The Boston Bruins wrote the book on heartbreaking losses

I honestly don't know how many ways I can express the same thought I've had and written down numerous times in the last few years: the Boston Bruins find new and different ways to lose games (and series). It's just what they do. The higher the stakes, the bigger the tragically epic failure.

So while last night's 3-2 overtime loss to the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup finals was heartbreaking, I can't say it was surprising. At all. If anything, you almost have to step back and appreciate the carnage since there's nothing like a Bruins flop (ever since the Red Sox got their shit together in 2004) to get the blood boiling in this day and age.

After giving up the winning goal with 18.5 seconds in Game 1, the B's outdid themselves by blowing a 2-1 lead, hanging on for overtime but then losing in 11 seconds (the second fastest goal in playoff overtime history).

Much like the B's always remind you of their inadequacies, the NHL always seems to rear its ugly, deformed head at the worst times. Canucks forward Alex Burrows bit Patrice Bergeron in Game 1 but the NHL didn't suspend him or even fine him. Would you believe that he was Vancouver's best player last night, scoring two goals and having an assist?

So yeah, seeing that lowlife be the one to get the winning goal, putting Vancouver two wins away from its first Stanley Cup in its forty year history is about as painful an ending as any Hollywood hack could concoct for Game 2.

Handing out the blame pie for the OT goal is hard to do. Andrew Ference (who for some reason was out there to start overtime) started off the terrible play by putting the puck off the boards, right to Vancouver. Tim Thomas (30 saves) was the bigger goat though as the came flying way out of control and not only took himself but Zdeno Chara out of position too as Burrows faked a shot, whipped around the net and stuffed it in. When you blame Thomas though, you also must realize that Boston wouldn't be anywhere near the Stanley Cup finals without him. He's the best goaltender in the world right now but like Bill Belichick or anyone else, just because he's great doesn't make him bulletproof when it comes to criticism.

This was a game that the Bruins had to win. They sleepwalked through the first period with Burrows scoring a weak power-play goal (his eighth goal of the playoffs) from Chris Higgins and Sami Salo at 12:12. The shot appeared to handcuff Thomas as it squirted through his body and over the goal-line.

Boston responded with its best period of the first two games in the second. Its two most invisible forwards stepped up: Milan Lucic and Mark Recchi. Lucic tied it at one with his fourth goal of the playoffs at 9:00 from Johnny Boychuk and David Krejci. It was a simple play as Lucic went to the net (what a concept!) and was able to put in the rebound past Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo (28 saves).

A Mark Recchi power-play goal was one of the most unlikely scenarios (he hadn't scored one since January, really) entering the game but there he was, getting it done at 11:35 (his third of the playoffs). He tipped in a wrist shot by Chara, Patrice Bergeron also assisted. The goal still doesn't justify Claude Julien sticking with him for all this time when he hasn't shown a pulse on the power-play but I digress.

Vancouver predictably came out on fire in the third period since they realized the importance of the game for their side. Thomas held the fort for a while but it was only a matter of time before the Canucks tied it up. Daniel Sedin came out of witness protection to score his ninth of the playoffs at 9:37 after a sweet feed from Burrows. Alex Edler had the second assist.

I was at a bar for the game and I can admit that I had barely settled in for overtime before it was over (I'm sure most people had the same reaction). It was over before it began and the craziest part was that Boston actually won the opening face-off!

Game 3 is tomorrow night at TD Garden and needless to say, it's a must-win for the B's. Lose and they'll be swept, no question. Win and they can make this somewhat interesting. They've proven through the first two games that they can play with Vancouver. The problem is that the Canucks have stepped up when they needed to while the Bruins have choked badly in two huge spots.

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It's about time: J.D. Drew hits his first walk-off hit for the Red Sox (in the 14th inning)

It's only fitting that a game that goes 14 innings (the longest Boston Red Sox game of the season), complete with a four-run lead blown in the ninth and having two players ejected, that J.D. Drew delivered the first walk-off hit of his Red Sox career.

Things were going well for Boston (32-26) as they went into the bottom of the ninth up 7-3 yesterday afternoon at Fenway Park on the Oakland A's (27-32).

Then closer Jonathan Papelbon started giving up hits in a non-save situation like he always does and before you knew it, he was tossed along with catcher Jason Varitek for arguing balls and strikes.

Oakland tied it up at 7 in the ninth and both teams scored a run in the 11th before Drew (2 hits, 2 RBIs) drove in Carl Crawford (4 hits, 3 RBIs, 2 runs) in the 14th for the winning run.

Alfredo Aceves (3-1) was the unsung hero and turned out to be the winner as he went the last four innings for the Red Sox. He allowed one earned run on three hits with two walks and two strikeouts.

It's hard to remember since this game went five hours and 17 minutes but this started out as a tasty pitching matchup between A's stud Trevor Cahill and Red Sox ace Josh Beckett. As usual, that's not how the game unfolded.

Cahill went seven innings but he allowed five earned runs on eight hits with a walk and eight strikeouts.

Beckett went six innings, allowing three earned runs on four hits with three walks and four strikeouts.

Things got off to a good start for Boston as Adrian Gonzalez hit a solo homer (his 11th of the season) in the first. Drew added an RBI single, driving in Crawford in the fifth, for a 2-0 lead.

Josh Willingham tied it up in the sixth with a two-run single in the sixth. The Red Sox responded with three runs. Dustin Pedroia had an RBI single, Kevin Youkilis had an RBI double and Crawford had an RBI single in the frame.

Cliff Pennington drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the seventh but Crawford's two-run double in the eighth made it 7-3 good guys.

You knew something was up in the ninth when Pedroia let a routine grounder go through his legs, scoring a run. Pennington had an RBI double and Conor Jackson tied it with an RBI single as Papelbon melted down literally and figuratively (the first ejection of his career).

Ryan Sweeney put Oakland ahead with a sacrifice fly in the 11th but Jacoby Ellsbury (4 hits, 2 steals) tied it with an RBI double which knocked in Jarrod Saltalamacchia.

Boston goes for the sweep today but I wouldn't bet on them since John Lackey returns from the DL and his rehab stint in the minors. He faces Oakland lefty Brett Anderson, who is good and typically gives the Red Sox trouble.

I Think I Hate Vancouver

48 Hours ago, if you asked me for a list of NHL teams that I absolutely, unequivocally loathed, the list would look like this:

1. Montreal Canadiens.

No team can ever match the Habs in my eyes, but after Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals, I am prepared to say that I hate the Vancouver Canucks.

Granted, its not the Canucks's fault that the NHL didn't suspend Alex Burrows for biting Bergeron, but after last night's game, the NHL has to be ashamed at the way Vancouver handled it.

First, it was a commercial featuring Burrows and the Sedin twins, where they joked that Burrows was a "vegetarian", obviously alluding to the bite on Bergeron.

Then it was former Canadien Max Lapierre taunting Patrice Bergeron, putting his gloved fingers near the Bruins' center's mouth. Smiling brightly, Lapierre's dispicable taunting of Bergeron underscored just how absurd it was that Burrows was not disciplined. In a playoff where we have seen Andrew Ference fined for his use of the finger, it was irresponsible for the NHL to not only not discipline Burrows, but allow the Canucks to poke fun at the situation.

Fnally it was Burrows himself, who scored the first goal of the game, as well as the overtime heartbreaker. I'm convinced that this type of shit only happens to the Bruins. Of course the guy that should've been watching the game with the rest of us was a major factor in the Bruins heartbreak. If you're wondering why this sounds familiar, you're probably thinking of Scott Walker (former Hurricanes forward). And if you don't remember him, congratulations, I just ordered you a pink hat.

Burrows put Vancouver on the board at 12:12 of the first, taking advantage of a Zdeno Chara penalty and squeezing the puck through the inside of Tim Thomas' right arm and his torso, giving the Canucks a 1-0 lead.

The Bruins responded nicely in the second, as Milan Lucic scored on the Canuck doorstep to knot the game at 1. Shortly thereafter, Mark Recchi tipped in a Zdeno Chara dribbler to give the B's a 2-1 lead. The power-play goal momentarily silenced Recchi's critics, who called for reduced time on the power play.

Because they are the Boston Bruins, they allowed a game tying goal by Daniel Sedin midway through the third. Naturally, it was Burrows, whose nasty assist set up Sedin to tie the game. This goal woke up the crowd and deflated the Bruins.

After the teams traded scoring chances near the end of the third, it became clear that Game Two was headed to overtime.

Overtime didn't last long though, as Tim Thomas came waaaaay out of his crease to try to cut down an angle on Burrows. The hungry winger skated around Zdeno Chara behind the net and then stuffed the puck in a wide open goal just 10 seconds into overtime. The puck was barely in the net and the entire Bruins team sprinted down the tunnel.

If Game 1 was encouraging, Game 2 was depressing. The Bruins have serious adjustments to make in tonight's Game 3 at home in Boston.

*Game Notes*

*The rest of this series could of one of two ways. The Bruins have either given their all and it hasn't been enough, or they have fallen short due to a few miscues and errors. I think that it is the latter. Boston is here for a reason, and unlike many critics and writers, I don't feel as if they have played their best hockey. Defensively, they have been solid except for a handful of defensive mistakes. They are however, capable of scoring more even with Luongo in net. The Bruins will have to raise their level of play at home in Game 3 to claw back into this series.

*Mark Recchi has been a hot topic in the last few games, mostly because of his lack of production on the power play, and he is not happy. After the game on Saturday night in which the veteran winger scored on the man advantage, he told critics to "kiss his ass". While it may have been a good sign to see Rex score, i'm curious about his choice of words. Here is a man who has been in the league long enough to know that fans and the media will criticize a player if they are not playing up to expectations. Still, it was encouraging to see Rex get on the scoresheet, especially on the power play.

*I love Mike Milbury, but he came across like a homer during NBC's broadcast of the game, saying that Boston fans should be mad that Burrows was not suspended. While I agree that there should have been disciplined, Millbury's allegiance to the Bruins came across on the screen.

*On Burrows, I think that regardless of the NHL's decision, the responsibility lies with the Bruins inability to stop him all night. He scored twice, assisted once more, and was the best player on the ice. He should have been watching, but he wasn't, and the Bruins failed to contain him, or even make life difficult for him for that matter.

*Due to the fact that the Canucks are winning on the scoreboard and also winning the psychological battle, the Bruins might have to bring in Shawn Thornton to even the score. The next question of course is who to sit. Seguin has came back to earth after his amazing Eastern Conference finals Game 2, but is still relied on to produce offense. Daniel Paille doesn't get a ton of ice time, but he has been a big part of the Bruins PK. I'd like to see Thornton out there, but I don't think that Julien is going to mix up his lines with the season on the line tonight. Look for the lineup to stay the same.

*Did anyone see the commercial for ADT Security? Wow. Creepiest shit ever. It starts with a mobile app that let's you set your alarm system from a smart phone (and probably disarm your system if your phone is stolen), and then shows a hidden camera in a daughter's bedroom that alerts a parent when their child comes home. If you need this, you lost at parenting.

*Eddie Olczyk is pretty brutal at color commentary, and had this to say about the NCAA rugby tournament. Oh yeah, this was during game action. "You know the guys on the outside of the rugby field are called "hookers". Followed by Doc talking forever. Stick to the game and stop trying to be funny. Same goes for the younger guy during intermission who used the word "bite" a million times.

*Not sure what more to say about tonight other than that this game is essentially the season. The Bruins have dealt with adversity and obstacles all playoffs long and tonight is a perfect opportunity for the Bruins to make it a series at the very least. If we lose in six or seven that's one thing, but the B's and their head coach cannot afford to let this opportunity get away.

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Canucks score with 18.5 second left, take Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals 1-0 over the Bruins

I was getting set for overtime in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals last night at the Rogers Centre. I was going to crack another Sam Summer with my buddy, tweet my overtime winners for both teams to ESPN's John Bucigross and pray that the Bruins could find a way to steal it.

Ryan Kesler, Jannik Hansen and Raffi Torres had other plans though as they teamed up for a goal with 18.5 seconds left in regulation en route to a 1-0 Vancouver win over Boston.

Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas (33 saves) deserved better since he played outstanding, particularly in the third period when the B's started to skate in quicksand and the ice tilted towards the Canucks. The winning goal wasn't his fault at all either as it was the result of a misplay by defenseman Johnny Boychuk, a great pass by Kesler to start the play, Hansen's pass to Torres and his professional finish.

Vancouver goaltender Roberto Luongo is a Gold medal winner as we all know and one of the NHL's best but he's prone to giving up weak goals and juicy rebounds. Not last night. He had 36 saves which is a little misleading since Boston only had a handful of great chances.

Since they're so heavily favored and carry the weight of Canada on their shoulders, a loss in Game 1 for the Canucks would have been huge. The pressure would have mounted and who knows how they would react? Now, I'll say that the Bruins need to win Game 2 or else this series might not go past five games.

Two subplots to come out of Game 1: Alexandre Burrows clearly bit Patrice Bergeron's finger in a scrum after the first period ended. We'll have to see if the NHL comes down hard on him or looks the other way during its showcase series. 2) Dan Hamhuis left in the second period with an injury after flipping Milan Lucic near the boards. He's one of Vancouver's top two defensemen so his loss would be a big one.

The Rogers Arena crowd was pumped during the pregame but the B's (and refs) systematically took them out of it. There were a ton of penalties on both sides but each team went 0 for 6 on their power plays.

The good news is that Boston's penalty kill was awesome but they won't keep that up if they continually put Vancouver's lethal power play (28%) on the ice. Ditto for the Bruins' pathetic power play which has now dipped to 7% in the playoffs. They had a four-minute advantage in the first period that they couldn't cash in on despite nine shots and a 5 on 3 in the second period that didn't give them anything tangible except a partial breakaway by the Canucks.

There's an extra day off before the pivotal Game 2 on Saturday night. I have faith that Thomas will play great again but the real question is if the Bruins can solve Luongo and stay out of the penalty box?

White Sox sweep the Red Sox at Fenway Park

For the life of me I can't figure out why, since they're not particularly good, but you can't dispute the ironclad fact that the Chicago White Sox own Fenway Park right now.

After polishing the Boston Red Sox off yesterday afternoon 7-4 for a three-game series sweep, Chicago (27-31) won its seventh straight at Fenway. They're 13-2 against Boston (30-26) in their last 15 games and 9-1 since the start of last season. What do you want me to do, call the White Sox my daddy? (Pedro Martinez reference).

A 3-0 lead for the home team didn't mean much as Tim Wakefield (6 innings, 4 earned runs, 7 hits, 1 walk, 4 strikeouts) and the Boston bullpen melted down in a rare midweek afternoon game.

Gavin Floyd (6-5) was shaky at first but he settled down and got the win. He went 6.2 innings, allowing four earned runs on nine hits with a walk and a strikeout.

The Red Sox put up three in the second inning as Jed Lowrie drove in David Ortiz with a ground-rule double and Jarrod Saltalamacchia knocked in two with a single.

Brent Lillibridge got an RBI double in the fourth to pull Chicago within 3-1 before the White Sox tied it in the fifth. Alexei Ramirez (3 hits, 3 run) drove in a run with a ground out before Carlos Quentin hit an RBI double. Wakefield could have got out of the inning on a clear out on the basepaths by Juan Pierre but that's not how the goober umpire saw it. Instead, Quentin got the hit and Boston spiraled out of control.

Lillibridge hit a solo homer in the sixth but Ortiz answered with his 13th of the season in the bottom of the frame to tie it at four.

It was the Paul Konerko show from there as he had an RBI double in the seventh which scored Ramirez and then a two-run bomb (scoring Ramirez) in the ninth off Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon.

White Sox closer Sergio Santos got a 1-2-3 ninth with a strikeout for his ninth save of the season.

Matt Albers (1-3) was charged with the loss after giving up three hits (including Konerko's double). He has come back to Earth after a great start in his Red Sox career.

Some scary stuff too as Rich Hill threw a pitch and then came out with an elbow injury. Dice-K is going to be out for the entire season with Tommy John surgery but nobody cares about that. Hill was a local guy that had found himself this season with Boston. Hope he's OK. Plus, he was the Red Sox' only lefty in the bullpen. Hideki Okajima is in Pawtucket but he has nothing left at this point. Theo Epstein is going to have to get some more reliable bullpen options.

The Red Sox are grateful to have a day off today after going for almost three straight weeks without one (and no, the last three days don't count). The Oakland A's come to town this weekend for a three-game set.

I Was Unaware That The Wachutus....WERE BITERS!

After 59 minutes of back and forth action, the Canucks did just enough to steal game 1 thanks to a late goal from Raffi Torres.

It was a weird game that featured a ton of penalties, a bite, and superb goaltending from Roberto Luongo and Tim Thomas.

The first few minutes were controlled by an aggressive Canucks team, ripping shot after shot at Thomas, who stood tall and kept the Bruins' relatively calm early on. The last thing we needed was another first minute goal.

The Bruins took over from there, playing their brand of physical, chippy hockey. Their intensity was matched by the surprisingly tough Canucks who didn't shy away from contact, save a few twins (more on that later).

The referees, perhaps motivated by Canucks journalists, blew their whistles left and right. The Bruins served seven penalties, and the Canucks served six, although the refs missed a few clear penalties throughout the game. All 13 whistles came in the first two periods, and none were called in the third. The worst thing a referee can do is be inconsistent, and to call absolutely everything in the first two periods while hiding the whistles in the third speaks to that inconsistency.

Heading into the third, it seemed as if we were headed to yet another photo finish. The Bruins defense bottled up the Canucks attack on one end, while Luongo was turning aside scoring chance after scoring chance.

The B's aggressive defense ended up being their undoing, as an overly eager Johnny Boychuk pinched up in the zone in an attempt to intercept a pass intended for Ryan Kesler. Kesler fed the puck to Jannik Hansen, who found a streaking Raffi Torres in the slot. By the time Thomas reacted, the puck was in the net and the game was essentially over.

Luongo and Thomas were the first two stars, respectively, and Torres got 3rd star honors. Thomas explained the goal, saying "I saw him (Hansen) skating down the slot and he got himself into a position where I started respecting the shot and started to cut down the angle. He was able to pass it to the guy (Torres) who was cutting to the net, who I didn't even see was there." This was the only instance in game 1 when Thomas' aggressive style victimized him. One could make the argument that he should have been the first star.

Daniel Sedin recognized how difficult beating Thomas was last night, saying "We needed an empty net to score, and we were able to do it."

Game Two is Saturday Night, and the B's will look to even the series at 1.

GAME NOTES

*Other than the final score, the story from game 1 will be Burrows' bite at the end of the first period. Patrice Bergeron and Burrows were in a scrum behind the net and Bergeron attempted the old face wash. Unamused, Burrows was clearly shown on camera biting Bergeron's finger. Both men received penalties, even after Bergeron showed the referees his bare hand. Bitegate will certainly be looked at by the league, and it will be interesting to see if Burrows earned himself a suspension, now that Colin Campbell is not on the case. Do I think he should get suspended? Yes. But I just don't think the league takes a player off the ice during the finals for this.

*Not only did the ref initially miss the bite, but they also missed Chris Kelly (who is still nursing a broken fucking face) take a haymaker from Raffi Torres after a whistle near the crease. The punch came after a bullshit kneeing call on Seidenberg in the second. The penalty was as shitty as its name makes it out to be. Just rewatching that sequence makes me sick. Im all for a good hockey fight, but when you pop a player in the face and don't even get a roughing minor, it just screams awful officiating.

*Chara was back down low on the Power Play, including a 1:30 5 on 3 in which they kept the pressure on the Canucks and using Chara as a screen down by Luongo. The only problem is when Chara had to clean up rebounds, he simply couldn't. He did a great job attracting attention, but he is just too big to use any finesse.
This is clearly something to work on, but I think it has been effective and the Power Play looks better.

*Julien complaint of the day. Recchi/Seguin playing time. Seguin was reduced to just over six minutes with only a minute on the Power Play? Why was he not out there on the 5 on 3? Who the fuck knows. Recchi, after playing only 6 minutes in game 7 against Tampa Bay, skated for over 15 minutes last night, including most of the time on the 5 on 3 in the 2nd. I don't know what happened between game 7 vs Tampa and last night, but it looks like Julien is back to his old ways. Bro, this is the Stanley Cup Finals. Coach like it.

*I was surprised with how physical the Canucks played. They clearly knew that they had to match the Bruins toughness, and they did on more than one occasion. Oh yea, except for when Daniel Sedin had the worst flop since PK Subban
It came after Andrew Ference grazed up against him after a whistle, giving Sedin a little nudge that sent the forward down to the ice as if he was shot. Just weasely, disgusting, Montreal like hockey.

*Did anyone see the cougar sitting behind the glass with the no Bruins shirt on. Id wear that shirt while banging her if given the chance. Just something about cougary hockey fans.

*Overall the loss was disappointing, but not the end of the world. Aside from a few coaching decisions, the Bruins played a pretty good hockey game for the first 50 minutes. They were clearly tired near the end of the game, which is perhaps why Julien broke up Chara and Seidenberg. The Bruins would have sent a message by stealing the game last night, but i'm positive that they will bounce back in game 2 and send the series back to Boston tied up.

Follow me on Twitter @RyanBurns88

Should I tell the Red Sox that the White Sox are terrible?

The summer weather is finally here but with the Boston Bruins in their first Stanley Cup finals in 21 years, the Boston Red Sox have a few more weeks of anonymity before everybody starts paying more attention to their games.

It's a good thing that nobody cares right now since the Red Sox (30-25) aren't playing very well at the moment. Boston dropped its third straight game overall, 10-7 last night at Fenway Park to the Chicago White Sox (26-31).

As long as Ozzie Guillen has been manager of the White Sox, they've always had lineups that could put up big numbers since they hit bombs. The lack of starting pitching and shaky bullpens has made them an afterthought in the crappy American League Central, making them miss the playoffs the last few seasons.

I don't expect Chicago to do much this season either but they look like they're about to sweep the Red Sox at Fenway which would be pretty embarrassing.

Alfredo Aceves (2-1) for Boston last night and he didn't have it after excelling in his first two spot starts. In five innings, he was knocked around for eight runs (six earned) on eight hits with three walks and a strikeout.

Journeyman Phil Humber (4-3) started for Chicago and he continued his surprisingly good season. He went 7.2 innings, allowing four earned runs on nine hits with a walk and five strikeouts.

For the second straight, the White Sox got out to a quick start and never looked back from there. They put up four runs in the second and one in the third for an early 5-0 lead. Gordon Beckham (3 hits) had an RBI single in the second, Brett Morel followed with a fielder's choice, Alexei Ramirez (4 hits, 3 RBIs) had an RBI single and A.J. Pierzynski added a ground-rule double.

Jason Varitek got the Red Sox on the board with a solo homer in the second, his second of the season.

Ramirez had another RBI single in the fourth before the White Sox put up three in the sixth on an RBI single by Juan Pierre, RBI double by Carlos Quentin and sacrifice fly by Paul Konerko.

The Red Sox added some runs in garbage time to make it close but Chris Sale came on to strike out Adrian Gonzalez on three pitches for his second save of the season.

Drew Sutton had an RBI single in the eighth and David Ortiz hit a three-run homer (his 12th of the season). Josh Reddick added a sacrifice fly in the ninth and Sutton had an RBI double.

Scott Atchison gave up two earned runs on four hits in relief. Bobby Jenks made his first appearance since May 1 and threw a scoreless eighth despite giving up two hits. Dan Wheeler had a scoreless ninth where he worked around a walk and a hit.

Tim Wakefield starts this afternoon against Gavin Floyd in the series finale. The Red Sox need a win before they have tomorrow off. Gotta get back to the roll they were on for most of May now that June is here.