Is It Friday Yet?

Ok, so here's the deal: The last time the Bruins played the Hurricanes it was before the trade deadline. It was all the way back in February. That means that they didn't have Erik Cole. They weren't clicking like they are now. They were losing a lot more games back then. Here's what they look like after they lost to us the last time:That's a whole lot of green. (graphs from Hockey Numbers)

Make no mistake: This team is H-O-T hot. They will be flying on friday night. You would too considering how they just knocked out New Jersey. They like to play a fast game. A lot of the guys on the team now were big parts of their 2006 cup win. Guys like conn smythe winner Cam Ward, who has been great so far. Guys like Eric Staal, who you can see in this picture:
For extra fun, check out the crowd behind him that just went from "We're going to win!" to "Aw crap. At least playoff overtime is great" to "ARE YOU KIDDING ME? ARE YOU LITERALLY KIDDING ME? MARTY YOU GOTTA STOP THAT. WHERE'S THE NEAREST BRIDGE?"

He's a dream killer.

Luckily we have some guys who can put a stop to that kind of thing. Some guys who not only kill dreams but the people that have them.

This series' two biggest matchups are Staal vs. Chara and Ward vs. Thomas.

Oh and don't forget about Ray Whitney. Or Chad "Who?" LaRose. They are the top line for Carolina. With 7 points a peice, they're a point per game team against New Jersey, who I thought might be one of the toughest teams in the playoffs. I was wrong.

The Bruins have been practicing for a week now. This is the longest layoff of the whole season. Could be trouble. Might not be. Teams with long layoffs don't have great records in the playoffs.

But then again, New York had never given up a 3-1 series lead before. Records have already been broken this year. The Bruins have shown themselves to be a mentally tough team before, and they'll have to do it again.

After all, this is the playoffs. There are 8 teams left. They all want it. Each just has to best their opponent.

Carolina is next.

GO BRUINS!