Blue-collar B’s dig dirty work

Johnny wiped dirty sweat from his brow with his sawdust-encrusted forearm as the autumn sun glared down on him. Every once in a while he flinched as the hammer clutched in his gloved hand reflected the rays into his eyes. He glanced at his watch.

“Four-fifty-five,” he thought to himself. “I’ll have just enough time to stop for one before I head home.”

A half hour later, Johnny sat down at the bar. Tired and aching, he smiled, raised his glass to no one in particular and took a gulp.

He wasn’t there to commiserate after a hard day at work, rather to celebrate that he’d been able to work at all. Two weeks earlier, Johnny had been laid off. He didn’t mope. He didn’t cry. He didn’t blame anybody. He just wanted to get up off the mat and keep going, keep supporting his family, keep grinding away at life.

We all know someone like Johnny.

Some of us are Johnny. The Boston Bruins are Johnny.

For decades, the team’s unofficial third primary jersey color has been blue, as in blue collar. The hard-working, old-time hockey Bruins, the lunchpail Bruins, the big bad Bruins, the rough-andtumble Bruins: It’s an identity and a reputation the team has cultivated — and earned — for generations.

That identity belies the city in which the Bruins skate. Boston is gritty. It’s hard-working. It’s proud. It’s strong. There’s little wonder why the team is beloved by so many. The fans here see in the team a glimmer of themselves, a glimmer of Johnny.

Last season, the Bruins were down early. At 15-10-5 through 30 games (and just because you get a point for losing in OT, it’s still a loss), a .500 club. The team was trying to find itself.

It did.

In the final 52 games, the Bruins went 35-10-7, finished second in the Atlantic Division and won a round in the playoffs before falling to Tampa Bay. And they rebounded far more quickly than most would have anticipated, and with players far younger than with which teams usually win.

This team is resilient. And already this season, the Bruins have shown that mettle. They looked dreadful against Washington last Wednesday in the season opener. The defense was sloppy; Tuukka Rask was sub-par; the offense couldn’t get out of its own way. They were awful.

Thursday, the B’s got up off the mat. They answered the bell. The captain led the way. The youth followed his lead. Everything worked.

It happened again yesterday in a 6-3 home-opening win.

• Patrice Bergeron pounded home a loose puck while mucking it up in the low slot 30 seconds into the game.

• The team’s fourth line — including Walpole’s Chris Wagner — found a way onto the scoresheet.

• On a day when the defense didn’t play particularly well, Matt Grzelcyk swatted away a sure goal seconds after turning over the puck to create a scoring chance for Ottawa.

• Brandon Carlo dove across the crease and gloved the puck away from the net, and on the same sequence David Backes sold out to block a shot heading into an otherwise open net.

• Noel Acciari nearly scored on a partial breakaway while the Bruins were killing off a two-man Ottawa advantage. The B’s killed off both penalties.

That will be a microcosm of this season.

While the Bruins faithful want to believe the team will win or have a chance to win every game, that just isn’t feasible. Even within games, win or lose, the Bruins won’t always be the better team on the ice. What will define this year’s team is its ability to wipe the sweat off its brow, get up off the mat and make the best of the situation in front of it.

If they’re fortunate, at the end of the season, they can raise a glass — or a Cup — to no one in particular, and take a large gulp.