Bruins’ Wild Ride Rolls On As Black and Gold Fever Takes Over Boston

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Apr 28, 2011

Bruins' Wild Ride Rolls On As Black and Gold Fever Takes Over Boston There's a reason NESN's coverage of the Bruins first round playoff series dominated the Boston television market over the past two weeks.

The Boston Bruins have been must-see TV every single night and it's only going to get better.

In what is one of the most storied rivalries in sports, the Bruins and Canadiens' seven-game series did not disappoint. From the goaltending duel, to the home ice disadvantage through the first four games, to the poor officiating in Game 6, to the dramatic overtime games and the ultimate Game 7 victory for Boston, the thrills of watching the Bruins play hockey is unlike anything else on TV right now.

Dancing with the Stars, American Idol and the rest of the primetime shows can take a back seat, because even your casual hockey fan is glued to watching the Bruins.

The B's even found a way to make history, although they probably would have liked to stay away from this record. No other team in NHL history has won a Game 7 to advance while going scoreless on the power play for seven games. The Bruins went a dismal 0-for-21 in the series on the man-advantage. Had you asked anyone at the start of the series if the Bruins could pull it out without a profitable power play, the majority of prognosticators would have said no — but these Bruins know a thing or two about defying the odds, in both a good way and a bad way.

The Bruins also become the first team in franchise history (in 28 tries) to win a series after falling behind 2-0 in a playoff series.

This team is resilient, focused and intriguing to watch.

Mark Recchi, 43, has two Stanley Cup rings on his resume and knows how to get the job done in the playoffs. He even potted his 57th career playoff goal in the first period of Game 7 to give Boston a 2-0 lead, and after the Wednesday night win, he was able to put the series in perspective.

"Give the guys a lot of credit," said Recchi. "We believed in each other and we trusted each other and we found a way to win.

"I trust what I do out there," he added. "It's just nice to help the team. That's what we try and do every night, be consistent and be someone the coach can count on. It's a great rivalry. We didn't want to stop playing."

With a best of seven-game series on deck against the Philadelphia Flyers, you can bet more eyeballs will be watching to see if the Bruins can keep performing and defeat the Flyers — a job that was left incomplete last postseason.

"That was a nice reward for our fans," said head coach Claude Julien. "They've been punished enough."

On Wednesday night, the 17,565 at the TD Garden and countless fans watching at home had a chance to witness one very special night for the Bruins. Hope and confidence is restored in this year's squad and the excitement for the Eastern Conference semifinals is tremendous, with expectations now sky high.

The Black and Gold had not won a Game 7 of any kind since 1994 but the team sure picked the grandest stage to rewrite the history books on Wednesday night. 

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