Talented Team with some Fundamental Flaws

[Alberta_OReilly_Fan]

I like that we are in finals... but much like 2011 I cant enjoy it the way I want

I like dynasty evil empire teams. I like david and goliath battles.

in 2011 we were one fluke bounce of a puck away from a round 1 7th game ot elimination... but at least we played opponents I care about. being montreal is always satisfying. getting our win back against philly and stomping them 4-0 after we blew the 3-0 lead the year before... and of course tampa and Vancouver were somewhat favored so it was nice beating them... vancovers incredibly ignorant arrogance made them instant alltime villans… it was nice to beat them

but I was stuck with the realization 1 bounce of a puck and we are all screaming we suck and that team needs to be dismantled and the coach has to be fired... blah blah blah… talented but flawed people would have said

here we are... and the dead sea has parted for us... we will never feel like we beat anyone of consequence to get here. Toronto was crying since December how unfair it was they had to play us AND GET KNOCKED OUT IN ROUND I... seriously... anyone that took them as a real serious contender was fooling themselves. we almost stumbled against them but thats on us. talented but flawed I guess was what someone said

then Columbus... not a horrible team. I had them making the playoffs in my preseason predictions. if anything I felt they under achieved. so a decent team. probably a top 10 team. but if you want a cup win this isnt a team you will view as the unstoppable beast in your path

Carolina? please

and st louis was freaking in last place this year... give them props for a hot streak with a rookie goalie but please again...

anything longer than 4-5 games to beat any of these teams just leaves me disappointed because we had no competition

I HATE PARITY

but I am glad our talented but flawed hockey team is much more talented then it is flawed

we wont go down in history as one of the greatest cup champs ever... I suspect people will mostly be talking about how we didnt have to play anyone good... that bothers me a bit... but at the end of the day you can only beat whatever team gets put in front of you. we didnt pick and choose who we played

would we have beat tampa? or Washington? or san jose? or Nashville?
obviously those teams were talented but flawed

if you dont win the games you have to win... then you dont get the cup

so yeah for the good guys... cheer cheer… I will put on a smile. this isnt really anything I will brag to my grandkids about 20 years from now. this isnt our 1970 bobby orr bruins. but we overcome our flaws and we had enough talent so it was good enough for what passes for 2019 state of the nhl competition level

 

[Kate08]

Oh. My. God.

 

[LSCII]

I will say that the people clamoring for more grit and more physicality and how this team was too soft have to finally be ready to admit they were wrong at this point, no?

 

[BigBadBruins7708]

oh yes, the absolute horror of watching my favorite team win a god damn Cup.

congrats on having the absolute peak "I refuse to admit Im wrong, so here's reality twist instead" post we all will ever see.

 

[barstool]

This tread is funny if we happen to lose to St-louis everybody will be agreeing with Colt

 

[McGarnagle]

I like that we are in finals... but much like 2011 I cant enjoy it the way I want

I like dynasty evil empire teams. I like david and goliath battles.

in 2011 we were one fluke bounce of a puck away from a round 1 7th game ot elimination... but at least we played opponents I care about. being montreal is always satisfying. getting our win back against philly and stomping them 4-0 after we blew the 3-0 lead the year before... and of course tampa and Vancouver were somewhat favored so it was nice beating them... vancovers incredibly ignorant arrogance made them instant alltime villans… it was nice to beat them

but I was stuck with the realization 1 bounce of a puck and we are all screaming we suck and that team needs to be dismantled and the coach has to be fired... blah blah blah… talented but flawed people would have said

here we are... and the dead sea has parted for us... we will never feel like we beat anyone of consequence to get here. Toronto was crying since December how unfair it was they had to play us AND GET KNOCKED OUT IN ROUND I... seriously... anyone that took them as a real serious contender was fooling themselves. we almost stumbled against them but thats on us. talented but flawed I guess was what someone said

then Columbus... not a horrible team. I had them making the playoffs in my preseason predictions. if anything I felt they under achieved. so a decent team. probably a top 10 team. but if you want a cup win this isnt a team you will view as the unstoppable beast in your path

Carolina? please

and st louis was freaking in last place this year... give them props for a hot streak with a rookie goalie but please again...

anything longer than 4-5 games to beat any of these teams just leaves me disappointed because we had no competition

I HATE PARITY

but I am glad our talented but flawed hockey team is much more talented then it is flawed

we wont go down in history as one of the greatest cup champs ever... I suspect people will mostly be talking about how we didnt have to play anyone good... that bothers me a bit... but at the end of the day you can only beat whatever team gets put in front of you. we didnt pick and choose who we played

would we have beat tampa? or Washington? or san jose? or Nashville?
obviously those teams were talented but flawed

if you dont win the games you have to win... then you dont get the cup

so yeah for the good guys... cheer cheer… I will put on a smile. this isnt really anything I will brag to my grandkids about 20 years from now. this isnt our 1970 bobby orr bruins. but we overcome our flaws and we had enough talent so it was good enough for what passes for 2019 state of the nhl competition level

I see where you're coming from and in a lot of ways agree.

That said, I think we'd both agree that we'd rather win the cup playing against boring teams than lose to the Caps or Bolts.

But this run doesn't feel as climactic as 2011 or 2013 because we didn't go through any real rivals or major powers. Toronto is the closest in both regards, but they were still the 4th best team in the conference at best, and the rivalry is rather one-sided.

2011 felt amazing because we knocked out our fiercest rival (the Habs) in round 1, got major revenge against the team that embarrassed us the year before (Philly) in round two, then had a heavyweight battle with Tampa in the ECF before facing the most unlikable team and fanbase in modern NHL history in a very heated SCF.

Even 2013 had the amazing game 7 vs. Toronto, a matchup against a big market in NY (this one was a little more boring), then knocking out the powerhouse Pens in the conference finals before a great finals against a legit dynasty (unfortunately we came up short).

I suppose there's still time for this series to become a barnburner with multiple OT games and brawls breaking out, but so far this run is less cathartic.

It's always nice to beat Toronto and shut them up, and it did go 7. That was the best series we've had from a neutral entertainment standpoint. But then we play an 8 seed in a sort-of frustrating series that we ultimately outlasted them in and a 7 seed in an absolute wash. Now we get a St. Louis team that isn't bad but isn't elite either, who we know very little about nor have any recent history with. Eh.

Like, I'll take a boring cup win 8 days a week, don't get me wrong. But this hasn't been the most magical of cup runs. But it's hard to capture the magic that happened in 2011, that might've been a once-in-a-lifetime circumstance.

But all year we heard about the unstoppable and elite Bolts and dodged them. The Caps were defending champs and have been our bete noire for years, dodged them. Habs miss the playoffs. Even the Islanders who got a lot of hype this year under Trotz and Lou revitalizing that franchise, we manage to dodge. A dangerous San Jose team with a great possible storyline with Thornton goes down in the WCF and we dodge them. Hey, I'll take an easy path any day. Winning is all that matters, but winning and going through hell to do it and knocking out rivals and knocking off powerhouses is special.

 

[trenton1]

Orr's Bruins avoided the Habs and beat an expansion team in the Cup final in 1970. I've lost no sleep over that.

 

[Over the volcano]

I will say that the people clamoring for more grit and more physicality and how this team was too soft have to finally be ready to admit they were wrong at this point, no?

Or maybe the team started playing with the kind of grit and physicality that they said was missing. . . so they were right all along.

They certainly seem dialed in right now in all aspects of the game and have enough guys who know how to respond physically while maintaining their focus.

 

[JHockey14]

Ummm .... you guys realize the Bruins went 40 years without a Championship right?! And you couldn't enjoy the first one because a bounce went our way and we didn't play the teams you wanted this one? This is crazy town. Must be a hoot at parties. Learn to appreciate the moment and how hard of a mountain it is to climb. I had tears in my eyes in 2011 and nothing and I mean nothing is going taint this run. Each experience is special in their own way

 

[Bmessy]

Lot of dinosaurs in this forum and it shows with some of these asinine posts

 

[BruinsFanSince94]

Some of the worst posts I have read in a while.

 

[LSCII]

Or maybe the team started playing with the kind of grit and physicality that they said was missing. . . so they were right all along.

They certainly seem dialed in right now in all aspects of the game and have enough guys who know how to respond physically while maintaining their focus.

See, the dirty little secret is that they were never too soft and had guys that could (and did) play with grit when they were needed to. They had it all along.

 

[8Neely8]

I really don't give a damn if we face my son's Tyke hockey team in the Stanley Cup Finals.....with my finite amount of time on God's green earth, I want the Bruins to win as many cups as possible.....LFG BRUINS!!!

 

[LouJersey]

Holy shit we won the cup? I must have fallen into a coma. How many games did we win in? Conn Smythe?

 

[LouJersey]

If there are such things as hockey gods, this place has pretty much sealed the Bruins fate these past two days.

 

[LouJersey]

I really don't give a damn if we face my son's Tyke hockey team in the Stanley Cup Finals.....with my finite amount of time on God's green earth, I want the Bruins to win as many cups as possible.....LFG BRUINS!!!

Yep. 42 years a sports fan, and my three favorite teams have given me a total of TWO f***ING titles, and people are complaining about style points??? IN A PLAY-OFFS WHERE WE HAVEN'T EVEN WON YET!

 

[Numbah4]

Man, I don't know who this poster is, but the dude is spot on...

In 2013, I tweeted to Salk that at least we won’t lose our 1st rounder(Jagr trade) during GM 7 against Toronto. Before Lucic got pissed

 

[BruinsFanSince94]

I like that we are in finals... but much like 2011 I cant enjoy it the way I want

Well that sucks for you, but I am enjoying every f***ing minute of this Cup run because WHO THE HELL KNOWS WHEN YOU'LL SEE IT AGAIN. You'd think a die-hard Bruins fan since 1975 would understand that key point.....

in 2011 we were one fluke bounce of a puck away from a round 1 7th game ot elimination... but at least we played opponents I care about. being montreal is always satisfying. getting our win back against philly and stomping them 4-0 after we blew the 3-0 lead the year before... and of course tampa and Vancouver were somewhat favored so it was nice beating them... vancovers incredibly ignorant arrogance made them instant alltime villans… it was nice to beat them

What a piss poor way to sum up a magical run in 2011.

if you dont win the games you have to win... then you dont get the cup

Bingo....So why don't the Bruins win 3 more games before we start bitching about how they won the Cup? Honestly, bitching about a Cup WE HAVENT EVEN WON YET. Oh. f***ing. Brother.

Apart of me gets this feeling you're fishing with this post. Surely, you weren't serious....

 

[Alberta_OReilly_Fan]

Well that sucks for you, but I am enjoying every ****ing minute of this Cup run because WHO THE HELL KNOWS WHEN YOU'LL SEE IT AGAIN. You'd think a die-hard Bruins fan since 1975 would understand that key point.....



What a piss poor way to sum up a magical run in 2011.



Bingo....So why don't the Bruins win 3 more games before we start *****ing about how they won the Cup? Honestly, *****ing about a Cup WE HAVENT EVEN WON YET. Oh. ****ing. Brother.

Apart of me gets this feeling you're fishing with this post. Surely, you weren't serious....

I havent been happy with the playoffs now for the better part of a decade... doesnt have a lot to do with us. I think if you read more of my posts you seem to reply to so often you will have heard hours worth of the reasons and complaints I have

the fact that the bruins are caught in it... is just a symptom of the problem. id be a hypocrite if I said that its ok when we win against such lackluster competition.

I have been saying theres 8-9 teams every year that could win if they got a break... I feel whoever wins isnt winning because they were the best team. I feel whoever wins is winning cause they got the break

isnt that something to be proud of... this was our turn to get the breaks... yippy for us

now... on the other hand I predicted wed win a cup all year... my happy puppy thread is a history of my support for the team all year... you wont find posts from me where I ever wavered. my Stanley cup bracket entry had us winning

so dont call me out on my lack of being a fan lmfao

I did wish we had a bigger challange to win

and if it sucks for you that im celebrating already [without those 3 wins} I guess its just because I support my team with a high level of intensity and confidence

to be honest I was celebrating long before now... you might have missed my posts after tampa lost. I sort of celebrated then too

I support my team

 

[smithformeragent]

Point made.

This horse is beyond dead.

Conversation over.