BRUINS EARN A PLAYOFF BERTH!!!

The Bruins were also in Ontario Friday night, on the verge of clinching a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. All they needed to do was win, and have either Carolina or New Jersey lose. Captain Zdeno Chara put the Bruins ahead in the 2nd period with his career high 17th goal of the season. By this point, Carolina was losing 3-1 to Florida.

Phil Kessel scored his 19th of the year to put the Bruins ahead 2-0. Carolina had closed the gap on Florida but was still trailing. Antoine Vermitte scored late in the 3rd for Ottawa, and the game got intense, with over 20,000 screaming Senators fans urging their team on. As the game was nearing its finish, the Carolina score went final. This clinched a playoff spot for Ottawa, and all the Bruins had to do was hang keep Ottawa from scoring 2 goals in regulation. Ottawa didn't score at all, thanks to some gritty play by the 4th liners and the Bruins qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2004.

It's still extremely unclear who the Bruins will play in the 1st round. Right now they're 6th, which matches them up against the red hot Capitals. But if Washington fails to get a point in their last game, Carolina would take their place. Montreal and Pittsburgh are currently tied for the 1st seed in the East, each with a game left to play. If the Bruins win against Buffalo Saturday night, and the Rangers lose in regulation on Sunday, the Bruins could move up to 5th. The Bruins will be anything from the 5th seed to the 8th seed when the playoffs start.

Here are the possible teams the Bruins could face:
Pittsburgh Penguins
Montreal Canadiens
Washington Capitals
Carolina Hurricanes
New Jersey Devils

Whoever it is, it's simply awesome to be in the playoffs. None of the experts picked the B's to finish higher than 10th in the pre-season, then we lost Bergeron 10 games in, and here we are, thinking about who we'll face in the STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS!!!

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Fred Chartrand

SOX FALL TO JAYS 6-3

What started off as a pitching duel for 5 innings turned into a complete mess as the Sox allowed 6 runs in 3 innings to lose by a score of 6-3.

Wakefield looked brilliant to start the game. The first two times through the lineup, the Jays managed to get a mere 4 baserunners of the knuckleballer. But as was the case last year, the third time through the lineup was Wakefield's undoing.



Matt Stairs led off the 6th inning with a homerun. Alex Rios and Frank Thomas walked. Then Lyle Overbay hit a blooper into no-man's land in left-center to knock in Rios. Aaron Hill blasted one to deep center. Ellsbury had it in his glove, but ran into the scoreboard, jarring the ball loose, giving Hill a 390 foot single and the Blue Jays another run. Marco Scutaro singled to load the bases, but a double play ended the inning and prevented any further damage. But Wakefield's night was over, and it was time for the mediocre Red Sox middle-relief to come in.

JD Drew tied the game up with a two out, three run blast in the top of the 7th. But any momentum the Sox had was given back to Toronto when David Aarsdma entered the game and walked David Eckstein. Then Javier Lopez came in and allowed Shannon Stewart to hit a single. Delcarmen came in, got two foul outs, but left a juicy pitch over the plate, which Frank Thomas drilled for a 2 run double.

The Toronto bullpen shut down the Sox, allowing only a soft bouncing basehit up the middle by Manny in the 9th. And that was it.

The game may have been lost when Thomas hit that two run double, but what set that inning into motion was Wakefield's inability to go through a lineup more than twice. He only threw 88 pitches, but had to be pulled after 6 innings. So instead of a nice, 7 inning start, giving the ball to Okajima and Papelbon; the Sox were forced to go to their soft middle-relief, and it failed miserably.

Do you feel comfortable with David Aardsma or Javier Lopez on the mound in a tied game? Because I don't. But Wakefield left Francona with little choice.

I didn't agree with the pinch-hitting decisions in the top of the 8th. Crisp pinch-hit for Ellsbury because the Toronto pitcher was a lefty. Then Varitek pinch-hit for cash for the same reason. Frankly, Varitek's lack of success at the plate, and the fact that almost everybody is a worse hitter when they're pinch-hitting, made me cringe when Tek's name was announced. I think keeping Ellsbury in, then pinch-hitting Crisp for Cash and replacing him with Varitek in the field would have been the better option. Even though Ellsbury is a lefty, his speed allows him to make weak contact and still get infield singles. I'd take the combination of Ellsbury and Crisp over the combination of Crisp and Varitek any day, against ANY reliever, no matter which arm they throw with.

The Man of the Game is Shaun Marcum, who gave his team 7 good innings (really 6.2 good innings, then a homerun to Drew, then another 0.1 inning). He only allowed 3 hits and a walk, and he struck out 8.



Clay Buchholz makes his first start of the year tomorrow afternoon, facing Jesse Litsch.

I wish the Red Sox had light blue throwback uniforms.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Adrian Wyld
Photo By Dave Sandford/Getty Images

BRUINS CAN CLINCH PLAYOFF SPOT TONIGHT IF...

Last night, Buffalo lost to Montreal, eliminating the Sabres from the playoff picture. Washington beat Tampa Bay, and Ottawa destroyed Toronto. This leaves the Bruins in 7th place. But it isn't really 7th place. The Capitals and Bruins have the same amount of points, but Washington has more wins (the first tie-breaker), so Boston is essentially in 8th place.

The Bruins can clinch a playoff spot with a win against Ottawa AND either Philadelphia losing to New Jersey OR Carolina losing to Florida. If Philadelphia loses and Boston wins, then the Flyers cannot pass the Bruins because the Bruins hold the head-to-head tie-breaker (the 2nd tie-breaker) with Philly.

The Carolina condition is more complicated because of their divisional race. Carolina plays their last game tomorrow night, so if they lose (in regulation or OT), they'll have either 92 or 93 points. That coupled with a Bruins win would mean that Boston would have more points. Therefore, if Washington were to reach 94 points with a win on Saturday, the Capitals would win the Southeast Division, catapulting them up to 3rd place. The Hurricanes would also fall to a position BELOW the Bruins. And with only 9 teams left in the playoff picture, all it will take for the Bruins to get in is an assurance that one of those teams will finish behind them.

If the Bruins win, Philadelphia wins, and Carolina wins; they can still clinch a spot on Saturday. If they beat Buffalo on Saturday, they'd be in. If Washington loses on Saturday, they'd be in. If Philadelphia loses on Sunday, they'd be in.

If the Bruins lose in overtime in Ottawa on Friday, they can till clinch. A Bruins OT loss coupled with a Carolina regulation loss would clinch a playoff spot.

If the Bruins lose in regulation, things get a bit murkier. They would no longer control their own destiny, and would need help from Carolina, Washington, or Philadelphia in order to get in.

Source:
ESPN.com