How different than all those decades gone by, huh? Over a span of 45 years, 1943-88, when the Bruins came home from Montreal during the playoffs, recovery usually found them desperately attempting to tape their shattered souls, ice down their broken spirit. Their springtime jaunts to the Forum were far more tours of torture than tours de force.
Just as a subtle but vivid reminder of the way it used to be, the jumbo screen at the Bell Centre a number of times on Tuesday flashed video of Game 7, Boston-Montreal, in the 1979 Stanley Cup semifinals. Oh, yeah. Nothing like a little refresher course in TOO MANY MEN ON THE ICE to knock the stuffing out of the Black & Gold faithful who have been waiting since 1972 for a Bruins season to end in something other than heartbreaking defeat. What's on the screen when the Bruins aren't in town, behind-the-scenes clips from "The Silence of the Lambs"? Perhaps something in a merlot, Clarise?
There couldn't have been more than 100 Habs fans in the stands when the video first rolled around 5:50 p.m., but those 100 booed with conviction at the sight of Rick Middleton providing the 4-3 lead with 3:59 to go. Twenty-five years later, the Cup banner grown dusty in the rafters, and they booed even a temporary Boston advantage.
And we're supposed to be shocked when some of them also boo our national anthem? By the way, note to those who continue to get their shorts tied in knots over the anthem dissing: The vast majority of the booing came from the Bell's mile-high cheap seats, filled with very young adults and adolescents. Most of them looked sobriety-challenged. If you're thinking of returning volley tonight at the Vault prior to Game 5, you might want to save your vocal chords for something else. Like maybe Round 2?
