Alright. I think we can say it without jinxing anyone (and by the way, there's no such thing as a jinx, it's just a very easy scapegoat): the Boston Bruins are probably going to be in the Stanley Cup Finals this season.
Yeah. I know. As of Wednesday morning, you cannot say that outright. The Bruins only hold a 3-0 lead over the Carolina Hurricanes (formerly the Hartford Whalers) in the third round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. There's a lot that could happen in the next game and any hypothetical games following (assuming they don't sweep). Plus, we all remember the 2004 ALCS. I'm sure a lot of New York Yankees fans thought the series was over when their team led 3-0. But whatever. Outlier aside, the numbers favor the Bruins at the moment.
Against the Hurricanes (Whalers), Tuukka Rask has been downright magnificent. Don't let the haters tell you otherwise: he is flat out producing. In game three, the guy made 35 saves on 36 shot opportunities. The Bruins won the game 2-1 as he posted a .972 save percentage. Meanwhile, the other team's goaltender (the team that used to be the Whalers) made 29 stops on 31 shots on goal. To put it mildly, Rask made the difference in that one.
Speaking of notable playoff performers, how about Charlie Coyle stepping things up? Through 16 playoff games, he has 12 points (6 goals, 6 assists). Him and David Pastrnak has the exact same playoff point total this season which says something. They're tied with Brad Marchand (16 points) and Patrice Bergeron (10 points) for most goals amongst Bruins players in the playoffs. That also tells you how spread out the scoring effort has been -- and that's what makes teams dangerous.
It's unclear whether the San Jose Sharks or St. Louis Blues will win on the other side. That will be a good series for sure.