The Washington Capitals were playing the defending Stanley Cup Champions Boston Bruins in game seven of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series.

The game went into overtime, with the winning goal scored by Joel Ward of Washington.

It should have been a happy occasion for Ward and his teammates. After all, they had just defeated the Stanley Cup champions.

However, it was not, due to the actions of some people.

Ward, you see, is a Black Canadian from Toronto and you don't need to be told what happened next, as you probably can guess.

Let's just say some folks need to stop the madness and move on. Some Boston fans, all ready upset that the hometown team lost, and probobly full of beer, decided to salute Ward in their own way.  Yes, with the N word.

Faster than you can say Capitals win, Twitter folks got into the act, calling Ward everything except what his parents named him.

Forget the fact that some of these posts are now deleted just isn't the point. There is no excuse for what was said.

Making it even worse was the fact that it happened in Boston, a city that's near and dear to this reporter's heart. A city, for whatever reason, isn't known for its tolerance of athletes of color.

Ward, to his credit, stated that the messages aren't really bothering him.

Somewhere, you just know in the back of his mind, he's wondering what's wrong with these people to make them act this way?

He isn't the only one.

It should have been a celebration on the ice at TD Gardens on Wednesday, April 25, 2012. Too bad some folks had to ruin it for Joel Ward.