By: Joe Ballway, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
The Bruins return home to the Garden tonight with high expectations following their Game 5 setback in Buffalo on Friday night. The Sabres cut Boston’s series lead to 3-2 with a convincing 4-1 victory, but the Bruins still have two more cracks at upsetting the Northeast Division champions and moving on to a matchup with either Pittsburgh or
Philadelphia, depending on the outcome of the Capitals-Canadiens series.
Here’s 5 things to consider as we gear up for Game 6:
1. Is Thomas Vanek set to return?
While possibilities of Marc Savard’s return by the end of the series are the hottest rumors around town these days–some are speculating that he’ll swing down from the Jumbotron James Bond-style in time for the opening faceoff, while others swear they’ve already seen Boston’s best offensive player using the alias “Ryder” a few games back–he likely won’t be available until next round, should the Bruins advance. On the other hand, Vanek’s return is much more imminent; coach Lindy Ruff even stated that his Austrian sniper can return “whenever he feels ready.” Which could mean trouble for the Bruins.
But in regards to Ruff’s comment, how the hell could a player nearing health not be ready for an NHL playoff game if given clearance to make the decision himself? [...]

So, The Bruins and Celtics are in playoffs and the Sox have games just about every day. How do you keep up?! How do you choose what games to watch when they overlap? No worries: I have created a calendar of all the Celtics, Bruins, and Red Sox games this month so that you can keep track.
Since the Red Sox play everyday, my advice is to watch them in between playoff games, but if they overlap with the Celts or Bruins, skip them for the night–we have them until October. Then obviously, if either of the series go past game 4, you’ll want to make sure to tune into those key games. And, if you can always flip channels in between commericials, time-outs, quarters, periods, etc. The biggest overlap days are April 17 and 23, so be ready to make a decision on those ones.
Lets bring on another championship!
April Boston Sports Playoff Calendar

By: Joe Ballway, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
A ten-game losing streak. The league’s second-worst offense. Seemingly millions of man-games lost to injury.
The reigning Vezina winner, once a fan favorite, relegated to bench-warming duties and booed off the ice in his final home start. The captain and defending Norris winner, long hailed as a snarling shutdown force, called out for his lack of leadership and made a scapegoat for the team’s pussification. The reigning coach of the year, once seen as the defensive genius responsible for the franchise’s turnaround–well, most of us wanted his head on a platter by midseason.
Oh yea, and Dennis Wideman. And Michael Ryder.
And Matt f-ing Cooke.
All that, and. . . the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs?
Not bad for a nightmare season–not bad at all. With all the bitching and moaning us mercurial Boston fans have been doing (and are still doing, I suppose), you would’ve thought the Bruins were in dead last–and trust me, it did seem that way for much of the season. But a minor hot streak and a few lucky breaks later, they’re in the clear.
In large part, we can thank a weak Eastern Conference for that.
So, instead of the early tee time that seemed inevitable for so many miserable stretches, the Bruins are headed for [...]

By: Jess Lander, YawkeyTalkies Editor
Yesterday, was a great day for Boston Sports, as all of their teams got W’s, some more important than others. Here’s a recap:
BC Eagles. Won NCAA Hockey Championship 5-0: For the third year in a row, the city of Boston owns this trophy. Last year, BU came back from two goals behind to win it, and BC had it the year before. So even more awesome than for Boston, is that BC has won this twice in three years, meaning their Seniors and even Juniors, now have two shiny rings.
The Eagles went 12-0-1 in their last thirteen games, but earlier in the season, not many would have necessarily picked them for winning the big dance, as they still managed to tally 10 losses, 2 coming from foe BU and another from Northeastern.
But alas they did, and they did so big-time. Winning 5-0 in a Championship game is just insane. Wisconsin didn’t stand a chance, and the Eagles proved they not only deserved this, but that they in fact own Commonwealth Avenue. Sorry, Terriers, this a’int your street anymore.
Boston Bruins. Clinch a playoff spot: It’s been a long, painful season, but despite everyones assumptions, the Bruins [...]

By: Joe Ballway, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
If you told me back in October that, come April, the Bruins would be locked in a Battle Royale for the eighth and final playoff spot, I probably would’ve slapped you. After all–distant a memory as it may seem–the Bruins are just one year removed from a dream season that delivered a first-place finish, numerous accolades, and the franchise’s first playoff series victory since 1999. Not much was expected to change this year. If anything, the Bruins were supposed to build off of their success, picked in the preseason by fans and experts alike as a trendy Cup favorite.
April was going to be the time of year when the Bruins, having already clinched a playoff spot, were preparing for the long postseason haul. Six months ago, it wouldn’t have been crazy to assume that the season finale against Washington on April 11 would potentially serve as an exciting, yet meaningless, Eastern Conference Finals preview between two elite teams.
Instead, that contest could be the deciding factor in whether or not the Bruins even make the playoffs–and God forbid that it does come down to that game, for the goal-starved Bruins are ill-equipped to match up with the top dog in the East.
And if they do hold their own against the unstoppable Washington offense?
Well, [...]

By Joe Ballway, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
So that was it? That’s the best they could do?
Disappointing.  Pathetic.   Shameful.  There’s no shortage of negative adjectives to describe the effort the Bruins put forth in a game that so many people anticipated as perhaps one last indication that this season isn’t swirling down the toilet.  No way to possibly put into words how weakly they responded to the unjust loss of one of their most valuable players.
Flash back two weeks.  Marc Savard lay on the ice, barely twitching, after Pittsburgh’s Matt Cooke swooped in with a late blindside elbow to the noggin.  Savard was eventually taken off on a stretcher; two weeks later, he’s still suffering from dizziness and confusion, essentially confined to bedrest for the remainder of the season.
The hit sparked outrage for two reasons.  First, the NHL failed to respond, letting Cooke off scot-free in yet another example that the league needs to implement a disciplinary policy for hits to the head. Second, the Bruins failed to take matters into their own hands when the incident occurred, instead standing around idly and observing their fallen teammate as if he were some fascinating exhibit at a museum.
Since then, the Bruins have been emasculated by every media outlet that gives [...]

By: Phil Shore, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
The week has ended on a positive note for both the Boston Celtics and Boston Bruins.
Not only did the two struggling teams produce wins, but they won in a big fashion. The Celtics put up 122 points and beat the Pacers by 19 while the Bruins bested the Philadelphia Flyers, on the road, 5-1.
Don’t let the big wins get you too excited however. These teams have been too up-and-down lately. They both need to string a few performances like this consecutively before they can become legitimate championship contenders again.
Currently the Celtics sit comfortably in the third spot in the Eastern Conference playoff standings, and they should comfortably win their division which would guarantee a top four seed and home-court advantage in the first round.
However, the lack of competition within the division has not benefitted the Celtics. Rather it has allowed them to become complacent and lethargic, and they have played down to their competition, such as when they lost to the league-worst New Jersey Nets two weeks ago.
The team cannot continue to play at the same current pace. There is no way they can compete with Cleveland, Orlando, or Atlanta come playoff time. They could [...]