It’s a word that we use often. Pierre McGuire constantly reminds us to “manage” them, but we often let them get away from us just the same. When we talk about individual players, coaches, teams and outcomes, we all have our own expectations for what the final analysis should read. Sometimes their fair, sometimes they’re more fantasy than reality-based.

I can’t recall a playoff series that has such a wide gamut of expectations on either side of the fence as this 33rd matchup between Montreal and Boston. Both sides expect (demand?) victory, and both sides have compelling cases as to why their side will come out on top.

No doubt Bruins fans, and indeed Bruins management expect their team to employ the ‘Big, Bad Bruins’ philosophy. It’s been their identity for decades, and it’s how they play the game. They’ll expect the belief of superior size, and skill, propelled by their two most recent home wins over Montreal, to grind the Habs in to a gooey tri-coloured paste. They’ll expect to break the Canadiens’ will through intimidation. The Bruins almost certainly expect to prove that their Northeast Division win wasn’t all for naught, and they want to do it with authority. Their Head Coach, Claude Julien expects that his team will carry their strong regular season in to the playoffs with their rough-and-tumble style, and escape the first round unscathed (no doubt he has to expect that, otherwise he can expect to be shown the door). General Manager Peter Chiarelli clearly expects big things, as he was the one pulling the trigger on significant trade deadline upgrades. He will have answering to do if the Bruins don’t go very deep in the playoffs.

"Panic. It crept up my spine like the first rising vibes of an acid frenzy." - Hunter S. Thompson, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

Well, perhaps panic is not the right word since with Game 1 of the Montreal Canadiens-Boston Bruins first-round matchup set to start tonight, no one is panicking.

But there is excitement. A ton of it. It doesn't affect your spine, however, but more the chest-stomach region, which gets twisted into a tension-filled, knot of stress. And this nervous anticipation or coffee buzz-like jitter is coursing through the entire city of Montreal this morning. Whether at the bus stop, the corner store, while stuck in traffic or sitting at their desks, everyone seems intensely aware of what awaits the Canadiens tonight in Boston.

They say that speed kills. That is basically what Lewiston’s skates did to the Montreal Juniors last night in Maine as “holding” and  “checking from behind” penalties resulted in 2 Lewiston goals as the MAINEiacs skated to a 4-1 victory.

Lewiston now takes a commanding 3-1 series lead in the best of seven series back to Montreal Friday night, where they can upset the Montreal Juniors on home ice.

Read on for the official Juniors game recap.

The Montreal Juniors lost a heartbreaker to the Lewiston Maineiacs last night in game 3 of the round 2 QMJHL series.

The game was tied 1-1 in a tight game, until with 5 seconds remaining in the game, The Q’s leading regular season scorer, Étienne Brodeur potted his 3^rd of the playoffs and giving the Maineiacs a 2-1 series lead.

Montreal outshot Lewiston 29-19, however Maineiacs goaltender Nicholas Champion was up to the task, earning himself a 2nd star nod in the game.

Read on for the official Juniors game recap.