There were many things the NHL did right this time around with the Winter Classic, first of all being the choice of match up. With no disrespect to the Redsox/Yankees or the Lakers/Celtics rivalries, the Bruins/Canadiens has to be the most electrifying rivalry in all of North America. Between the almost 100 years of history the teams share to the countless scraps and playoff match ups that have culminated in all out brawls on the ice, there really is nothing like a game between Boston and Montreal and that was something I could feel as soon as I walked into Patriot Place. Due to the relatively small distance between Boston and Montreal, there was a good amount of Montreal fans on site for this game, which of course riles up the fans of both teams. There's a tension in the air at the games between these two teams that builds and builds the more rowdy and fanatic the fans of each team are, and on the day of the Winter Classic that tension hung in the air like smoke from the many tailgate parties going on in the parking lot. The choice of venue was also pretty damn perfect as well. Gillette is large enough to host an insane amount of fans of both teams, yet small enough that there were very few bad site lines in the place. I myself sat about halfway up in the balcony and was able to see everything that happened on the ice. The pregame events and team introductions were nothing short of phenomenal, as well as the flyover which I have posted a video of down below (video credited to YouTube user David West). I myself was literally shaking by the time Ozzy Osbourne's crazy train played over the speakers to signal the drop of the puck.
Thursday, January 7, 2016
Bruins Beat: The Skids
Hello boys and girls, welcome back to another installment of Bruins Beat. It has been exactly three weeks since my last post as I took a break for the holidays. It was nice to not have to worry about any school work for a couple weeks, but I am glad to be back and analyzing what has proven to be a very interesting Bruins season thus far. Since my last post the Bruins have played a grand total of eight games and have a record of 3-5-0 in those eight games. In this post I don't plan on recapping every one of these eight games as I just do not have the time nor the memory to accurately describe the events that occurred during each game of these last 3 weeks. There is one game in particular that I would like to talk about and that would be the Winter Classic, which I had the overwhelming pleasure of attending this year, my second Winter Classic I have attended. Unfortunately, this year my experience with the Classic was overall a negative one.
There were many things the NHL did right this time around with the Winter Classic, first of all being the choice of match up. With no disrespect to the Redsox/Yankees or the Lakers/Celtics rivalries, the Bruins/Canadiens has to be the most electrifying rivalry in all of North America. Between the almost 100 years of history the teams share to the countless scraps and playoff match ups that have culminated in all out brawls on the ice, there really is nothing like a game between Boston and Montreal and that was something I could feel as soon as I walked into Patriot Place. Due to the relatively small distance between Boston and Montreal, there was a good amount of Montreal fans on site for this game, which of course riles up the fans of both teams. There's a tension in the air at the games between these two teams that builds and builds the more rowdy and fanatic the fans of each team are, and on the day of the Winter Classic that tension hung in the air like smoke from the many tailgate parties going on in the parking lot. The choice of venue was also pretty damn perfect as well. Gillette is large enough to host an insane amount of fans of both teams, yet small enough that there were very few bad site lines in the place. I myself sat about halfway up in the balcony and was able to see everything that happened on the ice. The pregame events and team introductions were nothing short of phenomenal, as well as the flyover which I have posted a video of down below (video credited to YouTube user David West). I myself was literally shaking by the time Ozzy Osbourne's crazy train played over the speakers to signal the drop of the puck.
It is about here that the positives of the experience begin to fade and the negatives set in. One of the more minor negatives were the choice of music performances between intermission. The NHL decided that it would be a good idea to book two artists to perform in between each period, which is a great idea as there really isn't much else to do other than wait in the gigantic line to use the bathroom. Unfortunately, NBC chose to invite two of the worst acts I have ever seen in Nate Ruess (lead singer for FUN) and Simple Plan. These two artists could not have been further removed from the atmosphere of the games. Instead of having an exciting local talent perform, say the Dropkick Murphys, NBC decided to choose an annoyingly falsetto alt rock singer as well as a pop punk band that peaked in popularity around the time I was born. It goes without saying that I and many of the other fans around me were not impressed with the acts and I really hope NBC chooses more relatable talent in the future. Finally, and most unfortunately, the most upsetting thing about the whole event had to have been the abysmal hockey that myself and 68,000 other fans had to watch. The Bruins got completely embarrassed on the ice in a 5-1 defeat that saw them play their worst hockey of the season at the worst possible time. The tone of the game was set early on as Montreal scored just over one minute into the first period, a period that saw the Bruins get out shot 14-3. While it may be true that the Bruins were missing key players in David Krejci and Brad Marchand, the overall lack of effort and inability to complete passes and overall just play the game cannot be blamed solely on the Bruins bad luck with injuries and suspensions. Overall, I would have to say I had fun at the Classic but there is just no denying how long, cold, and defeated the walk was back to my car at the end of the game.
There were many things the NHL did right this time around with the Winter Classic, first of all being the choice of match up. With no disrespect to the Redsox/Yankees or the Lakers/Celtics rivalries, the Bruins/Canadiens has to be the most electrifying rivalry in all of North America. Between the almost 100 years of history the teams share to the countless scraps and playoff match ups that have culminated in all out brawls on the ice, there really is nothing like a game between Boston and Montreal and that was something I could feel as soon as I walked into Patriot Place. Due to the relatively small distance between Boston and Montreal, there was a good amount of Montreal fans on site for this game, which of course riles up the fans of both teams. There's a tension in the air at the games between these two teams that builds and builds the more rowdy and fanatic the fans of each team are, and on the day of the Winter Classic that tension hung in the air like smoke from the many tailgate parties going on in the parking lot. The choice of venue was also pretty damn perfect as well. Gillette is large enough to host an insane amount of fans of both teams, yet small enough that there were very few bad site lines in the place. I myself sat about halfway up in the balcony and was able to see everything that happened on the ice. The pregame events and team introductions were nothing short of phenomenal, as well as the flyover which I have posted a video of down below (video credited to YouTube user David West). I myself was literally shaking by the time Ozzy Osbourne's crazy train played over the speakers to signal the drop of the puck.
Thursday, December 17, 2015
Bruins Beat: Rolling Along
Hello boys and girls, welcome back to another installment of this blog series following the events of the Bruins and their 2015-16 season. Last week I decided my post would be better used to discuss some of the issues I have had with the Department of Player Safety and their incompetence when it comes to handing out supplementary punishment. It is an issue that I believe goes even deeper than the spearing incident that occurred a couple weeks ago and I may revisit the topic in a longer post in the future. For now however, lets talk about how the Bruins have collected points in 12 of their last 13 games and are now second in the Atlantic division and gaining ground fast on the Montreal Canadiens.
After the Thanksgiving break and Black Friday game the Bruins traveled to the western most regions of Canada to do battle with some of the most mediocre teams in the league. Feeling confident after a gut-check style win over the Rangers, I myself saw nothing less than 6 points out of 6 coming from this road trip. However the team seemed to think they could gather these points with almost no regard for quality of play, which is something the Bruins seem to have done a bit too often this year for my liking. The Bruins barely seemed to be awake for their first game against the Oilers and it showed as, although they held the lead in shots most of the game, they trailed the Oilers 2-1 late into the third period. Only thanks to a late goal by captain Zdeno Chara were the Bruins able to force overtime, which led to a shootout which led to a disappointing loss for the black and gold. The lackluster play continued into Calgary as the Bruins played one of their most defensively lax game of the season. Although the Bruins had a 4-3 lead with less than a minute to go, a late penalty on Chara led to a 6 on 4 situation and Calgary was able to tie the game with 1.3 second left in regulation. Johhny Guadreau did what he usually does which was magically stick handle behind the defense in OT and score the game winner assisted by none other than Douglas Hamilton. At this point many Bruins fans were groaning at the prospect of flushing what should have been easy points down the toilet that was this road trip. Thankfully, the Bruins came out swinging in Vancouver and pummeled the already bruised and lackadaisical Canucks by a score of 4-0. That win singlehandedly turned what could have been an awful 2 point 3 game swing into a 4 point swing and gave the Bruins some confidence heading back home.
This confidence however was met and equally matched by a defensively adept Nashville Predators team that was able to skate circles around a seemingly jet-lagged Bruins team. Even still, the Bruins made a game of it, only losing by a score of 3-2 on a late goal by Nashville. This loss set the team back on the road for an extremely important meeting between the Bruins and the Habs. This being the last meeting before the winter classic, both teams wanted to be the ones to carry momentum heading forward into the month that could see the Atlantic division turned sideways by the time January rolls around. Although the Bruins came out flat in the first 2 periods, a stellar effort by Tuukka Rask kept the game 1-0 until midway into the third period where Loui Eriksson scores a shorthanded goal off a beautiful pass by Chara. Just 40 seconds later the Bruins scored again to make it 2-1 with only 7 minutes to go in the game. With a goal by Bergeron in the final 5 minutes, the Bruins walked out of the Bell Centre with their first win over the Canadiens since March of 2014 and all the momentum on their side heading into the outdoor game at Gillette on January 1st. The Bruins would then go on to win 2 of their next 3 games in convincing fashion, leap frogging their way into second place in the Atlantic with 2 games in hand on almost the entire division, meaning the Bruins could prospectively be only one point away from their arch rivals within the next couple of weeks. The Bruins have 6 more games in the month of December, 3 of which are against divisional opponents making the points in these next few games absolutely vital to the Bruins success going forward. If the team is able to continue their ever strengthening defensive play as well as scoring at a league leading clip I can very confidently see this team being atop the Atlantic division within a month. The Bruins next play against Pittsburgh on Friday.
After the Thanksgiving break and Black Friday game the Bruins traveled to the western most regions of Canada to do battle with some of the most mediocre teams in the league. Feeling confident after a gut-check style win over the Rangers, I myself saw nothing less than 6 points out of 6 coming from this road trip. However the team seemed to think they could gather these points with almost no regard for quality of play, which is something the Bruins seem to have done a bit too often this year for my liking. The Bruins barely seemed to be awake for their first game against the Oilers and it showed as, although they held the lead in shots most of the game, they trailed the Oilers 2-1 late into the third period. Only thanks to a late goal by captain Zdeno Chara were the Bruins able to force overtime, which led to a shootout which led to a disappointing loss for the black and gold. The lackluster play continued into Calgary as the Bruins played one of their most defensively lax game of the season. Although the Bruins had a 4-3 lead with less than a minute to go, a late penalty on Chara led to a 6 on 4 situation and Calgary was able to tie the game with 1.3 second left in regulation. Johhny Guadreau did what he usually does which was magically stick handle behind the defense in OT and score the game winner assisted by none other than Douglas Hamilton. At this point many Bruins fans were groaning at the prospect of flushing what should have been easy points down the toilet that was this road trip. Thankfully, the Bruins came out swinging in Vancouver and pummeled the already bruised and lackadaisical Canucks by a score of 4-0. That win singlehandedly turned what could have been an awful 2 point 3 game swing into a 4 point swing and gave the Bruins some confidence heading back home.
This confidence however was met and equally matched by a defensively adept Nashville Predators team that was able to skate circles around a seemingly jet-lagged Bruins team. Even still, the Bruins made a game of it, only losing by a score of 3-2 on a late goal by Nashville. This loss set the team back on the road for an extremely important meeting between the Bruins and the Habs. This being the last meeting before the winter classic, both teams wanted to be the ones to carry momentum heading forward into the month that could see the Atlantic division turned sideways by the time January rolls around. Although the Bruins came out flat in the first 2 periods, a stellar effort by Tuukka Rask kept the game 1-0 until midway into the third period where Loui Eriksson scores a shorthanded goal off a beautiful pass by Chara. Just 40 seconds later the Bruins scored again to make it 2-1 with only 7 minutes to go in the game. With a goal by Bergeron in the final 5 minutes, the Bruins walked out of the Bell Centre with their first win over the Canadiens since March of 2014 and all the momentum on their side heading into the outdoor game at Gillette on January 1st. The Bruins would then go on to win 2 of their next 3 games in convincing fashion, leap frogging their way into second place in the Atlantic with 2 games in hand on almost the entire division, meaning the Bruins could prospectively be only one point away from their arch rivals within the next couple of weeks. The Bruins have 6 more games in the month of December, 3 of which are against divisional opponents making the points in these next few games absolutely vital to the Bruins success going forward. If the team is able to continue their ever strengthening defensive play as well as scoring at a league leading clip I can very confidently see this team being atop the Atlantic division within a month. The Bruins next play against Pittsburgh on Friday.
Sunday, December 13, 2015
Bruins Beat: Spearing and the DoPS
Hello boys and girls, welcome back to another installment of my blog series following the Boston Bruins season. This week, rather than talking about the games the Bruins played this past week I would like to take the opportunity to discuss and share my feelings on a play that happened earlier this week during the Bruins and Canucks Saturday night game. Near the end of the third period as the Bruins gained possession and skated out of the zone Canucks left wing Brandon Prust skate up to Bruins left wing Brad Marchand and speared him in the groin with the blade of his stick. Marchand had to be helped up by the trainer but was able to skate off under his own power. Prust was given a ten minute misconduct, essentially ejecting him from the game. Later on that week the NHL Department of Player Safety fined Prust 5,000 dollars yet did not suspend him. After a week of readin response posts around the internet and doing some thinking of my own I wanted to share my opinion of the play and the overall effectiveness of the DoPS.
To put it bluntly, I feel the way the NHL handled this was completely unacceptable. The play itself is extremely dangerous due to the fact that, other than your standard athletic cup, there is little padding in that area to protect from odd angle bumps and hits. Combine that with the speed and power that NHL caliber players are able to handle their sticks, it is all to easy for someone to badly injure another player in one swift motion. Taking that into account, I applaud the referees for at least handing out a misconduct penalty to Prust although I feel there should also have been a 5 minute major penalty for spearing assessed as well. I understand why there was not in this case though as the event happened away from the play and I don't believe any of the referees saw the incident play out in real time. Where the NHL completely dropped the ball was when it came to handing out supplementary discipline. As stated before the DoPS decided to only assess a fine of 5000 dollars to Prust, which is a measly 0.2% of his current 2.5 million dollar annual salary. Prust took to twitter after the fine was assigned, referring to the fine as the "best money I ever spent". All of this put together makes it pretty obvious that the DoPS failed to do their job of enforcing the rules that are supposed to keep players safe. This is not the first time the DoPS has had trouble with punishing spearing in the league. A couple years ago, Milan Lucic committed a similar act against the Red Wings Danny Dekeyser in the playoffs and was similarly fined 5000 dollars with no other supplementary discipline. In my personal opinion, due to how egregious and dangerous these incidents can potentially be, there should be a minimum fine in place of at least 25000 dollars as well as a one game suspension. Only with harsh punishments will we see this gutless play removed from players repertoires which can only be a good thing in a league already struggling with dealing hits to the head and slew footing. If there is one thing about the league that I wish was more consistent it would be how the DoPS deals with protecting the players that play this magnificent game and punishing those who take liberties with the rules that are there to ensure player safety as well as the integrity of the sport as a whole.
To put it bluntly, I feel the way the NHL handled this was completely unacceptable. The play itself is extremely dangerous due to the fact that, other than your standard athletic cup, there is little padding in that area to protect from odd angle bumps and hits. Combine that with the speed and power that NHL caliber players are able to handle their sticks, it is all to easy for someone to badly injure another player in one swift motion. Taking that into account, I applaud the referees for at least handing out a misconduct penalty to Prust although I feel there should also have been a 5 minute major penalty for spearing assessed as well. I understand why there was not in this case though as the event happened away from the play and I don't believe any of the referees saw the incident play out in real time. Where the NHL completely dropped the ball was when it came to handing out supplementary discipline. As stated before the DoPS decided to only assess a fine of 5000 dollars to Prust, which is a measly 0.2% of his current 2.5 million dollar annual salary. Prust took to twitter after the fine was assigned, referring to the fine as the "best money I ever spent". All of this put together makes it pretty obvious that the DoPS failed to do their job of enforcing the rules that are supposed to keep players safe. This is not the first time the DoPS has had trouble with punishing spearing in the league. A couple years ago, Milan Lucic committed a similar act against the Red Wings Danny Dekeyser in the playoffs and was similarly fined 5000 dollars with no other supplementary discipline. In my personal opinion, due to how egregious and dangerous these incidents can potentially be, there should be a minimum fine in place of at least 25000 dollars as well as a one game suspension. Only with harsh punishments will we see this gutless play removed from players repertoires which can only be a good thing in a league already struggling with dealing hits to the head and slew footing. If there is one thing about the league that I wish was more consistent it would be how the DoPS deals with protecting the players that play this magnificent game and punishing those who take liberties with the rules that are there to ensure player safety as well as the integrity of the sport as a whole.
Thursday, December 3, 2015
Bruins Beat: 2 Week Recap
Welcome back boys and girls, time to get the ball rolling once again on this blog. I hope everyone had a wonderful thanksgiving because I sure did. Not only was I able to stuff my face for a whole day, but I was also able to watch possibly the best game the Bruins have played all season on the Friday after. Before I get ahead of myself however let me breakdown the week before that game as well to put in perspective why that Black Friday game was such an important win for the Bruins moving forward.
In my last post I was able to breakdown how the Bruins successfully ended their 5 game home stand with a positive win/loss ratio as well as winning two games in a row with strong, dominating efforts over one strong team (Wild) and one not so strong team (Leafs). The week following the Bruins traveled to Toronto to complete a home and home stint against the Leafs, hopefully with two wins. Although that ended up being the case, it was only just barely so. The Bruins got pretty badly out shot in all but the third period and gave up a lead twice in the game (2-0 lead and 3-2 lead). No scoring in the third or overtime meant the game went to the shootout, the first time the Bruins had encountered the shootout all season. This had been a blessing for Bruins fans as last season the Bruins had an abysmal 4-10 record in shootouts. Fortunately, this one did not follow the same pattern as David Krejci scored the lone shootout goal and the Bruins walk out of Toronto taking both games in the series but only barely. The Bruins once again had disciplinary issues as they took 7 total minor penalties in the game. All that can be thrown under the rug however cause a wins a win and that win extended the win streak to 3.
Two days later the Bruins travel to Detroit with hopes of keeping the ball rolling and the win streak alive. However, the ball seemed to roll right off a cliff as the Bruins got absolutely manhandled by the Red Wings for 55 minutes of that game. After scoring quickly in the first to give themselves an early lead, the Bruins subsequently got pummeled by the Red Wings with both shots and hits alike. Only thanks to the wondrous play of Jonas Gustavsson were the Red Wings only up by one goal heading into the last 5 minutes of the 3rd period. Thankfully it was at this point the Bruins remembered they were hockey players and a beautiful passing play lead to Colin Miller tying the game with slightly less than 2 minutes to play. Fast forward to 2 minutes left in overtime and, wouldn't you know it, Colin Miller yet again takes a slapper from the point, tips off Frank Vatrano in front and boom, 4 game win streak.
The Bruins headed home to enjoy their Thanksgiving as the league held no games on that day, but were back at it on national television nice and early on Black Friday as they have been for the past several years. Their opponent this go around was the third best team in the league New York Rangers who had just come off of their own 9 game win streak being snapped a few days earlier. This game was nothing short of fantastic hockey as the Bruins were able to hold their own in terms of skating with the Rangers and trading chance for chance with one of the more solid offenses in the league. The goalies in this one were huge as Tuukka and Lundqvist both made sensational stops and each only allowing 2 goals heading into the third period. Unfortunately the Bruins took a goaltender interference penalty on a pretty bad embellishment by Lundqvist and allow a goal with just over 10 minutes to play. The good thing that came out of that goal was that it lit a fire under the Bruins I have not seen in a long time. Those ten minutes of Bruins hockey were absolutely sensational with Bruins playing offensively and holding offensive pressure for almost that entire span. It pays off just as 5 minutes ticks onto the clock and Jesper Fast takes a penalty which allows the best powerplay in the league to do what they do best. Shot to the net by Eriksson, scrum at the goalmouth and Ryan Spooner swoops forward to pot the goal and tie it with 4 minutes left. I thought at that point that oh boy that means overtime for the third game in a row but thankfully the Bruins once again find another level of offense and after 2 minutes of nonstop scoring chances David Krejci rips it toward goal where it tips off of a Ranger and in with just less than 2 minutes left. Fast forward two minutes and the Bruins win streak is at 5 games.
The only blemish on that game other than the embarrassing dive by Lundqvist to draw the goalie interference call came when Matt Beleskey hit Derek Stepan late in the 2nd period. Stepan wasn't looking and since Beleskey is one of the strong Bruins he was able to send Stepan flying into the boards. Dylan McIlrath takes exception to the hit and proceeds to pummel Beleskey in the ensuing fight. Many people are saying the hit is suspendable but I myself think that it wasn't much in terms of a dirty play. Stepan was unfortuantely caught admiring his pass and, although the hit is a tad late, it wasn’t high and didnt seem to be intentional boarding and I chalk it up as nothing but misfortune for Stepan. Unfortunately that misfortune lead to 2 broken ribs and 4 weeks recovery time. I will leave a video below of the hit and I’ll let you guys decide for yourself if it was dirty or not. On that note I will bring this entry to a close. The Bruins next play the Oilers on the day before I submit this but as the game is a late start I have not watched it yet but I will definitely cover it in next weeks post.
In my last post I was able to breakdown how the Bruins successfully ended their 5 game home stand with a positive win/loss ratio as well as winning two games in a row with strong, dominating efforts over one strong team (Wild) and one not so strong team (Leafs). The week following the Bruins traveled to Toronto to complete a home and home stint against the Leafs, hopefully with two wins. Although that ended up being the case, it was only just barely so. The Bruins got pretty badly out shot in all but the third period and gave up a lead twice in the game (2-0 lead and 3-2 lead). No scoring in the third or overtime meant the game went to the shootout, the first time the Bruins had encountered the shootout all season. This had been a blessing for Bruins fans as last season the Bruins had an abysmal 4-10 record in shootouts. Fortunately, this one did not follow the same pattern as David Krejci scored the lone shootout goal and the Bruins walk out of Toronto taking both games in the series but only barely. The Bruins once again had disciplinary issues as they took 7 total minor penalties in the game. All that can be thrown under the rug however cause a wins a win and that win extended the win streak to 3.
Two days later the Bruins travel to Detroit with hopes of keeping the ball rolling and the win streak alive. However, the ball seemed to roll right off a cliff as the Bruins got absolutely manhandled by the Red Wings for 55 minutes of that game. After scoring quickly in the first to give themselves an early lead, the Bruins subsequently got pummeled by the Red Wings with both shots and hits alike. Only thanks to the wondrous play of Jonas Gustavsson were the Red Wings only up by one goal heading into the last 5 minutes of the 3rd period. Thankfully it was at this point the Bruins remembered they were hockey players and a beautiful passing play lead to Colin Miller tying the game with slightly less than 2 minutes to play. Fast forward to 2 minutes left in overtime and, wouldn't you know it, Colin Miller yet again takes a slapper from the point, tips off Frank Vatrano in front and boom, 4 game win streak.
The Bruins headed home to enjoy their Thanksgiving as the league held no games on that day, but were back at it on national television nice and early on Black Friday as they have been for the past several years. Their opponent this go around was the third best team in the league New York Rangers who had just come off of their own 9 game win streak being snapped a few days earlier. This game was nothing short of fantastic hockey as the Bruins were able to hold their own in terms of skating with the Rangers and trading chance for chance with one of the more solid offenses in the league. The goalies in this one were huge as Tuukka and Lundqvist both made sensational stops and each only allowing 2 goals heading into the third period. Unfortunately the Bruins took a goaltender interference penalty on a pretty bad embellishment by Lundqvist and allow a goal with just over 10 minutes to play. The good thing that came out of that goal was that it lit a fire under the Bruins I have not seen in a long time. Those ten minutes of Bruins hockey were absolutely sensational with Bruins playing offensively and holding offensive pressure for almost that entire span. It pays off just as 5 minutes ticks onto the clock and Jesper Fast takes a penalty which allows the best powerplay in the league to do what they do best. Shot to the net by Eriksson, scrum at the goalmouth and Ryan Spooner swoops forward to pot the goal and tie it with 4 minutes left. I thought at that point that oh boy that means overtime for the third game in a row but thankfully the Bruins once again find another level of offense and after 2 minutes of nonstop scoring chances David Krejci rips it toward goal where it tips off of a Ranger and in with just less than 2 minutes left. Fast forward two minutes and the Bruins win streak is at 5 games.
Sunday, November 22, 2015
Bruins Beat: Eriksson Leads Booming Offense
First off I would like to apologize for this post being late a few days but I personally wanted to wait for the Bruins five game home stand to end on Saturday so as to deliver a more informed recap of the five games the Bruins played on home ice the past week and a half. Because I will be going over five games in this one post I won’t so much be doing a recap of each game but instead a more general recap of the teams play over the course of the five games. Without further ado, let us begin.
I ended off last post by mentioning the games upcoming for Boston, specifically how the B's would be starting their home stand against one of the statistically worse teams in the league, the Colorado Avalanche. Unfortunately the Bruins must have looked too deeply into the standings and believed a minimal effort would be enough to down the lowly Avalanche, and it almost seemed like they might have been right as they jumped off to an early 2-0 lead within the opening six minutes of the game off goals by Chara and Spooner. Those first 6 minutes were the only quality hockey the Bruins played that game however and with each passing minute looked slower, lazier and overall more apathetic then the previous minute. The Bruins would allow 3 unanswered goals in the next 2 periods and went on to lose to the Avs 3-2. An extremely disappointing game that left Bruins fans and head coach Claude Julien displeased with the quality of effort shown by the Bruins squad, as well as a lack of consistency that has plagued them the whole season. Continuing the theme of inconsistency the Bruins came out two nights later firing at all cylinders and were able to take down fellow Atlantic Division contender the Detroit Red Wings with a score of 3-1. All 3 of Boston' s goals came in the second period, coming off the sticks of Patrice Bergeron, Torey Krug and David Krejci who at this point in the schedule lead the Bruins in points as well as being ranked as one of the top 10 point producing forwards in the league. Couple this offensive surge with a solid effort from Tuukka Rask allowing only one power play goal and the Bruins come away with a solid W to end the week.
The Bruins had two days off between the game against Detroit and their game against San Jose and one of their most disappointing games of the season. The Bruins came out of the first period tied after allowing a goal in the opening two minutes which seemed like a victory within itself as they were heavily out pressured and outworked. The following period was nothing short of disastrous as the Bruins undisciplined and sloppy play lead to 3 minor penalties within a span of 4 minutes. These penalties resulted in 3 San Jose goals and left the Bruins floundering and down 5-3 after 2 periods. They would add one goal in the final ten minutes but were unable to equalize and fell to a Sharks team that has also struggled this season with playing consistent and disciplined hockey (although as I write this the Sharks have beaten the Blue Jackets to extend their winning streak to six games.) Of course, as has somewhat become a tradition or a law of this year’s Bruins, the next game against a much more powerful and ferocious Minnesota Wild team was leagues better in the effort department as well as the defense aspect of the game and the Bruins were able to outwork the Wild on their way to a 4-2 architected offensively by Loui Eriksson’s 3 goals which makes him the top scorer for the Bruins highly ranked offense as of this moment. To cap off the home stand the Bruins were finally able to put 2 wins together and blanked the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-0 with goals coming late in the third from Chara and Marchand. Overall, the Bruins had a good home stand, winning 3 of 5 and staying in the race for playoff contention which heats up every year around the whole league come American Thanksgiving. It was disappointing that the two teams the Bruins lost to seemed to be the most exploitable, which deepens my concern for the Bruins as they continue to play with inconsistent effort on a night to night basis. The overwhelming positive for this home stand was Kevan “Worse Than Stalin and Hitler Combined” Miller was injured with an upper body injury and will be out for the next four or five games. Seeing as Miller has played like nothing short of hot garbage fills me with hope that during his injury one of our young defenseman will be called upon to (permanently) fill his spot in the roster and allow him to (permanently) rest and recover.
I ended off last post by mentioning the games upcoming for Boston, specifically how the B's would be starting their home stand against one of the statistically worse teams in the league, the Colorado Avalanche. Unfortunately the Bruins must have looked too deeply into the standings and believed a minimal effort would be enough to down the lowly Avalanche, and it almost seemed like they might have been right as they jumped off to an early 2-0 lead within the opening six minutes of the game off goals by Chara and Spooner. Those first 6 minutes were the only quality hockey the Bruins played that game however and with each passing minute looked slower, lazier and overall more apathetic then the previous minute. The Bruins would allow 3 unanswered goals in the next 2 periods and went on to lose to the Avs 3-2. An extremely disappointing game that left Bruins fans and head coach Claude Julien displeased with the quality of effort shown by the Bruins squad, as well as a lack of consistency that has plagued them the whole season. Continuing the theme of inconsistency the Bruins came out two nights later firing at all cylinders and were able to take down fellow Atlantic Division contender the Detroit Red Wings with a score of 3-1. All 3 of Boston' s goals came in the second period, coming off the sticks of Patrice Bergeron, Torey Krug and David Krejci who at this point in the schedule lead the Bruins in points as well as being ranked as one of the top 10 point producing forwards in the league. Couple this offensive surge with a solid effort from Tuukka Rask allowing only one power play goal and the Bruins come away with a solid W to end the week.
The Bruins had two days off between the game against Detroit and their game against San Jose and one of their most disappointing games of the season. The Bruins came out of the first period tied after allowing a goal in the opening two minutes which seemed like a victory within itself as they were heavily out pressured and outworked. The following period was nothing short of disastrous as the Bruins undisciplined and sloppy play lead to 3 minor penalties within a span of 4 minutes. These penalties resulted in 3 San Jose goals and left the Bruins floundering and down 5-3 after 2 periods. They would add one goal in the final ten minutes but were unable to equalize and fell to a Sharks team that has also struggled this season with playing consistent and disciplined hockey (although as I write this the Sharks have beaten the Blue Jackets to extend their winning streak to six games.) Of course, as has somewhat become a tradition or a law of this year’s Bruins, the next game against a much more powerful and ferocious Minnesota Wild team was leagues better in the effort department as well as the defense aspect of the game and the Bruins were able to outwork the Wild on their way to a 4-2 architected offensively by Loui Eriksson’s 3 goals which makes him the top scorer for the Bruins highly ranked offense as of this moment. To cap off the home stand the Bruins were finally able to put 2 wins together and blanked the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-0 with goals coming late in the third from Chara and Marchand. Overall, the Bruins had a good home stand, winning 3 of 5 and staying in the race for playoff contention which heats up every year around the whole league come American Thanksgiving. It was disappointing that the two teams the Bruins lost to seemed to be the most exploitable, which deepens my concern for the Bruins as they continue to play with inconsistent effort on a night to night basis. The overwhelming positive for this home stand was Kevan “Worse Than Stalin and Hitler Combined” Miller was injured with an upper body injury and will be out for the next four or five games. Seeing as Miller has played like nothing short of hot garbage fills me with hope that during his injury one of our young defenseman will be called upon to (permanently) fill his spot in the roster and allow him to (permanently) rest and recover.
Thursday, November 12, 2015
Bruins Beat: Bipolar Play Continues
Needless to say I am pretty happy that I'll be able to write about what I want on this blog in the foreseeable future and as far as I'm concerned that means the consummation of a weekly Bruins beat writing blog. As the regular season grinds on I'll be happy to share exactly how I feel about all aspects of the team, from roster moves to overall play. I hope you guys enjoy reading my opinions and sharing with me the elation and sometimes devastation that will come with being a fan of an in-between team like the Boston Bruins. Anyhow, lets talk about the week that was in terms of this Boston hockey club.
Unfortunately for myself and all Bruins fans, the past week since my last blog post has been dull beyond belief with only two games being played in a back to back road stint this past weekend. on Friday the Bruins traveled to the Centre Bell for the first time this season to challenge the league-leading Montreal Canadiens for the second time this season. There was a greater feeling of anticipation this time around for Bruins fans because Montreals stud goalie Carey "Literally Perfect" Price was sidelined with a lower-body injury. Unfortunately for the Bruins they instead had to face a red hot rookie net minder, and Hollistons own, Mike Condon who had been brick wall-esque in his first 6 starts with a 5-0-1 record and a save percentage of .941. The game that ensued that night turned out to be one of the worst officiated games that either Boston or Montreal has had the displeasure of playing this year. The Canadiens were subject to 4 minor penalties that night, 3 of which came early in the first period and allowed the Bruins to jump ahead on a power play goal by Loui Eriksson. The next period and a half was an example of great end to end hockey by both teams that were left tied at 2 after goals by Montreal Lars Eller and Bostons Frank Vatrano, his first NHL goal. However what looked to be a solid game for Boston that was headed for overtime was ruined quickly and concisely by one David Krejci who took his third minor penalty of the night with a little more than 2 minutes to go in regulation. Seeing as the Bruins had the worst penalty kill in the league heading into that night, many fans including me were left dumbfounded at how Krejci could be so undisicplined in the waning minutes of an important game. Boston of course subsequently allows the go ahead goal to Montreal with little more than one minute into the game, souring what could have been an amazing character-building win for the Bruins, or at least a much needed point. I myself felt almost obligated to put my fist squarely through my tv at that point but thankfully resisted that temptation.
The following day the Bruins played once again on the road but this time in the heart of Brooklyn facing off against the New York Islanders, a team that has been playing somewhat subpar in comparison to the big expectations the team had coming out of the gate. The game was quiet in the beginning with each team playing tired hockey for a solid ten minutes. Two quick minors for the Isles found them in a 5-3 situation which the Bruins powerplay, still ranked number 1 in the league, quickly cashed in on. The goal came off a nice passing play between David Krejci and Ryan Spooner and gave the Bruins the first goal in the game for the 13th time in 14 games. The Bruin would score again in the second when Patrice Bergeron tipped home a hard shot by Kevan Miller. This game was a great confidence builder for a strugglin Tuukka Rask who was able to play hockey reminiscent of last years domination he showed while in net. The Islanders only goal came from one dearly missed Johnny "Johnny Rocket" Boychuk late in the third which allowed the Bruins to coast to their 7th win of the season. One of the only negative things about the Bruins play on Sunday was their lack of discipline in the 3rd period, taking 6 minor penalties but were able to successfully kill of 5 of the 6.
All in all, not a bad set of games from the Bruins in a slow week, but I have a feeling that that Montreal game is going to stick in the back of Krejci's mind for a good part of the next month, which will hopefully lead to more disciplined, although most likely more careful play from him, which may turn out to be a blessing rather than a curse. The Bruin start a 5 game home stand tonight as I am writing this, taking on the basement dwelling Colorado Avalanche.
Unfortunately for myself and all Bruins fans, the past week since my last blog post has been dull beyond belief with only two games being played in a back to back road stint this past weekend. on Friday the Bruins traveled to the Centre Bell for the first time this season to challenge the league-leading Montreal Canadiens for the second time this season. There was a greater feeling of anticipation this time around for Bruins fans because Montreals stud goalie Carey "Literally Perfect" Price was sidelined with a lower-body injury. Unfortunately for the Bruins they instead had to face a red hot rookie net minder, and Hollistons own, Mike Condon who had been brick wall-esque in his first 6 starts with a 5-0-1 record and a save percentage of .941. The game that ensued that night turned out to be one of the worst officiated games that either Boston or Montreal has had the displeasure of playing this year. The Canadiens were subject to 4 minor penalties that night, 3 of which came early in the first period and allowed the Bruins to jump ahead on a power play goal by Loui Eriksson. The next period and a half was an example of great end to end hockey by both teams that were left tied at 2 after goals by Montreal Lars Eller and Bostons Frank Vatrano, his first NHL goal. However what looked to be a solid game for Boston that was headed for overtime was ruined quickly and concisely by one David Krejci who took his third minor penalty of the night with a little more than 2 minutes to go in regulation. Seeing as the Bruins had the worst penalty kill in the league heading into that night, many fans including me were left dumbfounded at how Krejci could be so undisicplined in the waning minutes of an important game. Boston of course subsequently allows the go ahead goal to Montreal with little more than one minute into the game, souring what could have been an amazing character-building win for the Bruins, or at least a much needed point. I myself felt almost obligated to put my fist squarely through my tv at that point but thankfully resisted that temptation.
The following day the Bruins played once again on the road but this time in the heart of Brooklyn facing off against the New York Islanders, a team that has been playing somewhat subpar in comparison to the big expectations the team had coming out of the gate. The game was quiet in the beginning with each team playing tired hockey for a solid ten minutes. Two quick minors for the Isles found them in a 5-3 situation which the Bruins powerplay, still ranked number 1 in the league, quickly cashed in on. The goal came off a nice passing play between David Krejci and Ryan Spooner and gave the Bruins the first goal in the game for the 13th time in 14 games. The Bruin would score again in the second when Patrice Bergeron tipped home a hard shot by Kevan Miller. This game was a great confidence builder for a strugglin Tuukka Rask who was able to play hockey reminiscent of last years domination he showed while in net. The Islanders only goal came from one dearly missed Johnny "Johnny Rocket" Boychuk late in the third which allowed the Bruins to coast to their 7th win of the season. One of the only negative things about the Bruins play on Sunday was their lack of discipline in the 3rd period, taking 6 minor penalties but were able to successfully kill of 5 of the 6.
All in all, not a bad set of games from the Bruins in a slow week, but I have a feeling that that Montreal game is going to stick in the back of Krejci's mind for a good part of the next month, which will hopefully lead to more disciplined, although most likely more careful play from him, which may turn out to be a blessing rather than a curse. The Bruin start a 5 game home stand tonight as I am writing this, taking on the basement dwelling Colorado Avalanche.
Thursday, November 5, 2015
Straying From the Norm
Throughout the course of this blog I have currently not strayed away from the topics that we cover in our everyday English classroom. Today I would like to change that as I was told that I could write about anything I wanted for this particular blog post and I decided this would be a good time to talk about something I am very passionate which is sports, in particular the Boston Bruins and hockey as a whole.
The Boston Bruins this year a fickle team. They are a team comprised of old hats, new faces and plenty of young blood in place of griseled veterans like Greg Campbell, Danny Paille and Milan Lucic, who were shipped out hastily by the newly appointed GM Don Sweeney. Sweeney was hired at the end of last year when previous GM Peter Chiarelli was shipped out of town due to a disappointing season that saw the Bruins missing the playoffs for the first time in 7 years. A more prominent factor in the Bruins decision to end relations with Chiarelli however may be the fact that in those 8 years as Bruins GM Chiarelli was able to manifest one of the most disgusting salary cap situations currently in the NHL. Chiarelli was notorious fro being too generous with his payment of older veterans that brought little to the table in terms of scoring and offensive production, as well as handing out no-trade clauses to every pylon that has passed through the Bruins bottom 6 forwards. This culminated in a team in 2014-15 that was, on most nights, physically unable to put pucks in the net which provided some of the most frustrating hockey I have ever seen in my 9 years of watching an understanding the game. This, combined with terrible drafting in the past 4 or 5 years had left the Bruins at the end of last season with little to no offensive production, an ageing top defensive pair and a barren minor league prospect pool. Therefore, Chia went out the door and Sweeney entered the fray.
Sweeney made some interesting moves over the off season, like trading Dougie Hamilton and Milan Lucic for picks and prospects as well as Riley Smith for good ol' Dorchester boy Jimmy Hayes. This combined with surges from young Bruins forwards David Pastrnak and Brett Conolly had the Bruins suddenly looking very potent on the offensive end of the spectrum. Unfortunately, the defense was left mostly unchanged and with Dennis Sidenberg going down in preseason with a back injury, the Bruins are currently left with what looks like there worst defensive set up since captain Zdeno Chara first joined the team. So far in 12 games this season the Bruins have notched 6 wins, 5 loses and 1 overtime loss and are situated right smack in the middle of the eastern conference. The major issue that I can see with the team right now is our inability to solidify and regulate our defensive play which is especially difficult with Sidenberg, one of the Bruins most powerful veteran presences, out for at least another 2 weeks. The rookies that are spotted throughout the lineup have had flashes of greatness, but remain inconsistent and until these inconsistencies are addressed, I'm afraid the Bruins this year will be nothing more than a .500 team able to beat up on lesser teams, but unable to hang with the big boys in the conference and will most likely be heading to the driving ranges in mid-April with the rest of the playoff excludees.
The Boston Bruins this year a fickle team. They are a team comprised of old hats, new faces and plenty of young blood in place of griseled veterans like Greg Campbell, Danny Paille and Milan Lucic, who were shipped out hastily by the newly appointed GM Don Sweeney. Sweeney was hired at the end of last year when previous GM Peter Chiarelli was shipped out of town due to a disappointing season that saw the Bruins missing the playoffs for the first time in 7 years. A more prominent factor in the Bruins decision to end relations with Chiarelli however may be the fact that in those 8 years as Bruins GM Chiarelli was able to manifest one of the most disgusting salary cap situations currently in the NHL. Chiarelli was notorious fro being too generous with his payment of older veterans that brought little to the table in terms of scoring and offensive production, as well as handing out no-trade clauses to every pylon that has passed through the Bruins bottom 6 forwards. This culminated in a team in 2014-15 that was, on most nights, physically unable to put pucks in the net which provided some of the most frustrating hockey I have ever seen in my 9 years of watching an understanding the game. This, combined with terrible drafting in the past 4 or 5 years had left the Bruins at the end of last season with little to no offensive production, an ageing top defensive pair and a barren minor league prospect pool. Therefore, Chia went out the door and Sweeney entered the fray.
Sweeney made some interesting moves over the off season, like trading Dougie Hamilton and Milan Lucic for picks and prospects as well as Riley Smith for good ol' Dorchester boy Jimmy Hayes. This combined with surges from young Bruins forwards David Pastrnak and Brett Conolly had the Bruins suddenly looking very potent on the offensive end of the spectrum. Unfortunately, the defense was left mostly unchanged and with Dennis Sidenberg going down in preseason with a back injury, the Bruins are currently left with what looks like there worst defensive set up since captain Zdeno Chara first joined the team. So far in 12 games this season the Bruins have notched 6 wins, 5 loses and 1 overtime loss and are situated right smack in the middle of the eastern conference. The major issue that I can see with the team right now is our inability to solidify and regulate our defensive play which is especially difficult with Sidenberg, one of the Bruins most powerful veteran presences, out for at least another 2 weeks. The rookies that are spotted throughout the lineup have had flashes of greatness, but remain inconsistent and until these inconsistencies are addressed, I'm afraid the Bruins this year will be nothing more than a .500 team able to beat up on lesser teams, but unable to hang with the big boys in the conference and will most likely be heading to the driving ranges in mid-April with the rest of the playoff excludees.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)