But late last night, instead of resting their legs for a third-round showdown against the Penguins, some of the Bruins took razors to faces and trimmed the playoff beards they were no longer qualified to wear.
Milan Lucic, one of the giants of the series, was one of those players who reached for the blade after last night's 3-2 overtime loss before 17,565 fans, most of them stunned into silence by the quick-strike shot that felled the Bruins. Lucic, who scored the tying goal in the third period, was The Man. But shortly after the loss, the man looked more like a boy, clean-shaven and fresh-faced because of the punch-to-the-gut loss.
"It's not a great feeling at all," Lucic said of watching Walker's winner. "That's pretty much it. It's not a good feeling to see it go in. It sucks the life out of you. You've worked so hard to get yourself so far. We came up short."
The Bruins were less than two minutes away from preparing for a second overtime. But in an instant, the Hurricanes put an end to an emotional, exhausting, and exhilarating game by taking advantage of the element that put them over the top.
Speed.
Forward Ray Whitney barreled into the Boston zone with speed and whipped a shot on goal. Tim Thomas (34 saves) got a piece of Whitney's shot, but the rebound popped into the air.
"I couldn't completely control it," said Thomas. "It was in a spot where I put it in the air. And before I knew it, he had already whacked at it."
Walker, promoted to the No. 1 line last night by coach Paul Maurice, had whizzed into the Boston zone, stopped short of the crease, and batted the puck into the net. And just like that, the No. 1-ranked team with the Cup in its sights was done, with nothing remaining but to shake the hands of the opponents who turned out to be the better players in this seven-game brawl.
"There's not much you can say," said Bruins coach Claude Julien. "Obviously, there's huge disappointment. And rightfully so. We can say what we want, but we had higher expectations than this. I'm kind of glad that we did. I'd hate to have people that are satisfied.
