We Want The Cup!

MONTREAL (AP) - While the Boston Bruins talked about how tough it is to get the fourth win in a best-of-seven playoff series, the Montreal Canadiens contemplated their bleak reality of being down to the final chance to get their first.

Boston practiced at the Bell Centre on Tuesday, one day after taking a 3-0 lead in their Eastern Conference quarterfinal with a 4-2 win in Montreal.The Bruins, who are poised to win their first playoff series in 10 years, will get their first chance to finish off the Canadiens in Game 4 on Wednesday night.

"We want to come out here and give everything we have, like we have all series, and hopefully get the win," Bruins center Marc Savard said. "That's the goal right now, is to come out and play another 'one game at a time', and hopefully we win it. It's going to be tough. We know they're going to come out and throw everything at us, and we've got to be ready."

P.J. Axelsson was in his sophomore season when the Bruins won their last playoff series, a first-round win over Carolina in 1999.He said that the Canadiens gave him and his teammates all they could handle at the outset Monday, and he was steeling himself for what they would bring in front of a sold-out crowd on Wednesday.

"I think, if anything, they're going to come even harder so we've got to be prepared for that," said Axelsson, the longest-serving member of the Bruins.Shawn Thornton, who scored Tuesday for his first point in 25 playoff games, agreed.

"Yeah, I'm sure they will so I think we can't be shocked by it, we've got to be prepared for it," Thornton said. "That being said, it's a lot easier said than done when you get out there and you can't hear yourself think when you have that puck, you can't hear your linemates, you can't hear anything and they're coming with a lot of energy, it's pretty tough to play in."

Aaron Ward has won the Stanley Cup three times, including consecutive championships with Detroit in 1997 and 1998, and a third with Carolina in 2006.The pressure of those playoff runs didn't compare to the expectations Boston felt entering the playoffs as the top seed in the East.

"This is probably one of the most stressful series that I've been involved in," Ward said. "The pressure of having gone in through a season and being a No. 1 seed, knowing that there's a lot of external factors that can really have an influence on the direction of a series, for us, we were well aware of the position we are in."

Ward recalled Peter Laviolette's advice when he played for the Hurricanes, stating that his former coach urged his players to "always understand the mental philosophy of the opponent, understand where they're coming from."

"You always have to be aware of what your opponent brings to the table," Ward said. "In Game Fours it's always the best effort's brought forth by players. You're professional athletes and you're conditioned to play well and understand that no one ever wants to lose, and you have that mentality that you'll do whatever it takes, and at all costs, to win the game."

Boston will get a boost from the return of Milan Lucic, who served a one-game league suspension and missed Game 3.The Canadiens' task for Game 4 is plain and simple - win, or pack it in.

"Just as with our fans, with our team we're going to have to prove that we can stay alive by winning a game," GM and coach Bob Gainey said. "If we win a game, then we play a game on Saturday where we can look to Tuesday. So, it's by small increments and without the first one it's hard to move to the second one or the third one, which has been our case since the beginning of the series.

"We need to win a game to get into it, whether it was the first, second, third or fourth, and right now we're sitting at the fourth, still waiting to get out of the gates as far as putting a win up on our side."

Montreal was without defenseman Mathieu Schneider and left wing Alex Tanguay on Monday night, both key players sidelined by upper-body injuries. Top defenseman Andrei Markov has been out with a lower-body injury that cost him the last four games of the regular season.

"I can't really say that they will or won't be possibilities for (Wednesday)," Gainey said.The Canadiens held an optional skate at its suburban practice facility and nine players took to the ice, including goalies Carey Price and Jaroslav Halak.

Also taking part where defenseman Mike Komisarek, forwards Andrei and Sergei Kostitsyn, Tomas Plekanec, Matt D'Agostini and Gregory Stewart, and rookie defenseman Yanick Weber, who had a goal and an assist in Monday's loss for his first playoff points.

"There's always a vein of optimism, there's always some hope, and until that's gone, that's what you play with, that's what you rely on," Gainey said.

We Want The Cup!

DETROIT RED WINGS ALL THE WAY.........

Detroit is going 2 get smoked like a cuban cigar this yr.
GO BRUINS!
WE WANT THE CUP
K;while we are on the subject of the Detroit Red Wings let's take a stroll down memory lane if U will.This is just my observation & overall opinion K.Last yr when Detroit battled the Pens for the Cup they had a tremendous advantage over them due to the fact that they had 4 powerful lines that they could roll out which as U know guarantees relentless pressure on their opponent.Now the Pens were at a huge disadvantage because they only had 1 powerful line that possessed adequate firepower.In all honesty they would not even have reached that far if it were not for the heroics & stellar goal-tending of Marc.A.Fluery.Well anyhow that is last years case & point.This is a whole new Stanley Cup run which I'm sure will turn out to be very exciting.p.s.Enjoy the playoffs.Woo-Hoo!

This is the Pens year! We want the Cup more

Go B's

were gonna kick some butts

GO RED WINGS ALL THE WAY TO LORD STANLEYS CUP..........

Awwww!sweetie I'm afraid I have bad news for U.It appears that my beloved Boston Bruins were more than your pesky Pens could {Bear}
But please do not fret for in clear conscience & great sportsmanship that myself & all of B's glorious fans seem to have we will not let U sulk in sadness.U will be provided w/ much emotional support from all of the Bruins Ice Girls & as an added plus we will supply U w/ a year's worth of Kleenex(puff plus);)& all the ice cream your heart desires K.Oh! Yeah! plus a big {{{{{{{{bear~huggie}}}}}}

GO BRUINS!!

GO BRUINS!!

U Rawk! sweetheart.{{{{{{{{{{{bear~huggie}}}}}}}}}}}}

GO BRUINS!!

((((((((((((((((((((((((CY)))))))))))))))))))))))))))

I have seek-ed the infinite wisdom from Mr.Bear.He has requested that I give U this msg.He says;"that the Detroit Red Wings & all their squid throwing crazed fans are going down like the Titanic".

RED WINGS , RED WINGS AND MORE RED WINGS..........

Here is 1 of the many great players who will provide U w/ much wisdom & will teach U the error of your ways thus providing U w/ a much clearer choice & ultimate happiness.Say Hi! to Phil Kessel.;)

Hmmmmmm!what's this? Hey! Mr.Bear pounce over here for a sec.K.I have a snack for U.Please don't grow an appetite for these slimy lil devils though alright.U will not be seeing many of these.Don't worry we have the cooler in the dressing room packed w/ fish for U.Trust us & only us K.There are very clever ppl.in the world who will attempt to trick U w/ snacks to gain your favor.Don't be fooled K.;)

Montreal coach Bob Gainey appealed to Canadiens fans to stop booing the U.S. national anthem.4/22/09

Gainey said fans who booed during "The Star-Spangled Banner" before Game 3 of the playoff series with the Boston Bruins should find other ways to voice support for their team."I feel like there's a confusion there with our fans," Gainey said Tuesday. "They feel like booing the anthem is supporting our team, in that the anthem represents the Boston team.

"And I think if they could separate those two things, then we could respect the anthem of the United States of America and they could still participate loudly in whatever way they want to disrupt the Bruins."Boston leads the best-of-seven Eastern Conference series 3-0 and can complete a sweep with a victory Wednesday night.Many fans booed the U.S. anthem at the Bell Centre on Monday night, even though others tried to drown them out with chants of, "Go Habs go."

The same booing has been heard during the playoffs in recent years. In the past, the Canadiens responded with a taped appeal on the scoreboard from Canadiens great Jean Beliveau asking fans to respect both national anthems, and there would be less booing at subsequent games.

Instead of playing the tape again, the team said it is counting on the appeal from Gainey, who is also the general manager.When told of Gainey's statement, Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas said "that sounds like a very classy thing he did." Thomas, of Flint, Mich., was not put off by the booing."The same thing happened last year and it happened just about every time I've played here," he said. "I was prepared for it. I knew what was going to happen and I just ignored it."

Real Classy Fans hey?

can ya say SWEEP LOL BRING ON THE NEXT VICTIMS

Yeah! baby.Cy picks her up & twirls her around.It's time for us to sing our official chant before we welcome our next victims to the TD Garden.LMAO!!
Na-Na-Na-Na
Na-Na-Na-Na
Hey-Hey-Hey
Good-Bye!!!
Hey!look over there the Bear & Mr.Blades are dancing also.Woo-Hoo!!
Na-Na-Na-Na
Na-Na-Na-Na
Hey-Hey-Hey
Good-Bye!!!
We Want The Cup!!