Give plenty of credit to Pekka Rinne, who is perhaps the 2nd best goalie in the NHL right now. His name also sounds like a delicious pasta dish, served Alfredo. He made a some pretty big saves, most notably on Lucic and Ryder.
But when were the Bruins the clearly superior team? They never were. And their PP unit continues to struggle. When are the coaches going to evaluate their strategies and say "maybe this whole idea is wrong?" If they haven't yet, they probably never will.
I did like the line of Seguin-Peverley-Kelly. I think Seguin and Peverley compliment each other very well, and Kelly brings a physical presence. That's a decent 3rd line right there. Even though it's comprised of 3 centers.
I don't care too much about the divisional race with Montreal. I don't care about seeding either. The Bruins are better on the road anyway. The playoffs are about matchups. So if the Bruins are the 3 seed, or the 5 seed, or the 6 seed, it doesn't matter too much.
But I do like using this time of year to evaluate how the team performs in tough situations. Nashville played tough last night. The Predators are already in playoff mode, fighting for that final spot in the West. And this game reminded me of all the potential series winning games the Bruins lost last year and the year before. The Bruins gave it 9 out of 10, but the Predators gave it 12 out of 10. And that's what we'll see in the playoffs, if the Bruins are fortunate enough to be on the verge of eliminating an opponent. Which I kind of doubt.
Bruins at Leafs Saturday night.
Photo Credit:
AP Photo
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