No way Jose There's really no other way to put it: Jose Theodore is a Bruins-killer. Doesn't matter if it's with the Caps, the Habs, or the Panthers, the guy just loves playing the B's. As someone who still freshly remembers the dark days of '02 and '04, it pains me to say this, but Theodore played a great game last night. Posts don't necessarily mean luck; they can also mean good positioning by the goalie and mean all of the angles are covered. Gotta give credit where it's due, and Theodore was great last night.
Rebuilding on the fly It's early still, but it's good to see the Panthers have turned things around. I said back in October that I thought they'd be good this year, and people laughed at me. Well? Dale Tallon essentially rebuilt this team in a single offseason, taking them from cellar-dwellers to top of the conference. It remains to see if they can sustain it, and they still have questions on D and, despite last night's game, between the pipes. But good things are happening down in South Florida.
The Bad
Headaches The hit on Daniel Paille looked pretty clean, but it was a big one. Now that it seems that Paille has a concussion, it could have an even bigger impact. Paille is one of the B's most dependable players, and probably their second-best penalty killer after Patrice Bergeron. Jordan Caron will likely take Paille's spot, but he's not exactly the same kind of player. If Paille's out, Benoit Pouliot may be bumped down to the fourth line so Caron can ride with Rich Peverley and Chris Kelly. Here's to hoping for a speedy recovery for Paille.
First line freeze The first line was on the ice for both goals, making them a combined minus-6. Yikes.
Milan Lucic He was pretty bad last night. He had one of the B's best scoring chances late in the game, when he found himself all alone in the slot with the puck; Theodore gloved his wrister, but replays showed that the puck was likely going wide anyways. Then, Lucic's turnover led directly to the Panthers' game-winning goal. Rough night for 17.
Hits are, in fact, legal I don't mind hockey fights, but I'm getting kind of sick of seeing fights after clean hits. Even Shawn Thornton's defense of Paille was a little unnecessary, though I'll give Thornton a pass because Krys Barch is known as a tough guy and because Thornton saw Paille was hurt. But Jack Skille's fight with Johnny Boychuk came after Boychuk decked Mike Santorelli with a perfectly clean, non-injury causing hit. Why fight after that? Checking is allowed, guys.
PANIC! The B's are 14-2-1 in their last 17 games, but right now people only care about them being 0-2-0 in their last two. People: they lost to the second-best team in the East (FLA) and to a goalie who played the best game of his season (Pavelec). It's not like they played stinkers either. Sometimes the bounces (and posts) don't go your way. It doesn't mean the world is ending. Relax.
What went wrong:
I Tweeted the other night about how Nathan Horton's passes on rushes up the ice almost always seem to be at the feet of his teammates, effectively ending the rush. Lo and behold, he makes a perfect pass to Lucic, giving his linemate a golden scoring chance. What does Lucic do? He muffs it, turning the puck over and leading to Florida's goal. Awful. The puck wasn't poked away from him; he simply gave it up. Offensive zone turnovers hurt, and they hurt even more in close games and when they negate beautiful scoring chances. Bad bad bad.
Attaboy: Theodore. Any team that wants to beat the Bruins should just trade for him, apparently.
Providence shuttle: Lucic. Bad mistake at a bad time, and it cost his team.
I'm going to keep this brief, seeing as it's Friday night and I've got other stuff to do.
The Good
These two should meet more often It's a shame that the B's and Wings don't play more often. Rumor has it that Detroit may be moving to the Eastern Conference in the near future, and that'd be great news for Bruins (and Wings) fans. This was a game filled with great end-to-end action, sublime displays of skill, and solid goaltending. Let's see it more often, OK NHL?
D and Z It's always great to see Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg live, as they're two of the more skilled players in the league. Zetterberg made a terrific pass on the Wings' first goal, and Datsyuk was thrilling (as always) in the shootout. You could serve dinner on Datsyuk's saucer passes. Truly a treat to see those two play.
Sitting down low Usually, I sit up in the balcony when I go to hockey games, up in the 300s with the commoners (I'm a commoner too, it's not an insult). Today, I got to sit down in the loge, five rows from the ice, right next to the Bruins' tunnel. It's always a treat to see the game from that close: the speed, size, skill, and sound are all on display. For example, sitting down there today, I was able to hear and see Angry Tuukka first hand when he skated off the ice after the loss. Pretty cool experience.
The Bad
Bad moves Dennis Seidenberg and Rich Peverley had questionable days, with Seidenberg kneeing Corey Emmerton and Peverley slashing Jonathan Ericsson in the, um..."pucks." Certainly won't help the B's villainous image.
Still nothing from Krejci David Krejci remains lost in a haze. It may be time to give someone else some reps between Milan Lucic and Nathan Horton while Krejci finds his game.
Red Wing gift-wrap Truthfully, this game could've very easily ended 2-0 Wings had they not had two egregious turnovers. The Wings didn't do a very good job of taking care of the puck today, but they still found a way to win, as good teams usually do.
What went wrong: Too many missed opportunities. The B's had plenty of chances to put the puck in the net today, but passes skittered away or shots went wide. Zdeno Chara missed the net on a golden chance late in OT, Horton whiffed on a perfect one-timer, Patrice Bergeron passed up a golden shooting chance to instead make an ill-advised drop pass. In Bergeron's defense, he was angry on the bench, yelling at the d-man for calling for the pass when he wasn't open. In short, the B's had their chances, but they couldn't cash in. That's the way the puck bounces some time.
Attaboy: Pavel Datsyuk, just because it's very, VERY fun to watch him play.
Providence Shuttle: Krejci. This loss was far from his fault, but Claude's gotta be growing impatient with his lack of production.
Finally, top-flight production Let's be honest: so far this season, the B's first line has been pretty awful, David Krejci and Nathan Horton in particular. Well they're starting to wake up, and it's no coincidence that the team is starting to win. Lucic has been playing well ever since the Montreal games, and Horton is showing signs of life. If Krejci can get going, that line will get back to being the formidable trio they were during the playoffs. In any case, it was great to see Lucic keep up his hot streak and Horton get going last night. Krejci also now has two multi-point games in a row. Is this the return of the HuLK line? Let's hope so...
Best. Field Trip. EVER. On Twitter, I've tried to name the Marchand-Bergeron-Seguin trio "the field trip line," mainly because Patrice Bergeron is Saint Patrice, a responsible citizen, and is stuck riding with the two crazy kids on the team. Since they've come together as a triumvirate, they've been by far the most exciting line to watch. In fact, I'd say that they're currently the most exciting Bruin line I've seen since the lockout, with only the Lucic-Savard-Kessel line even coming close (though Boyes-Bergeron-Sturm was good too). The scary part? They might not have hit their peak yet. Seguin is starting to know where to go when his linemates have the puck, as was made quite clear by his goal last night. But there were still a few errant drop passes and a few miscommunications. It's awesomely frightening to think that this line might even get better. It's like one of those non-educational field trips to Canobie Lake Park or something. SO MUCH FUN!
One in the bag for Rask Poor Tuukka Rask. He was probably starting to wonder if he's teammates really liked him. As was the case (for whatever reason) last year, Rask hadn't been getting much help from his black and gold buddies this season. He deserved a better fate in some of his starts, but was winless coming into last night. Finally, the team gave him some offense, and he held down the fort for his first win of 2011-2012. Rask played a pretty solid game, making a couple of big stops. The two goals he allowed were on a great tip by Matt Moulson and a wicked wrister by Michael Grabner, neither being Rask's fault. Hopefully Claude Julien gives him another start on Thursday and let's him get on a bit of a roll.
The Bad
Paille's face Yikes. The picture of the inside of Daniel Paille's helmet was pretty troubling, but it was good to hear that he was walking around the locker room. If Lucic can joke about Paille's nose looking like his now, chances are he's not in any serious danger. But that play served as a gruesome reminder of how dangerous this sport can be.
Turnovers... Last night, I made a purposely bad joke about the Bruins being able to open up their own bakery with the number of turnovers they were making last night (WAKKA WAKKA!), but it's true: they were pretty careless with the puck. There were a few times last night where the B's made mistake after mistake in their own zone, allowing the Isles to put on sustained pressure. If not for a bounce here and there and some key stops by Rask, the game likely would've been much closer. Those turnovers might slip by against a young team like the Islanders, but a better team will make them pay.
What went right:
Milan Lucic is the engine that powers the B's: he's gotten going, and the wins are starting to come. When he plays with power, strength, and a bit of a snarl, he's hard to stop. Last night's goal was a perfect example: he simply out-willed Steve Staios, beating him to the puck, refusing to have his stick lifted, and putting the puck in the net.
Attaboy: The first line. I've piled on them in the past, so I have to give them credit when they do well, right? Right. They're coming around, and if they keep it up, the B's will be hard to stop.
Providence shuttle: Evgeni Nabokov didn't do much to help the Isles win. He probably should have dropped down to the butterfly on the first goal, and after that couldn't buy a save. Three goals on 12 shots in just under 15 minutes? Yikes.
Another goal for Horton As I said before, I'm still skeptical because of Horton's notorious inconsistency. However, he appears to be rounding into goal-scoring form at the right time. His goal last night came on a stumbling backhand, and gave the B's an early one-goal advantage. The B's need Horton (and the whole top line) to keep producing if they want to go anywhere in the spring.
Finally! Last night's power play goal was the Bruins' first in what seemed like years (it was actually the first since Feb. 18). The goal came on a 5-on-3 in the second period. Zdeno Chara took a semi-back door feed from David Krejci and unleashed his trademark slapper, beating a helpless Al Montoya. Hopefully that goal infuses the PP with a little confidence; they need it.
The young Isles I know this has been another lost season on Long Island, but the Isles do seem to have a good core of young players. They still have questions in goal and on defense, but having players like Michael Grabner, Matt Moulson, and John Tavares up front give the Isles something very solid to build on. Grabner's goal last night was his 28th of the season. Remember, this is a guy who was traded earlier this season to Florida by the Canucks. The Panthers then waived him, hoping to send him to the AHL, but he was claimed by the Islanders. Yes, THOSE Florida Panthers thought Grabner was a guy they didn't need on their NHL squad. Yikes.
The Bad
Bad luck The B's rang a couple of posts in this game, and Jack Hillen's eventual game-winner came when his slapper bounced off of Dennis Seidenberg and went in the net. Luck certainly wasn't on the B's side last night, but how does the old saying go? You get the bounces when you work hard? Something like that, and the B's certainly didn't deserve many bounces last night.
Another blown lead The B's, usually defensively sound, have now blown a lead in three of the last four losses. They were blown out in Montreal, but scored the first goal (and sometimes first two goals) of the game against Pittsburgh, Buffalo, and last night against the Islanders. Not having Andrew Ference (or Steven Kampfer, for that matter) in the line-up hurts, but it's still no excuse. The B's need to get back to making smart plays and winning one-on-one battles, two things that were conspicuously absent for most of last night.
Get Seguin back in there I've been patient with Claude Julien's approach with Tyler Seguin, but he needs to be back in there. Daniel Paille has done little with his playing time, and Seguin isn't going to learn much more by watching from the press box. His speed could have helped last night against that fast Islanders team. I don't expect Seguin to blossom into a game-breaker this year, but he needs to play if he's going to get better.
The Rest
I'm not ready to panic yet, mainly because the B's still don't have their full team. If, once Ference comes back, the struggles continue, then it might be time to be worried. All teams have rough patches, and luckily for the B's theirs came on the heels of a seven-game winning streak. Their still 7-2-2 in their last 11, which shouldn't be overlooked. Ference's steadying presence on the back end is missed, and I think the team will come around soon. Don't go leaping off the Tobin just yet.
Interesting to hear Chara booed lustily on Long Island last night. And by "interesting" I mean "confusing and strange." Chara is usually booed in more familiar away arenas, like Toronto, Montreal, Buffalo, and Ottawa, mainly because they know he's good. And because he's big, and in Ottawa's case, because they chose Wade Redden over him. D'oh. Long Island is usually an "indifferent" Chara Zone, but last night he was booed soundly. Has the incident with Max Pacioretty turned Chara into a league-wide villain? It certainly seems so. Countless posts on HFBoards reveal similar sentiments, as the B's seem to be one of the more disliked teams in the league now. Interesting. Hopefully the B's give opposing fans something to boo when they life the Cup in June.
Which Bruins team is the real thing? Is it this listless lot that's lost four in a row or that barnburning bunch that stormed through a perfect six-game road trip? I tend to think the actual Bruins team is more like their Western Canada version, but perhaps the truth is more in the middle. I don't think they're as bad as they've played recently, but they may not be as good as they looked two weeks ago either. Inconsistency has been the theme for the B's this year. Two weeks ago, it looked like that inconsistency was a thing of the past, and that this team finally "got it." Now, that inconsistency is back with a vengeance, and the B's need to banish it before it sinks their season.
Attaboy: Grabner. Looks like he's going to be a great player, and that spin-around goal last night was pretty sweet.
Providence Shuttle: Brad Marchand. I didn't talk about it here, but that stupid penalty he took turned the tide of the game.
The B's first goal ...was a thing of beauty. Excellent passing all around, and how did it start? With a crisp, clean breakout. David Krejci's sublime pass under the stick of a defenseman onto the tape of the streaking Milan Lucic was excellent, as was Lucic's cross-crease pass right onto the stick of Nathan Horton. Tic-tac-goal. That play doesn't happen without the net drive by Horton, who finally looks like he may be waking up (for real this time!).
Chara showed no hesitation One couldn't fault Zdeno Chara for playing a bit tentatively after his incident with Max Pacioretty, but he didn't seem to be holding back at all. Chara had two assists and seemed to play every bit as physical as he usually does. The boarding call that went against him was a complete joke...I never knew it was possible to board someone from north of the goal line. Who knew? One can't help but wonder if refs are going have Chara on a shorter leash from now on, whether league-ordered or not.
The Bad
Another blown lead The Bruins are a top-notch defensive team, but they blew multiple leads again last night, including an early two-goal lead. They also had a lead in the third period, a time when they're usually able to lock things down, but let that one slip away as well. Can't win late in the season with sloppy play like that.
Thomas on the GWG I know that it was a "knuckler" and that it was hard to read, but I think if Thomas hadn't come out as far to challenge the initial shot he would have had more of a chance with the rebound. Can't really fault Thomas there though; his aggressive style is what makes him so good, and he saved the B's bacon a number of times earlier in the game.
Still no power It was overlooked when the team was winning, but now that they've lost three in-a-row it's becoming an issue again: the B's power play still isn't clicking. Last night they got a goal right after the power play expired (in Jack Edwards' VULNERABLE MINUTE!), so that one can probably be counted as a power play tally in my eyes. But still, one goal on the PP since the arrival of Kaberle? Not good enough. Power plays take on even greater importance late in the season and in the playoffs. The B's aren't going to go far with a sputtering power play.
The Rest
The B's enter tonight's game against the Islanders badly needing a win to end this mini-slide, but the Isles are no pushover of a team. The Isles are fourth-worst in the league, but have been playing better of late; they're a respectable 5-2-3 in their last ten games. They've got a lot of young players who are playing loose and a lot of other players working for jobs and paychecks for next year. Last time the B's visited Long Island, they steam-rolled the Isles to start their six-game road winning streak. This time, things won't go as smoothly if the B's don't bring their best effort.
Attaboy: Brad Boyes. Played a good game against his old team last night, including potting the OT winner.
Providence shuttle: Johnny Boychuk. He badly blew his check on the GWG, leaving Boyes all alone in the crease to tap the puck in.
Lucic's goal This one likely won't make national highlight reels, but Lucic's game-winner really was remarkable. To display that kind of poise and scoring touch from nearly below the goal line is incredible. Throw in the fact that there were no fewer than 5 bodies in the crease and Lucic's goal looks even better. By the way, Lucic's custom of raising both of his arms in a kind of "I rule" pose after he scores is one of the best goal celebrations on the B's. I'm also partial to Tyler Seguin's, because he, as a kid, looks genuinely thrilled when he scores.
The PK saved the day The Bruins' PK has been as consistent as winter weather in New England. It was incredible to start the year, went through a miserable stretch, and now seems to be tightening up again. Last night's kill of a nearly two-minute 5-on-3 was the turning point of the game. Killing off a 5-on-3 is no small feat in and of itself, but when one's opponent rolls out a PP unit that includes Steven Stamkos, Martin St. Louis and Simon Gagne, it's borderline miraculous.
Mike Smith redeemed himselfLast time Mike Smith played goal at the TD Garden was probably one of the worst nights of his career: he allowed five goals on 22 shots, including one from the red line by Dennis Seidenberg. Last night, Smith played like a man who not only remembered that embarrassment well but was determined to erase it. Smith was immense for Tampa, making countless top-notch stops including a sprawling save on a Patrice Bergeron one-timer, a sweet glove stop on a Brad Marchand backhand, and a blocker save on a Nathan Horton breakaway. Dwayne Roloson may be the guy in Tampa now, but if not for Smith's performance last night the Lightning would have been blown out of the Garden again.
The Bad
Dominic Moore goes swimming Terrible embellishment by Dominic Moore on Horton's tripping penalty. I saw the replay later, but Bob Beers was livid on 98.5 The Sports Hub. Beers is usually relatively even-keeled, but he was furious about the culture of diving in the NHL. He's right too: once a player feels a stick on his arm or leg, down he goes to draw the call.
Still no luck on the PP I know, I know, "it's coming around!" But how long until that's not good enough? I know the B's have shown more jump and life on the PP since Tomas Kaberle arrived, and that it's hard to complain when a team's just won its seventh game in a row, but the PP still needs to produce if the B's are to be considered a true contender.
The Rest
I've been a huge supporter of Claude Julien all year, but I don't get the decision to scratch Tyler Seguin last night. His reason doesn't really make sense to me either. I have no problem with scratching the kid if he isn't playing well, or scratching him to send a message that nothing's going to be given to him just because he's a hot shot rookie. But to scratch him after he's been playing a stronger all-around game lately just to "give the fourth line an identity" is pretty dumb. I also don't like that he told the media that. If that's his reasoning, fine; but I can't help but think that Seguin's confidence must be taking a bit of a hit at this point. Tell him that he's out for that reason, but tell the media that he needed a night off or had a sore ankle or something. Hopefully he gets back in on Saturday, but I doubt it.
Attaboy: Lucic for the game-winner, but an honorable mention for Mike Smith. He was incredible between the Tampa pipes.
Providence Shuttle: Scratching Seguin. I know I sound like an HFBoards nut, but it makes no sense to me. Sorry Claude.
Tim Thomas was sharp Jack Edwards made sure we understood that Tim Thomas was well-rested last night, but it did show. Thomas appeared sharper than he's been in a while, and one can't help but wonder if two straight starts by Tuukka Rask had anything to do with it (the answer is probably "yes"). If nothing else, a start like this shows that Rask is still as important as ever to the B's. They'll need him to step up and spell Thomas to give him a few breaks down the stretch.
Milan Lucic was a beast A huge game last night for Lucic; maybe it's something about being back in Western Canada that brings out the monster in him. Lucic was a force on the first goal, driving to the net with complete disregard for the Calgary defender trying to stop him. He also created a number of other scoring chances last night and was the most effective Bruin on the ice.
Kaberle was selfless A big but overlooked play by Tomas Kaberle at the end of this one. With the goalie pulled, the Flames dumped the puck in. Kaberle went back to retrieve it and took a big hit to move the puck along the wall where Mark Recchi sent it out and Lucic eventually slid it into the empty net. If Kaberle doesn't take the hit to make the play there, that entire possession changes. A great play from Kaberle.
Breakouts were smooth The B's had a ton of very crisp, tape-to-tape breakouts last night, something fans surely aren't accustomed to seeing this year. Maybe it all stems from the influence of Kaberle, but last night's breakouts were often perfect.
Faceoffs were won I remember hearing a stat on NESN late in the third period that the B's had won 11-of-12 faceoffs in that period; that's precisely why Chris Kelly and Rich Peverley were brought here: they can win faceoffs and they play responsibly.
The Bad
Calgary fans or Habs fans? The Flames fans in attendance sounded like Habs fans last night, booing every time a Flame was hit or fell to the ice. What's up with that?
More PK issues I don't really have much to complain about after this game, but the PK remains an issue. The B's had a huge penalty kill leading 2-0 in the third period, and allowed a goal that let the Flames back into the game. I'm not sure what it is, but something's wrong with this PK unit, a group that was among the NHL's best for most of the season.
The Rest
All in all, a good debut for Peverley. He didn't do much (all three shots he attempted were blocked), but he played sound hockey and made a couple of good plays. He also showed off his speed a couple of times last night, an asset that the B's don't possess much of. He and Kelly showed signs of "gelling" with Michael Ryder last night, so let's hope that continues.
Tyler Seguin played his best all-around game in a while last night. He was backchecking hard, winning 1-on-1 battles and making smart, responsible plays with the puck. Seguin looks like he'll be "relegated" to fourth-line minutes for the rest of the season (barring an injury) and Daniel Paille will be the odd-man out. With his performance as of late, Seguin deserves to play, and if he keeps performing like he did last night he should see his minutes increase as well.
Attaboy: Lucic. He was the engine behind the B's last night, and seemed to have an extra jump in his step from the opening faceoff.
Providence Shuttle: The booing. STOP BOOING, FLAMES FANS. YOU ARE NOT HABS FANS.
Logan Couture is the real deal This game marked the first time I've really been able to watch Couture play, and he's as good as advertised and seems like a virtual lock to win Rookie of the Year. Jeff Skinner will challenge him (and Brad Marchand could too if he keeps putting up points like he has been), but right now I'd give the edge to Couture. While the goal he scored wasn't pretty (Tim Thomas probably could've saved it, but those backhanders are tricky), he showed great offensive instincts cutting to the net and flipping it on goal. San Jose looks to have a good one in this kid.
McQuaid doesn't back down Good for Adam McQuaid for fighting Ben Eager, who's a pretty tough customer. During his brief NHL career, McQuaid has shown that he isn't afraid of anyone, even if the opponent is bigger or tougher than he is. Eager looked like he got a shot in on McQuaid before he had even dropped the gloves, but it is what it is. McQuaid hung in there pretty well with Eager.
The Bad
The power play remains awful I keep reading stats saying that the B's haven't scored on the power play since Marc Savard was re-injured, but it's not like the power play was a model of efficiency and power when he was in the lineup either. Let's face it: the power play has been a weakness for the B's all season, and it killed them in this one. They went 0-for-4 on the power play and managed just one shot on goal. Yes, ONE SHOT on four power plays. Great teams capitalize on their opportunities, and the B's had a huge one when Joe Thornton went to the box for tripping with eight minutes left in the game and the B's trailing by a goal. The power play continued to sputter, and the B's didn't really threaten to score. Game over. Great teams also have to make their opponents pay for mistakes made. The B's were called for Too Many Men on the Ice in the first period; San Jose scored the eventual game-winner. San Jose's bench was called for Unsportsmanlike Conduct for barking at the ref midway through the second period; the B's did nothing. There's your game.
Where is the top line? The Bruins seemed to play this one without a "top line," as the trio of David Krejci, Nathan Horton and Milan Lucic was invisible throughout the game. Lucic had a golden opportunity to tie the game on the power play late in the first, but he batted a rebound wide. That was about it. Horton seemed to lose a number of individual battles and had a couple of giveaways, as did Lucic. Krejci wasn't making many plays. Truth be told, the entire line was terrible, and all three players need to be better if the B's are going to beat good teams.
Niemi's rebounds I know this seems like nitpicking considering he got a shutout, but Antti Niemi's rebound control was terrible in this game. It seemed like even routine shots from the point turned into adventures for the Finnish netminder, as he routinely spilled rebounds out into the slot or into other danger areas. Just something to keep an eye on moving forward.
The Rest
Zach Hamill's first game of the season wasn't much to write home about, but it wasn't terrible either. The rookie finished the game with zeroes across the board in 10:35 of ice time. He made a couple of good passes to set up Michael Ryder, and also made an ill-advised pass that led to an icing call. All in all, however, not bad for a kid playing in just his second NHL game. But if you want to complain, how about this: Hamill was chosen seventh by the Bruins in the 2007 Entry Draft. Who was chosen eighth? Logan Couture. Yeah, hindsight is always 20/20 and we still don't know what kind of player Hamill will turn into, but that's looking like the wrong pick at this point.
I'll try to keep these brief, who wants to read epic tomes about the Bruins before going out on Saturday night? Well I might, but...
The Good
Bergeron-Recchi-Marchand magic This line continues to produce and has been the Bruins' best line for weeks now. Patrice Bergeron is putting up pre-concussion points, Brad Marchand is showing offensive flair that few thought he had and Mark Recchi continues to defy old age by producing. In this game, this line alone combined for four goals, ten points and a collective plus-10 ranking. Impressive.
Career mark for Lucic Milan Lucic's two goals gave him 19 goals on the year, two more than his previous career high of 17, set back in the 2008-2009 season. The big winger has been great for the Bruins so far this year and has clearly fully recovered from the high ankle sprain that hindered him throughout last season.
Thomas solid Tim Thomas was solid throughout the game and spectacular when the team needed him to be, including during some "scrambley" times in the third period as the Avs pressed hard after Kevin Shattenkirk's goal cut the Bruin lead to two.
Campbell's spark If you watched this game on NESN, you probably came away from it thinking that Gregory Campbell's first period fight with Cody McLeod was the catalyst for everything from the Civil Rights Movement to the American Revolution; that's how hyped up Jack Edwards was about this fight. While I'm a bit skeptical, especially considering that the B's first goal didn't come until nearly seven minutes after the fight, it was good of Campbell to try to spark his team. The entire squad looked a bit slow, probably due to a combination of a weird start time (felt like 3 PM to the B's) and the high altitude.
The Bad
Colorado's defense Yeesh. How's Matt Hunwick working out for you, Avs fans? While the former Bruin had a decent game (finished at plus-1), the Avalanche defense was comically bad at times. Strange decision making led to a number of Bruin odd-man rushes, two of which were converted into goals. The Avs have a lot of raw talent on the blue line, especially in players like Shattenkirk and Kyle Cumiskey, but collectively, they were pretty bad in this game.
Invisi-Horton! Yes, Nathan Horton did nothing in this one again. I'm willing to give most players the benefit of the doubt during slumps, but I'm getting a bit tired of hearing how Horton's "always smiling, working hard, skating hard, the puck's just not going in!" At what point is that not enough? Horton has one goal in his last 18 games and just ten points since Dec. 1. He was also one of only six Bruins to finish this game in the minus column (-1). I'm convinced that he'll break out of his slump eventually, but he needs to do it soon.
Savard's injury Obviously. We'll know more about Savard's condition on Monday, but the way he was helped off of the ice didn't look good. At this point, one almost hopes that he broke his nose or something as opposed to having him suffer another traumatic head injury. Savard's gotta be wondering what he did to deserve this fate at this point, as the hockey gods seem to be picking on him. Hopefully his trip back to Boston is just a precautionary measure and he's back with the team after the All-Star break.
I missed a good chunk of this game due to work, so I don't have enough for a "Good, Bad and the Rest." Here are a few quick hits from what I saw of the game:
Cory Clouston's probably getting fired soon, right? You've gotta feel at least a little bit bad for the guy; it seems like his team has completely given up on him. I saw Darren Dreger on NHL on the Fly talking about the Senators, and he said the entire team is listless right now because they're waiting for changes to be made. Whether those changes come in the form of firing a coach or making a trade remains to be seem, but something's gotta be done. Bryan Murray wouldn't give Clouston the public vote of confidence a while back, and the Sens' play as of late likely hasn't helped matters.
Patrice Bergeron continued his stellar play in this game, even though he may not have actually recorded a hat trick. Bergeron's second goal may have actually been scored by Blake Wheeler, but whatever, a hat trick's a hat trick. Bergeron now leads the team with 32 points, and has gotten off to a sizzling start in 2011: he's scored in all but one of the B's games this year, has points in four-straight games, has seven points in his last three games and has nine points in the B's six 2011 games. Simply put, Bergeron's been on fire, and at a good time: Bergeron's picking up the slack while Milan Lucic, Nathan Horton, David Krejci and Marc Savard continue to slump.
Everyone deserves a second chance! Glad to see Tuukka Rask back in between the pipes. No matter what he or anyone else said, getting yanked in Buffalo must have hurt his confidence. Working with a goalie coach is all well and good, but nothing will rebuild confidence better than actually playing in a game. Rask had played well against Toronto in the past, and, with the win, should see his confidence increase. He played a solid game, had good rebound control and can't really be faulted for the goal he allowed; Mikhail Grabovski made a great move. I still think Rask will mainly be playing the role of back-up (unless Tim Thomas gets hurt or falters), but this win should be a good one for him in terms of confidence. It'll be interesting to see if Julien lets him start again on Thursday, but I wouldn't be surprised to see him go back to Thomas.
Hey, there IS a first line! Well what do you know? Marc Savard, Milan Lucic and Nathan Horton DO still play for the Bruins...they could've fooled me. The heat hasn't been turned up on this trio as much lately due to the fact that the B's are 4-0-2 in their last six games, but they really haven't been producing at all: Lucic's point last night was his first since Dec. 16 and Horton's goal was his first since Dec. 11 and only his second point in the same stretch; Marc Savard gets a bit of a pass because he's just now rounding into top form. Last night, the first line finally looked dangerous again, with Horton doing tremendous individual work on his goal and Lucic serving as a space-creating machine on Savard's goal. I've said in the past that as goes Lucic, so go the B's. Last night, Lucic was firing on all cylinders, and it showed in his line's overall performance.
A reward for Seguin I called for it yesterday, and Claude Julien delivered: Tyler Seguin got the increased ice time he deserved after a stellar game in Buffalo on Saturday. Seguin netted 14:21 of TOI last night, nearly as many minutes as he logged in last week's games against Tampa and Atlanta combined.
The Bad
Defensive breakdowns continue Though they weren't nearly as numerous as the breakdowns in Buffalo on Saturday, the B's continued their disturbing trend of defensive lapses last night. Mikhail Grabovski's goal came as a result of a terrible line change, and the B's got caught giving up odd-man rushes a couple of times late last night. Again, I stress that this game was a marked improvement over the Buffalo debacle, but the B's still need to tighten things up defensively.
Where are you, Phil? Phil Kessel continues to show flashes of brilliance against the Bruins, but he still can't put anything up on the scoreboard, something that must be incredibly frustrating for Leafs fans. Phil is now pointless and a minus-1 in three games against the B's this year after registering just one assist and recording a minus-5 rating in six games against his former club last year. All told, the speedy sniper has played nine games against the team that drafted him; in those nine games, he's recorded just one point and is a minus-6. Ouch.
The Rest
Toronto youngster James Reimer looked pretty good in net last night. He made a number of big stops, and I can't really blame him for either Bruin goal. The 22-year-old has made three appearances in his young career (two starts) and has only allowed three goals. He's posted a .957 save percentage and a GAA of 1.35, pretty good considering his age and the somewhat shaky team in front of him. It's early, but Reimer looks like he'll be a good young player for the Leafs. Now who are the Leafs going to trade him to...
Attaboy: I'll give it to Horton for finally breaking out of his slump. Now it's time to go on a tear, Nathan. If not, back to Florida you go.
Providence Shuttle: Phil. When are you going to show up against the B's, Phil? When?
Just some quick hits for you today; I've been busy at work and don't have time to write a ton.
Tough call on that penalty shot at the start of the game. The penalty shot rules require a shot to be awarded if the shooter was denied a reasonable chance to score (rule 24.8). You could argue that one all day; my objection comes with calling a penalty at all. CBC has a great view of the play here (starting at 0:35). I don't see much wrong there. Chara's contact was purely stick on stick, and it looked like Kampfer may have gotten his stick up around Cammalleri's hands, but it could have been on his stick too. I'd be interested to know who the referee called the infraction on. Either way, a bit of a ticky-tack call just a minute into the game. But hey, you know how that call could've been avoided? Milan Lucic could have made a better pass. Just saying.
Clean but vicious hit on Brad Marchand by P.K. Subban. Subban was going all or nothing on that play; when he hit Marchand, he hit him with his back/backside. If he missed, Marchand was blazing past him for a 2-on-1, but Subban got it all on that one. Stupid play by Gregory Campbell too. I'm all for sticking up for your teammate, but Campbell took a penalty for trying to fight Subban over a clean hit. Marchand will know now to keep his head up. As a result of Campbell's actions, the Habs got a power play at the end of the first period and scored right as the power play expired. Subban's hit energized his team and the crowd and put the B's back on their heels after they had been taking it to the Habs after cutting the deficit to one.
This game will do nothing to quiet the boneheads clamoring for Claude Julien's termination. The fact that the team comes out flat and can't make plays isn't CJ's fault, it's the players fault. CJ shouldn't have to motivate a team of professional athletes to play in a nationally televised divisional game in Montreal. Give me a break.
Hopefully the fireworks in this game make for an interesting one the next time these teams meet on Jan. 8. This "rivarly" has been lacking ever since Mike Komisarek and Alex Kovalev departed.
Just a couple of quick ones today, I don't want to spend too much off-day time dwelling on this stinker.
The Good
What do you mean "good?" As far as the Bruins are concerned? Uhh.........Brad Marchand played pretty well?
Cup-winning form Cam Ward was excellent today, making 37 stops to shutout the B's. Ward made plenty of highlight-reel saves as well, including a sparkler on Nathan Horton to keep the game scoreless in the third. When a team that occasionally struggles to score goals like the B's do runs into a hot goalie, it's a recipe for disaster. Today was a hockey disaster.
Solid showing from Skinner Before the season started, one would've thought the star rookie in this game would have been the B's Tyler Seguin. However, 18-year-old Jeff Skinner, chosen by the 'Canes with the seventh-overall pick in this year's draft, stole the spotlight from Seguin with the game's first goal (the eventual game-winner). Skinner now has seven goals and 11 assists on the young season.
The Bad
He started it! The B's were dominating the 'Canes in this game, hanging on by a Cam Ward-woven thread, when the Blake Wheeler went off for holding towards the end of the first period. During that PK, Daniel Paille, starting in place of scratched Jordan Caron, who was experiencing flu-like symptoms, started a 2-on-1 rush up ice shorthanded. Zdeno Chara joined the rush to make it a 3-on-1, but as Paille pulled up to make the pass, he lost the puck. Tuomo Ruutu took it the other way for a 2-on-1 of his own, eventually slipping the puck the Skinner, who buried it. Hard to place all of the blame on Paille, but that turnover started the trouble for the B's.
PK? More like P.U.! The B's took three penalties; the 'Canes scored on all three. The B's got four power play opportunities; the B's scored on zero of them. There's your game right there.
The Rest
I wonder if Milan Lucic is going to get billed by Jeremy Jacobs for breaking glass in the Garden. Everyone remembers his glass-shattering hit on Mike Van Ryn* two years ago, but today he knocked out (but didn't shatter) another pane of glass when he missed a check on a 'Canes player. Jacobs, in a Mr. Burns voice:"Those panes are coming out of your check, Mr. Lucic!"
Attaboy: Ward. He shut down the B's and made a ton of grade-A+ stops. Definitely looks like he's back to his Cup-winning form.
Providence shuttle: Special teams (again). Something's gotta give here; the thought was that the power play would pick up a bit when David Krejci returned. Well, he's back, and it's still a big problem.
Lucic is back Milan Lucic was a shell of himself last season, and with good reason; high-ankle sprains, which he suffered in a game against the Wild last November, are notoriously difficult to come back from. Lucic played last year and was decently effective, but was nowhere near the presence he usually is on the ice. This year, however, Lucic appears to be fully recovered. He seems much quicker on the ice, like he gained an extra step. He currently has 17 points (meaning he's averaging a point per game) and is a +12 on the season. He's on pace to score 40+ goals, and while it remains to see if he can keep up that pace, he's been huge for the B's so far this year.
A sigh of relief for Rask Though he was saying all of the right things after his losses, the lack of success had to be killing Tuukka Rask. After it seemed like success came so easily to him last season, this season was the complete opposite; it seemed like everything that could go wrong in Rask's starts DID go wrong. Last night Rask was in top form, as his many of his 41 saves came on top-notch scoring chances. While Tim Thomas has been the better of the two so far, having both goalies in the tandem on top of their games will make the B's nearly impossible to beat.
Boooooooooooooth The Panthers' David Booth didn't score, but one can't say he didn't try: Booth fired a remarkable 14 shots on Rask in the game, but wasn't able to sneak one past him. Yes, 14 shots for Booth alone. Florida coach Peter DeBoer credited Rask for stymieing Booth and the rest of the Panthers, saying, according to the Boston Herald, that he thought the Panthers could have taken 100 shots and they still wouldn't have scored.
Surprise, surprise: the fans booed Wides Very classy display from the Garden fans last night, as Big Money Wides was booed pretty much every time he had the puck. Yes, the fans booed a guy who never did or said anything wrong during his time here. Sure, he had his struggles, but he played hard, never complained about the fans mistreatment of him and even went so far as to say that he missed the fans' passion here. Way to go, Garden crowd. You made all of us look like idiots last night.
More uneven play While the scoreboard doesn't indicate it, the B's were thoroughly outplayed last night for a large part of the game. Sure, they came out on top and that's what matters so it's hard to complain, but that type of effort will get them pasted on Saturday against a good team like the Los Angeles Kings. Not to take anything away from the Panthers, but they're a rebuilding team, one that won't always capitalize on poor play or the opposition's mistakes. I haven't really seen the B's play a complete, solid game in a couple of weeks.
The Rest
Why boo Wides again? Why?
Attaboy: While Rask was pretty much the reason the B's won, I'll give it to Lucic. Not for his hat trick, but for wearing that fedora. That takes some guts.
Providence shuttle: Everyone who booed Wides. You think about what you've done on that long ride to Providence.
I realize these posts have gotten a little longer than I intended, so I'm going to try to keep them brief. I don't even think I'd read the entirety of these epic tomes I've been posting.
The Good
Tim Thomas: Spectacular again, what else can be said? If he keeps it up, Tuukka Rask should probably buy a recliner to replace his back-up milk crate. He's going to be there for a while. Not many top notch saves from Thomas tonight, but he was solid all-around. Making 35 saves while allowing just one goal to this Caps team is nothing to sneeze at.
Penalty kill: The B's had to kill off four penalties, including an extended 5-on-3, and performed extremely well on all of the kills. The PK unit only allowed four shots to get through to Thomas. The penalty kill was one of the B's strongest assets last year, and it looks in the early going like it will continue to be a valuable tool this year.
The Bad
Matt Hunwick: Even with his goal, it'd be generous if I moved him up to neutral. Another rough game for the young defenseman, though one hopes that his goal will boost his confidence and get his game going in the right direction. Washington's lone goal came as a direct result of a Hunwick turnover right near his own net. If Hunwick continues at this pace, I wouldn't be surprised to see him get a game or two off to reset his head.
Turnovers: While Hunwick's was the most egregious, the entire B's team was guilty of way too many turnovers last night. It's not often that a team can be so careless with the puck and not get burned, especially against an explosive team like the Caps. It seemed like everyone got a bit careless with the puck at times, from Hunwick and Zdeno Chara to Michael Ryder and Tyler Seguin. The B's, as a team, need to be a bit more disciplined.
Greg Campbell's second home: The fourth-liner racked up 11 penalty minutes (5 came in a fight) last night, including a tough four-minute high-sticking penalty in the dying minutes that forced the B's to finish the game 4-on-6. It didn't burn them this time, but Campbell is too valuable a checker to sit in the box that much in one game. Discipline, discipline, discipline, which is coincidental since his dad is the NHL's Dean of Discipline.
Powerless play again: I think I might just create a template for these posts so I don't have to keep writing the same thing over and over about the power play. It was awful again tonight, including a squandered opportunity on an extended 5-on-3. Work needs to be done.
The Rest
Not much life shown by Washington's big guns last night. Ovechkin, Semin and Backstrom had the odd scoring chance or two, but were all held pointless. Shutting down those three will go a long way towards beating the Caps, and the B's were able to do so last night.
Expect a long suspension from Rick Rypien of the Vancouver Canucks for his incident with a fan last night in Minnesota. No sports league takes incidents involving player contact with fans lightly, but Rypien, who lost his cool and actually grabbed the fan by the shirt, will likely miss five or more games. No, he didn't actually punch the fan like Tie Domi or venture into the crowd like the Indiana Pacers, but Gary Bettman and Co. will still be hard on him. It's hard to blame the players for wanting to go after fans at times, especially with some of the taunts and insults heard in hockey arenas across the country, but restraint and the ability to tune it out are part of being a professional athlete.
Attaboy: Got to be Thomas again. As long as he keeps playing well, he should keep starting.
The bruising forward was a somewhat surprising invitee, considering that he is only in his second year in the league and was chosen over some notably more talented players, not the least of which being teammate Marc Savard, who was not invited.
Lucic, however, brings another element to the Canadians' game, one that includes physical play and a bit of an edge. Whether or not Lucic makes the final roster remains to be seen, but something tells me the kid taking the ice with the Canadian flag on his sweater in his hometown of Vancouver next year might be one of the biggest thrills imaginable.
Savard being left out is a bit of a surprise, but is almost understandable considering Canada's logjam at center. Here are just a few of the centers the Canadians have to choose from, other than Savard: Joe Thornton, Sidney Crosby, Vincent Lecavalier, Eric Staal and Joe Sakic. Savard is good, but not good enough to bump one of those guys out of a spot.
For the Yanks, the Bruins chosen were Tim Thomas and Phil Kessel, neither of which was really a surprise. Thomas has become a bona-fide netminder, and will likely compete with Ryan Miller for a starting job, and is almost certain, in my opinion, to at least be the back-up, depending on how the oft-injured Rick DiPietro performs over the coming months.
Kessel will add some good scoring punch to the American squad, one that already features names like Scott Gomez, Brian Gionta, Zach Parise and Patrick Kane.
Other American Bruins, like Blake Wheeler, Mark Stuart and Matt Hunwick, may have a better shot at donning the stars and stripes come 2014.
I haven't been able to write anything for a while due to work and other stuff going on, but fortunately, the B's haven't been as lazy as I have. The Black and Gold are now 9-1-1 in their last 11 games, accumulating points at a blistering pace that has propelled the club to second place in the Eastern Conference. On the season thus far, the Bruins are 11-3-4, and have 26 points. I said in my previous post that I expected them to finish November with 31 points, but at this juncture, that number would actually be a disappointment. The Bruins have been nearly unflappable during this young season, losing only one game by more than a single goal (a 4-2 loss to Toronto on Oct. 23, a game in which the Bruins blew an early 2-0 lead).
Their three regulation losses were as follows:
at Minnesota, a 4-3 loss where they came from two goals down to nearly tie the game in the closing seconds of the third period.
at Calgary, a 3-2 loss in a game at the tail end of a Western Canada swing that again saw the B's pressure at the end and come close to tying the game.
vs. Toronto, in the aforementioned 4-2 loss.
The B's also have 4 shootout losses, games in which they got a point but, in a few cases, probably should have had more:
at Montreal, a 4-3 loss in the shootout that saw the B's come back from three goals down early to tie the game in the final minutes.
vs. Pittsburgh, a 2-1 loss that in the B's low-scoring home-opener.
at Buffalo, a 3-2 shootout loss in a game in which the B's held two different two goal leads.
The point of listing these games is to show that the Bruins have really not been "out" of any game they've played in this year. They've shown that they can come back (at Montreal, vs. Atlanta) and that they can start fast and hold down a lead (vs. Montreal, vs. Dallas, at Ottawa).
One troubling stat that can be seen above, especially in the shootout losses, is the team's trouble with two goal leads. Before losing to Toronto earlier in the year, the Bruins were nearly perfect under Claude Julien after having a two goal lead in the game. However, this year they have lost one game in regulation and two in a shootout after being up by two at some point. This is a bit troubling, but it's often said that a two-goal lead is the worst lead to have in a hockey game, as it often causes the players to sit back a little.
However, for every "troubling stat", there is also a positive one like this: As of last night, the Bruins have scored 55 goals and allowed 41, for a goal differential of 14. That is the second-highest in the league after San Jose, whose remarkable scoring of 73 goals has given them a differential of 24. The Bruins are also tied for second in the league in goals allowed with 41, the same number (surprisingly enough) as the Phoenix Coyotes. The Minnesota Wild lead the league with a jaw-dropping 30 goals allowed in 15 games, compared to the last-ranked Leafs, who have allowed 67 goals in 19 games.
Basically, it's been quite a year for the Bruins so far. They are playing as a group, playing for each other, and playing solid all-around hockey. The coming two weeks will feature a couple of great tests (vs. Buffalo, at Montreal and vs. Detroit) as well as some games that, on paper, the Bruins should take home (vs. Florida, vs. New York Islanders). However, there have already been some great games so far this season that I didn't talk much about, so here's a quick look back at the past couple weeks' best games.
11/1 vs. Dallas, 5-1 win. I picked up some decently-priced tickets for this game on Craigslist, and ended up being very glad I did. This was a game that, according to some writers and fans, may end up being "that game", the one each team has once a season that really brings the team together as a group. The Bruins played as "team" as a group can in this game, sticking up for each other while also sticking to the game plan, fighting back both on the scoreboard and with fists. Steve Ott was the villain in this game, going low on Stephane Yelle to start things off. After Shawn Thornton came to the defense of Yelle, Ott refused to fight, ensuring that things would continue to be chippy. After hitting Mark Stuart later in the game, Shane Hnidy attempted to fight Ott as well, who, again, declined dropping the gloves. Later in the game, Ott went low in Milan Lucic after a whistle, setting off another scrum. Ott's um..."antics" came to a fitting head when Andrew Ference laid him out at center ice with a solid, clean body check. Sean Avery then came to the defense of his teammate, and threw down with Ference. After these fisticuffs, Ott would be thrown out of the game for instigating more of the rough stuff. One would assume that this would be the end of it, but then... The video above features all of the fights in the game, the "but then..." I'm referring to is Avery's hit from behind on Lucic and the subsequent line brawl. Those don't come around all that often. In the end, the Bruins beat the Stars, beat up the Stars, and seemed to really piss off Mike Modano, who has apparently since cleared the air. Either way, the Stars are underachieving thus far this year, and with games like that it's easy to see why.
11/13 vs. Montreal, 6-1 win. I bought tickets to this one back in September, eager to see the B's exact some home ice revenge on le bleu, blanc et rouge. Boy did I get what I was looking for. This game wasn't even close. Though it was the Bruins who played a tough Chicago team the night before in a game that went to a shootout, and it was the Bruins who didn't get into Boston until after 3 a.m., it was Montreal who sleepwalked through this game, looking lost, uninspired, and downright overwhelmed at times. Here are some highlights from that game, I don't really need to say much more about it: Finally, that game featured the culmination of a years worth of post-whistle scrums, cross-checks, face washes, low hits, big hits and just overall rough stuff as Mike Komisarek finally decided to drop the gloves with Milan Lucic...and much like Ron Burgundy jumping into the Bear Pit, it's safe to say that Komisarek "immediately regretted this decision"! With this one game, it seemed like the Bruins not only had the Habs back on their heels, but had them running back to Quebec with their tails between their legs. One can only hope for the B's sake that this will represent a monkey off-the back sort of situation, as they've proved that they can beat the Habs, and beat them convincingly at that.
This was a bit of a long post, but there was a lot to catch up on. I'm going to try to blog a game live sometime soon, but not sure when. In closing, I'll leave you with what is sure to become an iconic image for this Bruins season, and one that I'm positive Mike Komisarek will NOT have hanging on his living room wall:
Thus far in what is still a very young NHL season, the Bruins play has been mediocre, stunning exciting when at its best and nauseatingly disappointing when at its worst. After 9 games, and with 2 more to go to close out October, the B's have a 4-2-3 record, good for 11 points and a tie with Montreal (5-1-1) for second place in the Northeast Division. The 11 points puts the Black and Gold in a tie three way tie for fifth place in the Eastern Conference with Montreal and the New Jersey Devils (5-2-1). Granted it's a little early in the season to start watching the standings, but it never hurts to check in.
Last night was one of the Bruins' best games of the season so far, an immensely satisfying 1-0 win over the Edmonton Oilers in overtime. The B's played hard in this game, and deserved the two points. Tim Thomas was excellent in goal, stopping all 27 shots the Oilers fired his way, including some sparkling saves down the stretch. When Dennis Wideman fired a wrister past Dwayne Roloson (who was equally dazzling in goal for the Oilers), it gave the B's the win and started off what is really a crucial western Canada road swing on the right foot. This road trip gives Claude Julien and the rest of the Bruins' staff to see what this team is made of. All three teams on this trip are expected to contend for playoff spots come spring, and all three are decent if not above average squads. The Bruins have played inconsistently all season, and need to start getting things together before they fall too far behind.
Early indications from today's Boston Globe's game story show that Thomas may get another start tonight, which I would be in favor of. Julien has given each goalie a chance to show his stuff so far, neither has had the type of performance that would indicate he has the upper hand. With last night's showing, Thomas may have solidified his grip on the number one spot, something that he has undoubtedly earned. Also, perhaps giving Thomas two straight starts will light a fire in Fernandez, in that he may see he's falling behind and get his competitive juices flowing again. A competitive goalie tandem is rarely an issue for a team; more often than not, it's a benefit.
Since my last post, the Bruins results are as follows: 4-2 win at Ottawa, 2-1 SO loss vs. Pittsburgh, 3-2 SO loss at Buffalo, 4-2 loss vs. Toronto, 5-4 win vs. Atlanta, and 1-0 win at Edmonton. Let's take a look at the good, bad and ugly from two weeks' worth of Bruins hockey.
THE GOOD
Patrice Bergeron appears to show no signs of post-concussion problems. He has been, for the majority of the time, the best player on the ice for the Bruins. He hasn't been skittish going into the corners, and appears more than willing to take the body. His passes have been crisp, and he has been making plays all over the ice. He appeared to be struck with bad luck earlier in the year, missing on a couple of breakaways, so it figures he finally got a goal on a somewhat fluky tip-in that found its way between the Leafs' Vesa Toskala's arm and body. Bergeron seems like he is in fine form, and seeing his play this season really makes one wonder "what could have been last season?" even more than before. Imagine last year's scrappy bunch with a healthy Bergeron...something tells me a second-round playoff appearance wouldn't have been out of the question. But that's the past, and the present looks good for Bergeron and the B's. Hopefully he can stay healthy (knock on wood), and continue to produce.
Phil Kessel is turning into a dynamic all around player. Kessel, who responded strongly after being benched early in the playoffs last season, has continued on his upward trend. He is tied for second on the team in scoring with 7 points (6 goals and 1 assist). Though he has slowed in the last two or three games, he has shown a great willingness to shoot the puck this season, whereas last year he relied more on his stickhandling and often just lost the puck to a defender. Kessel should only become more dangerous as the year progresses.
Marc Savard has continued to make plays. He is still a wizard with the puck, and has been laying tape to tape passes on the sticks of his teammates all year already. Look for Savard to continue to improve, and emerge as a bonafide scorer (or, more specifically, assist-man) in the NHL.
Milan Lucic's performance this past week. Any time your week consists of this: AND this: it's safe to say that you've had yourself a decent couple of games.
THE BAD
The Bruins' for the home hockey season have been "interesting" to say the least. First, on opening night, the Bruins introduced each player on the roster one by one. Each got a nice cheer, followed by a rousing ovation at the end. One problem: they forgot to announce Mark Stuart's name, leaving him to come out of the tunnel by himself as the PA announcer said "Ladies and gentleman, your 2008-2009 Boston Bruins!". Stuart appeared to take it in stride, hamming it up for the crowd by raising his stick as he came out. Later that week, the Bruins were forced to change the game format against the Thrashers, with the teams switching ends at the 10 minute mark of the third period because one zone's faceoff dots had been incorrectly painted. Yikes.
The Bruins' defense has given up 24 goals in 9 games (27 if the shootout winners are included, which they aren't in official stats as no player gets credit for the goal). That puts them at 16th in the league, with a 2.67 goals per game average. Surprisingly enough, they are on pace to allow 216, which is only one less than last year. However, this year's defense has shown little sign of being the same-lock down unit last year's was, as made clear by the team's first regulation loss after holding a two goal lead under Julien against the Leafs last week. Last year's group would have simply locked down defensively, clogging the neutral zone and playing strong in their own zone. This year's unit took silly penalties and allowed the Leafs way too much time in the attacking zone en route to allowing four straight goals against a team that simply outworked them. This is not the type of team Julien likes to put on the ice, and judging from his reactions to the Toronto game, he'll take steps to make sure his team never plays like that again.
THE UGLY:
I really don't have all that much to complain about here, but there is one thing that has been atrocious: the penalty kill. This has been an Achilles Heel for the team for two years. Last year's group ranked 28th in the NHL, with a measly 78.6% kill-rate (for the sake of comparison, the number one team, the San Jose Sharks, killed 85.8% of their penalties). So far this season, the B's sit at 29th in the league, killing a putrid 71% of their penalties, a mere 0.4% more than last-place Edmonton. This is something that the Bruins HAVE to improve on. A team can't go far allowing a power-play goal every game of the season. The B's have one of the best defensemen in the league in Zdeno Chara, and one of the best defensive forwards in the game in PJ Axelsson. One can only hope that the B's penalty killing woes are from trying to work out the kinks, and that they will be a penalty killing machine come December. If not, the B's are going to find themselves in more and more offensive shootouts, a style of game that doesn't really fit this team.
That's about it for now. I'll probably make another post after the Calgary game on Thursday, kind of a look back at the opening month of the season. Until then, go B's.
The title of the post really says it all. It's not "Eastern Conference Quarterfinals-Game 6", or "Bruins Playoff Home Game 3", it's just "Game 6". Any Bruins fan would know exactly what that was referring to, and will continue to remember it vividly for years to come.
I'm only 20 years old, and my hockey memory only goes back so far. I don't really remember anything before 1998, so I missed the real glory days of the Black and Gold. However, I've seen plenty of hockey games in my two decades, and I think this is far and away the best game I have ever seen. It had it all: a loud crowd, an air of desperation from both sides, intensity, chippiness, lead changes, bad goals, highlight reel goals, and overall drama. There are dozens of videos of this game on YouTube, of which I've probably watched 90%. I have this game on DVR too, and have watched it at least three times, and may watch it again before tonight's opener too. (In fact, I have two versions of it: one NESN replayed, and one from CBC that was on the NHL Network. It's pretty interesting to hear the differences in the way the pairs of announcers call the game).
This was a game that I wasn't too sure about, and was definitely nervous about the outcome. The Bruins had an incredible showing in game five, stunning the Montreal crowd with a sound 5-1 victory, and this should have led to a boost of confidence in the team. My only fear was that the Bruins would come home and completely lay an egg, falling flat in front of the home crowd.
No dice.
This game started off rocking, just like games three and four, but unfortunately I missed the beginning. I had to work, and ended up leaving an hour and a half early to miss as little as possible. I heard the Bruins were down 1-0 fairly early, and was watching the game at a pizza place in the North End while waiting for my food, when this happened:
I'm not ashamed to say that I threw up both hands and yelled "holy shit!" in the middle of a pizza place. Phil Kessel undressed Francis Boullion, and in doing so tied the game. That was probably the nicest individual goal I've ever seen Kessel score, except for the one at the end of the previous season where he batted the puck in out of the air against the Penguins. However, that goal came in a game of no consequence, where as this was a do-or-die situation. Just like that, on what appeared to be a broken play, Kessel had the Bruins back in business.
It wouldn't last long, however, as after coming oh-so-close on a power-play, including hitting the post once, the B's gave up a breakaway goal to Tomas Plekanec, who stepped out of the penalty box, took an easy feed in on goal and slipped one past Thomas.
Again, the Bruins found themselves down a goal, as time began to tick away early in the third period. However, they'd respond on what again looked like a broken play. Peter Schaefer carried the puck into the Montreal zone, nearly catching Vladimir Sobotka offside. Schaefer then tried to flip a pass to Sobotka, who grazed the puck while skating to the crease, somehow slipping it past Carey Price. To this day, I'm still not entirely sure how that puck went in the net, and from the looks of the celebration Schaefer and Sobotka weren't either, but it didn't matter: the Bruins had again tied the score.
With 17 minutes to go in the game, and having just tied the game, the Bruins had momentum on their side. They'd press Montreal for a bit, coming close on a couple of occasions, but were unable to break through. Then, with 10 minutes to go in the game, Boullion, the goat who got beaten by Kessel, made up for his mistake by beating Thomas on a shot from the point that bounced off of Shane Hnidy's stick, causing a wicked deflection that neither Thomas nor Hnidy could be blamed for. The Canadiens celebrated giddily, and the crowd was momentarily silenced.
It was at that point that the doubts crept in, the Boston fan in me began to think "Well that's how it's going to have to end, on a crappy bounce like that. Figures."
Again, no dice.
These B's refused to go away, continuing to pressure Montreal. With eight minutes to go in the game, and the Bruins running out of time, Price froze the puck for a faceoff in his own zone. The Bruins, after the ensuing faceoff, ended up with the puck and fired a shot on net, one that Price handled and again covered. For some reason, Montreal coach Guy Carbonneau, who at certain moments in this game had a look on his face like somebody had just stolen his lunch money, decided to pull Saku Koivu out of the faceoff circle, where he had been incredibly effective. Bad move, Guy.
Marc Savard won the faceoff, and slipped a pass back to the point, where the puck was fired right back on net. Milan Lucic, who barely moved from his spot on the left wing, turned, took a crosscheck in the back from Mike Komisarek, who routinely turned down invitations to fight Lucic during this series, instead choosing to try and take him out at the knees in game four, and got the shaft of his stick on the puck. The puck defected off of Lucic's stick, bounced off of the ice, and past Price to tie the game AGAIN. The Garden exploded, and it was at this point that I knew they were going to win this game, they just had to.
Soon after that goal, the Canadiens iced the puck, only further inciting the Boston crowd. The B's had all of the momentum, and for the first time in the series looked like they really had the Canadiens on their toes.
Finally, at 15:45 of the third, David Krecji had the puck in his defensive zone, heading up ice. Marco Strum was streaking up the left wing side, and Krecji fed him a beautiful pass, right in stride, indirect and off the boards. Sturm then took that puck and fired another beauty to the tape of a crashing Kessel, who chipped the puck over the shoulder of a stunned Price. 4-3 Bruins.
Jack Edwards gleeful shout of "the Bruins lead!" may never leave my head, ingrained right along with his other memorable line from this game, "This building is VIBRATING!" Yes, the Bruins did lead. In fact, they were ahead for all of 11 seconds, as the Canadiens promptly won the next faceoff, won a chase down ice for the puck, and caught the Bruins napping as Chris Higgins scored his second goal of the night to tie the game again.
To say that the goal quieted the crowd may be an understatement. The PA announcer was still reading off the B's 4th goal when Higgins scored, and the resulting trademark "woooo!" may have been one of the weakest the Garden has ever seen. The Bruins, however, refused to be deterred, and simply went right back on the attack.
1:27 after Higgins' goal, Montreal's Alex Kovalev, my least favorite player in the entire NHL, missed a chance to clear his zone, instead shooting the puck off the body of Zdeno Chara. Chara then threw the puck into the opposite corner, where Sturm knocked Roman Hamrlik off the puck, creating a scoring chance for Chara coming down the slot. That shot went well wide, but Sturm, in the words of Jack Edwards, "threw Hamrlik another bang", got the puck, and fired one through a crowd on net. Sturm, seeing the pile-up of bodies in front of him, also saw the juicy rebound Price gave up, hopped over a skater on the ice, gathered up the loose puck and simply outwaited the sprawling Price. By the time Sturm released the puck, Price was without his stick, and facing the wrong way. Ouch. Sturm fired one into the open net, a couple inches over the desperately outstretched glove of Price, and gave the Bruins a lead that they would not give up.
For the last two minutes of this game, my friends and I didn't sit down. As soon as the puck cleared the zone in the final ten seconds, we took off running from my friend Billy's apartment in the North End to the Garden, just down the street. Why? I don't know really, it seemed like the right thing to do. And believe it or not, this was BEFORE the party that night started, so there was no inebriation of any kind. The scene coming out of the Garden was joyous and loud, with people both excited and stunned by what they had just seen. There are videos everywhere on YouTube for this game, all of which can still induce chills. Yes, the B's went on to get steamrolled in game seven, but that didn't matter then. This game had singlehandedly revived hockey in Boston, bring the excitement of playoff puck to a level it hadn't seen in years.
That excitement has carried over to this year as well, as Bruins fans have been anticipating tonight's puck drop since the minute game seven mercilessly ended six months ago. This is a game that no Bruins fan will ever forget, and one that may be looked at as the turning point of the franchise. This game proved the B's were willing to fight, willing to get dirty, and ready to come from behind, no matter how great the odds stacked against them.
This is the game that all fans watched all summer, fuel to get the fires going for the upcoming season. Perhaps now, on cusp of the 2008-2009 season, I can finally stop watching YouTube clips, finally stop hearing "Sturm....holds....Sturm....scoorrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrres!", and finally remove a picture of Marc Savard's game three winning goal from my desktop. After all, a new season is dawning, one that will hopefully bring moments that match and exceed the six listed in this space.
On second thought, who am I kidding? There's no way I'm going to not watch these clips...
Enjoy, and Go B's.
This one's my personal favorite, because it's actually the entire last 8 minutes, in which there would be four more goals scored. The person who posted it has a high quality version of it on the site too, which can be watched by clicking here.
"There'll be a game seven! We'll see ya Monday night!"
My name is Dan, I'm the founder of BruinsHockeyNow.com. I'm a recent graduate of Suffolk University, where I majored in journalism. I've lived in Boston (Dorchester) all my life, and hope to get a job as a sportswriter someday soon.
