Conference Final-ly... Finally!

I fully admit that I may have jinxed the Boston Bruins last season during the Stanley Cup Playoffs. I had written an article about all the things that had happened in Bruins history since Boston last appeared in the Conference Finals way back in 1992 after they had taken a 3-0 lead on the Philadelphia Flyers last season. Needless to say, I ended up with egg on my face as Philadelphia rallied and won the next four games to become only the third team in NHL history to win a series after falling behind 3-0. After learning my lesson, I was posting nothing about the Bruins being up 3-0 this year until they had officially closed the door on the Flyers.

Tonight, I can proudly say that the Bruins will appear in the Eastern Conference Final as they swept the Flyers in the series to advance to the third round. The last time there were there, the Bruins ran into a powerful Pittsburgh Penguins team on their way to a second consecutive Stanley Cup. Here are a few of the highlights from Boston's last trip to the conference final.

Game Three saw Kevin Stevens light up Boston for four goals.

It didn't go so well. The Penguins tore through Boston in four straight games. Only Game One was close as the Penguins defeated Boston 4-3 in overtime. Game Two saw Pittsburgh win 5-2 and Games Three and Four were won by 5-1 scores. Clearly, the Bruins want to have better results against Tampa Bay this time around than they did in 1992. If they do have better results, it could mean the end to a 39-year Stanley Cup drought in Beantown.

However, as I proved last year, let's not put the cart before the horse in any series. I may have already jinxed the Bruins simply by talking about "the drought". But if the Bruins can continue to score goals at an NHL-best rate of 3.45 goals-per-game in these playoffs, the Bruins could be on their way to glory.

An Original Six Stanley Cup champion for the second year in a row? There's no school like old-school, I guess! And there's the jinx once again!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!