There is no way you can call yourself a hockey fan and not want a Bruins-Canadiens Eastern Conference final with the winner playing Chicago for the Cup. The one thing the NHL can sell about itself is its lore, and an orgy of Original Sixhood is exactly what these playoffs need.

There was something scary bad about how flat the Penguins were last night. As much as they've made me happy -- I've been a Canadiens fan since 1962. OK, so I didn't reckon on Bobby Orr's showing up here. The Bruins of my early youth were pretty horrid. -- these Canadiens are a very basic hockey team, but they've been playing very hard for a month and Pittsburgh came out so utterly dead-assed that Montreal looked like it was playing with four Guy LaFleurs, a Cournoyer, and a couple of Beliveaus in the middle. This is not the way you defend the Cup, Sidney. Not the way at all.