Bruins Send Red Wings Fans Home Early

This game was over before it started. It was over during the National Anthem when an octopus landed next to Tuukka Rask and the unflappable goalie's reaction was something like 'Oh, an octopus. Back to the Anthem.' Rask wasn't even startled by the slimy projectile landing so close to him. He was totally unfazed. Nothing could distract him from the focus he had on the game.

This was as close to a Flawless Victory you can get in the playoffs.

The B's had their share of sloppy moments. They took a few dumb penalties, including a too many men penalty when they were already shorthanded. Fortunately, Detroit's power play isn't very good. Meanwhile, the Bruins power play scored again. Dougie Hamilton went end to end, was hardly challenged, and he beat Jimmy Howard to put the Bruins on top 1-0.

Special teams has been the decisive difference in this series. The Bruins have scored 7 goals, 6 when Detroit has had a goalie in net. Of those 6, 3 were power play goals. Without power play goals and empty-netters, the Bruins are outscoring the Red Wings 3-2 in this series. The B's have also killed all 9 Detroit power plays.

Game 1 was the least penalized of the series. And it's also the game the Bruins lost.

The Bruins are taking full advantage of their edge on special teams. Tuukka Rask is also an edge. His composure, especially against some Detroit flurries in the 2nd, is a stark contrast to Jimmy Howard. Howard hasn't played poorly, but at times he's looked like a spaz.

The Bruins are the better team, the more complete team, and for the last two games they've been playing better. They need to continue at this level and make quick work of Detroit. At this point the B's are the only ones who can prevent themselves from winning this series.

Montreal awaits the winner.

Photo Credit:
Carlos Osorio/Associated Press

Bruins Even Series With Red Wings

I wonder if Reilly Smith thanked Zdeno Chara after the game for not murdering his brother Brendan and then drinking his blood.

Game 1 looked like one team had been playing meaningless games for a few weeks and the other had been playing under pressure while fighting for a playoff spot. One team played at regular season pace, another at playoff pace. Guess which team was the Bruins and which was the Red Wings.

In Game 2 the Bruins fully shifted into playoff gear. Every play had just a little more speed, a little more power. They took advantage of Detroit's mistakes, they took advantage of power plays, and they outmuscled the Red Wings.

It's so refreshing for the Bruins to have a potent power play in the postseason. Reilly Smith scored a power play goal in the 1st and Zdeno Chara scored one in the 3rd. Of the 6 people involved in the goals, 4 weren't regulars last season and 3 weren't on the team at all (Krug, Smith, Eriksson, Iginla). The Bruins have an improved power play because they have improved power players. How well they maintain that production with a man advantage throughout the playoffs will dictate how far they advance.

It helped that the refs called Detroit for their obstruction plays. We'll see if that continues in Detroit or if Mike Babcock is able to lobby the officials to call something on the Bruins.

The B's have the superior power play and a tighter penalty kill. The Red Wings don't have good special teams, so the Bruins find themselves in the unfamiliar position of wanting the refs to be more involved.

Game 3 is in Detroit on Tuesday night. The Red Wings should be back with a strong effort, and they'll learn from the lessons of Game 2. It's important for the Bruins that the Krejci line be productive. Detroit's been able to limit them. The Bruins shouldn't rely on officials and power plays for the bulk of their offense. They need their best forwards to score 5-on-5.

Photo Credit:
Winslow Townson/Associated Press

Flat Bruins Lie Down for Leafs

For most of this game the Bruins played flat, purposeless hockey. There were some occasional moments of spiked intensity. For the most part, however, the black and gold played a very gray game.

I'm not going to blame Tuukka Rask for the loss or for this slump. It's not his fault most of the team isn't playing well. He hasn't played poorly. Although he also hasn't played well. He isn't helping them get out of this funk. If the B's had a more reliable backup I'd suggest that Rask take a week off to regroup and refresh. You've got three non-conference games coming up, maybe Rask should play in only one of them. Maybe none.

Special teams are killing this team. The power play is 1 for its last 23 (4.3%) and the penalty kill has allowed goals in 10 of its last 27 (37%) shorthanded situations. The Bruins are also committing far too many careless, meaningless penalties. Since the Islanders game on New Year's Eve, they've had to kill 27 penalties and have only been on the power play 16 times. That's a difference of 11 in only 6 games.

The power play has been carried by defensemen all season long. But such production can't be relied on throughout an entire season. You can't depend on Chara (6 PP goals) sneaking in a rebound or Krug (4) driving in a slapshot. The forwards need to pull their weight. Chara and Krug have scored 10 of this team's 24 power play goals.

The return of Shawn Thornton has helped recharge the B's a bit. Brad Marchand put the Bruins up 1-0 a mere 35 seconds after a Thornton fight. Thornton was also on the ice when Gregory Campbell scored in the 3rd.

But each time the Bruins took the lead, they gave it back. They typically play harder after scoring a goal. Last night they downshifted after their first two goals. Very out of character.

They need to get their act together Thursday night in Dallas, because after that it's Chicago on the road and LA at home.

Photo Credit:
Elise Amendola/Associated Press

Bruins' Comeback Falls Short

Unlike the Patriots and Red Sox, the Bruins' comeback effort fell short Monday afternoon. And I'm blaming the power play for the lack of offense. The B's were 0 for 5 with a man advantage, including an extended stretch of 5-on-3 play.

I think the Bruins coaches are trying too hard to get the power play to work. Gimmicks and tricks like putting Zdeno Chara in front of the net and keeping forwards on the point seem like clever ideas in theory, but they don't work on ice.

All the good things Chara does in the crease are countered by things he doesn't do. He's a big body, he blocks the goalie's vision, he's impossible to dislodge. At the same time, his massive wingspan works against him when pucks are around his feet. He's not able to work his stick properly in the closed quarters phone-booth environment of the crease. You also lose his blistering slapshot from the point and all the other dynamic things he does as a defenseman.

I don't mind putting forwards on the point, so long as you have enough talented power play worthy forwards in traditional positions. Unfortunately, the Bruins don't have surplus forwards to station on the point. And a few of the Bruins that saw power play time Monday don't deserve to. Jordan Caron (1:07 power play time on ice Monday) is NOT a power play forward. Nor is Gregory Campbell (1:22 PP TOI). And I don't think Milan Lucic (3:42 PP TOI) is either. At least not for nearly 4 minutes.

Lucic reacts very well to scoring opportunities, but he doesn't do well trying to create them. He's like someone who has great comeback lines, but struggles telling the initial joke. Lucic hasn't scored a power play goal since March 3, 2012. Let that sink in. March 3, 2012. The one spot on the power play I'd like to see Lucic play is in front of the net. He's good at those reflex-based, so-called "junk" goals. Better than Chara.

On the bright side of things, being in the same division with the Red Wings should produce tremendous entertainment this season.

Being in the same division as the Florida Panthers probably won't. And that's who the Bruins are playing on Thursday.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Elise Amendola

Holy Shit It's Hockey Season Already?

So you're telling me that the Red Sox are in the playoffs, the Patriots are in first, and the NHL is going to start on time? How different does October 2013 feel from October 2012?

The Bruins have changed more this off-season than they have changed in years. Most of the core remains. But no more hoping Tyler Seguin explodes for a 40-goal season. No more quiet, steady leadership from Andrew Ference. No more strong forward play from Nathan Horton.

Oh and the division and playoffs have completely changed. Joining the 5 teams from last year's Northeast Division will be the Red Wings, Lightning, and Panthers. The Panthers just signed a goalie named Tim Thomas, by the way. For the playoffs, the first two rounds will be within the division, with the possible inclusion of a wild-card team from another division.

The B's replaced Seguin and Horton with Loui Eriksson and Jaroma Iginla. I'm excited to see Eriksson and what he can produce. He scored 36 goals a few years ago, hasn't scored more than 30 since. Nor has he scored less than 20 in a full season. So is he a solid contributor that you notice, or does he score random, easy goals when everyone else is scoring?

Then there's Iginla. Who will have to win me over. Most true Bruins fans have one Bruin that they strongly dislike. I don't know who that will be for me this season. Iginla is a strong candidate. The world knows Iginla can play hockey. Can he play Bruins hockey? I wasn't impressed with the defensive play of Pittsburgh's forwards in last season's playoffs. Was that a team thing, or is that how Iginla will play here? I hope he wins me over.

The Bruins are looking at a new generation of young players to fill other holes. Torey Krug electrified in the playoffs, now he has to play strong defense day in and day out. Dougie Hamilton will be asked to take another step forward in his development. 21-year-old Ryan Spooner will start the season in Providence. Carl Soderberg has tremendous talent and fire, but he's 27 and has yet to escape Sweden and make the NHL. Why is that?

The Bruins need to score more. The formula that won the Cup in '11 no longer holds. The defense is still strong, the goalie is great, but neither the defense or the goalie is superhuman like they were in 2011. The offense needs to take the pressure off the defense to be perfect.

The B's can't afford to have a 3rd line that doesn't score at all. Not unless the top two lines seriously increase their production. Or even more feasibly, the PP unit scores in games that the B's can't get anything going with their even-strengthed offense. The Bruins were ranked 26th in power play scoring last year. They were 13th in overall goals per game. The power play is the area of offense that has the most room to improve.

If the power play becomes a decent threat, then the Bruins will have a very good offense.

If the power play becomes a dangerous weapon, then they'll have one of the best offenses in hockey.

Eriksson can produce on the power play. So can Iginla. So can Krug. But so could Seguin. More forwards need to figure out how to score when the B's have a man advantage. It's preposterous how long the power play has been an issue with this team. It doesn't have to be great, just okay would be nice.

This season is going to be long. 82-games plus a break for the Olympics. And we'll see how the new playoff format works out. I'm not a big fan. If it wasn't broken, why did it need to be fixed. One exciting thing is that the B's have had great playoff series with the Leafs, Canadiens, and Sabres. That's exciting, but it could also be dangerous.

Prediction time. The Bruins win the Atlantic Division but lose in the 2nd round of the playoffs in a 7-game series. Hopefully I'm wrong. If they can get their power play to function, then the sky's the limit.