

“I think there is, simply because of the makeup of the players. You get Torey Krug; he’s a 5-9 defenseman who comes out of college as an offensive-minded guy, so we can’t turn him into a big, stay-back D. He’s got to defend and play well, but his top assets are his puck skills and his ability to move his feet and see the ice. Bart skates so well in a straight line that any time he can play fast and put the defense on its heels, we’re just playing to their strengths. Adam McQuaid’s not capable of doing what some of these guys can do, but Adam’s a better shot-blocker, defensive-defenseman, toughness role. It’s what we have, so it’s the way we play.

“As a coach, you can’t get guys to do everything. There’s not enough time, so we encourage quicker transitions and playing fast. I’m not in meetings in Boston so I don’t know if they encourage more setting up in the neutral zone, getting to their spots and running certain plays before they get moving, whereas we read off the puck carrier from our spots and get ready to go quick.

“I know a lot of people are saying, ‘Why don’t they play quicker?’ Well one reason Bart and Krug do is because it’s one of their best strengths as good skaters and puck-movers. Claude’s got them doing the same thing. It’s been inbred here and they’re taking it up there and being allowed to do it.”

As someone who’s been around Bartkowski and Krug virtually every day this season, what’s your perception of how they’ve played in Boston so far?

“I think with Bart, I’m not surprised. He’s had chances [20 regular season games since 2010] and maybe he wasn’t ready his first time around to play big minutes, but he turned the corner in the Toronto game almost out of necessity. Sometimes that’s how you find out about players – you just gotta throw them in there. That’s what happened because of the injuries and I think he earned the trust of his teammates, coaches and himself a little bit. With him being a third-year guy, I figured at some point that would be his evolution, he’d get his chance, though I couldn’t have predicted it would be in a Game 7 in the playoffs. It just worked out that way. He’s paid his dues, improved, cleaned up areas he needed to get better in, he’s been more proactive from the puck-drop, and he’s just matured.

“With Krug, no, I didn’t expect him to go up and sort of pick up right where he left off in Providence, joining the rush and having so much confidence with the puck. That’s just something that some guys have and some guys don’t, being able to take advantage of what for him is really his first real opportunity [aside from three regular season games]. He’s taken the bull by the horns, and you just don’t see that coming until they get up there.

“Part of it is that the puck has followed him. As an offensive-defenseman, you’re gonna have games where the situations don’t set up, you’re supporting the rush but the puck never finds you. It’s just good that it’s found him because he can make high-skill plays, and the games have played out well for his skill-set. At some point, though, like any other offensive player, the puck stops bouncing your way and you’ve got to be able to play your game and still contribute and that may be the test for him. Down the road, who knows? But it sure looks like he can handle the physical part of it.”

It’s obviously a small sample size, but are these guys potentially setting themselves up to be in the NHL next year?

“It’ll probably be discussed the more they play in the playoffs. That’s how guys find their way into the lineup, by taking advantage of an opportunity. If they can do it in May, you assume they can do it in September and October. But, yeah, there are a lot of examples of guys who go up, things go well for them, and then the next training camp starts and it’s a different animal. No one can predict the future.”

Follow me on Twitter at @AdamMKaufman

When Terry Francona was hired to manage the Red Sox in 2004, fans were justifiably skeptical – and that’s putting it lightly for the hefty portion of the Boston community that blasted the move. After four miserable years in Philadelphia and three subsequent seasons out of the skipper’s chair, there was little reason for optimism.

When he was fired – and Tito was axed, despite ownership’s insistence that he left on his own accord following the epic September collapse of 2011 – he left a smeared hero with arguably the greatest tenure of any Sox manager in franchise history.

For the first time since his messy divorce from the team, Francona returns to Fenway Park as a competitor tonight with his Central Division-leading Cleveland Indians, and boy will it be strange to see him in the third base dugout.

Sure, the media-friendly manager’s been back at the Fens a number of times since his ugly exit, whether as an ESPN commentator or to reluctantly join in the Park’s centennial in 2012.

It’s also not the first time his Indians have met his former ballclub, as the Sox swept the Tribe last month to the tune of a 19-8 overall drubbing in Cleveland.

But, location’s everything, and this evening is sure to be different when the two teams open a four-game set.

Admittedly, a star player returning to the city where he carved out a Hall of Fame career would be a bigger deal, but this is still noteworthy.

After all, he helped redefine winning for a franchise that had been championship-starved since Woodrow Wilson was in office. How about two World Series crowns during the George W. Bush era alone? Those self-proclaimed “Idiots” brought home one of the more entertaining titles Boston has ever seen.

He was at the helm as the organization reached record profits, and also unfortunately when ownership shifted its focus to ratings-driven sexiness and the dollar over winning on the diamond.

He was even in charge when the pink hat craze came to life, though you can pin that one on his bosses as well.

The Sox were the farthest thing from irrelevancy, certainly, but Francona guided them to a new dimension. Based on his track record, this might be akin to Tom Heinsohn or Claude Julien returning with other teams, which Julien may someday. There’s really no Patriots equivalent since only Bill Belichick has won a championship in New England. Raymond Berry would seem the closest.

To celebrate, there likely won’t be the sellout-caliber crowd Francona grew accustomed to from 2004-11 when the Red Sox never allowed for an empty seat – at least in the books – but fans will come out in droves. They’ll flock to the stands, complete with signs, banners and maybe even bald Big Heads, to give the man who delivered this city an eight-year run for the ages the ultimate standing ovation, just as they roared his name when he emerged from the center field garage a shade over a year ago on what may have been the last occasion he’ll ever don a Sox jersey.

Just imagine the cries if the Sox weren’t first place contenders themselves under John Farrell. Had the meeting occurred last year, Bobby Valentine may have put on the Groucho Marx disguise and booked it for his bike right after the exchange of lineup cards.

Don’t expect a video montage of his time on Yawkey Way, either. That’s too cheesy even for this marketing group. A free cribbage set to the first 5,000 fans? Maybe.

Alas, as we remember all too well, the Red Sox’ second-winningest manager of all-time was ushered out of town the scapegoat on the heels of chicken and beer and an out of shape, chemistry-less clubhouse of players who stopped listening and forgot about baseball when owners treated them like they were at Club Med. For Francona, recent memory may very well depict Boston as a place where years of service and devotion were repaid in the form of leaks to media about a pain pill addiction and marital troubles, with speculation that perhaps he was no longer fit to lead.

As we witnessed in 2012, sometimes the troubles really do start with the players. The bad managers magnify those issues, while the good ones create a mask. Francona did so through loyalty to more than a few big egos, emotional honesty, self-deprecating humor, and with an even temper.

Yes, some fans did grimace over Francona’s in-game decisions and trotted out nicknames like “Francoma” during his time here but, overall, he was overwhelmingly popular and his termination was a PR nightmare for a team that holds public image to the highest regard. The smear campaign coupled with the Bobby V hire made everything worse, and Francona look that much better.

It’s a new day in Boston and the Red Sox are on the upswing, and it's nice to see the same can be said for Tito’s Indians.

After finishing fourth in the Central in 2012 with 68 wins – one less than the Sox, if you can believe it – Cleveland’s 26-19 and a half-game ahead of the World Series runners-up Tigers. For context, the Indians haven’t made the playoffs since 2007 and have not consistently challenged since Kenny Lofton’s second tour. Plus, they’ve had their success in spite of star acquisition Michael Bourn’s nearly month-long trip to the disabled list.

The suit and tie ditched for a uniform and cap, Francona’s finally enjoying the game again and he deserves it.

Wonder if he’ll get lost on the way to the third base dugout?

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It’s a lot of fun to be a fan of Rob Gronkowski.

The Patriots tight end hangs out with porn stars. He was offered $3.5 million to star in an adult film. He takes the expression, “No shirt, no shoes, no problem,” to a whole new level. He may as well be an honorary member of the WWE. And, Mr. “Yo soy fiesta” can certainly dance.

There’s a reason Pats teammate Logan Mankins once said he’s a “big meathead who loves to party and play football.”

Best of all, while team owner Robert Kraft and coach Bill Belichick can’t possibly enjoy all the public exploits, the man affectionately known as “Gronk” isn’t breaking the law or hurting anybody. He’s just having fun.

The problem is Gronkowski’s also not doing himself any favors.

The 6-foot-6, 265-pound, Herculean-looking receiver turned 24 years old just a few days ago and, today, he’s set to undergo his fourth surgery on a broken left forearm. As we know, he originally suffered the freak injury on Nov. 18, 2012 vs. the Colts during a meaningless extra point play that he’d been part of maybe three million times before, and then he re-broke the forearm on Jan. 13 in the Patriots’ first playoff game against the Texans. For six weeks, there have been rumblings this surgery was coming and now it’s here. If all goes well and there’s no reemergence of the infection that’s slowed his recovery, Gronkowski should only miss about 10 weeks.

Then, of course, there was Friday’s wrinkle: Gronkowski may need minor back surgery as well for a disk issue related to an injury from last season. Fortunately, it’s said to be unrelated to the spine ailment he suffered at Arizona that cost him his junior campaign and dropped him to the second round and into New England’s happy little lap.

According to reports, whether it’s the forearm surgery or the possible addition of a back procedure, Gronkowski shouldn’t miss any of the 2013 regular season, though he would likely begin training camp on the physically unable to perform list.

Let’s be clear. There’s absolutely no quantifiable reason to believe Gronkowski’s carefree lifestyle has anything to do with his durability or lack thereof in recent months, and the guy’s certainly had his share of bad luck.

However, when he’s dancing his butt off on an injured ankle immediately following Super Bowl XLVI after the injury rendered him … let’s just say less than stellar… in his team’s loss, that’s poor judgment.

When, one year later – and only a few short months ago – he’s shirtless at a Las Vegas night club, wearing a cast on his forearm, and impressively executing a wrestling move that involves him landing on his back, that’s poor judgment.

This isn’t a post to vilify Gronkowski for issues that have already been harped on time and time again on TV, radio and in print, so I’ll stop there. Still, public perception allows for people to think whatever they’d like.

Gronkowski has said there’s no reason for fans or anyone else to be concerned he’s not taking care of his body at home or in the weight room and, look at the guy, who could doubt that? As he’s acknowledged, he only knows one speed and that’s full speed.

All that said, I’m absolutely worried about Gronkowski and the Patriots should be too. He was as durable as athletes come his first two years on the field until that injury in the 2011 playoffs. Then, in 2012, he appeared in just 11 games with the repeat forearm breaks and missed the postseason. He had a serious back injury in college, and there’s at least a blip on that radar again. When it comes to Gronk, doctors are getting really good at the game Operation.

You’d hope these aren’t the kind of injures that linger once corrected but, before he’s 100 percent, his conditioning will certainly take a hit and that should extend the timetable for when he’s deemed ready.

Now here’s where I probably differ from the Patriots: I could not care less whether Gronkowski’s on the field for the regular season opener.

I realize Wes Welker’s gone, Aaron Hernandez and Julian Edelman are both banged up, and there are a bunch of new faces who don’t know the system or have their own medically-checkered pasts, but the In Bill We Trust-er in me thinks the Pats are a playoff team with or without big Rob so long as Belichick’s on the sidelines and Tom Brady’s taking the snaps. Plus, the AFC East will continue to be a punching bag. Come the postseason, however, the team’s success – at least offensively – may very well rely on Gronkowski.

I’m not saying SIT THE GUY. That’s crazy. In three regular seasons and two playoff runs, Gronkowski’s totaled 208 receptions, 2,986 yards and 41 touchdowns over 47 games, and he fumbles about as frequently as you’d think he passes on a free drink. There’s a reason the two-time Pro Bowler and All-Pro is the NFL’s highest-paid tight end ever with a six-year, $54 million extension, a contract given, by the way, by a team not exactly known for shelling out the huge deals.

What I am saying is there’s no need to rush him back. Pull a reverse Derrick Rose, if you will. The Chicago Bulls wanted him back for the playoffs and he has refused to play until he’s 110 percent – a travesty to discuss another day. Undoubtedly, Gronkowski wants to be on that field this very second, and I admire him for it, but I wouldn’t be disappointed if he isn’t until he’s 110 percent in the clear, to the extent that any of us really can be.

If another injury happens when he returns or thereafter, so be it, football’s a physical game and he plays it as tough as anyone. Gronkowski wouldn’t be the first great athlete to have what could be a Canton-bound career tragically derailed by being injury prone. But, at 24, that fact doesn’t even matter now. He might play another dozen years – unlikely as that is – and I hope he does because, man alive, he’s fun to watch.

The short-term, though, is a concern. The Pats inevitably know that and Gronk should maybe be a little more careful in his free time, just in case.

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To alter a bar from Eminem, will the real Boston Red Sox please stand up, please stand up, please stand up?

The Red Sox got off to a scintillating 20-8 start to their 2013 season, which has been followed by an up-and-down 4-9 stretch as the showers have fallen in May. It would seem the city’s sports teams aren’t limiting that Jekyll and Hyde behavior to a certain squad on Causeway Street.

So who are the real Red Sox? Well, coming off a disastrous 69-win 2012 campaign, it’s not the club that began the year with a .714 winning percentage. The good news is, it’s not the team with a paltry .308 effort either.

Let’s examine the drop-off or, as many have called it, "market correction."

Simply put, the Red Sox offense and pitching success through the first 28-game sample that lasted until May 2 flipped like a light switch the next morning. With the Sox sitting with the best record in the majors, they were scoring an average of 5.3 runs per game while allowing just 3.5. Despite a rash of injuries, some more significant than others, the team was balanced, whether it came to analyzing the starters, the bullpen or its patient pitch-taking batters.

However, as the likes of David Ortiz, John Lackey and Joel Hanrahan got healthier, injuries struck again.

Hanrahan, in his first and likely only year as the team’s closer, was lost for the season on May 7 with what resulted in Tommy John surgery and a procedure to repair his right flexor tendon. His limited time on the mound was poor (9.82 ERA, 4-of-6 converted saves in 7.1 IP), but the comfort of consecutive All-Star seasons with the Pirates still provided room for optimism had he been able to return. Alas, he won’t.

Andrew Bailey, an injury-plagued disappointment in his own first year in Boston in 2012, got off to a great start (1.46 ERA, 5-for-6 in save chances in 12.1 IP) in his rebound season as the Sox replacement fireman before a right biceps strain sidelined him on April 29. Though he appears to be inching closer to a return, his mates are just 6-10 in his absence.

The newly designated closer became set-up man extraordinaire Junichi Tazawa. His numbers this year are misleading. The fourth-year pro is 3-2 with a 2.95 ERA in 19 relief appearances, along with a pair of blown saves, but he’s actually got a 1.20 ERA in 15 innings against the majority of the American League, and a whopping 10.80 ERA in 3.1 innings over four contests versus the division rival Blue Jays.

These men are just three examples of how the impact of the closer role has manipulated the structure of John Farrell’s bullpen. That coupled with adequate starters not named Jon Lester or Clay Buchholz, and the team’s ERA has ballooned well over a run from that opening stretch (3.39) to this recent slump (5.06). Opponents' batting average (.224 to .266), on-base percentage (.306 to .333) and slugging percentage (.371 to .425) have all also risen by a healthy margin from April to May. Mind you, that last set of numbers includes two wins over the Blue Jays by a combined 13-2 margin to start this month.

Without going into a long and convoluted explanation, a look at the OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging percentage) for splits relative to a player’s total OPS is averaged at 100, with a lower total being better for hurlers and higher desirable for hitters. Essentially, the Red Sox pitching staff overachieved in April (92) and has underachieved in May (114).

Concerning the offense, the team’s run-production is down to 3.8 runs per game during its rut as the pitchers have surrendered roughly 5.5 runs a contest. Like I said, those April and May numbers basically just took a long stare in the mirror. In two weeks, the club’s run-differential of plus-49 has dropped by 23 runs. Not good.

There have been dips across the board, sure, whether it’s batting average (.271 to .246), on-base percentage (.347 to .324) or slugging percentage (.446 to .424), but the Sox still rank among the game’s best at the plate in a number of categories, including runs scored (197, 3rd), on-base percentage (.338, 2nd) and slugging percentage (.438, 4th).

The issue with this team isn’t its offense, no matter how much people want to complain about slow starts for free agent-to-be Jacoby Ellsbury or wiffin’ Will Middlebrooks.

Similar to Stephen Drew, Middlebrooks has turned his luck around of late, Dustin Pedroia’s tearing the cover off the ball at the moment, and David Ortiz is off to another monstrous start, though hindered a bit by a sore oblique and maybe a bruised ego.

As for the recent issue with runners in scoring position, that stat’s like the power play or penalty kill in hockey. Ebbs and flows, peaks and valleys; you get it.

It’s really not a case of running into top-tier opponents during the skid for the Sox, either. As good as the Rangers (27-14) are, and they’re among the best in baseball, the Twins, Blue Jays and Rays (a collective 55-63) are average at best. Borderline mediocre.

Nope, concerns going forward surround the inconsistencies and unreliability of many of the arms. The bullpen has baseball's sixth-worst ERA at 4.32 and while Ryan Dempster and John Lackey haven’t been bad, the 12-0 combined performance of Lester and Buchholz could make an older fan think back to “Spahn and Sain and Pray for Rain” after some time. Shame we can’t place much blame on Alfredo Aceves or Daniel Bard, but even a favorite punching bag gets replaced eventually.

The Red Sox are a good team, maybe very good. They held a share of first place in the AL East from the start of the season until just one week ago, and there’s no reason to think the now-second place division-hoppers couldn’t return to that perch. But, in the end, the highs and lows we’ve already seen in less than two months will likely average out to a very respectable 87 to 93 win ballclub for a team with uncertainty in the bullpen and lingering questions about the back-end of the rotation. Still quite the improvement for what was projected to be a bridge year.

Now cue the “this guy doesn’t know anything” 10-game winning streak…

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I dropped by Morrissey Boulevard this afternoon to join Chris Gasper and the legendary Kevin Paul Dupont for a few video segments.

In case you missed Boston Sports Live's live edition at noon, Chris and I previewed what's sure to be a difficult second round series for the Bruins against the physical, shot-blocking Rangers. What are the keys? Which team is stronger? What am I wearing? Tune in to find out.

Plus, if you persevere through our Bruins blabber, you'll be rewarded with Red Sox talk from the beautiful Heidi Watney of the MLB Network. Full disclosure: she joined us by phone. Sorry. Please watch?

Dupes and I hit on the Sawx as well in Globe 10.0. Do you think the Red Sox are putting too much pressure on Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz? Not if they're the aces we've always hoped they'd be.

We then circled back to the Bruins and debated the biggest key to the series against the Rangers. Plus, we delivered our series predictions. Yes, I'm still dressed as a homer.

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With about two minutes to play in regulation on Monday against the Leafs, the Bruins still trailing by two before completing the NHL’s biggest Game 7 third-period comeback of all-time, I started taking notes on all the reasons I thought it was time for coach Claude Julien to be fired.

A second monumental playoff collapse since 2010, sandwiched around an improbable Stanley Cup victory and another early, disappointing postseason exit.

Perhaps he’d lost the room, or it was merely time to acknowledge that adage that clamors for a new voice.

His stubborn unwillingness to toy with underachieving lines prior to the decisive game may have put his team in this situation, and seventh game alterations were simply too little, too late.

The power play, oh that anemic power play, featuring the league’s leading postseason scorer on the second unit.

I wondered how the accountability should be distributed between the coach, general manager, players, and even Cam Neely as the supervisor of the operation.

Then it happened, one of the most impressive single game rallies in Boston sports history.

Causeway Street rocked well into the night, while the Leafs' Joffrey Lupul was left thinking about how that loss will haunt him until the day he dies.

As an emotional Milan Lucic admitted, his team may have gotten a little lucky, but they showed character. And, wouldn’t you know after a gut-wrenching, nail-biting, hair-pulling first round seven-game series with an ending drawn from theater, the Black and Gold will, for the first time in the playoffs since 1973, next host a team from Broadway.

The show must go on and the hope throughout the Hub is that the Bruins are a long way from a curtain call.

The New York Rangers are fresh off a seven-game series win of their own over the Washington Capitals. Reigning Vezina trophy winner and current finalist Henrik Lundqvist, arguably the very individual who bumped Tuukka Rask from consideration for this year’s crown, posted back-to-back shutouts in the final two games of the first round to guide his Blueshirts to victory.

Lundqvist is a beast, and he’s paid like it to the tune of a $6.875 million annual cap hit. In the opening round, he put the Rangers on his shoulders and finished with a 1.65 goals-against-average and .947 save percentage while his team, like the Bruins, was marred by injuries (Ryan Clowe, Marc Staal, Darroll Powe) and underachievers (Rick Nash, Derek Stepan, Brad Richards). Making matters worse, Lundqvist is 21-7-2 with six whitewashes in his career against the B’s. Oh, and he’s not a rebound-machine like James Reimer, so the Bruins will have to capitalize on what could be a limited selection of chances each night.

In three regular season meetings this year, the Bruins went 1-0-2 against the Rangers. I know, who cares? In those matchups, the B’s struggled on the power play at 1-for-16. I know, what else is new?

Frankly, neither team was particularly impressive on special teams over the last two weeks, though the B's two enormous extra-attacker goals to extend their season were awfully special. The Bruins finished 3-for-20 (15%) with the man-advantage and 16-of-21 (76.2%) when short-handed, while the Rangers were 2-for-28 (7.1%) on the power play and 13-of-16 (81.2%) on the penalty kill.

If you’re anxious for a scouting report, the Rangers are physical and like to play nasty, they’re fast and very skilled defensively, they love to block shots (23 per game against the Caps) and, as noted, they’re well-represented between the pipes. They’re better than the Leafs and in many ways aren’t too dissimilar to the Bruins.

To advance again, the B’s will need to ditch this ever so fitting Jekyll and Hyde label and be consistent. They’ve got to learn from their struggles and myriad of mistakes against Toronto, and avoid getting outworked as they were in the second half of the series. Roll over that killer instinct.

They’ll have to hope they get healthier on defense, or design one heck of a strategy for workhorse Zdeno Chara and insert prayers for Dennis Seidenberg here against the likes of Nash, the red-hot Derick Brassard, Mats Zuccarello and company. It’s tough to envision them surviving the round without Seidenberg or Andrew Ference – who would have imagined that during the regular season?

They’ll have to get another fantastic performance from Rask in net. He had a 2.49 GAA and .923 save percentage in the first round, but anyone who watched knows he was far better than those numbers. In each period of Game 7, he made at least one game-saving block. Just ask Lupul, Jake Gardiner, Mikhail Grabovski, or Matt Frattin. Again, pay the man.

Lucic – much maligned during the regular season – will have to continue his elite postseason play, a sentence I’ve been longing to write for years. He was especially phenomenal in Game 7, down the stretch above all. Reliability like that during the year and his heavily criticized contract would look like a steal. Linemates David Krejci and Nathan Horton will have to keep clicking as well, and those two are historically proven to be big game players.

Hopefully the first six games against the Leafs were an aberration for Brad Marchand and Tyler Seguin, as Patrice Bergeron did his best to carry them. It grew tiring waiting for Marchand to find himself on the ice, and watching Seguin get increasingly frustrated – and often pout – after many of his 29 missed shots while he was outdueled by adopted nemesis Phil Kessel. It wasn’t until the line’s first and only shift together in Game 7 in overtime that the trio was filled with jubilation. Hopefully an air was lifted, just as fans outside the Air Canada Centre gasped for some. They’ll undoubtedly be reunited in Game 1 against New York with Jaromir Jagr returning to the third line, so it’s time to build on that momentum. And, if that scenario unfolds, Jagr will have to start trusting Chris Kelly and Rich Peverley.

A note to the forwards as a group: Get pucks through traffic! Put bodies in front of the net! You’ll hear that a lot.

The Bruins are in the semifinal round for the fourth time in five seasons. Both teams are equally tired having last played on Monday and both went the distance. It’s a fresh start for everyone, so hopefully this week’s short physical and – maybe more important – mental rest goes a long way for the B’s.

Prediction? My head says Rangers in six, while my heart says Bruins in seven. But, if Game 7 against the Leafs taught us anything, we won’t really know a thing until it’s over.

Follow me on Twitter at @AdamMKaufman

I had a great couple of hours this afternoon fielding questions from readers on the Bruins' recent playoff ineptitude, Claude Julien's future if the B's drop Game 7, the changes that need to be made tonight, and what in the world is going on with the Red Sox. There was some Celtics and Patriots talk as well.

We also got into a little pop culture so if you find yourself unable to sleep without knowing my favorite Jean-Claude Van Damme movie, that information's available as well.

Check out the transcript, and I look forward to chatting again soon!

Follow me on Twitter at @AdamMKaufman