Mostly Bruins, A Little Muppet

A little more about last night's Bruins achievement.

I've often said that the key to happiness is low expectations, and that it sounds pessimistic but it really isn't. If you aren't expecting too much, then you're pleased by everything positive that happens. (Note that I am not successful in applying this to some aspects of my life, but I do try.) While I stand by my previously expressed feeling that I don't want them to make the playoffs only to be routed in the first round, I will say that it is pleasing not to go down to the wire on clinching a spot this year. Both of the last two years, they went all the way to the last game only to not make it in, and if you think that didn't make the Shirts Off Their Backs event awkward, well.

On the minus side, Brad Marchand, who has been having his best year ever and seemed to be really on track to transition from pest to skill player, made a damned stupid move (spearing), got thrown out of the game (deservedly), and may get suspended*. The moron! The only funny part about it, and even that wouldn't have been funny if the Bruins had lost the game, was it being described variously as a hit to the midsection, to the privates, or my favorite, "He hit him ... well, you know where he hit him." (Or, per blog coverage today, "in an area where you do not want to get speared" and "the vicious cup-check".)
*He has a meeting with the Department of Player Safety tomorrow, so the real question is, how long?

On the plus side, though! Unless you are very new to this blog, you have probably caught on that I just love Patrice Bergeron, and have from the start of his career. (Also, I would like to point out that this is strictly admiration for him as a player, unlike Steve Kasper, who I loved as a teenager because he was just so cute.) The jokes about Patrice being practically perfect aren't really jokes, he's just so good at everything he does.

One of his skills is winning face-offs; as of this morning (looking at ESPN's stats), he has taken the highest number of face-offs in the NHL this season, 1785, and won the highest number, 1068, giving him a save percentage of 59.8. You have to go down to number 40 on the list of most face-offs taken to find anyone with a higher percentage; there are only two players who have taken more than 1000 draws this season and are higher than he is. The general wisdom is that winning more than half is pretty good.

And last night, Mr. Practically Perfect went 17 for 17. He won them all. This is practically a unicorn. Happy sigh...

Now, this is a very tenuous transition, but does anyone remember the Muppet Mahna Mahna version with Dion Phaneuf? I blogged it years ago; I still think of it whenever I hear his name. Well, that links hockey, which I was just talking about, with the Muppets, and I give you this Mahna Mahna version that I saw today, which brought tears of laughter to my eyes.