Catch your breath yet? It seems the Bruins barely could when they needed a big effort in the final two periods to sink the Senators Friday night after a big day of trades that landed them Tomas Kaberle, Rich Peverley, and less notably Boris Valabik. Into the organization came those three, and out went Blake Wheeler, Mark Stuart, Joe Colborne, and a pair of draft picks.

If you think Colborne, a 2011 first-round pick and a conditional pick for Kaberle [the Leafs will get a second-rounder in 2012 if the B’s re-sign Kaberle or make the Stanley Cup finals] sounds steep, it’s because it most certainly is, but that’s what Peter Chiarelli was willing to do. Hey, it’s probably easier than having a giant “WE’RE GOING FOR IT” painted on the side of TD Garden. Either way, it says the same thing. 

“It’s a strong message to our team and to our fans that we want to win and we want to be successful,” the GM said at Friday’s press conference.

There’s been a wall that’s blocked the Bruins from getting to the Eastern Conference finals the last two years, and banging on it with both fists since the summer have been Cam Neely and Chiarelli. Now more than ever, it is clear that the Bruins front office – one that hadn’t pulled off such a deadline deal since Chiarelli rolled into town in 2006 – has made its calculations and determined that this is a year worth taking that risk.

So with all the hype that accompanies landing Kaberle and, to a lesser extent Peverley, it’s wise to take a look at everything and ask the same question many have been asking since the summer.

Are the 2010-11 Bruins legitimate Stanley Cup contenders?

It’s a question that’s just as easy to answer as it is to ask.

Maybe.

It’s very easy to get caught up in the trade deadline and think that getting the big name makes a team an automatic Cup favorite. The problem with that line of thinking is that there are too many big names moved to too many teams, and there’s only one Stanley Cup. Will Kaberle and his new teammates see their names engraved into it?

Maybe.

The roster is good enough to be in that argument, but things need to happen for the Cup to be brought back to Boston for the first time since “Saturday in the Park” was released as a single. 

In watching of the replay of Friday night’s game, NESN play-by-play man Jack Edwards said something to effect of “Claude Julien going with his most consistent line all year, and that’s the Campbell line.” It’s something we’ve said over and over again since really the first game of the season, but it wasn’t until the day the team made its statement that they’re going for it that such a correct statement sounded so ugly.

That is not a knock on Gregory Campbell or Shawn Thornton, the two cogs of the Merlot Line since its inception at the beginning of the season. Both players have exceeded expectations with their ability to play against top lines and the surprising offense they’ve generated. Brad Marchand performed so well on the line that he earned a promotion to skating with Patrice Bergeron and Mark Recchi, something he’s handled seamlessly. 

Still, if you are looking at the 2010-11 Bruins on Feburary 19th, your biggest question, much like it was a season ago, is goal-scoring. That means you could probably stand to see the Milan Lucic – David Krejci – Nathan Horton line produce to the point where consistency is more what you get and less what you seek. 

Krejci has been hot of late, racking up 11 points over his last 10 games. Horton, who since late November has either found himself in a scoring drought or hinting at one, had a pair of points Friday and has a two-game point streak for just the second time since early December. Lucic, who leads the team with 24 goals, has been fine since missing time in mid-January with an undisclosed injury. The top line is showing signs as to why it entered the season with lots of hype, and it will certainly need to be firing on all cylinders come playoff time. The Bruins will likely enter the playoffs as a very difficult team to score on, and if their top scorers can generate the way they are capable, they’ll be able to take leads in the playoffs and not look back. 

With the second line solid, the Wheeler-less third line is going to be one to keep an eye on. Both Chris Kelly and Peverley could compete for time on that line, and Michael Ryder has played there all season. Tyler Seguin is really starting to get it, and whether it’s been a case of the youngster realizing those healthy scratches could come more often with the additions of Kelly and Peverley or just a case of him feeling more comfortable, they should stick with him. He wasn’t deserving of big minutes prior to his healthy scratches, but he has now turned in two very good performances in two nights and shouldn’t be relegated to the fourth line or the press box. It seems Daniel Paille could end up literally defining “odd man out” given that he has also played well of late and doesn't deserve to return to his healthy scratch days either. Still, if it comes down to Seguin and Paille, the B’s are better off taking a chance with the raw but explosive Seguin.  

Friday’s deals most certainly made the Bruins better, but they didn’t come close to putting them over the top. They have everything they need to gear up for a lengthy post-season run, and considering their cap space doesn’t make it likely they’ll add a big-time scorer, they need everyone to execute for them to get a crack at the Conference Finals.

The most important thing for the Bruins also happens to be their biggest strength, and that’s their goaltending. It shouldn’t be a surprise that even on a night in which Tomas Kaberle made his Bruins debut and Marchand continued his sensational season with a pair of tallies, Tuukka Rask was the story. What the Bruins need more than anything – yes, even more than Kaberle feeding Chara – is to be able to lean on their goaltending, as they have at many points this season. If Rask can continue to gain his confidence and perform in longer stretches and Vezina favorite Tim Thomas can break out of whatever funk he’s in (15 goals allowed in his last 10 periods), the B’s can go far. 

Far enough to not make it another long summer? Maybe.