As I'll explain in the below video, I have unfortunately found myself in a pickle.
A few blogs ago I wrote...ever so confidently...that the Montreal Canadiens would not take the Boston Bruins to game seven, let alone knock them out.
Where I put my foot in my mouth was here:
Sorry folks, but I truly think a lot of fans are going to be disappointed if they feel that the Canadiens can knock out the Bruins or even take them to game seven. Mark my words, I will print out this entire blog and eat every piece of it if I’m wrong!
Well, here's what I have to offer....enjoy.
Hopefully that was sufficient enough for those who reminded me of that time I made a bet and published it to over 1000 readers.
Let me say this - the series was just as everyone said it would be, despite the blogs I wrote. They were entertaining, fast, emotional, and for the most part, kept you on the edge of your seat.
The series went back and forth a few times when it appeared that either team would take the advantage, for the other to only make some sort of come back. Both fan bases were clearly nervous on each side as neither really showed any sign of dominance, per se. And I truly felt that the Bruins would dominate the Canadiens, and let me explain.
My reasoning was as follows - The Habs entered this series after sweeping the Tampa Bay Lightning who, I argued, didn't really "show up". With that, it seemed the Canadiens gained a lot of confidence which they brought with them to the Bruins series, a confidence level I said was somewhat inflated due to their first round "competition".
Now before I get my head chewed off for still, to this point, not seemingly giving the Habs any credit (I really didn't think the MTLvsTB series was great), they played very well against the Bruins and exposed some of Boston's weaknesses by sticking to their game plan and not sucking in to the "Big Bad Bruins" style of hockey.
And interestingly enough, Montreal came damn close to countering Boston in terms of the physical game which deserves a lot of credit. The Canadiens have been coined "the Midgets" for years now, and I think after knocking out the Bruins with the effort that we all saw, they may have washed that one away...at least I feel they did.
Moving forward, and trying to speak as fairly as I can, this next series will be much more difficult than was the Boston series. The New York Rangers have been quietly finding a lot of success. Most had them written off against the Penguins, and like the Canadiens, they overcame the odds and battled hard for their series win.
This upcoming match up between Montreal and New York will, essentially, be Henrik Lundqvist against Carey Price. Neither team is exactly "large" and neither team really plays with an edge in comparison to the Bruins. They both play a strong, systemic, fast paced game and they both have world class goal-tending.
As I mentioned over Twitter a few days ago, Marty St Louis was credited with the reason for which the Rangers battled back from a 3-1 deficit after the passing of his mother. He said that the team got behind him and together, they battled as his dedication to the sport in such a traumatic event was put on display. Good on you, Marty.
Whether or not the Rangers will be able to carry that momentum forward against the Habs is left to be seen, but I can tell you one thing with confidence; If you felt Montreal had confidence after sweeping the Bolts, wait till you seem them now.
Thanks for reading.....and watching!