Will Boston have a Stanley Cup this year?

Part of us is not prepared.

The Bruins begin the playoffs Thursday, against the Canadiens no less, and they are the favorites, the heavies, the Eastern Conference regular-season champs with scoring punch and goaltending, with creds and cachet.




It's good to be a Bruin again, and it's even OK to be a fan of the Bruins again. No longer is it necessary to seek out that one Black-and-Gold confidant at the office party, steal into a corner, and discuss, sotto voce, the merits of the Shawn Thornton-Stephane Yelle-Byron Bitz checking line or the hybrid netminding style of Tim Thomas.

Takes a while to adjust to not being the butt end of everyone's jokes, doesn't it?

(Just try being the only girl you know that likes the Bruins. Trust me, dudes don't want to talk hockey with ya. Unless you're my brother, who humors me.)