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.

Monday Musings, 11/8/10

Boy, things sure can change quickly, huh? After Wednesday, the B's remained on fire. They were 7-2-0, Tim Thomas was 7-0-0 and the team seemed to be firing on all cylinders.


Now, on Monday, the team is 7-3-1, Tim Thomas got pulled from a game against the Caps, Tyler Seguin got benched, David Krejci looks like he'll miss more than a couple of games and some fear that there are choppy seas ahead for the S.S. Bruin.


Come on, it's just two games. And the team has still taken points in 8 of 11 games this year. Here are some thoughts on this windy Monday afternoon in Boston:

• Admittedly, the Krejci injury is worrisome. The Czech pivot was really buried by Oshie, and the fact that his head slammed off of the dasher made matters worse. Krejci looked out of it, despite skating off with some assistance. Word came down earlier that he'd be out at least a week, while GM Peter Chiarelli termed Krejci's concussion "moderate," and said that he was experiencing headaches and some amnesia, according to Matt Kalman's Bruins Blog. I have no problem with the hit by Oshie; it was a clean, hard play, one that the somewhat slight Krejci might want to avoid in the future. He's not the biggest guy as is, and initiating contact with a guy like Oshie, who is the same height but nearly 30 pounds heavier than Krejci, probably isn't the best idea.
• The biggest immediate issue is who will fill the number-one center spot in Krejci's absence. Marc Savard remains a long way off, so it appears, according to ESPNBoston's James Murphy, that Patrice Bergeron will be stepping in on the top line, playing between Milan Lucic and Nathan Horton. It also appears that Blake Wheeler is getting at least a bit of a look at center, as he was between Jordan Caron and Mark Recchi this morning. Daniel Paille will likely see his first game action since the season opener, and Brian McGrattan was waived down to Providence, a move that is, in all likelihood, a precursor to the B's calling someone up from the Baby B's. Tyler Seguin and Gregory Campbell remain in their third- and fourth-line center sports, respectively.
• Speaking of Seguin, the youngster was apparently (I say "apparently" because I missed the game) benched for much of the third period of Saturday night's loss to the St. Louis Blues. According to Kalman, Claude Julien wasn't really trying to punish the rookie, but trying to shorten his bench as the B's pushed for the tying goal. The "benching" was the first real bump in the road this year for Seguin, but he appeared to get over it pretty quickly: he scored the B's only goal in that night's shootout.
• Some are concerned that Tim Thomas' miracle run to start the season ended in a hurry on Friday night, as Thomas was pulled after the second period with the B's down 3-0. However, the fact of the matter is that Thomas pretty much kept the B's in that game; were it not for his effort, it probably would have been 5-0 after two. Claude Julien said as much after the game: he was pulled to spark the team, not because he played poorly. Thomas looked decently solid, and was beaten on a screened point shot, a wicked wrister by Mr. Faux-Hawk himself and a beautiful 3-on-1 passing play. It certainly wasn't Thomas' fault that the B's lost in D.C.
• Will Tuukka Rask ever get a win? The young Finn must be wondering that himself at this point. Rask has taken the loss in all four games in which he's appeared this year. His current record requires a strong stomach if one wants to look at it: 0-3-1. However, his other numbers are much more reassuring: his save percentage is .921, while his GAA has fallen to a more respectable 2.66. Also, according to NESN.com, he hasn't lost his confidence yet, something that is key to a goalie's success. From what I've read and seen in highlights, Rask played pretty well against a good St. Louis team on Saturday. On Friday, the one goal he allowed in relief of Tim Thomas came from a point shot off that he probably never even got a clean look at. The thought here is that Rask is simply a victim of poor circumstances so far this season; he'll pick up the pace soon.
• Check the main site later on for another "Behind Enemy Lines" piece, this time a "Washington, D.C." version. Not a bad trip, despite the B's loss.
  

Game 5: Bruins 4, Capitals 1

The Good

• Power play finally shows some power: AT LAST! The power play moved out of "the Bad," and did so in a big way. The B's exploded for three power play goals last night against a previously-perfect Caps penalty kill. The power play looked much crisper, much more confident and much more dangerous than it had at any point in the first four games. Moving Mark Recchi up to the point proved to be a big boost to the PP unit. Kudos to assistant coach Geoff Ward, who apparently worked tirelessly on the power play in practice.
• Brad Marchand: Laid his body out in front of an Alexander Ovechkin one-timer, one he ended up taking squarely on the leg. It takes a lot of courage to slide in front of a slapshot, and even more guts to step in front of one of Ovechkin's. Marchand limped off the ice and down the tunnel, but later returned to the ice. According to Naoko Funayama, he's not on the ice this morning, however, indicating that the leg could still be sore.
• Bergeron chips in: I personally thought Patrice Bergeron had played very well in the first four games; the points just weren't there. Last night, however, the points WERE there, as Bergeron assisted on Michael Ryder's power play goal and gave Jordan Caron a beautiful pass on the rookie's second goal of the season. As far as CSNNE's Joe Haggerty is concerned, Bergeron was the best player on the ice last night, and I don't disagree.
• Ho hum, production continues: Tim Thomas and Nathan Horton continue to produce like clockwork; Thomas was stellar again save for his mishap with Jason Chimera, while Horton scored again and now has four goals and three assists in five games.
• Jordan Caron: Another goal and another all-around terrific effort from the rookie. He won battles on the boards and played a physical and tough game again, something fans are coming to expect from the youngster. Watching him out there so far, it's sometimes easy to forget that the kid's just a rookie. Right now he's making a case to be here for the long haul, even after Marc Savard and Marco Sturm return.
  

The Bad

• Tyler is no Rancourt: I know it was for charity, but really? Why? Yikes. Tyler's performance was the first thing my mother said to me about the game this morning: "He was awful." And she tells no lies.
• O-vechkin: The Caps star had a rough couple of games against the B's. He had 13 shots in the two games, but was a combined -3 and had no points. He drew a couple of penalties with his speed and stickhandling last night, but other than that wasn't much of a threat.
• D'oh! I'm reaching here, but save for his mental blunder, Thomas would have had his second shutout of the season last night. Stickhandling has never been Thomas' strong suit, but remember Tim, the guys in the opposite colored sweaters from you play for the OTHER team.

The Rest

• I had to listen to some of the game on 98.5 The Sports Hub with Dave Goucher and Bob Beers last night due to working late, and even on the radio it seemed like the game had the atmosphere of a late season or playoff game. This suspicion was confirmed when I got to watch the end of the game on NESN, as the crowd was extremely loud, cheering with every rush, every check and even every battle won on the half-wall. I know that it being the home opener had something to do with it, but I can't help but feel local puck fans were ravenous for hockey to come back, especially with the way last season ended. If last night was any indication (and I know it's early), the fans should have plenty to cheer about this year.
• How to tell when hockey is becoming relevant again: when columnists like Tony Massarotti, Steve Buckley and Bob Ryan start writing about the B's. All three must have taken breaks from writing about LeBron James' lunch or who the Red Sox should sign to actually see what that newfangled game of hockey is all about. Stick to the Sox, Patriots and Celtics, guys, and leave the hockey writing to Dupont, Shinzawa, Harris, Conroy and Co.

Attaboy: Thomas and Horton can share it. They've both been huge thus far.
Providence shuttle: Tyler. On the plus side, he should be pretty familiar with tour buses at this point.

Game 4: Bruins 3, Capitals 1

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.
• Milan Lucic: Props to Lucic for his second-career Gordie Howe hat trick (which I've since renamed the "Pavel Datsyuk hat trick"), but even bigger props for fighting John Erskine again after getting popped pretty good last time. Lucic seemed to say in the Boston Globe's write-up of the game that he remembered that bout with Erskine and wanted to make up for it. I'd say he earned at least a draw this time around.
• 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.

Providence shuttle: For the B's, it's Hunwick. In general, it's Rypien. Don't go after the fans, no matter how obnoxious you find their Minnesota accents.

Double Dose of Winter Wonderland?

ESPN.com and TSN.ca are both reporting that the NHL may hold a second Winter Classic on New Year's Day 2010. The Bruins, rumored yet not officially announced as hosts of the Classic, are supposedly slated to play either the Washington Capitals or the Philadelphia Flyers at Fenway Park on New Year's day.

One of the interesting things about the Classic was the newness of it, and some lustre may be lost if the league holds more than one outdoor game. However, put me in the camp of people who think, "the more the merrier." No, I'm not advocating that every team play an outdoor game each year (though Kings vs. Ducks at Dodger Stadium would be a smash hit!), but why not include another two markets in what has become a huge success for the NHL?

The rumors have it that the Calgary Flames would host the second half of a New Year's Day doubleheader, playing at McMahon Stadium, home of the CFL's Calgary Stampeders, and would play against another Canadian team. A game between two franchises from the Great White North may not be a ratings boon in the United States, but would be huge among Canadian viewers. Besides, NBC is likely to put all of its viewer eggs in the American basket anyways, as Boston is large TV market (as is Philadelphia), and any game featuring Washington's Alexander Ovechkin will draw in other hockey fans, casual viewers and closet hockey fans.

So put me amongst the few who don't think a second classic in 2010 would "take away" from the Bruins' hosting one. A full day of hockey to kick off the New Year sounds good to me. Plus, if nothing else, it will be fascinating to see what the weather is like in Calgary, where January is the coldest month. The average high is 26.96 degrees Fahrenheit. Yes, that's the HIGH. The low, you ask? 4.82 degrees F. Good luck, Jarome Iginla.

Photo Credit: Boston Herald Graphic

Go B's.

Seedings to be Finalized Tonight...

After nearly a week of waiting, the Boston Bruins will find out who their second-round opponent will be by the end of the night tonight. With two game 7's on tap for the evening (Carolina @ New Jersey, New York @ Washington), the semi-final match-ups will finally be completely set. However, there are plenty of different scenarios that could play out. The Bruins could play either New York, Carolina or Pittsburgh. There is no way they could play either New Jersey or Washington in this coming round.

Here are the scenarios for the two key teams (Canes and Rangers), and the end result in each of them:

Rangers

• If RANGERS win and DEVILS win, the Bruins play the RANGERS
• If RANGERS win and HURRICANES win, the Bruins play the RANGERS
  
• If RANGERS lose and DEVILS win, the Bruins play the PENGUINS
• If RANGERS lose and HURRICANES win, the Bruins play the HURRICANES

Hurricanes

• If HURRICANES win and RANGERS win, the Bruins play the RANGERS
• If HURRICANES win and CAPITALS win, the Bruins play the HURRICANES
• If HURRICANES lose and RANGERS win, the Bruins play the RANGERS
• If HURRICANES lose and CAPITALS win, the Bruins play the PENGUINS

Basically, the Bruins will only play the Penguins if both higher-seeds (Caps and Devs) advance. If one upset occurs, the Bruins play the lowest seed available. If BOTH upsets occur, the Bruins would play the Rangers, because they are guaranteed to be the lowest seed left standing.

It's really not as confusing as it sounds, and will all be sorted out within three hours (barring overtime, of course).

Predictions? I'm sticking to my originals, and saying the Canes win and Captials win, setting up the return of Sergei Samsonov to the Garden later this week, and a Bruins-Canes Conference Semifinal.