I don’t know from hockey but I thoroughly enjoyed this recent bonus piece by Leigh Montville on the Boston Bruins:
The standing ovation was a return to the past. No, not the standing ovation at TD Garden last Friday night, the 10-minute communal fret-celebration at the end of that 1–0, stomach-churning win over the Lightning in the seventh game of the Eastern Conference finals that sent the Bruins into their best-of-seven transcontinental arm wrestle with the Canucks for the Stanley Cup. No, that was frenzied normality, a universal sports staple, excited people in an exciting moment.
The standing ovation the next afternoon at Pizzeria Regina in the North End was different. That was the way life once was in Boston hockey.
“Milan Lucic came in….” Richie Zapata, manager of the restaurant, reported.
Yes, Milan Lucic. Bruins winger. Still only 22 years old. Fourth year with the team. Six-feet-three, 228 pounds. A fan favorite since he arrived as a 19-year-old, straight from the Vancouver Giants, his junior team. Banger, scrapper, thumper. Yes.
“Johnny Boychuk was with him….”
Yes. Johnny Boychuk. Defenseman. Twenty-seven. Six-feet-two, 225 pounds. Third year with the Bruins. Big-time slap shot from the point. Cannon.
“They were with their girlfriends…. ”
Yes.
“I gave them a booth in the back. They ordered a large pepperoni with peppers and mushrooms. I gave them some extra slices. Took care of it. They were nice. Signed some metal pizza plates for the waitresses. Just nice. Nobody bothered them.”
So when the two Bruins and their girlfriends finished their meal at the original Pizzeria Regina—not one of the other Pizzeria Regina locations around the area, the original, with the familiar red-and-white-checked tablecloths, with the smart-mouth waitresses, with the waiting line that goes out the door most of the time and down the stairs straight onto Thacher Street, when they stood up, well, everyone else in the restaurant also stood up. And started clapping. Just like that.
Game Six of the Stanley Cup Finals are tonight in Boston, with the Bruins trailing 3-2.
My favorite Daily Show quote of the past month:
Canadian guy: "Go Leafs! ... You a hockey fan?"
Reporter (Wyatt Cenac): "No, I'm American"
My son started playing hockey last year. I could never get into it as a kid - always thought it was for dumb brutes, but after watching my son play I started appreciating the skill and stamina required. Non-stop action for 1 hour. The kids come off the ice completely sweat-drenched. Big difference from the dreadfully slow pace of a Yanks/Sox game where fat bodies like David Wells get big $$.
I'm originally from Jersey (hence my love of the Yankees) but I've been living in Boston for half my life. Started watching the Bruins this year because that's who my kid likes. It feels very weird to be a Bruins fan and a Yankees fan. I just feel wrong, but I've gotta say that the stanley cup playoffs have been damned exciting.