Welcome To Easter In Boston

In Boston, sports take priority.  While most people are enjoying their family’s company and going on Easter egg hunts, we’ll be glued to our TV’s for the entire afternoon and into the evening.

At 1 pm, the Celtics go for their first playoff sweep since they beat the Knicks in the first round in 2011.  At 2 pm, the Red Sox go for their first series sweep of 2019.  And at 3 pm, the Bruins fight for their lives and try to bring the Leafs back to the Garden for a Game 7.

The C’s have taken care of business so far.  After Game 3, Kyrie Irving was quick to remind us that the hardest game is the closeout game, especially on the road.  But the Celtics have asserted their dominance in this series and won’t waste any more time with a team that wouldn’t even be in the playoffs if it weren’t for Victor Oladipo’s play from October to January.  Since he was sidelined, they’ve gone 15-22.  Get your brooms out.

The Sox are in the midst of their most important April series in recent memory, and it’s going great so far.  On Saturday night they clinched their first series win of 2019 on a game-winning snap throw by Christian Vazquez.  Getting swept by Tampa this weekend would have been as close to a death sentence as you can get this early in the year.  A sweep in the other direction will revive Boston’s season.  Keep those brooms out.

The Bruins have their backs against the wall.  Fans and media alike questioned their effort in Boston in Game 5.  Now they’ll take the ultimate character test, facing elimination on the road.  It will take their best game of the year so far and they know that:

“We have to rely on each other and put ourselves in a bubble and do the job. That’s the bottom line”, Patrice Bergeron said.  “Everything is on the line now.”

The question is whether or not they’ll rise to the challenge.  David Pastrnak has already guaranteed a win. Bruce Cassidy stated the obvious in saying that their defense needs to improve significantly if they want to have a chance.  I say the B’s complete the Easter sweep and bring the series back to the Garden.

Happy Easter, Boston.

Follow Jack Bardsley on Twitter @BostonsBigFour

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