Changed address...

To make things easier for me, I'm moving this blog to Wordpress. Using Blogger's interface on the Transformer Prime is awful, so I'm making it easier on myself. Here's the new address:

http://bruinshockeynow.wordpress.com/
http://bruinshockeynow.wordpress.com/
http://bruinshockeynow.wordpress.com/

Game 50: Penguins 2, Bruins 1

The Good

• Field Trip fun Despite not scoring a goal (though Joe Corvo's goal did come with the trio on the ice) the "Field Trip Line" of Patrice Bergeron, Tyler Seguin, and Brad Marchand was the most dangerous line on the ice today. The group had a number of top-notch scoring chances: Seguin's one-timer and breakaway, and Marchand's backhander late were just a few of the good looks this line had. True, none of the three put one in the back of the net; however, they were applying pressure and making plays, something that can't really be said for the rest of the team.
• Geno! I've said it before, but it bears repeating: Evgeni Malkin might be my favorite player to watch this season. The guy's a physical presence, a wizard with the puck, and just seems to know how to put it in the back of the net. His goal today came from a fortuitous bounce, but those bounces usually come from being in the right spot. At this point, Malkin should be a lock for the MVP award this year.
• MAF! Marc-Andre Fleury basically did to the Bruins what Tim Thomas did to the Penguins in Pittsburgh a couple of months ago: made the stops, and was stellar when he needed to be. Fleury came up huge late, stopping Seguin's mini-breakaway and Marchand's backhander in the game's final ten minutes to preserve the lead. Fleury is often left out of the discussion of the league's top netminders, but he's young, has a Stanley Cup ring, and, oh yeah, is pretty good too.
• Hitting is OK Glad to see no one on the Bruins go after Brooks Orpik after he sent Daniel Paille into orbit in the third period. Truthfully, Orpik didn't even look like he was trying to hit Paille; rather they were both going for the puck, and the bigger Orpik get the best of Paille. Paille got right up, and play continued. Too often in today's NHL, throwers of big, but clean, hits are forced to "answer the bell." It was good to see that this was viewed as just a good, clean collision by both sides.  

The Bad

• Clear the puck! Both goals the Penguins scored today came off of plays where the puck either went through a Bruin or off of a Bruins' stick. On Malkin's goal, the puck skidded through Dennis Seidenberg's legs; on Matt Cooke's goal, Joe Corvo attempted to clear a puck at the top of the crease and kind of fanned on it, instead sending it bouncing off of the body of a Penguin and onto Cooke's stick for the tap-in. You can't give a talented team like the Penguins second chances through bounces and misplays. They'll make you pay dearly more often than not.
• Really? Matt Cooke ended up with the game-winning goal. Come on, hockey gods. That's a low blow.
• Not tops The "first line" was invisible this afternoon, and it may be time for Claude Julien to do something about it. Rich Peverley is filling Nathan Horton's spot, but the line isn't clicking at all. When healthy and going, the line of David Krejci, Nathan Horton, and Milan Lucic is a force to be reckoned with; lately, with the absence of Horton, the line has been pretty much useless.
• Slow start Another game, another deficit for the Bruins. It seems like it's been forever since the B's consistently jumped out to leads, and as the overused saying goes, "catch-up hockey is losing hockey." Another game, another lack of a "full-60" effort for the B's. 

What went wrong 

• Cooke's goal was pretty much comedy of errors. Things got started when Tim Thomas, facing a bad-angle shot, failed to control the rebound. Instead of directing it into the corner or back at the shooter, the rebound kicked right into the crease. Beleaguered Joe Corvo tried to whack it out of there, but flubbed the bouncing puck right into the body of a Penguin. It landed on the ice and onto the stick of an uncovered Matt Cooke, as Zach Hamill failed to put so much as a stick on the most-hated Penguin of them all. From there, Cooke had a tap-in into the empty cage. Just an ugly, ugly series for the B's, as a number of breakdowns and gaffes lead to the game-winning goal for Pittsburgh. 

Attaboy: Evgeni Malkin, because he rules.
Providence Shuttle: I should give it to pretty much the entire Boston team, but Matt Cooke was in this game, so he gets it for being Matt Cooke.

Game 48: Bruins 4, Senators 3

The Good

• Third period dominance I could be off by one or two, but I believe the B's are now an astounding plus-38 in the third period this season. They won the game in the third tonight, scoring two goals to turn a 3-2 deficit into a 4-3 lead. So what is it about the third? I have no idea, to be honest. But one needs to remember that this is a championship team, a team that had its back against the wall three times in the postseason and responded with a win each time. Simply put this group knows how to win, and opposing teams have to know that no lead is save against these Bruins.
• No boo birds I honestly didn't think this would be an issue, but it was good to hear that no one booed Tim Thomas tonight. Thomas was making his first appearance since his White House no-show, and apparently said that the possibility of being booed was in the back of his mind. Thankfully, cooler heads prevailed, and Thomas got his usual ovation.
• Hustle hard Excellent work from Brad Marchand led to the Bruins game-tying goal, a gritty, greasy goal that Mark Recchi would be proud of. Marchand found himself wrapped up by a defenseman out front, but fought through his check to get a few whacks on the loose puck, eventually batting it past Craig Anderson. Marchand certainly has plenty of skill, but it was his work ethic and determination that got him on the scoresheet tonight.
• Blueline scoring The B's got their first power play goal from a defenseman since Dec. 17 when Zdeno Chara opened the game's scoring with a slapper from the point, and Dennis Seidenberg ended up getting the winner when his center-ice skip job eluded Craig Anderson. Two goals from the blueline, and both went a long way towards winning. In fact, Seidenberg, Chara, and Joe Corvo combined for six points tonight.

The Bad

• Still not a full 60 I feel like a broken record at this point, but the B's can't keep playing with fire by falling behind or simply not skating for large portions of the game. The B's were OK in the first, pretty awful in the second, and dynamite in the third. They ended up emerging with the two points, but were probably lucky to do so.
• Anderson's Toskala moment Yikes. A rough night for Craig Anderson, particularly on Seidenberg's game-winner. Something usually goes wrong when a goalie whiffs on a shot from center ice, and it looked like Seidenberg's shot may have hit either a Senator's stick or a puddle/divot in the ice. Whatever the case may have been, the puck took off like a frisbee, ticked off of Anderson, and ended up in the back of the net. A wonky shot for sure, and it's hard not to feel for Anderson, but that's one he needs to stop.

What went right:

• Remember last week when I talked about driving to the net, and the good things that usually follow? The B's second goal was another prime example of why that net drive is so successful. The B's, taking advantage of a bad change by Ottawa, entered the zone on a 3-on-2; Rich Peverley carried the puck along the wall and David Krejci drove to the net, taking a defender with him. With no backcheckers in sight, Milan Lucic found himself with plenty of space; Peverley found Lucic, who ripped a wrister past Anderson to cut the Ottawa lead to one with under a minute to to in the second period. A huge goal, and one that the B's used as momentum to start the third. And to think, it all started with a strong net drive by Krejci. Go figure.

Attaboy: The blueliners. Six points from a team's defensemen will go a long way towards winning games.

Providence Shuttle: Anderson. I know it was a weird bounce, but he's gotta make that save.

All-Star Weekend Wrap-Up

• My favorite part of the entire weekend was Chara's record-breaking slapper, followed by the Breakaway Challenge. Chara's a team guy, and not one to put individual accolades over his own. However, I can't help but feel that he enjoys having the hardest shot title, and wanted to not only defend his title, but break the record as well. His smile and stick raise to the cheering crowd after hitting the 108.8 MPH mark proves that it was something he wanted, and I was happy to see him get it.
• As for the Breakaway Challenge, my brother and I disagree here. He thought it was stupid and a waste of time; I thought that, while hokey, goofy, and a little bit cheesy, it was also a lot of fun. Patrick Kane's Superman slide and exploding puck trick was great. Carey Price, who was arguably the star of the entire weekend with his antics, facing the wrong way and watching the shooter's reflection in the glass was hilarious. Corey Perry pulling the little goalie stick out of his pants (wait, what?) was like something out of "Slapshot." Sure, the moves were silly and were nothing like what one sees in a standard hockey game, but that's the point: let the players come up with something creative, and let them show off their personalities a bit. To that end, the event served its purpose well.
• Speaking of personalities, the whole Skills Competition does a great job marketing the league's players. There isn't much face time in a typical NHL game, save for intermission interviews and occasional "mic'd up" segments. However, the ASG events allow the players to show off their more casual sides, be goofy, and act like the big kids most of them are. Hell, even Scott Hartnell, a player I can't stand on the ice, came off as intelligent and friendly. FIX THIS, NHL. Kidding, of course, but my point is that the ASG is usually a means of selling the game to fans. It works because fans get to see the NHL players with their hair down (literally, in the case of Kris Letang), a side of them rarely seen on the ice.
• I know it's an honor to be chosen and blah blah blah, but there was really no point in having the rookies be there. They each got to partake in the occasional Skills event, but with the Rookie Game getting shelved, that was pretty much it. Either bring back the Rookie Game, or don't invite the rookies. Simple.
• If the NHL is looking to boost ratings for the NHL Network, have a reality show called "Evgeni Malkin Stickhandling," and make it just an hour of, well, Evgeni Malkin stickhandling. I'd watch it, DVR it, and then watch it again. He's a magician with the puck.
• My father thought it was dumb, but I actually liked the draft too. I can't help but feel a bit bad for the players sweating it out towards the end, but then I remember that they're all millionaires and suddenly I don't feel so bad. But it's cool to see the mini-alliances that are formed. For instance, Chara chose all of the Slovaks, all of the Bruins, and no Canucks. His assistant, Joffrey Lupul, chose the Maple Leafs. It's also cool to see the respect the players have for one another, with Chara complimenting Pavel Datsyuk when he chose him, and things like that. Again, showing personality, something the NHL often lacks.
• Overall: a great weekend. The game itself really wasn't anything special, but the Skills Competition and the draft were enjoyable and fun to watch. Good job, NHL.

Game 47: Capitals 5, Bruins 3

The Good

• Go go Perrault A very active night for Mathieu Perrault, the Caps' youngster who had been a healthy scratch fairly recently. Perrault was involved in all aspects of the game, notching his first career hat trick and also taking two penalties. All told, the kid had three goals (including the game-winner), five shots, and four penalty minutes in just under 14 minutes of TOI. Not too shabby.
• Clever girl... Rich Peverley had a goal tonight, extending his point streak to four games. Raptor Rich now has 1G-3A totals in his last four games.
• Wiiiiiiiiiiiiides Future Norris Trophy winner Big Mofney Wides was honored with a nice ovation from Caps fans in recognition of his 500th career NHL game. He celebrated by scoring the empty-net dagger to sink his old team. Wides now has 34 points on the season. 

The Bad

• Not-so-clutch It's hard to criticize Patrice Bergeron's face-off prowess, but he had a rough third period. Bergeron is usually one of the most reliable face-off men in the game, but he lost at least three key face-offs in the game's final five minutes alone. It certainly wasn't what doomed the B's, but it didn't help.
• Team-wide malaise Overall, this just wasn't a very good effort from the Bruins. How bad was it? Team stats usually aren't great when five goals are allowed, but the B's didn't have a single plus player last night. That's really a sign of no one having a good night. Sure, a couple of guys had multi-point games, but they weren't solid on the other end. To sum it up: not good.
• Running on empty? To be honest, the B's, as a team, looked drained tonight. I can't really blame them. In the past four days, they played a wicked, battering-ram game against the Rangers and a fight and hit filled game against the Flyers. Both of those games went to extra time, and there wasn't any real rest in between. Oh, and on Monday, their "off day," the B's faced a media circus at the White House. What I'm driving at is that the B's looked tired and worn down, and I don't necessarily blame them. The All-Star break will do these guys good.

What went wrong

• To be honest, this was just a bad effort team-wide. However, it was particularly bad on the defensive end of things. Too many chances to clear the zone ended up on Washington sticks, too many passes were picked off. Case in point: the B's had a couple of chances to keep possession and clear the zone on Perrault's game-winner. Instead, they were beaten to loose pucks, and then outworked in front of the net as Perrault batted the rebound home. Just not a good effort tonight. Plain and simple.

Attaboy: Perrault, for his first-career hat trick. And Big Money Wides too. Duh.

Providence Shuttle: Everyone on the Bruins. Get into the break, rest up, and get ready for the stretch run.

Game 44: Bruins 4, Devils 1

The Good

• Merlot! The fourth-line was spectacular last night, combining for a fight, three shots, five points, and a plus-5 ranking. Gregory Campbell in particular was excellent, as he lead the way with the line's lone goal and the Gordie Howe hat trick. The fourth line hasn't been as productive this year as they were last year, but last night was a perfect example of how they can wear opposing teams down, and strike when given the opportunity.
• A power play goal! At first I thought my eyes were deceiving me, but lo and behold, the Bruins actually scored on the power play last night. Making the feat all the more impressive is the fact that the goal came against the Devils' PK unit, the best in the NHL. The goal was silky smooth, and came off of terrific puck movement and a beauty of a pass from Nathan Horton.
  
• Bounce back! I was surprised to see Tim Thomas get the start last night. Truthfully, he was pretty average (and maybe even sub-par) in the Tampa game; however, Thomas has great career numbers against the Devils, and I assume Claude Julien wanted to give him a chance to right the ship immediately following a bad game. It worked out, as Thomas made a couple of big stops and earned himself another win.
• Marty! I thought Martin Brodeur was pretty much washed up, but he looked pretty good last night. The future Hall of Famer made a number of fantastic saves, including robbing Benoit Pouliot with his glove. Brodeur is probably on his way out and certainly isn't the goalie he used to be, but he's still got a few dandies up his sleeve.
  

The Bad

• Another slow start... Last night marked the fourth time in the last six games that the B's either allowed the first goal or didn't score at all in the opening frame. I know the team has owned the third period this year, but playing from behind or starting out slowly isn't usually the recipe for winning.
• Take back those rubles... It's early in his deal, but the contract Ilya Kovalchuk signed looks pretty bad right now. The Russian sniper signed a 15-year, $100 million deal about a year ago, and he's making $6 million this season. The cap hit averages out to $6.667 million, but Kovalchuk will get paid $11 million next year. Yes, you read that correctly. $11 million for a guy who currently has 40 points (19 G, 21 A) and is a minus-9. While those numbers aren't awful, keep in mind that Kovalchuk recently went on a bit of a tear, netting ten of those points in his last seven games. Things aren't so bad this year, as he's only getting $6 million. However, if he puts up similar totals next year with his new $11 million price tag? Yikes.
  

What went right:

• Most NHL goalies are going to stop shots that they can see. That's why net-front presence is so important, and it was key for the B's last night. All of the B's goals (excluding the ENG, obviously) came from a player being directly in front of the net, usually on the very edge of the crease. Brodeur never even saw Ference's shot due to the screen in front; Nathan Horton was camped out in the slot right at the top of the crease waiting for David Krejci's pass; and Campbell's goal came in the "dirty area" of the ice, right at the top of the crease, where Mark Recchi made a career out of pouncing on rebounds. The pretty goals get the highlight reel time, but the dirty work counts just the same. It sure paid off for the B's last night.
  

Attaboy: The Merlot Line, and Campbell in particular. They were outstanding.

Providence shuttle: The Devils' home crowd. ZZzzzzzzZZZZzzzz. That arena is incredibly boring. No life whatsoever.

Game 43: Lightning 5, Bruins 3

The Good

• Two strikes for Horton I was hearing that Nathan Horton got a bit of a talking to from Doug Jarvis on the bench after his line was on the ice for a Tampa goal, and it was good to see him respond. This came just after Horton was publicly criticized by Claude Julien after his lackluster effort Monday night against the Panthers. Calling out players usually will do one of two things: fire them up, or make them malcontents. It's good to see Horton used the critique as fuel instead of sulking.
• Humble Paille I mocked Daniel Paille for his propensity for failing to score on breakaways last night after he missed on another one, and then he went a scored just a few minutes later...on a breakaway...with a fantastic move. *Insert foot in mouth*

The Bad

• Weak effort Maybe it was just me, but the effort didn't seem to be all there for the B's last night. Losing battles for loose pucks, getting outskated, outhustled, etc. When the Bruins are on top of their game, they very rarely get outworked by the opposition. The hustle is there, the grinding is there, and the effort is there, and that's what makes them hard to play against. However, the last three games has seen that usual grit and sandpaper give way to floating and loafing. Perhaps it's the condensed schedule, perhaps it's fatigue, or perhaps it's just a case of the midseason doldrums. Whatever it is, Julien isn't going to let it stand for long.
• Circus in the back end The Bruins defense was pretty terrible again last night. Like really pretty terrible. Bad. Turnovers, hopeful passes, bad positioning. Just bad. Speaking of bad...
• Joe CorvOH NO!!! Joe Corvo has had his struggles this season, and I don't want to pile on the guy. But yikes, he's been bad in the last two games. Occasional turnovers need to be forgiven, because every player makes mistakes. But Corvo's mental error on Tampa's second goal last night is borderline inexcusable. (See below for more.) I literally have no idea what he was thinking on that play. Corvo may need a pep talk from one of the coaches, or maybe a game in the press box to get his head on straight. When he's on, he's perfectly serviceable and great at moving the puck. When he's off, he makes Dennis Wideman look like Zdeno Chara (#Wides4Norris).
• Powerless again Another o-fer on the power play. Say, have we heard that before?

What went wrong:

• As I said before, the defense has been bad lately. Lots of scrambling, lots of weird passes and just downright strange decision making. Here's the worst of it from last night:

1) Ok, not so bad. Corvo was in a battle along the wall. Now, retreat to the net-front area, or stick with Downie. Either is OK.

2) Oh, you stuck with Downie. Good decision. Way to get your stick in there and break up the play.

3) Wait...where are you going? There are two teammates there, and only one Tampa skater. Leave it for your forwards and get back down low...

4) WHAT THE HELL? WHY ARE YOU ALL THE WAY AT THE OPPOSITE END OF THE ZONE? THERE IS NO ONE WITHIN 15 FEET OF DOWNIE. HE'S IN YOUR SPOT.

5) Nice pass by Gilroy. Sure would be nice if there had been a defenseman near Downie. Just a suggestion.

6) The end. And Corvo is still not really in anything close to the right position. SCENE.

• Like I mentioned above, I can excuse occasional turnovers. But seriously Joe Corvo, WHERE ARE YOU GOING ON THIS PLAY? WHERE? Did he forget that he left the iron on in his hotel room or something? Just a bad, bad play by Corvo. Certainly this loss can't be pinned entirely on him, but this was an egregious (and downright weird) mistake.
  

Attaboy: Dominic Moore. Kevin Paul Dupont's favorite player had himself a strong game last night.

Providence shuttle: The Bruins defense. There's no defending this defense. GET IT?! HA!