If the Boston Bruins didn’t defy all previously understood logic and score three goals (and a fourth in overtime) in the waning moments of their Game 7 showdown with the Toronto Maple Leafs last year, I’m not so sure that I’m writing about what I am right now. I know I’m not, actually.

Had the Bruins lost Game 7, Boston head coach Claude Julien would’ve undoubtedly been fired after leading the B’s to their second first round series loss in as many years. There’s also a good chance that players such as Milan Lucic, Chris Kelly, or perhaps even David Krejci would’ve been moved (or at least been on the table) in order for the B’s to shake things up when it came to the core of their leadership up front. We’d still (somehow) find ourselves defending the Phil Kessel trade, as lopsided as it would’ve seemed after that series, and the Black-and-Gold would’ve been subjected to Washington and Vancouver-esque criticisms for their playoff-time mental makeup. Heads would’ve rolled, and things would’ve gotten really ugly.

But the Bruins had their say. They weren’t going down without a fight. The first blow back came from winger Nathan Horton. Then Milan Lucic. And then, the face of the Bruins, Patrice Bergeron, rose to the occasion and put home a game-tying goal that sent a half-full Garden into a full on frenzy. To this day, I’ve never been in a building that was louder than the TD Garden at that point, and that includes any of the Stanley Cup Finals games in Boston.

You know that old Jack Edwards line made famous in 2008, “This building is vibrating!” Well, yeah, it was. The ground below my feet was literally shaking, as if the roof was going to cave in at any moment, much like it did on the improbable run of the 2012-13 Maple Leafs.

Ultimately, the comeback proved to be the kick in the pants that the B’s needed, as they rattled off eight wins in their next nine playoff contests, pushing them into the Stanley Cup Finals for the second time in three years, where they were ousted by the league-best Blackhawks in six games.

On the other side, and much like the Bruins’ collapse to Philadelphia in 2010, the heartbreak of unexpected defeat has only made the core of Toronto’s young squad tougher, battle-tested, and hungry for more cracks at the East’s best. It’s the same hunger that’s led to an 11-5-0 start for a Leafs that returns to the scene of the crime for the first time since that fateful May night.

“It’s unfortunate that sometimes you live with those things; we’ve had to live with collapsing against Philadelphia years ago when we had a 3-0 lead,” Julien said of the Leafs’ springtime collapse this morning. “But at the same time it’s important you look at the positives and what it did for our team.”

Despite winning nine of their last ten against Toronto, and holding a 20-8-0 advantage over the Leafs since the start of the 2009-10 season, Julien and the B's know better than to underestimate a Blue-and-White squad rolling into town with seven skaters with at least ten points to their name thus far.

"I think they’re just a good team. They’re a team that’s been getting better every year. I said that before and I’m still saying the same thing," said Julien, adding, "They’re a growing team and growing in the right direction. They’re legit, there’s no doubt about it. Their spot in the standings is, I’m sure, very indicative of their play and their team and everything else."

For a Bruins club in search of their second straight win, the formula remains the same, with the 26-year-old Tuukka Rask getting the nod in the crease.

Stopping 23 of 24 in Thursday's win against Florida, Rask takes to the ice with a .942 save percentage on the year, and an 8-1-0 record with a .949 save percentage and 1.46 goals against average versus the Leafs in 11 career contests.

And like they did in all seven games of last year's playoff duel, Toronto counters Rask with James Reimer. Making his first start since last Saturday, when he stopped 43 of 47 Vancouver shots in a losing effort, Reimer enters play with a 4-1-0 record and .942 save percentage in 2013-14, and has two wins in five career games at the Garden.

While tonight's battle doesn't present the Leafs with a real chance at avenging last year's playoff collapse, it does present Toronto with a chance to establish their ground as a legitimate threat to the B's in 2013-14. Something that should frighten a Bruins squad that has just two wins in their last six games. Through a month of play, and with the Atlantic as tight as it was, it's no secret that the Bruins have to make the most of their divisional matchups, and with the winner of tonight's game either narrowing or widening the gap between second and fourth in the division, the pressure is certainly on the Bruins.

A situation that Julien doesn't necessarily mind for this hot-and-cold club.

"To me it’s an opportunity to improve our game," the Bs coach noted. "It's not a test, but it’s more of a situation where we can find our game and be the team that we want to be, that we know we should be and can be. So that’s more my approach to it."

Join the Discussion: » 19 Comments » Post New Comment

» Bruins fire Jim Montgomery

» Bruins hit with significant blow on backend

» 5 thoughts on 5 Bruins as frustration mounts

» Bruins shutout for 2nd time this season

» B's slide hits three; Marchand, Montgomery address 'The Shove'