Insert Pun With the Word "Sweep" in It

For the second time in three years the Bruins are going to the Stanley Cup Finals. And I still cannot believe how they got there, by sweeping the top-seeded Pittsburgh Penguins.

Tuukka Rask and the Bruins only allowed the Penguins to score 2 goals. This was a team that scored 3.4 goals per game in the regular season, and had been scoring 4.3 goals per game in the playoffs. Then they scored 2 goals in 4 games.

The Penguins' power play had a 28.3% success rate in the playoffs before this series. The Bruins successfully killed all 15 penalties in this series.

Sidney Crosby scored 3 goals in Pittsburgh's series with the Islanders, then 4 more against Ottawa. He had 15 postseason points before this series. He finished the series with 15 postseason points. He was -2 with 13 shots on goal.

Evgeni Malkin had 16 postseason points before facing the Bruins. He still has 16. He was -5 in the series, with 21 shots on goal, all saved by Rask. He only managed to get 1 shot off in Game 4.

Rask and Zdeno Chara shut down the Penguins. They absolutely and completely silenced Pittsburgh's big guns, their medium guns, and their little guns. Iginla had 0 points and was -4. Letang had 0 points and was -5. Morrow disappeared with his 0 points and only 1 shot on goal. James Neal took 20 shots but had no points and was -7.

Iginla decided not to end his season in Boston, but that's exactly what happened.

Chara's stats don't tell the full story. He had 0 points, but was +5. He played 119 minutes. That's 2 hours of hockey against Crosby, Malkin, and the best offense in the NHL. And he was +5.

Now the most impressive statline, that of Tuukka Rask...

275 minutes and 19 seconds in net, 2 goals allowed, 136 shots faced, 134 saves, 2 shutouts. That's a .985 save percentage. That's 1 goal allowed every 67 shots. His GAA was 0.44. That's absurd. Less than half a goal every 60 minutes. In the playoffs Rask has a .943 save percentage, and a GAA of 1.75. And since Game 4 against the Rangers when he allowed a few soft goals past him, he's only allowed 3 goals in 5 games.

He's officially a contender for the Conn Smythe. Depending on what happens in the next round.

It looks like the Bruins will face Chicago in the first Original Six Stanley Cup Final since 1979.

I can't wait.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Charles Krupa

Great Time to Be a European Hockey Fan

The best hockey players in the world are flocking to Europe. So if you're a hockey fan in Europe, this lockout has been great news.

HC Davos of Switzerland has signed Joe Thornton and Rick Nash. The two played there during the last lockout, and probably chose the team because Davos is a ski resort town in the Alps. Sort of like playing in Aspen.

Mettalurg of Russia's KHL has been busy. They signed Sergei Gonchar, Evgeni Malkin, and Nikolai Kulemin of the Maple Leafs.

Some NHL players have taken advantage of the lockout to play closer to home. Christian Ehrhoff signed with the German team Krefeld, which is only 14 miles from his hometown of Moers. Mark Streit is playing in Bern, which essentially is his hometown town. Russian Ilya Kovalchuck signed with SKA St. Petersburg.

There are rumors that Bruin David Krejci will be signing with a Czech team.

I don't think Tim Thomas will be playing in Europe. But you never know.

Pain Filled Weekend for Bruins

The Pittsburgh Penguins are the dirtiest team that is never called dirty. From Matt Cooke to Geno Malkin. They play with reckless abandon. And fine for them, but karma will keep concussing Sidney Crosby until the Penguins repent and change their ways.

The Malkin hit on Boychuk probably won't result in a suspension. Brendan Shanahan will make a video explaining how the head wasn't specifically targeted, Boychuk dropped his right shoulder, Malkin's a great guy, and the lack of a center redline was somehow the true culprit.

All that aside, the Bruins didn't respond to the hit. That pissed me off more than the hit itself. I wanted to see Shawn Thornton on the ice the second Malkin was released from the box. Charge him. Crosscheck his Bolshevik face. Malkin remained literally untouched for the remainder of the game. I'm not saying the Bruins should have tried to injure him. But make him pay a higher cost than just the paltry 2 minute minor and the friendly phone conversation he'll have with Shanahan. Make him feel some pain.

The B's felt pain all weekend. And watching them was equally torturous.

Why the hell did Tim Thomas start both games? He's shown clear signs that his energy levels are below 100%. At his best, he moves around the crease with ferocious grace. He's never out of the play because he's so quick to recover his balance. Actually, he never seems to lose his balance, no matter how he contorts himself. Lately, he hasn't been able to recover and make that second save. He needs rest. More importantly, the Bruins need him rested. The playoffs start in less than a month.

If Thomas doesn't get some rest right now, all the Bruins will have plenty of rest in May.

Turco did well. The silver lining of Thomas and the Bruins struggling in yesterday's 1st period was that now we all know Turco isn't a liability. He's a windmill. Before the Bruins signed him, he was working part time as an obstacle on a mini-golf course.

So with Turco, Thomas can rest. There are 15 games left, I'd like to see Thomas play about 8 of them. 10 at the most. This team is finding ways to lose no matter who is in net.

David Krejci's afternoon in Pittsburgh was a good summary of the Bruins' struggles. He scored 2 goals, but his +/- was 0 for the game. His offense was excellent, but he was inconsistent on defense. He got mesmerized by the puck, forgot to cover Kunitz in the slot, and a goal resulted. He won 12 of 22 faceoffs, but was utterly dominated by Malkin (who won 15 of 20). A nice 2 goals, but a costly mistake, and a failure to do some of the little things that win games.

That's been the Bruins since the start of 2012. Occasional brilliance mixed with inexcusable breakdowns.

Maybe the Bruins are tired from playing 107 games last year. Maybe the Bruins are suffering from injury.

The Canucks played 107 games last year too. They have the 3rd best record in the NHL. And the Penguins have been without Crosby for some time. The Rangers are without Callahan. The number of injuries for the Bruins right now is considerable, but when this stretch of poor play started they were quite healthy.

The Bruins were outmuscled yesterday. Worse than that, they're making horrible decisions. They haven't scored a timely Power Play goal in what seems like months. Every good period of play is sandwiched by two periods of bad play.

The Bruins are 2 points ahead of Ottawa with 2 games in hand. And right now those 2 points are the difference between the #2 seed and the #7 seed.

The B's are in Tampa Tuesday night.

Photo Credits:
AP Photo