Not good enough, not nearly good enough, on any level. The Bruins couldn't playmake with the Habs, couldn't hit with them, pass or skate with them, couldn't shoot or even think with them. The final score, 4-1, was way too kind, in that it did not fairly depict a night in which the No. 8 seed Bruins got ragdolled around the rink by their longtime nemesis.
"If you make as many mistakes as we did," said veteran Bruins winger P.J. Axelsson, "it doesn't matter what kind of game plan you have."
The Bruins' game plan, if they are to counteract a team that looks capable of waltzing into the Cup finals, will have to be to bring up their emotions, increase their level of physical play, and hope (beyond hope?) that they can squeeze a few scoring chances out of the bargain. If so, they also have to hope to beat rookie goaltender Carey Price.
Now, is Price a good goalie? Seems so, according to his pedigree and résumé. The news clips say it, too, but his 60-minute exercise against the Bruins was more a test in not dozing off than it was in stopping the puck. The Bruins mustered only 18 shots, and other than the one Shane Hnidy ticked by him, no more than two or three of the remaining 17 were anything more than a beer league goalie would have to stop.
"We knew they'd come out hard," said defenseman Mark Stuart, one of a handful of Bruins who finished the evening minus-2. "They did a good job coming out with the physicality of their checks."
The start was just plain ugly, all too reminiscent of Boston's 0-7-0-1 showing against Les Glorieux during the regular season. The Bruins were flatfooted and nervous from the start, looking as if they were all trying to break in brand-new skates and find the feel of new sticks on the opening day of training camp.
It had the look of the first day of school, the Bruins as students, the Canadiens as teachers.
"I don't think we played well," said Bruins coach Claude Julien. "That's the bottom line. Their physicality and everything else was a testament to how badly they want to win."
