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Yesterday, we talked about the three-year anniversary of the Boston Bruins eliminating the Toronto Maple Leafs in the nuttiest Game 7 you’ll probably ever see in this lifetime. So while May 13th is an undeniably happy day in B’s history, the next day, May 14th, is pretty much the worst.
The Game 7 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round of the 2009 playoffs? May 14th, 2009.
This loss stung like absolute hell for Bruins fans. This entire season was really the first taste of new era success. The Black and Gold straight-up bodied teams throughout the 2008-09 season, were a dominant home team, and appeared well on the way to a Stanley Cup after a four-game sweep of their arch nemesis Montreal Canadiens and favorable second-round matchup with Carolina, a team they completely stomped in the regular season. But the ‘Canes put up a fight, the Bruins stumbled, and ultimately it was Scott Walker that eliminated the Bruins with an overtime goal in Game 7.
Primarily due to the fact that most in Boston were adamant (and still, even one Stanley Cup later), that Walker should have been suspended for his suckerpunch to Aaron Ward in the waning moments of Game 5. Walker was not suspended, while Milan Lucic was suspended for a game for this ‘forceful blow to the head of an opponent’ (a crosscheck to the head of Maxim Lapierre) in Game 2 of their first round series with Montreal. I might be lying, but a punch to the face could also be a forceful blow to the head, right? (Oh, Colin Campbell, you impossibly inconsistent human.)
It doesn’t end there.
The completion of the 3-0 series lead choke-job to the Philadelphia Flyers? May 14th, 2010.
But Philly scored. And scored again. And then another one. Then came the fourth and final Flyer goal, the deathblow from Simon Gagne, put the Flyers up 4-3 on the B’s in the game and series.
And no, you guessed it, it doesn’t end there.
Boston’s complete no-show in Game 7 to the Montreal Canadiens? May 14th, 2014.
It was their one-year attempt with Jarome Iginla in town. And it was the final year of Johnny Boychuk.
And still, all the Bruins had to show for it was a second-round series exit.
Nobody knows what the future has in store for the next May 14th involving the Black and Gold, but maybe it’s for the best if they just decide to skip it all together.
Ty Anderson has been covering the National Hockey League for HockeyBuzz.com since 2010, has been a member of the Pro Hockey Writers Association's Boston Chapter since 2013, and can be contacted on Twitter, or emailed at Ty.AndersonHB[at]gmail.com.