And Thus Ends the 2011 NHL Season

The Bruins have won the Cup, and Vancouver is rioting again.

As a mainly New York sports fan, it's normally taboo for us to root for a Boston team. But today, I don't feel that same animosity that I do toward Boston with the Bruins. The Bruins battled, and battled, and hit, and checked, and stayed composed through the toughest times, having to win three Game 7's to win the Stanley Cup. They played their game, and never wavered in the face of adversity.

I didn't end up watching the game, but I'm looking at the replays and there are a few things I wish to comment on.

Numero Uno: Canucks; what happened? Sedins; where were you? What happened to this team that won the Presidents Trophy, and one of the goalies who was nominated for the Vezina in Roberto Luongo? Was Aaron Rome really a pivotal point in this teams performance, or was shutting down Nathan Horton the only game plan they had going into this series? Either way, one fact is certain in my mind: The Canucks got scared. The Bruins were noticeably tough and bigger than most of the Canucks, and they got intimidated. After seeing Dan Hamhuis go down early in the series, the players like the Sedins didn't want to risk personal injury and played conservative hockey. Had they showed some testicular fortitude and played with a reckless abandon, they would be the ones holding the Cup right now.

Numero Dos: Canucks fans need to chill, and quickly. After rioting after the 1994 series, it's now become a custom in the NHL that if your team loses, we expect you to act like savage neanderthals and break everything in sight. Is that really the reputation you want in this league? Also, during the Cup presentation, it upset me to hear as many boo's as I did. Yes, I understand the frustration of losing on home-ice, and having to watch the team who just beat you celebrate and spray champagne right in-front of you, but show a little class for Christ's sake. Not even Flyers fans were as disrespectful last year when the Blackhawks won the Cup on Philadelphia ice. The Flyers fans sat there and gave a gallant golf-clap to their team, and the team that won, and that's exactly what should be done. Now, whenever someone goes back and watches the replays of the Game 7, they're going to remember two things: how much the Canucks choked, and how sore the fans were afterwards.

In all, the playoffs this year were pretty good, but my attention sort of faded once it got deeper. There were no heavy underdog teams that came up through the ranks, and no team that overcame a miraculous deficit (although we had two teams come close). The Championship round also lost most of my attention. It was either I sat down and watched a 1-0 snoozefest, or a 4+ goal blowout. Game 2 was the only interesting game for me, but again, that's just my opinion.

Now, we wait on summer activities, like the Draft, and free-agency to open up. Congratulations to the Bruins, from The Clinic!