Bruins reach bye week early

It just doesn't seem right, does it, that the Bruins' season is over already? If losing to the eventual Stanley Cup champion New Jersey Devils last year was a letdown, it was like stepping off a curb. Losing to the Montreal Canadiens in Game 7 Monday night, after leading the series, three games to one, was more like free-falling from the top of the Prudential building.

This was the team that was going to bring Boston its first Stanley Cup since 1972. Or, failing that, at least the Eastern Conference championship, right? The expectations were high, the excitement and enthusiasm in Bruins Nation was growing at a staggering rate. But instead of advancing to the second round, the Bruins this morning will clean out their lockers at the FleetCenter and say goodbye.

They'll be saying goodbye to each other, some perhaps will say goodbye to their professional careers, and a good portion might well be saying goodbye to Boston.

So, what exactly went wrong? General manager Mike O'Connell bolstered the roster as the season went along. He acquired defenseman Jiri Slegr first, and then when the trade deadline hit, he dealt for defenseman Sergei Gonchar and center Michael Nylander. He didn't bank on captain Joe Thornton suffering torn rib cartilage in the third-to-last regular-season game. He didn't bank on his top forward going 0-0--0 in the seven playoff games.

Would a healthy Thornton have been enough to put away the pesky Habs?

"Yes," said O'Connell. "Most likely. I think you have to give the other team credit as well. They played well. I'm sure they have guys injured as well. I'm sure they have a bunch of guys hurting as well."

If there is a question to be asked, it's why was Thornton playing so much if he was able to do so little? It's clear he was not himself. He seemed miserable and in pain, and according to his teammates, he was. So why was he averaging more than 21 minutes a game? You can argue that a subpar Thornton is better than no Thornton. But Travis Green had a tremendous series and averaged far less ice time. Couldn't he have been used more and Thornton less?

Coaches have to trust their players, and Thornton's decision to have pain-killing shots to be able to play was gutsy, no doubt, but you have to wonder whether he needed to be protected from himself.

Hockey players are a different breed. They lose teeth and keep playing. They can take 25 stitches between periods and keep playing. They tear rib cartilage and try to keep playing.

There will be plenty of second-guessing this offseason, especially considering that there might not even be an NHL season next year, given the likelihood of a lockout when the collective bargaining agreement expires Sept. 15.

It's a painful time for Bruins Nation, and for O'Connell, who did everything he could to put his team in a position to succeed. Last night, O'Connell sounded like a man who couldn't comprehend that this very promising season is finished. Asked if it had sunk in, he said, "Not really. Not yet. It will be a little clearer [today]. It's disappointing to say the least."

O'Connell said he felt good about his team heading into Game 7, even knowing it had already blown two chances to close out the series. Now, he has to get used to the idea that hockey is over.

"It just ends," he said. "When it's over, it's over. Especially a seventh game. You know only one team is going to keep playing. It's not like you're down three games and playing bad; we just didn't get it done.

"I was confident. You know what could happen, but I was confident. Never overconfident, but I had good feelings. It was a well-played game and they made the most of the breaks and we didn't."