By a whisker

In the end, it came down to the final vote on the final day. Upon the completion of the latest Hound Central 4.0 poll -- asking which team was better, Boston or San Jose -- only one vote separated the teams.

After two weeks in the closely contested poll, Hound Central 4.0's readers had made their razor-thin decision: The Boston Bruins are better than the San Jose Sharks.

Twenty-three of the 45 votes cast in the poll picked the Bruins, despite a nationally televised drubbing by the Sharks in the days before the poll's closing, capping a comeback that saw San Jose take a quick 5-0 lead in the early voting.

I suppose, too, I should ask Colin, Hound Central 4.0's official voter, how many times he picked the Bruins.

So, are the Bruins better than the Sharks? On paper, I doubt it. San Jose's depth and talent is a touch better than Boston's solid team play and goaltending. And their teams' last meeting gave the Bruins a taste of what could happen later this spring.

Until then, we'll just have to see how it all plays out.

Question: Who's better?

Boston Bruins: 23 out of 45 votes cast (51.1 percent)
San Jose Sharks: 22 out of 45 votes (48.9 percent)