When the Montreal Canadiens traded for Thomas Vanek, it made me worry. The Habs have been a tough match-up for the Bruins for years, then they added someone who has specialized in scoring against the B's. However, last night Vanek was not a factor on offense at all. In fact, a defensive lapse of his allowed Zdeno Chara to score early in the 3rd period, which made it a 4-0 game and essentially cemented the Bruins' win.
Tuukka Rask was named the first star, and he deserved it. The Bruins didn't have a great 1st period, but Rask did. And Rask was also the best penalty killer. He was the biggest reason the B's killed all 3 Montreal power plays. He also made a huge pad save against a Max Pacioretty breakaway in the 1st. He kept the game 0-0 when the Bruins weren't playing their best.
This was also a good time to play Montreal. Carey Price is still out. And their power play is mired in a deep slump. The Habs entered this game 1 for their last 18 power plays.
The Bruins did their job. I mentioned Rask. He carried the Bruins through the 1st. Then Carl Soderberg scored early in the 2nd, almost as a response to how well Rask played in the 1st. Soderberg is the type of guy who could score a goal or two in a playoff series, and those goals will be the difference between winning and losing the whole series. He's not always changing the game, but he has the capacity to change it.
Milan Lucic scored his 20th goal of the season in this game. Like many of his goals, it was the end result of his entire line playing well. And that's not a criticism of him. It's a compliment. He makes his linemates better just like they make him better. This has been the most consistent regular season of his career. That's a credit to him and to his line.
The Bruins are playing great. That's six straight wins. They've gone past 90 points. They host the Phoenix Coyotes tonight. That's another team that's hot. The Coyotes have won 4 of their last 5. And they've been waiting in Boston to play the Bruins. This is a great test tonight.
Photo Credit: AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Paul Chiasson
On Wednesday I ranted about how I hate SportsCenter because it almost completely ignores hockey, and focuses on basketball dunks. Not basketball, and all the great plays made in a basketball game, just the dunks. Unfortunately SportsCenter was more of the same today.
Last night the Boston Bruins played the St. Louis Blues. It was the 2nd best team in the East against the 3rd best in the West. The NHL equivalent of the Heat playing the Trailblazers. There were no highlights on SportsCenter from the Bruins/Blues game. Even though it was a 3-2 overtime game, even though the B's came back from 2 goals down, even though Jarome Iginla almost scored a game-winner in OT but Alex Petrangelo made a great play to stop him from scoring on an open net. Nope, not worthy of a 30 second SportsCenter clip. Not even 15 seconds.
SportsCenter did show highlights from the Capitals/Jets game. Alexander Ovechkin scored his 40th goal of the season. But John Kerry, who dropped the puck before the game, was as equal a part of the brief highlight as Ovi was.
There were also highlights from the Canucks/Canadiens game. Because Max Pacioretty scored a hat-trick despite missing on two penalty shots. But the highlights were in low definition! How does that happen? How can that happen?
And then there were the Top Plays. Ten plays, 9 basketball highlights, 7 dunks, 1 golf shot. There were 2 really good basketball plays. Someone in a college game hit ten 3-pointers. And an LSU player made a very strong block against a Georgia player trying to dunk on him. I found the blocked dunk to be quite cathartic, and it temporarily soothing my anti-dunking rage.
If you're going to focus almost exclusively on basketball highlights, show more than just dunks. Show the big 3-pointers, the blocks, the strong drives, the good defense, the quick moves, the steals. There are a lot of great plays made in basketball games. It's more than just dunks. Showing just the dunks is like a highlight reel of jokes, with just the punchlines.
And don't forget to show the flops, the double flops, and dives. Especially if they lead to foul calls that determine the game. Isn't that an important highlight to show?
The Bruins seemed to approach this game waiting to see what Montreal would do and then react to it. The Canadiens came into Thursday night riding an 8-game point streak. And, surprisingly, they've also been fighting a lot. This was a different Montreal Canadiens team than the Bruins were used to. And the B's didn't seem to know what to expect. So instead of being assertive, they reacted.
Montreal was physical, selectively so. PK Subban frequently jousted with Brad Marchand, for example, not with Milan Lucic. There were some penalties, and a few post-whistle scrums, as well as a fight, but it wasn't the bloodbath some had anticipated/dreaded/hoped for. I wouldn't say that the Habs won the physical matchup, however they were not scared by the Bruins. They didn't let the Bruins affect how they played. Historically, when they've been able to play unaffected like that, they've been a difficult opponent for the B's to beat.
It helps that Carey Price had an amazing game. None of the Bruins were able to truly beat him. Gregory Campbell scored on a breakaway and Price had no chance of moving side-to-side fast enough to stop the shot. He stopped the 32 other shots he faced, carrying the Habs to 2 points, and to first place in the Atlantic Division.
Some good news from the game is that Johnny Boychuk was released from the hospital and cleared to travel. In the first period Max Pacioretty hit him at an awkward angle from behind near the boards, and Boychuk went into the dasher collar-bone first. He was taken off the ice by stretcher and transported to the hospital. Pacioretty received a 2 minute minor for the hit. I would have given him 4 (2 for boarding, 2 for roughing). I don't think he should be disciplined further. It was a weird hit, somewhat reckless, but not worth throwing the book at Pacioretty.
There's no word how long Boychuk will be sidelines for. At least he's out of the hospital.
It was a cleaner game than I thought it would be. I don't think the Bruins took the initiative. They let Montreal dictate things. Hopefully they will be more assertive when these teams meet again. Which isn't until January 30th. Isn't that lame?
Bruins host the Penguins Saturday night. That's quite unlame.
Photo Credit: AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Paul Chiasson
The Montreal Police plan to interview Zdeno Chara regarding his hit of Max Pacioretty on March 8th. This will be part of their ongoing investigation into the incident. This interview has been delayed due to Chara's involvement in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, along with other "witnesses."
The involvement of police in this incident is one of the silliest sports stories of the year. While the circumstances around Pacioretty's injuries were unique, other big hits in the game weren't investigated by law enforcement officials. And there's a longstanding precedent in the sporting world, that what happens between the lines (or on the field, or within the boards) is governed differently. Fighting in hockey, for instance, doesn't result in arrests for disorderly conduct or assault.
It's a joke. And Canada is getting a reputation for whining and sour grapes. I love how passionate they are for the game, I was happy to see Winnipeg get a team, but look at the temper tantrum that Vancouver threw (again) after losing Game 7. And the uproar in Montreal after this hit. This Canadian crybabyism is preposterous.
I seriously doubt that Chara will be punished in any way. But just the fact that Montreal cops are spending their time looking into this is a massive joke.
The Bruins didn't just kill the Canadiens, they took their souls.
When these teams have met this season, the game tends to be decided early. That trend continued. The Bruins were in charge from the drop of the puck. The Power Play struggled with entry, but once they took the zone, they stayed there. The Bruins simply wanted it more.
Everyone contributed (except Ryder). Gregory Campbell atoned for his mistakes in the New Jersey game with a rare 3-on-5 goal. Horton looked like a scorer again. Peverley was a few inches here and there from a multi-point night.
The defensemen played well in all three zones, smothering the Canadien forwards, and contributing on offense. Like Chara with 3 assists. Kaberle with his first goal as a Bruin. McQuaid scored, as did Boychuk, who was in playoff form all night.
Then there's Thomas, who only had 24 stops to make, but some of them were pretty big in the 1st period. And some of them were pretty difficult in the 2nd and 3rd. 8th shutout of the year for Timmy.
The Bruins didn't do much wrong last night. It was a Flawless Victory, with Campbell's 3-on-5 goal the Fatality.
You had to be pleased with the Bruins putting in maximum effort for 60 minutes. Actually, 60 minutes and 2 seconds, because that's when Seguin shot the puck at Auld after the buzzer.
So let's enjoy this big win over our ancient rival. But come Saturday, this is in the past. Bruins host a team that actually has a heart. They're called the New York Rangers. That's another potential playoff preview.
I know that every concussion is different. But in the aftermath of the Chara-Pacioretty incident, we heard that the Montreal winger had a "severe" concussion. That one word made us in Boston think about Patrice Bergeron's concussion, and of course Marc Savard's. Then the Canadiens estimated that Pacioretty would be out for the rest of the year, once again using that word "severe."
Maybe there's a language problem here. Perhaps "severe" loses something in translation from English to French. Because now it seems as though Pacioretty could be back for the playoffs. It's either a medical miracle, or the concussion wasn't as bad as we were led to believe.
On 98.5 yesterday, Mark Recchi accused the Canadiens of embellishing the injury report in an effort to get Chara suspended. There's no way to prove that, but the Habs definitely did want Chara disciplined, and they were very quick to give their diagnosis of Pacioretty's head injury. Too quick. It takes more time to properly diagnose the severity of a concussion.
There's a history of this kind of exaggeration in Montreal. I remember in '02 when Kyle McLaren obliterated Richard Zednick.
After that hit, the injury reports were extravagant as media outlets fueled fan rage. Some said he'd broken his neck, some said he'd fractured his skull. While he did wind up with a concussion and a broken nose, his injuries were not nearly as severe as Montreal's media had proclaimed, and which the team did nothing to deny.
There's that "severe" word again. I don't know if the Habs were scheming to get Chara suspended. But they weren't striving for accuracy when they immediately deemed Pacioretty's concussion to be "severe." And the truth is, they did want Chara "severely" punished.
I don't like the Canadiens. I don't like their diving players. I don't like their whining fans. I don't like their media. I don't like their organization. I don't like Pacioretty, either. I'm glad he'll soon be back on the ice so he can be slammed into the boards again.
Canada has provided us with some great things. Molson XXX, Labatt Blue, hockey, and Elisha Cuthbert. But they can also be really annoying and stupid. The aftermath of the Chara-Pacioretty incident is another example of Canadians just being silly.
If you think Chara deserved a suspension, fine. I'll disagree with you, but I can at least understand your viewpoint. If you think he deserved to be arrested, you're an utter moron. And Canada manufactures morons like the US makes guns.
And now Air Canada has threatened to revoke its sponsorship of the NHL after Chara went unpunished.
Canadians have this weird inferiority complex, coupled with a sense of moral superiority over Americans. It all goes back to the Battle of Quebec in 1775. It's history. It's a fact.
I know Canadians love their hockey, and that's great. I've lobbied for the NHL to relocate teams to Quebec, Winnipeg, and Hamilton. But come on. Is this going to turn into an international incident, with ambassadors and diplomats getting involved? Is the Slovakian consulate in Montreal going to get attacked with Molotov Molsons?
I was a bit surprised to hear that the NHL wouldn't discipline Zdeno Chara for his hit on Max Pacioretty. No fine. No suspension. I thought Chara would at least get 2 games. After all, Pacioretty's got a severe concussion, a cracked vertebrae, and the NHL has been harshly punishing hits to the head all season.
As I thought more about it, I realized that a 1 or 2 game suspension was impossible. If you think Chara's intention was to drive Pacioretty's skull into that stanchion, then he deserves a 15+ game suspension, at least. To do that intentionally is beyond dirty. It's criminal.
If you think Chara's intent was to hit Pacioretty, but not necessarily into the stanchion, then he deserves no further discipline whatsoever. How could the NHL suspend a player for an interference hit that unfortunately was at the worst possible time and location? There's no degrees or gray area on this hit. It's either very dirty, or just interference.
PJ Stock (who was born in Montreal, played for the Bruins, and now works for CBC as well as a Montreal radio station) made a few excellent points on WEEI. One of them was that if Chara wanted to injure someone, he could do it at any time. You can listen to the whole interview here:
Chara obviously wanted to hit Pacioretty. He wanted to hurt him, not injure him. Just like every hockey player wants to hurt their opponent when they hit him. The hit was late, in that the puck was already gone, but Chara starts pushing Pacioretty while they're away from that corner. It's the width of 3 Bruins players away when Chara initiates the contact. If Chara's intent was to drive Pacioretty into that corner, he has perfect timing.
But why wasn't Chara suspended in the midst of the NHL's crusade against hits to the head? Because this one was different. Blindside hits to the head in open ice and against the boards were plaguing the NHL, like an epidemic. They were too common. Whereas this was a freak, one in a million type thing.
The reaction from Montreal is pathetic. To be fair, had Subban or Gill done that to Marchand, there'd be plenty of pissed off morons wearing black and gold down here in Boston. But Quebecois are very passionate about their team, and they're very whiny and very French.
And some Habs fans are claiming the NHL has an anti-Canadian, pro-American agenda. Even though Chara is Slovakian and Pacioretty is from Connecticut. If it'd been a Maple Leaf who'd hit Pacioretty, the Habs fans would bitch about pro-anglophone, anti-francophone bias.
While Montrealers prepare to boo the Star Spangled Banner the next time a US team plays up there, I think we should evaluate this incident, and try to make rinks safer, if possible. One potential solution is to have the benches on opposite sides of the ice. Many college rinks are like that. That'd eliminate the need for a barrier at the center-line. And while there'd still be four dangerous stanchions (as many as there are now), they'd all be near the blue-lines, where checking is rare, and typically at much lower speeds.
Or maybe they could angle the glass at the end of the benches to a more forgiving 45 degrees, instead of 90. They need to at least look into this specific part of the rink and investigate ways to making it safer.
The Bruins better hope they don't face the Canadiens in the playoffs. Because it's just not a good matchup for the B's. They're 1-4 against Montreal, and have allowed 20 goals in those 5 games (4 per game, for the mathematically challenged). And the main reason is speed.
The Canadiens remind me of Boston College's team. They use their speed on defense and to win physical battles. Their fast forwards help out the defensemen with back pressure. And they get to loose pucks in an instant.
The Bruins aren't fast. They're not slow skaters, but they're slow doing everything else. They're slow to shoot, to pass, to make any sort of decisions whatsoever.
Montreal didn't utterly dominate like the score might suggest. Domination is rare when two quality teams engage in a playoff style game like this one. However, they won battles on the boards and in front of the net. They got to loose pucks. They made plays. The Bruins didn't. Hence the lopsided score.
Montreal's first goal came when Lars Eller got to a loose puck before Matt Bartkowski could.
Their second goal came when Michael Ryder got beat to a loose puck by Travis Moen.
Their third goal was a bit of a weird one, tumbling through Rask's padding, then poked by Chara off Rask's back and into the net.
The fourth goal came after winning a battle on the boards.
That's how you surrender 4 goals. Now how do you only score one?
Well Marchand had his worst game of the season. He misfired on a penalty shot, missed a gift goal in the 1st, and I don't think he completed a single pass. But 19 goal scoring rookies are easily forgiven. I just hope that since he's cooled off a bit (0 goals, 1 assist in last 6 games), he's not pushing too hard to recapture how hot he was. Especially as his teammates struggle to replace that production.
I've already mentioned how poorly the Bruins did on the boards and in front of the net. That was true offensively as well. The static power play continued to inspire yawns.
Now, regarding Chara's hit. Even though I think Max Pacioretty is an utter tool, you hate seeing this:
Did Chara mean to check him into that corner of glass? I doubt it. Did he hit him late? Definitely. Did he hit him in a dangerous part of the ice? Most definitely. Does he deserve a suspension? I don't know. Will he get suspended? Yes.
What gives me mixed feelings is that Chara usually doesn't get interference penalties. Roughing and cross-checking, sure. The token hooking, tripping, high-sticking, of course. He usually doesn't hit late. And almost never this late.
I think Chara was frustrated and badly wanted to hit Pacioretty hard over the boards. They have a history.
But Pacioretty passed the puck along. Despite that, Chara finished his check. Unfortunately for Pacioretty, it was in a dangerous spot.
How dirty was it? That depends on your definition of "dirty." I don't think there was intent to injure. I don't think Chara specifically meant to hit Pacioretty into that corner. I do think Chara's emotions were boiling over. He was reckless. Though I think that recklessness spawned the lateness of the hit, not the location.
We'll see what kind of punishment is handed down by the geniuses who suspended Sean Avery 6 games for words and Matt Cooke 0 games for a hit to the head.
