from Tara Sullivan of the Boston Globe,

Every playoff elimination loss hurts, and every one feels sudden and shocking, no matter what stage of the postseason it happens or what the final score ends up being. But some definitely hurt more than others, and with this Bruins team, in this unexpected breakout season, this one hurts more. This one had a shot to win it all.

“It was definitely a team I believe that we could have done really great things,” veteran center David Krejci was saying the quiet corner of an even quieter locker room. “It’s really disappointing right now. A team like this doesn’t come around often. I’ve been here a long time, and this was one of the best teams I was a part of. From the coaching staff all the way to the last guy to the guy who wasn’t playing tonight, they were all part of the team. We all pulled the same rope. It’s really disappointing.”

There are plenty of culprits for the Game 5 loss, the same threads that put the Bruins in their inescapable hole despite a dominating 6-2 win in Game 1 of this series. The inability to generate enough offense in five-on-five situations. The indignity of being on the wrong end of too many questionable officials whistles. The insanity of earning the No. 2 overall seed yet being forced to face the No. 3 and No. 1 seeds in the opening two rounds of the playoffs.

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