The Bruins just got their first win of the playoffs against Montreal, cutting their deficit in the series to 2-1. A gutsy performance by the Bruins, who are playing with confidence, but with the lion’s share of scoring chances the rival Canadiens still look to be the superior team. I think the Bruins need to take the two remaining home games to have any chance to advance, as I don’t see them winning both remaining games in Canada.

I was lucky enough to attend the first game of the Sox-Yankees series on Friday. The series, which is wrapping up tonight, has been a good indication of why Boston is a superior team. In particular, New York’s weak rotation has been showcased, starting believe it or not with Wang’s two hitter on Friday night. While he got the job done, Wang’s stellar box score does not represent his actual performance. There were numerous line drives hit throughout the night which happened to travel straight into the gloves of the Yankee outfielders. The Sox could easily have touched Wang up for three or four runs, but ended up with one. Wang may be an ace, but he is neither a dominating nor intimidating presence which will cost the Yankees in the playoffs.

Mike Mussina gave a performance which I would expect to be about average from him this year, surrendering four runs in five-plus innings. He too got hit hard and has shown no signs of stopping his downward trend of the past few years. On the other end of the age spectrum, Phil Hughes got lit up today and will likely continue to have an up and down season as he adjusts to the major leagues. With a mediocre ace and an aging Pettitte and Mussina, the Yankees will need consistent quality starts our of Hughes and Ian Kennedy, and I don’t think they will get them over the course of the season.

The Red Sox are not without their own concerns, with Big Papi heading up the list. Much talk has been surrounding his off-season knee surgery and, although Ortiz said his knee felt fine during spring training, it is important to note that his struggles date back to the month of March. Had Ortiz shown any power during the spring (0 home runs in 26 at-bats) I would be more willing to brush off his early season struggles as an aberration. Once J.D. Drew cools off the Sox will have some difficulty scoring runs, especially with Lowell still out of the lineup. Nonetheless, Boston’s pitching is strong enough that I am confident that they will finish ahead of the Yankees in the standings.