So You're Rooting for the Bruins...Playoff Guide! (with The Bear & The Jacket)

This time last year, I created a 6-part guide on my Tumblr called So, your favorite team didn’t make the playoffs this year and you’ve selected the Boston Bruins as your adopted team: The Complete Guide. Since it was fun to make, and it clearly played a pivotal role in the Bruins winning the Cup, I am going to do it again this season to ensure I do all that I can individually to help the Bruins win the Cup again. Don't be fooled, I am still superstitious as hell, so I am knocking on wood as I write this. But it's really fun to look at what I wrote last year, knowing they would go on to win the Cup, and how different things are this year. I will be writing this years version and posting it sometime before the playoffs start! Maybe even before the season ends. We'll see.

Right now I am very inspired to get a start on it, actually. I do some reminiscing below, including The Bear ads and the magnificent of Mark Recchi and THE JACKET.

Re-reading last year's "guide" is pretty hilarious. From Part 1:

First of all, welcome and congratulations on the excellent decision to choose the Boston Bruins as your playoff team. It is always sad when your team doesn't make the playoffs, but as a Bruins fan who spent most of my life in your position where my #1 team didn't make it to the postseason, we are sympathetic to your plight and are more than happy to welcome you into this wonderful fandom.  Sadness over the end of your team’s season will melt away as you allow yourself to become devoted to your newly adopted team, and hopefully your love for the Bruins will last long after this post season has ended and all 30 teams start playing again next fall.

You may have chosen the Bruins as your 2010-2011 Stanley Cup team of choice for many reasons, and all of those reasons are valid. As you watch Bruins hockey, you will find yourself loving a million other things about this crazy Boston team.  At the same time, you may find those jerk fans who will call you a bandwagoner, and try to make you feel lesser for not being a “true” Bruins fan. Don’t listen to those idiots; most of them haven’t been “true” fans from the start themselves, and if they had any brains, they would be happy that their team has more support around the league. So, just ignore those naysayers and keep supporting the Bruins.

Haha "those jerk fans who will call yo ua bandwagoner". I didn't remember that bandwagon Bruins fans even existed last year before they won the Cup!!

In Part 2, I make a lengthy bulleted list about why to love the Bruins. Here are some of my favorite parts:

• Patrice Bergeron: The Perfect Human Being, aka St. Patrice
• Andrew Ference: Captain Planet
• Shawn Thornton and his fists
• The Merlot Line
• Tim Thomas’ mustache, which would look great on Mount Rushmore
• Milan Lucic and that time he smashed a Maple Leaf through the glass (amend this to: Milan Lucic and that time he kicked Komisarek's ass in a Habs uniform, then again this season in a Leafs uniform)
• David Krejci as The Matrix
• David Krejci as Jason Priestly’s twin brother
• Johnny Boychuk O faces
• Dennis Seidenberg’s skates
• Dennis Seidenberg’s Germanness
• Adam McQuaid’s afro, then mullet
• Bergeron for Selke
• Cam Neely
• Excuse me: President Cam Neely
• Daniel Paille, giving you an excuse to say “pie, yay!”
• Mark Recchi and all his records on the all-time list of being fucking awesome
• The sacred number four
• Bruins bear commercials
• Rene Rancourt
• Everything about this team.

Then there is the awesomeness of the things that can be amended:

• Mark Recchi: T-Rex, wine connoisseur, just wants to win another Cup so he can drink some wine out of it.
• MISSION ACCOMPLISHED:
• 
• Andrew Ference going 100 games before scoring another goal.
• Then breaking out in the playoffs with FOUR goals, including this one:
• 
• And then a career-high 6 goals this season!
• Zdeno Chara: 6’9, 1 of 3 B’s defencemen to ever score a hat trick, 105.9 MPH slapshot
• MAKE THAT 108.8!
• 
• Tim Thomas probably winning the Vezina again this year
• Yup 
• and probably the Hart
• Robbed
• Tim Thomas loving America, fishing, playing the puck even though he’s awful at it, calling “no goal” in practices, throwing his blocker at teammates
• LOVING AMERICA SO MUCH HE CAUSES A NATIONAL OUTCRY WHEN HE SNUBS OBAMA AND THE WHITE HOUSE 
• Tim Thomas falling down during the goalie fastest skater competition 
• And again when celebrating an OT goal in the playoffs:
• 
• Bergeron for Selke
• Robbed. Still relevant this year.
• Bergeron and his gold medal
• Make that membership of the TRIPLE GOLD CLUB!
• 
• The sacred number four
• 
• Bruins Bear commercials
• And ads
• 
• Who would have thought it would blow up like it did in the Tampa series?
• 
• 
• 
• and then make it's triumphant return in it's own TV series this year!!
• 
• to troll some more:
• 
• 
• 1924
• 1929
• 1939
• 1941
• 1970
• 1972
• 

Wow! I love reminiscing. Here is Part 3 (history), Part 4 (roster & stats), Part 5 (looking ahead to ECF vs Tampa), and Part 6, which I made before the start of the Stanley Cup Finals. Part 6 looks back on the previous 3 series, stats, scoring, and whatnot, and it also includes chronicling The Jacket, so I feel obligated to complete the chronicalization that through the finals and it's retirement.

Horton got The Jacket after Game 7 against Tampa.
The Bruins didn't win again till Game 3 against Vancouver.
Horton was knocked out of the game and playoffs with a concussion.
After the game, the Jacket remained in his stall.

Horton surprised the team after Game 4 to pass The Jacket onto Raptor Jesus Rich Peverley.
from Full 60+ to History.

After Game 6, Peverley passed The Jacket onto Gregory Campbell.
from Full 60+ to History.

from Full 60+ to History. 

The Jacket partied with the Bruins and the Cup after Game 7

During the 2011 Opening Night Banner Raisning Ceremony,
retired Recchi joined the Bruins to skate the Cup at the Garden.
Ference, who bought The Jacket, awarded it one final time to Rex.

We'll miss you Rex. I hope we can do it without you.

copyright Brian Fluharty Photography.