The Bruins were beaten by the Penguins, 3-0, last night. There were a lot of boos when the locals skated off the ice at the finish. You would have thought Lou Merloni, Kevin Youkilis, and Boog Powell had been introduced.
“Booooooooo . . . ’’
Fans were incensed. In their view, the Bruins had failed on two counts. They had failed to get true revenge and they had failed to play hard to secure 2 points. In a season of lows, this was the bottom.
I thought the locals would be happy with the two fights we saw. At least the Bruins demonstrated a little pride and self-respect in defeat. They finally stuck up for Marc Savard.
Turns out it wasn’t enough. The atmosphere outside the Garden after the game was hostile. Fans were angry. Some said they would not come back again. One guy walked into West End Johnnie’s, took off his Marc Savard jersey, and gave it to the barmaid.
“I’m done,’’ he said. “This was it. No heart. No heart at all.’’
It was stunning. And unanimous, it seemed.
You would have thought the Bruins did themselves some good with the two bouts. No more talk of conscientious objectors on Causeway Street. No more Lady Byng All-Stars. If nothing else, it was a night when the lost boys of Causeway Street punched back.
Less than two minutes into the horrid loss, veteran winger Shawn Thornton dropped the gloves and took on Matt Cooke, the coward who cheap-shotted Savard into darkness a week and a half ago. Six seconds after Cooke vaulted over the boards, Thornton pounced and pummeled.
It wasn’t Ali-Frazier III. It wasn’t Mike Milbury crushing Rangers fans with a shoe bottom. It was more like Jason Varitek hoisting Alex Rodriguez into the air after shoving his mitt into A-Rod’s face. In the spirit of Lyndon Byers, Jay Miller, and a few of the 1970 Bruins swashbucklers who were in attendance, it was a demonstration that the Bruins will fight back. After 11 days of measured non-response — the kind of levelheaded thinking that infuriates the legions who love this team — it was old-fashioned payback for a dastardly deed that had gone unpunished.
There has been too much civility and political correctness about the 2009-10 Bruins. General manager Peter Chiarelli (“fight fiercely Harvard, demonstrate to them our skill’’) and coach Claude Julien keep talking about 2 points and playoff possibilities while most fans north of the Tobin Bridge are calling for blood and thunder and emotion from the team.
Yesterday morning, NHL discipline czar Colin Campbell came to the Hub in full Neville Chamberlain mode, reminding the Bruins to behave. A veteran officiating crew was assembled and the Bruins resisted the obvious urge to rent-a-goon for the evening.
