Had it all the way.
Never a doubt.
Ok, so I'm guessing that wasn't totally the case for a sizeable number of fans in the New England region during Wednesday night's Game 7. Especially once the Bruins fell behind the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-3 in the second period on a shorthanded goal when Brad Marchand, the team's sparkplug, had the puck bounce on him at the blue line, and then he and Tuukka Rask were torched by Kasperi Kapanen on a breathtaking rush.
Yeah, for some of you I'm sure things looked pretty bleak at that point. A 3-2 lead had vanished in a blink of an eye. And the Bruins, let's be honest, played a terrible second period.
Don't blame you if you started getting your Celtics green out of the bureau because, at that point, they probably looked like the better bet to advance, with one caveat: if you only started watching this Bruins team in the playoffs.
Because those of us who have been watching the whole season knew the season was not going out with a whimper in the third period.
Not this team.
Not with this coach.
These were not the "same old Bruins."
And not against that other team who, once again, fell in true Leaf fashion with star Auston Matthews shrinking from the spotlight (only one of his four shots was on target).
In the end, the 2017-18 Bruins were exactly who we thought they were: a resilient, never-back-down, never-give-in, beat-you-in-a-million-different-ways beautiful and eclectic mix of young and veteran players who just know how to find a way to win.
And they aren't done yet.
Next stop: Tampa Bay and the Lightning, who may have edged the Bruins in the Atlantic Division but lost the season series 3-1, with their lone victory coming when the Bruins weren't really trying. That comes 3 p.m. Saturday.
For now, let's get back to the marvelous mess that transpired in Game 7, when you thought the Barn on Causeway Street might just blow its lid because of the raucous noise that bounced around inside.
Take my hand, we'll make it I swear ... Whoa, livin' on a prayer
"It was insane," Marchand said of the atmosphere. "You could barely hear yourself think out there the whole game. I mean, there might have been a little bit of a lull there when they got their fourth goal, but it was an incredible atmosphere to be part of and, again, you could barely hear yourself think out there, you could barely hear the coaches and the guys on the bench talk. But we really fed off that energy and it really pushed us to be a little bit better than we needed to be."
The crowd was, indeed, awesome in the third period. It was deafening.
But the truth of the matter is, the Bruins would have pulled out that game if it was played in front of friends and family.
Since Bruce Cassidy took over for Claude Julien, it's just who they are.
It starts with the coach, who got this whole thing rolling when he challenged Tuukka Rask early in the season by sending him to the bench. It was the same way throughout this series when he gave Jake DeBrusk an earful in one earlier game. Cassidy also stuck with his gut, which has rarely let him down this season, when he kept Ryan Donato on press level and put Danton Heinen on the ice, despite the couch coaches howling for the Harvard star.
Heinen tied the game at 2 in the first period. DeBrusk ... well, a postseason star has been born in the 21-year-old.
"There’s something inside of him that not many guys have," marveled Torey Krug, whose blast tied the game early in the third. "He hounds the puck. He stays on it. We saw it all throughout the series ... When he wants it he’s going to get it so, he’s a great player for us. You need contributions from your young guys, and he was a big part of it today."
Said Kevan Miller of DeBrusk: "He’s quite the player, for sure. I think that you’re starting to see him really blossom."
You will not see a better goal, considering the situation, than DeBrusk had 5:25 into the third period. The score was tied and it was a four-on-four situation because Rick Nash made one of the dumber decisions you'll ever see when he decided to retaliate against Tyler Bozak with a crosscheck to the face after Nash had already drawn a penalty. Nash, who has been a huge disappointment to this point, was being fitted for goat horns if his bravado cost the Bruins the lead again.
Instead, DeBrusk bailed him out by winning the race for a loose puck at mid-ice, had Leafs defenseman Jake Gardiner spinning in a circle to the point that he was only left with trying to level DeBrusk as he angled toward Frederick Andersen. Gardiner did level DeBrusk, but it was too late — he had switched the puck to his forehand with the quickest of hands — as DeBrusk beat Andersen between the legs.
"Kind of caught their defenseman off guard right away with just my speed and then I tried to make a move and actually tried to raise (the puck)," DeBrusk said. "I didn’t even see it go in, I just heard the crowd go pretty nuts and it was a very special feeling, especially making it 5-4 at that point. I knew as soon as we got the lead there, we were going to be fine, and it was very special."
JAKE DEBRUSK AGAIN! THE BRUINS HAVE STORMED BACK TO TAKE THE LEAD!#TMLTalk 4 - 5 #NHLBruins
(#BOSvsTOR Series Tied At 3)#Game7 pic.twitter.com/lcum5dkOUb
— NHL Daily 365 (@NHLDaily365) April 26, 2018
DAVID PASTRNAK WITH A BEAUTY! THE BRUINS LEAD BY 2!#TMLTalk 4 - 6 #NHLBruins
(#BOSvsTOR Series Tied At 3)#Game7 pic.twitter.com/ugwYpfd2Vx
— NHL Daily 365 (@NHLDaily365) April 26, 2018