Here we go again

Is this destiny?...It feels like an un-finished documentary waiting for the climax to be filled in order to complete the plot. Has it come full circle? Or is this the begining of something special? Not even Steven Spielberg could of scripted this any better. Bruins nation wanted the hated Habs, well now you got them. Now is up to the boys in black & gold to write another chapter to their amazing season. I have faith in our team and i know they want it as bad as we do, we just have to believe...

Good luck B's in the Stanley Cup Playoffs!

And please, just don't beat the Habs...BEAT THEM UP! * courtesy Jack Edwards *

I can't wait for this series rematch... but I do have some reservations. I hope the Bruins keep their emotions in check regarding Komisarek. I was at the game last Thursday against the hated Habs, and I felt that the Bruins lost their game in the 2nd period. I hope Looch realizes that Komisarek is an instigator, not a fighter. You gottta beat guys like that by winning, not by falling into their trap.

Nevertheless, I'm hoping for a really aggressive, hard hitting, and goal scoring Bruins squad to beat the habs!!!!!!!!!! Go go black and gold!!!!

Let's just throw the fear and paranoia and "curse" stuff out the window.
We are a far superior team.

If we:
a) keep hitting and staying aggresssive, but disciplined (forecheck, forecheck, backcheck, backcheck)
b) make sure Thomas doesn't let in slappers from 40 feet out.
c) swarm/shut down Kovalev

...it will be a 5 game series. if we don't do these things, we will win in 6.

This Bs team is NOT afraid of the Habs or the history.

Just remember last year when we were counted out. It was that series that transformed the character of this team. They WANT the Habs. They will feed off them. It'll be great.

Bruins in 5.

Better goal tending, better 5 on 5, better coach & gm.

As long as they stay healthy _and_ keep their tempers.

We will definitely make orphans of their children.

But Drederick, they have mothers.

I suspect they'll kill themselves from the shame

The playoffs just won't be the same if we don't have to go through the Habs. We took them to 7 games last year. This year they got worse, and we got a lot better. There's no reason to think this won't be a short, but excellent, series.

It's funny how all the Habs fans are bringing up Laraque as if he's their savior. They're probably chanting to themselves while rocking back and forth, "Georges will hurt Lucic", "Georges will beat up Thornton". LOL. Guy plays 18 games all year. Tonight against the Pens, he found himself 5 ft in front of the net with nobody on, and he whiffed. Yeah, we're scared. Bring it!

Bruins fans' biggest worry for this series has to be the refs.

'Would love to see the Habs get swept by the Bruins so I could needle my fellow Montrealers!

Agreed with #7. If the Bruins can stay out of the box (not only keeping their composure, but actually getting a fair shake at the Bell Centre), then this series is over in 5 games.

Tim Thomas playoff series wins --- Zero point Zero

This is the best for the Bruins. Back to back playoff serires with the Habs, Lets . make this renewed poplularity last, All the way to Lord Stanley!

How great would it feel to be on the handshake line at the end of the series knowing that you have come full circle from last year? Knowing that you knocked out your most hated foe and hopefully got the emotional kick start you need for a long playoff run. It's possible! This season has been amazing. Keep it going!!! LETS GO BRUINS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mission Accomplished! Habs made it to a Habs-B's series just like they hoped to see. It will be funny to see Lucic running around to avoid Georges and Stewart. LOL! And the best thing is that Habs fans can jump in buses and go cheer their team in Boston since there will be plenty of seats untaken just like last year.

Only in Boston a small 17,000 seat arena during a Stanley cup playoff can't be filled. Amazing. B's fans will not deserve a cup before they show real support for their team.

2 things is certain in this coming duel:

Habs in 6 or 7

And B's fans will blame referees for losing. Always the same. LOL!.

I'm a montreal fan. I can tell you that this will not be easy for both teams. The Bruins are overall a far superior team. But History shows us that when these two teams meet in the playoffs, there's a lot of emotion and hate that lead to suprises and deceptions. I think the Bruins will win this one in 6 or 7, but they will leave a lot of energy behind.

just like how ottawa beat the pens 2 years ago only to rematch them last year and got swept. same thing will happen here. montreal is the reason boston played so well this season after that playoff last year, what better thankyou than to beat them first round in their 100th year. the sad thing is that all the habs fans (almost) are excited about this series! times change, i wouldnt be excited about playing a team that almost upset you last year only to get better this year and being ranked with the elite teams in the league. bad luck mtl.

Oh, and poor Julien, will be out-coached by the very guy who fired him a few years ago. I feel bad for him. Gainey fires him and now comes to show him why he fired him.

Carey Price played like he's supposed to play last night and this bodes well for the Habs. Timmy often plays very badly against the Habs just like he did in the last game. Couldn't block a wrist shot from 40 feet.

This is not looking good for the few B's fans who can't fill a small arena even at playoff time.

Good luck, you will need it. Can't wait to see Georges teach a boxing lesson to coward Lucic.
Habs in 6 or 7.

This is going to be the best series of the entire playoffs.

LOL Bob

Unless those Habs fans buy tickets on Stub Hub, there are not getting in. Between STH and the Cybear members only Pre-Sale, only club seats were left for the general public.

"only club seats were left for the general public."

Oh, the sweet irony!!!!
Thanks Morris...I'm sure Bob appreciates you making his *exact* point for him!
NO seats are left in any *real* hockey city (as in ZERO, nada, zilch...as in within minutes of going on sale). It's simple LOGIC really.

Carry on then...

Oh My God, I can't wait, I am still vibrating from Game 6 last year. This is going to be insane. Especially after the game on thursday night.
I HATE the canadiens and how they play hockey. Turtling and whining is bushleague.
We need to get the Garden absolutely rockin' and be the best 7th man in the playoffs, just like the 70's & 80's.

Yes Bobby (he's only 10years old) ! Tickets sold out in 7 mins . Fastest anywhere in the NHL. Oh how I hope Laraque plays , please please.
1st big mistake by your great GM/coach.
I just hope Jackson does not the ref any of these games. He was horrible last thursday and as I say he's a regular on Montreal radio. Just a homie.
Predictions in Montreal , Habs win in 6 or 7.
Let's hope there are no 10 scores for diving on the HAMS side.
We play our solid game and we win in 5, that's my prediction.
Go Bruins !!

The person who said the thing about playoff tickets is right. There was practically nothing left for the general public. Who do you think all the new STH's are...real fans. I don't think you see the same thing in the playoffs that you did on Thursday night. Should be 85/15 Bruins crowd for games 1&2.

Personally, I'm a big fan of what a lot of NFL teams do when it comes to playoff ticket sales: if you don't have an address in MA or within 75 miles of the garden: no tickets for you.

I'm also going to throw this out there, and not sure if the team will market this, but as Bruins fans, we need to get behind the team. Anyone remember what other teams have done in the playoffs with a "white out?" We need to black out the Garden for games 1&2. Show this team we're behind them. Forget making the building vibrate as Jack Edwards said, we need to blow the roof off .

BTW thanks Fluto, I jumped the gun last nite when I saw nothing about the Bruins-Habs matchup. I see you got it in .
Lucic has to be patient , intelligent and wait for his opportunity. it will come to crush any of their D.
ALERT: Schneider has a bad shoulder and Markov might only be back if it goes 6 or 7.
Bob, should we aim for Schneider ? LOL don't cry.

The Habs could steal a game or two by getting under the skin of the B's but I really don't think that will happen. The Bruins will ready, rested, & motivated ... & they know exactly what to expect from Montreal. No stupid penalties & no retaliation ... Bruins in 5.

Club seats? No one from Boston in their right mind sits there. Only pink-hat expense-account people, and out-of-town fans with more money than sense, sit there.

Way too expensive, you have to look through the top of the glass, and with the waitress service you end up spending way more than you should on drinks and food. Real fans get up to get a beer.

As far as the series goes, Montreal fans are whistling in the dark about Carey Price. He's a head case and they know it. He's terrified of the Bruins, and showed it again the other night. You could see it just looking at him - he's visibly shaky. The B's will get a couple on him and he'll go to pieces - and Habs fans know it. And so does Bob Gainey.

As for Laraque - the Habs fans saying Lucic will run from him are the same ones who said Lucic was running from Komisarek - right before Lusic put him in the hospital. Like the ones sitting directly behind us when Looch did it earlier this year. Man did they get quiet quickly.

Personally I hope they play George "4 Points and -6 for the Year" Laraque all night. I hope he's on their PP and PK.

The refs will have been told by the league to make sure there's at least six games, so look for the Habs to take one at the Centre Bell - on the PP, in the third period, of course. But even that, and all the whistling in the dark in the world won't save the Habs this year.

p.s., Hey, Red Sox fans jumping the bandwagon - don't wear red to the games, knuckleheads.

Here we go again ! ( love the title and the Globe staff who writes about hockey ).

I visited those pages last season to congratulate the Bruins fans about their team's superb effort and to tell how the nearly ideal balance set of strenghts I saw displayed by their team in those series had convinced me about their potential to become a real force in the East on their following season...... I was almost wright yet a real force in the East seems innapropriate in describing today what your team have become... a force in the league would be more like it..... come on from 93 points to 118 points in one season !...... best goals differential of the league at +79..... this is insaine! ..... what a ride this season must have been for you guys.

Despite those facts I am glad that my team will have to meet you once again..... not because I think that our chances to win against you are any good or any better than against WAS but simply because there is a level of excitement when our teams meet that reaches far beyong all the other options...... I also like to read the Bostonian fans and the Globe's writers while the thing is going..... something I cant say I like doing when elsewhere.... specially not Philadelphia.

As post no.4 said : Bruins have better goaltending, better 5-on-5, better coach, better GM and his prediction that the Bruins should win in 5 is quite reasonable..... with so much going your way I will refrain from wishing you guys good luck on the eve of those new series..... after all MTL will need plenty of luck for not to fold to low in the early going while Marcov is being brought back to health - hopefully we will scare you a bit in the end.

//Carey Price played like he's supposed to play last night//

By letting in TWO short-handed softies? Keep it up, Carey!

I hope Laraque plays too. What a waste of a roster spot. He can chase Lucic all over the ice as far as I'm concerned, and watch Looch pop in a few goals while he's at it.

Man, you just don't want to read "watch Looch pop" too quickly.

Anyway...the only person more worried than Bob Gainey about playing the Bruins is Carey Price.

bruins fans, make sure you buy tickets and go to the game!! dont let those Scabs anywhere near TD banknorth!!

Whatever happens, this will be one nerve-wracking series I think. A shame that the NHL seems to forget that two things sell sports - superstars and rivalries. AO and Crosby are sure to get lots of camera time; I hope at least one Bruins-Canadiens game makes it on to national television.
"Comments with the slightest hint of inappropriate conduct will be trashed, with repeat offenders getting the boot from this space."
What, so there will be what, 5 comments each game?
"p.s., Hey, Red Sox fans jumping the bandwagon - don't wear red to the games, knuckleheads." - MM
Thank you for that, that cheered my day right up.

Fasten your seat belts, everyone! This will be a brutal series, and definitely not a cake walk. One thing we know about this rivalry that we should expect the unexpected. Then again, we CAN expect Hab cheap shots at every turn. Bruins, repeat after me: "Initiate, don't retaliate*." That needs to be your mantra for the entire series. (Note to fellow B-bloggers, I'm not saying we don't bang bodies, we just gotta be smart about it. B's have up to 7 games for payback whereby, if they maintain composure, they're actually striking FIRST. Don't give the men in stripes any excuse to hand Montreal a game or two.)

I can't wait, I'll be there throughout the playoffs again, from the Bruins rep I talked to playoff tickets were sold out in less than 15 minutes when they went on sale to the public which was way before the habs knew that we were playing them.

The roof is going to get blown off the garden on Thursday and as much as I hate the habs, some fans there will add to the noise because of the competition to be heard.

Also I like to see that StubHub only has about 250 ticket entries available which if you think about it isn't a huge number so there will not be a strong Montreal precense there. GO B's

Carey Price was the first star in yesterday's game. He is now ready for the playoff.
Tim Thomas's goaltending skills are based on luck.

Halak is the best number 2 goaler in the league. Compare this to what your what's his name goaler did Saturday.

No question, Habs have a far superior duo of goalers.
Habs in 6 or 7!

BsfortheCupin09....I suggested a black out too but also came to the conclusion that it can't happen. It would be the equivalent of opening the center field seats at Fenway in afternoon games, imagine the goalies trying to follow the puck with a back drop of all black shirts.

They did organize stuff for each home game last year, they did towels the for game 3 and 6, thundersticks for game 4. I'd prefer towels but even more I'd love to see them give out gold shirts....entire building wearing gold would be AWESOME. The whiteout definitely looks the coolest tho. You'll see the C of red in CGY, wash, philly with the orange, etc.

I've always been a habs fan, but I know in my heart that the habs are a crappy team and that the Bruins are a superior team in every facet of the game. I've decided bruin fans, to come over to your side, so that I can be with a true winner. I love the bruins and wish them the best of luck against my former team. go Bruins go!

Hey bob, you are comedy gold.
Julien will be outcoached by Gainey? Yeah we saw how that worked on Thursday.

Habs got this to be a Habs/Bruins series the way they wanted it? Yeah I guess if your interpretation is that in your 100th season, you want to creep into 8th spot, have your team sold and somehow bill that as a success. You probably were a fan of new coke too!
The last 6 matchups are 3-3, the last 10 are 5-5. History and $2 gets you a coffee!
Bruins in 5.

Protip: Don't let Komisarek get under your skin.

I'm not worried about the Bruins controlling their emotions. Last Thursday's game didn't mean anything to the Bruins as far as the standings go and that's why they got into so many fights. Julien would never let them play that undisciplined in the playoffs. The funny part is that they played that undisciplined and STILL won. And nothing makes me happier than to see Carey Price in the first round :)

And for those people here predicting Habs to win the series...what are you basing this on? Bruins pull out the brooms.

The only way the Habs stand to even make this look like a modicum of a series is to get under the Bs skin. #37 says it all. It's the only card they have to play.

The history/the rivalry is great and all, but it's hyperbolic this year. The Habs are a mediocre team, and the Bs have the advantage on every facet of the game.

All the Habs can do is try to frustrate the younger guys, lure them into playing undisciplined, and hope to score on 5 on 3s.