The Bruins are a family. Michael Ivins – USA TODAY Sports
The Boston Bruins are preparing for Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final, but in keeping with their general atmosphere of a close-knit, almost family-like team, they’re doing so with a little moral support from the guy who can’t be out on the ice with them. Gregory Campbell, having had surgery on his broken leg, is hanging around his teammates and wearing a lot of shorts these days. That’s led to some always well-meaning chirping from his teammates, especially Shawn Thornton, who saw his fellow Merlot Line member wearing white shorts and recalled a long-ago time when he saw white shorts–then proceeded to get into a bar fight.
So, even if you’re using crutches and even if wearing short pants is just more easily doable at the moment because of your immobilized healing leg, you can still get chirped by your teammates. Nothing changes.
On a more serious note, though, everyone on the team was boosted up by seeing ‘Soupy’ around TD Garden again. Number 11 himself, reflecting on what it means to be a Bruin because it’s coming up on three years since he was traded to Boston, felt that it was a perfect fit for him from day one. This team, to him, exemplifies what a hockey player should be in terms of heart and soul.
Couldn’t have said it better myself.
Heading into Game 4 tomorrow night, here are some interesting facts about this heart-filled team’s performance so far through the playoffs. To no one’s surprise, Milan Lucic currently leads the team in hits, having executed 85 of them. Johnny Boychuk has blocked the most shots, turning away 57 of them to lead all postseason players. Patrice Bergeron wins faceoffs like no other, having won nearly 63 percent of them so far. David Krejci is tops for playoff points at 23. Tuukka Rask leads every goalie category, but his 1.64 goals-against average is probably the most amazing of the stats since anything sub-2 is pretty darn good.
There is also a rumor going around that Marian Hossa, who was previously reported as a possibility for Game 4, has a hip issue and may not play. This is merely a rumor, to my knowledge, and is highly unlikely to be confirmed by anyone official before puck drop, but said hip issue is allegedly the result of a cross-check from Slovak countryman Zdeno Chara. Keep that in mind in case it becomes an issue tomorrow.
Speaking of tomorrow’s game, it will be on NBC at 8 p.m.
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