I woke up abruptly and pissed off this morning, hoping that the hazy memories of Blues players skating around with Lord Stanley raised high above their heads on our home ice was nothing more than a nightmare. But it wasn’t, and last night my beloved Boston Bruins shit their pants in the biggest game of the year, losing the Stanley Cup Final to the St. Louis Blues by a margin of 4-1.

It’s been raining all day here in Boston, which is conveniently acting as the perfect side dish to my depression while I sit at my desk and imagine what could, and should, have been. In addition to this post-Cup depression, I’ve also been battling a pretty rough hangover at work today; one that wouldn’t have been nearly as bad if we won last night, thus making my alcohol consumption seem worth it. The simplest way to sum up last night is that it sucked. It was a bitter end to the season, and it has left myself and plenty of others with an empty feeling of hopelessness. When it comes to what I want to say to The Bruins right now, it is something that countless family members and teachers have told me throughout my life: “I’m not mad, I’m just disappointed”

For whatever reason, The Bruins decided that Game 7 of The Stanley Cup Finals was a great time to not care and play sloppy hockey. The whole team looked as if they had mono or something, and as they had been during the entire playoffs, our first line of Bergeron, Marchand, and Pastrnak were completely irrelevant.

The first period could not have gone any worse for us. Despite the Bruins having 4 times as many shots as the Blues in the first period, Binnington was playing on his head and didn’t let anything past him. The kid was an impenetrable wall last night, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Trump reaches out and offers him a job as the new wall along the Mexico border. Trump’s 2020 slogan is about to be “Build That Binnington” after his performance in Game 7.

As mentioned, the Blues only had 4 shots on net in the first period, yet they managed to convert at 50% and put up 2 goals. Heading into the second period down 2-0 is not what you would call an ideal situation to be in during Game 7. I was shook, and apparently, so were the Bruins. It was a terrible first period, and it prompted me to tweet something that I think deserved way more love on Twitter. If you don’t think this is funny, fuck off

The second period was so disgusting I don’t even want to talk about it. Just the same sloppy and tired energy from the B’s, at a time when their back was up against the wall and they needed a goal. Leaving that period without cutting the lead to at least 1 was pretty close to the nail in the coffin, and I say this despite the fact that the Bruins were down 2-0 in Game 1 and came back to win 4-2.

And then came the final 20. The Blues managed to put 2 more goals by Rask and really put us out of our misery, as if they were a veterinarian and the Bruins were a dog with an inoperable tumor. Gryzlak would eventually stop the shutout and put The Bruins on the board with a goal, but the phrase “Too little, too late” is made for moments like that.

And that was all she wrote. The St. Louis Blues came into our own barn and blew us the fuck out in a winner takes all game. Naturally, the finger pointing started. I saw so many mouth breathers say this was Tuukka’s fault. I’m so not here for the “Rask sucks” comments because anybody that thinks that is an idiot. We would have been out of the playoffs a LONG time ago without Tuukka, so they can take their “Blame the goalie” takes and shove it up their asses. He was the only consistent player on our team, and probably the only person exempt from blame. He played the best hockey of his career, and the team failed him and sadly left him with nothing to show for it.

So who is really to blame? Everybody. You can’t win a Game 7 if you don’t score and the other team clearly wants it more than you do. You can’t win a Stanley Cup if you lose 3 home games in a 7 game series. With the exception of Tuukka, we had no consistency at all throughout the playoffs. As cool as it might have been to see a lot of different people score, you need your core guys to really shine if you want to win it all. As I already said, our first line was invisible. Bergeron didn’t produce like his usual self, Marchand was giving up on plays, and Pasta looked like a freshman playing in his first varsity game.

Unsurprisingly, Ryan O’Reilly was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy. That guy was electric during the entirety of the playoffs, and he was especially kyptonite when it came to The Bruins. He just could not be stopped, and anytime he got the puck, I braced myself for another goal. I shouldn’t even have to mention the role that Binnington had. Sure he had his shaky performances during the blowout games, but he was locked in last night and won that game for them.

As much as I enjoy sulking in my own sorrows by reliving last night’s game, I’m gonna call it a day. Despite the fact that I still believe we were the better team, it’s a moot point because we got outplayed. Plain and simple. Like I said in the title, I’m disappointed. I especially feel this way because I know how good this team can be when it wants to be, and for whatever reason, they decided not to play to their ability.

I also bet on The Bruins to win The Cup way back in February at +1000 odds, so safe to say I wouldn’t have minded that payout. I’ve essentially been sitting on what feels like a $1,500 check for months now just waiting to cash it, and now I might as well just rip it up. Fuckin way she goes.

Boston has a bad case of the blues today, and I know my dad would approve of that joke. Fucking sucks man, but we’ll be back next year. Not to mention the Sox and Pats won this year, so I guess going 2 for 4 out of the 4 major championships for the 2018-19 seasons ain’t half bad.

I guess the one good part of this whole thing was that Laila, the young Blues fan with an autoimmune disorder, got her wish

Seeing that made my heart grow 3 sizes like The Grinch. Some things are bigger than sports