By: Joe Ballway, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer

Troubling Trends: The Epic Buildup to the Epic Collapse

People say Boston sports fans are spoiled. After attending Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals at the Garden on May 14 of both 2009 and 2010, I’m here to dispel that notion.

There simply isn’t a more soul-crushing team in sports over the past decade than the Boston Bruins. Each of these ten years has been marred by either remarkable regular-season failure or, more frequently, excruciating postseason loss. Every time this team appears to be gathering steam and climbing the ranks, the roof collapses. When it’s all said and done, year after year, the fingers are pointed and the names are named. Then come the changes–though, no matter the cast, the result is always the same.

Along with death and taxes, the dramatic postseason demise of the Boston Bruins seems to be one of the few certainties in life, and the only certainty for this franchise.

The numbers tell you all you need to know. The Bruins have been bounced from the playoffs in Game 7 losses in three straight years, and four straight postseason appearances. They sport an abysmal 1-4 record in playoff series in which they’ve been the higher seed since 2002. And, as we all know by now, they’re the first team since 1975 to blow a 3-0 series lead. I can assure you that very few teams have blown 3-0 Game 7 leads, either. How the Bruins managed to do both at the same time is one of the most stunning, painful, and embarrassing occurrences in the entire history of competitive sport. This franchise has taken it upon itself to redefine the term “choke.” The lack of finish is nothing short of mind-blowing.

But how surprised should we be? Not that it could have ever been truly expected, but the Bruins have been building up to this incredibly climactic source of devastation for years, tantalizing us loyal fans and testing the very limits of our patience with their facades of regular-season success and Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde-like postseason performances. Start in 2002. The Bruins were the #2 seed in the Eastern Conference, pitted against the Montreal Canadiens in a favorable first-round matchup. Exit Bruins in 6 games–but the roller coaster ride
was just beginning.

Move forward to 2004. The Bruins–this time the #1 seed in the East–again land an advantageous matchup with Montreal, this time building a seemingly insurmountable (a word that no longer has meaning for Bruins fans) 3-1 series lead. Lo and behold, the Canadiens blow out the Bruins in Games 5 and 6, setting the stage for the first of Boston’s three one-goal Game 7 losses at home in the past decade. Painful as this one was, it pales in comparison to what has taken place after the lockout.

2008. The Bruins pull the underdog card for once, unexpectedly qualifying for the playoffs and overcoming a 3-1 series deficit to force a Game 7 against the #1 seed Canadiens. Just when you think the impossible is going to happen, that karma is finally back on the Bruins’ side, they lay an absolute egg and lose the deciding game, 5-0.

2009. The Bruins win back the hearts of New Englanders with their best season in decades, running away with the Eastern Conference and then sweeping the Canadiens in a brilliant first-round performance. Then, all of a sudden, they’re down 3-1 in the semifinals to the Carolina Hurricanes. But wait–they bounce back and force a Game 7 on home ice!

Turns out they were just setting the stage for the worst possible ending to their season: an overtime goal from Scott Walker, the same man who avoided suspension two games earlier for sucker-punching Aaron Ward in
the face. At the time, it was the most unjust of injustices, the cruelest possible punishment from the hockey gods.

But we hadn’t seen nothin’ yet.

What happened to the Bruins this past month is perhaps the most gut-wrenching blow a sports fan could possibly receive, a full-on Chuck Norris roundhouse kick to the face, balls and stomach. This was a glorious opportunity for the Bruins to reach their first Stanley Cup Final in 20 years. The table was set: all the top teams in the East were out, and the Montreal Canadiens were ripe for the picking in the Eastern Conference Finals. But for some reason, in the cruelest, most heartbreaking fashion possible, it just wasn’t meant to be. I don’t need to get into the nitty-gritty of the collapse–it’s pretty fresh in everyone’s memory, stamped in our hearts with the potency of a branding iron.

The recovery process has been long and painful. It’s taken weeks to acknowledge what actually happened, to come to terms with the fact that the 2009-10 Boston Bruins are forever etched in history as perhaps the most epic of epic failures.

As for the future? As a well-trained Bruins fan, the only thing I can say for certain is that I have no clue. The cloud of mystery that surrounds this puzzling team remains as thick as ever. For now, I suppose we can occupy our minds with two things: the fact that next year can’t possibly have a worse outcome, and the fact that a likely
superstar is landing on Boston’s plate in the draft. But we shouldn’t let either of those ideas sugarcoat the grotesque reality of what took place on May 14, 2010–a day that will live in infamy.

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