(AP Photo/Darryl Webb)
The Bruins Look To Regain Hype With A Hot Start
As far as I know, nobody said a word about the Bruins all summer. If they did, it certainly didn’t make its way onto TV or the radio. I’m sure there were some articles written, but I can’t remember a single significant journalistic piece coming across any of my social media news feeds. The lack of discussion actually grew a bit concerning. We went from shouting our Bruins fandom from the rooftops to instantly pretending they didn’t exist after Game 7 of the Cup Finals. Instead we spent our time complaining about a painfully uneventful Red Sox season until the Patriots re-entered the spotlight a month ago.
As a result of our collective silence, there was little to no hype surrounding the B’s in the weeks and days leading up to their season opener last Thursday, and that could be a good thing. While most Boston sports fans were focused on a relatively boring Patriots match-up with the Redskins, the Bruins flew under the radar this past weekend on their way to an impressive 2-0-0 start against a couple quality opponents in the Stars and Coyotes. Tuukka Rask and Jaroslav Halak were phenomenal in both wins, reminding us that they’re still the best goalie duo in hockey. The defense has been as stingy as the Patriots’, allowing just one goal thus far in their 2-1 victory in Dallas and 1-0 shutout on Saturday in Arizona. They’ll get their first big test in Vegas on Tuesday night when they face off against a Golden Knights team that has found the back of the net 9 times in their first two contests.
It’s understandably tough to generate a buzz when you’re coming off a devastating Game 7 loss in your own building and don’t make any notable moves in the offseason. Fans gave their heart and soul to this Bruins team during that playoff run a few months ago and it was all for nothing, so it’ll take an incredible start for the casual follower to reach that level of commitment again. For now we’ll just let them move quietly until they give us a reason to be invested come winter and spring.