THE EVERETT ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, APRIL 3, 2020 Page 9 Pandemic looks like bad break for Bruins N By Greg Phipps ot to downplay the seriousness of the coronavirus pandemic currently causing havoc around the country and the world, but the suspension and possible shutdown of the 2019-20 National Hockey League season has come at an unfortunate time for the Boston Bruins, who looked primed for a second consecutive Stanley Cup run. After the season was put on hold due to the pandemic a few weeks ago, the B’s stood at 44-14-12 through 70 games, the best record in the entire league. The Bruins owned an eight-point advantage on the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference, a point margin that would be difficult to relinquish with 12 regular-season games left. But what has been one of the Black and Gold’s finest seasons ever appears to be in jeopardy, with the effort potentially being nothing but a historical footnote. Who will remember the 2019-20 Bruins if the season is cancelled for good? They will go down with the 1994 Montreal Expos of Major League Baseball as a great team that never achieved what it could have due to extenuating circumstances and no fault of its own. In ’94, the Expos (now the Washington Nationals) were 74-40 and looked like the best team in baseball when the season abruptly came to a halt because of a players’ strike with 48 games still on the schedule. That campaign never resumed and the Expos went on to lose several all-star players, including Red Sox Hall of Fame ace Pedro Martinez. In the seasons that followed they became a perennial bottom-ofthe-standings franchise before moving to Washington in 2005. This year’s Bruins have a short window with defenseman Zdeno Chára well into his 40s and forward Patrice Bergeron getting up in years. Goalie Tuukka Rask, having perhaps the best season of his career and being used more economically than in the past, appeared to be determined to shed the longstanding stigma that he can’t win the big one. All-star forward David Pastrňák was well on his way to scoring 50-plus goals, the first Bruin to do that since Cam Neely back in ’94. Brad Marchand was closing in on another 100-plus points season, as was Pastrňák, and Bergeron looked poised to reach his career plateau for goals in a single season. Coming off a heartbreaking seven-game loss to the St. Louis Blues in last year’s Stanley Cup final, the Bruins, before this season, were thought by many to be a team that over-achieved to make the final to begin with. Plus they avoided facing two of their biggest nemeses – Tampa Bay and Washington – to make it that far. This year, they had played Tampa Bay pretty evenly and had performed much better against Washington, a team that had owned the Bruins in recent years. So it was looking very promising and fans were looking forward to the playoffs. Unfortunately, seemingly in the blink of an eye, that anticipation has been taken away by an unanticipated force of nature. Even if the season is resumed, what effect will this layoff have on the Bruins? Will they be the same team and able to recapture the momentum and focus LETTER | FROM PAGE 5 front line, working to safeguard our health and well-being. The MGC extends our heartfelt gratitude to all who are risking their own safety to protect that of others, including our healthcare professionals, first responders, members of the military and the many critical supply line workers. they had displayed all season? Hockey is usually unpredictable enough; now any resumption of the season would likely result in some major surprises when it comes to the postseason. If this season is cancelled outright, can the B’s come back next year and produce a performance as good as what they’ve displayed this winter? Or will this season go down as an opportunity extinguished by outside forces? On behalf of the entire MGC, we wish everyone safety and good health. This experience will no doubt test our endurance, but I have faith that it will ultimately confirm our collective resilience. Together, we will overcome. Stay well. Sincerely, Cathy Judd-Stein Chairwoman Massachusetts Gaming Commission
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