By Stevo, AllHabs.net
MONTREAL, QC. — For the last week, we, the general population of planet earth, have been recovering from this so called “Rapture” that attempted to overtake us all this last Saturday. Some have had the week rougher than others — our sincere thoughts and prayers to victims of flood waters and tornados — however none of us were ready for the storm that would hit the hockey world today.
This storm was not the one many of us wanted and wished for. What we wanted was a lightning storm, a Tampa Bay Lightning storm in the city of Boston, but what we were served with was a cold dish of Boston Bruins victory, allowing them to move forward to the Stanley Cup finals. After-all, Tim Thomas had guaranteed it (sarcasm intended).
While Game 7 was hard fought, I won’t dwell on it too much. The series itself slightly resembled the Montreal/Boston series, seeing a more offensively skilled Tampa Bay team matched up against a bigger tougher Boston team. Although the goaltending quality overall in this series was unlike that of the Montreal/Boston series, it was in the final game and Roloson, just like Price had for the Habs, kept his team in the game until the very end.
So why so much dislike for the Bruins? Are we simply a bunch of Habs’ fans who are still sour over the first round defeat to Boston? Well, I think there’s a little bit of truth in there. After-all, the Montreal Canadiens, just like the Tampa Bay Lightning were in their own Game 7 against the Bruins and could have just as easily passed on to the second round instead of the Bruins, so yes, maybe we are still a little bit sour.
There is however the Campbell Effect. This is the primary reason why not only Habs’ fans, but fans of other NHL teams simply do not want the Boston Bruins to hoist the Stanley Cup in these finals. As everyone knows, Gregory who plays for the Boston Bruins is the son of Colin Campbell, the NHL’s principle disciplinarian. Remember, he is the guy who shredded Tom Pyatt’s face up with his elbow pad this season? (Yeah, him.)
What I mean by the Campbell Effect, is that there is a general sentiment amongst many fans, as well as members of the media, who feel that the Bruins simply get away with everything, plain and simple. What’s worse, is they act in a way that makes it seem that they can pretty much get away with everything, and we’ve seen it instance over instance over the course of this past year.
Whether it’s incidents like Nathan Horton’s with the fans in Tampa, whether it’s the Ference incident on Jeff Halpern in the first round, or his accidental flip of the bird to the fans in Montreal, or Chara’s driving of Pacioretty’s head into the stanchion this season, suspensions rarely seem to fall on the Bruins, for incidents that should. Does this make any sense to you? Kyle Roussel had a great take on this in his latest piece, It All Makes Sense Now.
Apart from this, they’ve insinuated though the media that Max Pacioretty had according to them, embellished his concussion and neck fracture, calling into question Dr. Mulder’s reputation, who happens to be the Montreal Canadiens’ team doctor.
So in the end, can you really blame anyone for dislike the Bruins? Sorry Bruins’ fans, say what you want to say, I can understand that you will cheer for your team until the end, but your team, in some respects, is nothing to be proud of.
I think it’s safe to say at this point that you know who I will be cheering for in this final, the Vancouver Canucks. I picked them in four actually. I don’t think the Bruins stand a chance. But then again, I didn’t think they’d get all the way here and they have, and then, there’s the Campbell Effect…
On a final note, congrats Bruins, you won and you are in the Stanley Cup final, but for all the reasons I mentioned above, I hate you and I hope your run ends here. Here are some tweets that appeared in my timeline as the game ended tonight which summarize my general mood.
- @HockeyLoveHurts: No.
- @TinaMav: Wow. I can’t fkn believe it.
- @thirtyonesaves: This sucks. So bad. Stupid Bruins.
- @chile_pepper: Barf.
- @peterg11742: need more biere.
- @Cathie_AK27: I’m gonna puke. Here’s hoping for a Canucks sweep of the Booins
- @NHLhistorygirl: Noo. I wanted Tampa to win.
- @Saraa26: It’s official. There is no such things as the hockey gods. If there were, the Boston Bruins wouldn’t have made it to the Stanley Cup Final.
Also welcome our newest writer at All Habs, Bailey. You can read her first column here, entitled About Me: A Habs Fan, Coffey, And Paper Boats.
Please leave your comments.
(Photo: Brian Snyder/Reuters)