Mike McMahon
Journal Staff

For the city of Boston, October 6 was a night that was much needed for the morale of its sports fans. The Bruins had their home opener and raised the majestic Stanley Cup banner from last season. Even though the game resulted in a 2-1 loss for the black and gold, there was a magical feeling as you watched the Bruins take the ice.
The raising of the banner brought us all back to where we were on that glorious night when the Bruins reigned supreme in the world of hockey for the first time in 39 years, but the drought is not the only reason this night was so pivotal for those that call themselves loyal to Boston sports.
The best thing that happened to Boston sports in September was probably Tom Brady finally deciding to get a haircut. The last month and a half has been rough for local sports supporters.
The NBA lockout is lingering and the start of the season is looking doubtful, and I won’t mention the Red Sox because we all know that story. Even though the Pats are beginning to hit stride, they did lose to the Bills.
September was not a good month to a sports fan in Beantown, but now it’s the middle of October and that means one thing- no, not baseball- it’s hockey season.
This is by far the most hype a Bruins team has ever had entering a season in over a decade. Usually the beginning of the season takes a backseat to the MLB playoffs, the beginning of the Celtics season, or the Pats mid season dominance.
This year has been total contrast as the Bruins have become the supreme team in Boston again. It will be interesting to see how the Bruins react to being the most beloved team in Boston, a place they haven’t been in a very, very long time. Being the beloved team in a city that has seen several championships in the last decade is something that will not be easy.
The Bruins have always been a team that did not win because they were the most talented team. They won because they outfought everyone they faced on the ice and thrived on the fact they were an underdog.
No one is going to over look the defending Stanley Cup champs, and now all the eyes of Boston are on them as well. The Bruins need to be able to play at 100 percent game in game out. Due to their youth, I think they are more than capable of playing a full season of hard fought games, but there are certainly some questions.
Tyler Seguin is expected to come in and score twenty plus goals and he hasn’t even played close to a full season. Also, can it be expected that Brad Marchand plays 80 plus games with the same intensity he played with through the playoffs? Being a smaller player, it might be a challenge for Marchand to stay healthy.
Also, Mark Recchi is gone, as well as Marc Savard. That was a lot of experience and offensive creativity to lose. To overcome all of this, the depth of the Bruins roster will have to play with the same tenacity and attitude they had in the playoffs.
While the Bruins are more than capable of making the pieces all fall in place again this year, we need to realize exactly what happened last year, as the pieces fell in place. Tim Thomas was historic, and that doesn’t really even do it justice.
The guys that weren’t supposed to be stand out players were stand out players. Can it happen again? Absolutely, but that doesn’t mean this season is a total loss if they don’t bring another cup to Boston.
This team is already forever in the hearts of the Boston faithful, and they don’t need to make another run this year to keep it that way. Seeing the streets bleed black and gold is something that is new to a lot of people but it is something that I can get very used to.