A Year Filled With Promise Comes to an End

TAMPA - When the Bruins' season began back in October, no one knew quite what to expect. An influx of youth coupled with a grizzled veteran core left many wandering how such a combination would mix.
The estimations of many had the Black & Gold in a battle for a postseason berth - at best.

But those doubts were quickly quelled. After stumbling through the first six weeks of the season as they fought through a bevy of injuries to their most high-profile players, the Bruins put together a torrid four-month stretch that catapulted them into the discussion as one of a handful of teams capable of winning the Stanley Cup.
On Sunday, however, those championship dreams dissipated.
The Bruins' 3-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 5 of their second-round series was their fourth straight defeat - a painful end, no doubt, but one that leaves the Boston with hope and optimism for the future.

"If we're gonna look back throughout the whole season, I think there is a lot that we can be proud of," said B's captain Zdeno Chara. "There's a lot that we can take from this and use as a positive. A lot of people didn't expect us to be a playoff team. A lot of people didn't expect us to be a 50-win team. And we were fighting for the first position in our conference.
"We went through some challenges and obstacles this season and we handled it very well. There's a lot to be proud of and a lot to be looking forward to next season."

While the Bruins fell short of clinching the top spot in the Eastern Conference and the Atlantic Division with a loss to Florida in the final game of the regular season - ultimately leaving them one point behind the Lightning - Boston eked out a first-round victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs with a thrilling comeback win in Game 7.
The B's rode that momentum into their second-round showdown with the Lightning, surging to a 6-2 win in Game 1 last Saturday. But things flipped dramatically following the series opener, with Tampa cruising to four straight wins behind a balanced offensive attack and a smothering defensive effort.
"I think we played good hockey during the season and expectations became higher and higher and we realized that we could play with anybody in this league," said Tuukka Rask. "Considering that, it's disappointing that the run ended so quick."

It was the Lightning's domination during 5-on-5 play that truly proved to be the difference. Despite the Bruins' potent performance on the power play during the series, they failed to generate an even strength goal over the final three games.
"Five-on-five we had no chance," said Rask. "You look at that and it's pretty easy. Power play, we scored a lot of goals. Just couldn't accomplish a lot 5-on-5, they shut us down a lot. Credit to them."
"They played a very good system 5-on-5 and they were better than we were," added Brad Marchand. "You can't rely on special teams every night to win games. They help for sure, but you have to be able to produce 5-on-5 and we obviously didn't do enough of that."

Nevertheless, the Bruins had a chance to even the series in Game 4 at TD Garden and led midway through the third period. But a controversial non-call that led to Tampa's equalizer sent things to overtime, where the Lightning finished it off in the opening minutes of the extra session for a pivotal victory that extended their series lead to 3-1.
Even for a team that made a habit of pushing through adversity during the regular season, falling into that kind of hole against the East's top team was one obstacle that was too much to overcome.
"It's very disappointing the team that we have and the way that we've played all year," said Patrice Bergeron. "All along we were finding ways and making things easier for ourselves or winning games. Whatever it was, everyone was contributing. We believed that we had a great team. It's disappointing that we could have done a lot more, we believed that we had a better team."