A sudden beginning to summer...

By CHRIS VILLANI

A swell of anticipation.

A pall-like silence.

A season ended in the blink of an eye.

That was the chain of events in the waning moments of overtime last night at the TD BankNorth Garden as the Bruins were sent home for the summer with a 3-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes and a 4 games to 3 series defeat.

Time to cue the onslaught of negativity the sports fans and writers in this town are famous for. The avalanche of suffering and ranting about what a "disappointment" this was and how the Bruins "choked" away a shot at a championship and a chance to make this a hockey town again. Forgive me if I look at things in a bit more of an optimistic light. The Bruins loss was disappointing, crushing even. But make no mistake, this team won over this town, and gave us younger fans just a little taste of the black and gold glory days gone by.

"But Villani", you say, "they were the top seed in the East and got the best possible match-up they could in Carolina. A team they had beaten handily FOUR TIMES in the regular season. Even you yourself said the Bruins 'couldn't lose to this team'"

Well, I was half right, half wrong. The B's couldn't lose to the Carolina team they played the regular season. The 'Cane's were arguably the most improved team in the East from the trade deadline on. Zdeno Chara admitted after the game Carolina presented a much more difficult challenge than Montreal, and the additions of Jussi Jokenin and Eric Cole helped bolster a solid and physical line-up.

I also made the case for why the Bruins could lose last night, although admittedly I didn't think they would, and it was simple: Cam Ward wins game 7s. He still hasn't lost one in four tries and he arguably had no business winning any of them. After he out-dueled Martin Brodeur handily in a 4-1 series win in '06, he ousted a good Sabres team in 7 and then an upset-minded Oilers club to win the Cup along with the Conn Smythe Trophy for play-offs MVP. That season, he became the first rookie goaltender to win the Stanley Cup and post a shutout in a finals game in 20 years. The guy who did it in 1986 was a gentleman named Patrick Roy, so I think it's time we all, myself included, start giving Cam Ward his due. The kid is like Josh Beckett, he just amps it up when it comes time for the play-offs.

Another reason not to get too down on the B's, is that upsets happen in post-season hockey more so than basketball. Guys who really don't know hockey tend to think of it in NBA terms and it's not the right way to go about it. An 8 seed can knock off a top seed and then take the 2nd seed to a final game as the Ducks did this year and it's not an Earth-shattering feat. Oh, and that Edmonton team referenced above, the one done in by Ward, was an 8 seed out of the West. In fact, that season the West made history by having all four lower seeds advance into the 2nd round. That's one of the things we love about play-off hockey, it's truly anyone's Cup to win.

And the last reason why people should feel good about this year's Bruins team, is the point I have been making now for awhile, and that is that this team did not need to win a cup this year for the season to be a success. Yes, I really felt, as did most, they would have a legit shot to get to the finals once they disposed of Montreal. But I was brought back down to Earth by the twists and turns of arguably the best pro post-season out there.

Remember, change tends to happen in slow increments. It's true in historical trends, tidal erosion, and sports. Sure, every now and then there's a turnaround like the one the Celtics had from '07-'08, but those are few and far between. They also tend to happen in basketball where one or two players can impact a game and a team to a higher degree than any of the other pro sports.

Four years ago, the fan base was as down on this team as they could be after the trade of Joe Thornton. Last season, after a dramatic seven game loss to the Habs, most fans thought they'd be spending another season trying to figure out how many points the B's would need to hold onto one of the top 8 play-off spots.

And then something happened, well a few things really. David Krejci became one of the top centers in the East. Phil Kessel went from a guy some fans wanted to run out of town last season to being one the go-to scorers on the team despite missing a month with mono. A rookie named Matt Hunwick held his own on the blue line and then some. (Oh, by the by, don't discount the loss of Hunwick and Ferrence in the play-offs as another reason for the struggle against the 'Canes.) Tim Thomas became the best goaltender in the game, and Claude Julien got a young group of guys to buy into a system, to play an exciting style of hockey, and to win over a city.

The last point is where I differ with most of the nay-sayers today. The Bruins did not "miss their chance" to make this a hockey town, they knocked it out of the park. More than half the crowd stood and cheered after Scott Walker ended Boston's season, quick exit from their parking spaces be damned. Walk around Boston or the South Shore and you'd see an array of B's hats, shirts, and jackets in numbers usually reserved for the Red Sox. WEEI had full hours of Bruins talk on shows that did not involve Dale Arnold. Milan Lucic became a rock star. I've picked up girls just by saying I've interviewed him. It sounds crazy but chicks dig this team far more than the Celtics or Patriots. If you're a young, single guy out there, do yourself a favor and learn how to spell Hnidy and rattle off forward lines...it may help you get lucky.

And in perhaps the biggest sign that this team had won over the city: Ricky Villani actually watched game 7 as opposed to the 2009 Valero Texas Open coverage on the Golf Channel. When my dad watches hockey, you know there's a damn good reason.

And there was. No, these guys aren't Orr and Espisito and O'Reilly...at least not yet. Don't forget there are 9 Bruins aged 26 or younger and Tim Thomas is inked for another four years. Should he falter, perhaps the best goalie prospect in the world waits in Providence. This team isn't going anywhere.

So, just as the Red Sox needed their near miss in 2003, perhaps the Bruins needed this test to prepare them for next season. Hockey is back in Boston, and when the leaves turn and the long, lazy days of summer have passed us by, I think the fans will come back to the Garden as energized as ever. The Bruins took a huge stride this season towards being a force in the NHL. But they'll want that next level, the chance to play for that big silver trophy.

And we'll want it as bad as they do.
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