BBS Awards: Patrice Bergeron wins Bobby Orr Award for Bruins Player of the Year

The Boston Blood Sox Awards (or Bloodies) are awarded for great success and/or pitiful failure in the 2014-15 sports year.

It was a bad year for the Bruins. No playoff hockey. Cap issues on the horizon. One bright spot was Patrice Bergeron. Who is also one of the few bright spots going forward. He won the Selke (again) for the best defensive forward. He was second on the Bruins with 23 goals, and led the team with 55 points.

Surprisingly, this is only the second time Bergeron has won this award. The last was for 2006. Hopefully he wins more in the future, and hopefully some of his teammates play well enough to compete with him for the honor.

Now that Braden Holtby is the new Bruins owner, maybe he'll do something about Chris Kelly's ice time

Braden Holtby now officially owns the Bruins. Three games this season, 3 shutouts, 88 saves. With the playoffs starting I don't know how active Braden Holtby will be in operating the Bruins' day-to-day operations. But hopefully we'll soon have a new GM, maybe a new coach, fewer reality TV shows, and please for the love of everything holy, less Chris Kelly. The Braden Holtby era of Bruins ownership has begun!

Give an assist (a rare one) to Kelly for Holtby's ability to acquire the team. Kelly had another goalless game Wednesday night. That's 25 in a row. He hasn't scored since February 13th. He hasn't had an assist since March 5th. And yet for some reason last night, with the Bruins down 3-0 in the 3rd period, Kelly got more even-strength ice time in the 3rd than he had in the 2nd or 1st. What the fuck, Claude?

There's nobody on this roster less likely to score a goal or contribute to a goal, and yet Claude Julien put him on the ice for the same number of shifts (6) as he had in the 1st and 2nd periods.

Chris Kelly isn't the only problem the Bruins have, nor are the Bruins' difficulties as simple to solve as reducing a defensive specialist's ice time when you need to score. But this is just baffling.

Kelly has spent over 6 hours on the ice since his last goal (360:46).

Down 3 goals in the 3rd, Kelly got 4:40 of even-strength ice time. David Pastrnak, who's scored 5 goals and 14 assists since Kelly last scored, was on the ice for 2:45. Kelly 4:40, Pastrnak 2:45. Are you kidding me? How is this even possible? I'm looking at the time on ice report on NHL.com and I'm thinking that they must have made a number of mistakes, as this is simply ludicrous.

Kelly had more even-strength ice time in the 3rd than Pastrnak, Spooner, Connolly, Marchand, Krejci, Lucic, and Bergeron. That's right, Patrice fucking Bergeron. Why? How?

Those players have 99 combined goals this season. Kelly has 7. And only 3 in 2015. Those are guys getting paid millions because they can score, and they're playing less than a guy who hasn't scored in 25 games.

I can't even think about anything else today. You're down 3 goals. You have 20 minutes of hockey and you must score 3 goals in order to secure a valuable point. You have 12 forwards on your bench. Some of them have 20+ goals this season. Some have been carrying you the past few weeks with their offense. And so you send a guy riding a 25-game drought on the ice more than most of them.

So please, new Bruins owner Braden Holtby, tell Claude Julien that he either needs to change the way he plays favorites with the most offensively inept player on the team, or he needs to find a new team.

Photo Credit: AP Photo/Nick Wass

Bruins Get Their Bell Rung in Montreal

There were no officials to blame, as we all were paranoid about before Game 3. The refs only called 2 penalties. When was the last time the Habs had their first power play 48 minutes into a home game?

The Bruins are the type of team that's built from the defense out, starting with the goalie, then the defensemen, then the forwards. So I'll give my thoughts on the Bruins' 4-2 loss to the Canadiens in that order.

Tuukka Rask will probably win the Vezina as the NHL's best goalie. Yet he's allowed 3+ goals in all 3 games this series. He allowed a pair of bad goals in Game 1 and the OT game-winner was also shaky. In Game 3 he was beaten badly on two breakaways. Where did that Vezina winner go?

He flopped down too early on PK Subban's breakaway goal, committing far too early, making it easy for Subban to score. He stayed too high on Dale Weise's breakaway, his 5-hole wide enough to drive a truck through. He didn't make it hard for Subban or Weise to beat him.

Rask's job is to tend goal. He's not tending it. He's allowed 10 goals in 3 games. The Bruins build their team defensively, he's the last and most important line of defense. They've made a serious investment and commitment to Rask. He was great in the regular season. He's a great goaltender that isn't playing like a great goaltender.

Let's move on to the defensemen.

For many of the young blue-liners, this was their first taste of playoff hockey at the Bell Centre. And they looked Bell-shocked. Torey Krug and Kevan Miller confused their assignments when Tomas Plekanec put Montreal up 1-0. Dougie Hamilton was guilty of defensive negligence and allowed PK Subban to start his breakaway.

These young defensemen are a double-edged sword, as they're some of the small handful of Bruins producing on offense. The Bergeron line along with Hamilton and Krug are responsible for the bulk of the Bruins' scoring in this series. They've scored 6 of the Bruins' 10 goals.

The remaining forwards have been quiet in this series. The first line has scored twice, one of them against an empty net. Jarome Iginla has barely been seen. Milan Lucic has been more of a rumor than a force. In Game 3 David Krejci was 4 for 14 at the faceoff dot.

There have been plenty of chances, plenty of posts, plenty of misses. The Bruins have bombarded the CH on Carey Price's sweater. They've also tokenly shot from the point so often that the Habs are blocking dozens of shots a night.

The young defensemen deserve some blame for this defeat, but in the end they looked and played like young defensemen. It's unfair to fault them for being what they are.

However, your Vezina finalist goalie, and your top line of all-stars and a future Hall of Famer, they don't look the way they're supposed to look. They're not being who they can be, who they should be.

Game 4 Thursday night.

Photo Credit:
The Canadian Press, Paul Chiasson/Associated Press

Bergeron Line Leads Bruins' Rally

This series is just a few inches (or centimeters for our metric loving Canadian friends) from being led 2-0, by either team. It's that close. From what we've seen in 2 games, it's difficult to imagine the series being decided in fewer than 7.

After Thomas Vanek gave the Canadiens a 3-1 lead in the 3rd, I didn't think the Bruins had much of a chance. They did what they had to do, though. They took the game one shift at a time. They tried to win each possession, each shift. And it worked.

The Bergeron line mounted the comeback. Dougie Hamilton's goal was a result of Brad Marchand entering the zone on the left wing, then turning around in a curl along the boards. This move drew the attention of the Habs' defenders, allowing Dougie Hamilton to drift into the extreme high slot and bury a shot past Price. Hamilton now has 2 goals and 6 points in these playoffs. 3-2 Canadiens.

Bergeron made it a 3-3 game when he, Reilly Smith, and Brad Marchand fought for possession behind the Montreal net and in the corner. The key was support. Smith lost his battle but Marchand was there in support to reclaim the puck. Once Marchand won his battle he dished it to Bergeron who scored from the halfwall. 3-3.

The play leading to the game-winning goal looked like a basketball play that a coach would draw up during a timeout with 5.5 seconds left. Bodies rotated, the puck rotated. Four Montreal defenders went to one side of the ice, and the goal was scored by Reilly Smith on the weak side. Bergeron started the play on the right point, passed to Smith along the halfwall, Smith passed to Chara who had displaced Bergeron on the right point. Chara carried it up the blue line to the left point, while Krug pinched from the left point to the halfwall. Chara passed to Krug. With four Canadiens on the left, Krug made the cross-ice pass to the right faceoff dot where Smith had shifted. 4-3 Bruins.

One line, 3 goals in under 6 minutes.

It wasn't a perfect game for everyone on that line. Brad Marchand's horrendous giveaway in the neutral zone led to Montreal's first goal. He hasn't been sharp in transition this series.

Special teams continue to be a problem for the Bruins. Thomas Vanek scored twice on the power play, both were redirections. These are not "puck luck" goals or fortunate bounces, these were results of intentional efforts by the Habs. Vanek was able to win position down low, against Zdeno Chara of all people, and deflected a pair of PK Subban shot-passes that Rask had no chance to stop.

The Bruins' penalty kill is 5 for 9 (55.6%) in this series. The power play has yet to score, even with an extended 5-on-3 in Saturday's game.

The Bell Centre is the last place in the world you want to go when special teams are a problem. But that's where the Bruins are headed. Game 3 Tuesday night at 7.

Photo Credit:
Charles Krupa/Associated Press

I'm Glad the Bruins Lost to Toronto

I'm glad the Boston Bruins lost 4-3 in overtime to the Maple Leafs. The loss, along with the 3-2 loss to Detroit on Wednesday, will hopefully remind the Bruins that it's a 60 minute game. Had the B's won these two games, maybe the message to play 3 complete periods wouldn't have landed with the emphasis that it needs to.

Thursday night the Bruins had a good 1st period, a great 3rd period (outshooting Toronto 17-5), and a lethargic 2nd period. They dug a hole, pulled themselves out, and then Nazem Kadri shoved them back in with an overtime goal.

And it's not as if the Maple Leafs are any good. They're fundamentally inept. They have top players who avoid physical play. They've allowed the 5th most goals in the NHL, almost 80 goals more than the Bruins. And they've been playing horrible the last few weeks. They hadn't won consecutive games since March 10th.

I'm not expecting the Bruins to roll into the playoffs as hot as they were during their recent winning streak. I do expect to see good habits. I expect similar effort levels from shift to shift and period to period. How much unnecessary energy did the Bruins expend coming from behind in the 3rd?

On the bright side, Patrice Bergeron scored his 28th. I'd like to see him reach 30 by the end of the season. He's the best defensive forward in the game, and to score 30 as well as win the Selke trophy would be a noteworthy achievement. He hasn't scored 30+ since his sophomore season in 2005-06. He was 21-years old.

The Bruins play more games against opponents jockeying for playoff positioning. They host the Flyers Saturday afternoon. Then they go to Minnesota on Tuesday to play the Wild, who are trying to secure a wild card spot in the West. And then the B's finish their season with 3 games against teams that are out of it (Winnipeg, Buffalo, New Jersey).

The Bruins are 3 points away from clinching the best record in the East.

Photo Credit:
@bruinshockeynow

Bruins Back to Winning With 3-0 Shutout Over Blackhawks

The Boston Bruins paid tribute to the City's two fallen Firefighters before and after the game. The B's wore BFD hats during pregame warm-ups, had a moment of silence, and the Boston Fire Department color guard presented the colors for the National Anthem. After the Bruins won 3-0, the BFD was named the First Star of the game.

The game itself was a return to strong, physical yet disciplined, 5-on-5 hockey. There were only 3 total power plays (2 for Chicago, 1 for the Bruins), compared with 12 in Monday's game against the Canadiens.

The Blackhawks might be the opposing team I have the most respect for. I like their style of play and they play that style well. This was a good team for the Bruins to meet after snapping their streak against Montreal. Talented enough for the B's to be focused and energized, and no distracting gimmicks or sideshows. Just good hockey.

And the Bruins played harder and played better. They scored by getting people in front of the net and getting inside position in front of the net. Basic fundamentals of the game. The 3 goals the B's scored weren't highlight reel goals, they were the type of goals you need to score in games against quality opponents.

Patrice Bergeron scored two of them. He has 9 in the month of March, to go along with 6 assists. It's almost a shame to see March end with how well he's been playing, among a number of other Bruins forwards.

That's 15 straight games with at least a point. That's also 50 wins on the season, tied with the Blues for most in the NHL. The Bruins have won 48 of their victories in regulation or OT (St. Louis has 42 ROWs).

The 50 wins is the most since the 2008-09 season (53 wins). It's only the 9th time in team history the Bruins have won 50+ games. The franchise record is 57 wins from the 1970-71 season. The Bruins have 9 games remaining to match that total, but it's a meaningless mark. That team lost in the opening round of the playoffs to Montreal. Regular season achievements are for the Canucks.

What does have meaning is that the Bruins are a win away (or a Lightning loss away) from clinching the division, which also clinches home-ice advantage for the first two rounds of the playoffs. The Bruins also have a 9 point edge over the Penguins for home ice throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs.

The B's take on the Capitals in Washington Saturday afternoon at 12:30.

It's a good thing the Bruins aren't in a tight playoff race because they end their season with 7 of their last 9 on the road.

Photo Credit:
Charles Krupa/Associated Press

Canada Wins Hockey Gold in Convincing Fashion

There are only two Winter Olympic sports I genuinely care about: hockey and curling. Canada won gold in both sports, both genders. I guess it's nice that Canada has something to be proud of, but seeing groups of Canadians happy just irritates me for some reason.

At the same time I'm happy for Patrice Bergeron and Claude Julien. I'm also happy that Loui Eriksson won silver and Tuukka Rask won bronze. Five Boston Bruins players went to Sochi to play for five teams, and three of them will return with medals.

Canada beat Sweden 3-0 to win gold in men's ice hockey. Sweden was lacking Henrik Zetterberg and Nicklas Backstrom. Already an underdog, losing those two centers made the task of beating Canada almost impossible.

The Canadians brought their "eh" game (not my joke). They saved their best hockey for the elimination rounds. Their win over Sweden was almost flawless. Jonathan Toews put them up 1-0 with a deflection between Henrik Lundqvist's legs. The goal was a byproduct of puck possession and Toews' ability to get position in front of the net. All game long, Lundqvist had to deal with bodies on top of him.

Sidney Crosby scored Canada's second goal. Jonathan Ericsson tried to carry the puck through three Canadian players instead of dumping it into the corner. Crosby stole it from Ericsson then beat Lundqvist on a breakaway.

Chris Kunitz sealed the deal in the 3rd.

Canada's control of this game is demonstrated by shots on goal. The Swedes only got 9 shots on Carey Price in the 2nd period, and only 4 in the 3rd. That's an amazing stat, only 4 shots on goal in a period. Price stopped all shots he saw and extended his shutout streak to over 160 minutes. The Latvians were the last team to score on him.

Canada was the best team in this tournament. Their roster was built the best, their coaches were by far the best, they played the best. This team didn't just win based on their talent, of which they had quite a bit, they won with effort, teamwork, execution, and passion.

This might be the last Olympics with NHL players, which would be a shame. This tournament provided some compelling storylines, from Canada's success to Russian and American disappointment. Finland winning bronze is a good story, as were the quarterfinal appearances of Latvia and Slovenia.

I really hope Olympic hockey remains a showcase of the game at its finest, and not just another international tournament that only clinically diagnosed hockey addicts care about.

Photo Credit:
Martin Rose/Getty

2013 BBS Awards: Bloody Sock Award for Toughness

This award goes to a tough athlete, one who has come back from injury, or played through injury, or some other kind of adversity, and sometimes a life threatening illness. Previous winners include Jon Lester, Wes Welker, and Mark Herzlich.

This year the winner is Patrice Bergeron of the Boston Bruins.

Bergeron played the toughest games in the toughest sport (Stanley Cup Finals) with a broken rib, torn cartilage, and a separated shoulder. That broken rib would eventually puncture a lung. This award and this blog are named after Curt Schilling's bloody red socks from the 2004 playoffs, and Bergeron's injuries were much more severe. Maybe I'll rename the blog to Bergeron's Ribs, or Boston Lung Punctures.

He made you proud to be a Boston sports fan. And even though the B's lost the series, they left everything on the ice.

2013 BBS Awards: Bobby Orr Award for Bruins Player of the Year

This award is pretty simple. It's given to the best Boston Bruin of the calendar year. Past winners include Tim Thomas, Marc Savard, Phil Kessel, and Patrice Bergeron.

It's a tough decision this year. There are three players that deserve serious consideration: Bergeron, Chara, and Rask. Bergeron is a great all around player, and his toughness exemplifies what Boston Bruins hockey is all about. Chara is having a great offensive season so far and he was very good for most of last season's playoffs. Rask was great for most of the playoffs, and he's been great this season (5th in GAA, 4th in SV%, 3rd in wins).

I'm going to give the award to...

Zdeno Chara.

And here's why: He's asked to do everything for this team. He plays close to half the game, plays defense against the opponent's top lines, plays the penalty kill, plays the power play, and he's a part-time enforcer.

This season he's scored 9 goals, tied for 5th on the team. His 6 power play goals lead the team.

And don't forget that he's the captain.

So while Rask and Bergeron also deserved this award, I think Chara deserved it just a little bit more, for all he's asked to do, and for all he does.

Bruins Win Third Straight, 3-0 Over Lightning

The Tampa Bay Lightning sit ahead of the Bruins in the standings of whatever division the Bruins are now in. The Atlantic division, I think. However, the B's have now beaten the Lightning three times.

And that's thanks mostly to Tuukka Rask. He stopped all 28 Tampa Bay shots in this one. He's stopped 84 of 85 shots against the Lightning this year. That's a 0.988 SV%. His most impressive save on Monday was a right-pad stop of what would have been a Steven Stamkos goal.

Stamkos would leave the game with a broken right tibia suffered while charging the net and striking the post. He's one of the premier players in the League, his stardom somewhat wasted in a hockey apathetic market, so hopefully he comes back soon and comes back well.

The Lightning might have been able to steal this game with a couple of power play goals. Thankfully the Bruins' penalty-kill is as good as ever. The B's killed 4 Lightning power plays, and have gone 6 straight games without allowing a power play goal. They've amassed 22 consecutive kills.

Bergeron has been scoring this year and scored a goal in this game goal in this game, defensemen have been contributing on offense (Krug and Bartkowski with assists), and the newcomers are doing well. Jarome Iginla scored his 4th, and now has 11 points. And Loui Eriksson doesn't seem to be suffering any adverse effects from the concussion.

So a good win for the Bruins, a good divisional win against a quality opponent. The Bruins are 8-1-0 within their division. And that's very good.

The Bruins host Columbus on Thursday.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Elise Amendola

Bruins Crack the Maple Leafs

NESN's Dale Arnold described Saturday night's meeting between the Boston Bruins and the Toronto Maple Leafs as "Game 8" of the series that ended last spring in dramatic fashion. Gloriously dramatic for the Bruins, and painfully dramatic for the Leafs.

In many ways, this was indeed a continuation of the series between these teams. That's what makes these rivalries so interesting. There's history. There are good and bad memories, grudges, a hopeless desire for revenge, a greedy desire to continue to beat your opponent.

I must admit that until this game, I hadn't been very interested in Bruins hockey. You go from the Stanley Cup Finals to regular season game #1 of 82. You also have a Red Sox playoff run drawing all attention to it. It took an Original 6 rivalry to ignite my interest in the 2013-14 Bruins.

Because I hate the Leafs. I hate Phil Kessel. I hate van Riemsdyk and I don't know why and that makes me hate him more. I hate Toronto fans. And I hate their city and their crack smoking mayor.

So I was very pleased to see the Bruins score a pair of power play goals. Which is not common for them to do. I was thrilled to see Patrice Bergeron score yet another game-winning goal against Toronto. I was happy to see Loui Eriksson get back into his groove. And I was ecstatic to see Jarome Iginla playing physical, Bruins style hockey. I think it suits him. He's winning me over.

And now I'm hooked. For the next 5-7 months. It's hockey season.

Bruins host the Lightning Monday afternoon, another rematch of a memorable playoff series.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Michael Dwyer

Bergeron to Be Bruin for 8 More Years

The Bruins and Patrice Bergeron agreed to an 8 year contract extension that will keep him with the Bruins until 2021-22. The deal is worth $52 million, resulting in a $6.5 million annual cap hit.

Bergeron has always been a respected player here in Boston. He's only 27 but it seems like he's been in the League for over a decade. Because he essentially has been. He has 9 seasons under his belt. He's not a typical star. He doesn't score 40 goals, or tally 60 assists. He doesn't do any one thing spectacularly, he does every singly thing well. And in the postseason he finds another gear.

Zdeno Chara is signed with the Bruins until 2017-18. It's safe to say that when Big Z leaves the Bruins, he'll pass the Captain's "C" to Bergeron.

I like this deal better than the Rask signing. Bergeron is a forward, not a goalie. Long-term goalie contracts always carry more risk than contracts for skaters. Bergeron also has more of a track record than Rask. 9 seasons, 579 games, 83 playoff games. And finally, when a guy like Bergeron loses a step, he can still be productive based on his hockey IQ and his knowledge of the game. When a goalie loses a step, they're done.

I also think Bergeron would have more value on an open market than Rask would.

I'm still not a big fan of these long-term contracts. However, for a guy like Bergeron I don't really mind.

Latest Photo of Patrice Bergeron

Patrice Bergeron was recently released from the hospital. He played Game 6 with a broken rib and torn cartilage. After the game he punctured a lung (had it punctured during the game he would have been physically incapable of playing). Even though the B's didn't win the Cup, it's impossible to not be proud of the effort they put into this playoff run, from Campbell's broken leg to Bergeron's flesh wounds.

Chicago Kane, They Shaw, They Crawford

Were the Bruins ever the superior team in Game 5? Apart from a brief series of plays in the 1st period, the Bruins rarely imposed their will on offense. They didn't move the puck well through the neutral zone. They weren't able to string together successful puck battles. And defensively they were sluggish and late. If not for some brilliant stops by Tuukka Rask, the Bruins would have lost this game by 4 or 5 goals.

Is Zdeno Chara out of gas? Has playing 30 minutes a night taken its toll? Maybe Chicago's Bryan Bickell is starting to chop the giant down. Bickell has focused on Chara all series, pushing Chara's buttons, making Chara exert himself even after the puck's gone and the whistle's blown. Bickell's not a small guy at 6' 4" 233 pounds. And all he has to do is focus on Chara. Chara has to deal with Bickell AND defend the crease AND play the point on power play AND play 25+ minutes against Chicago's best, fastest forwards.

Chara left Kane wide open on Kane's first goal. No excuse. And although Chara scored the lone Bruins goal, his performance was one you'd like to forget but won't be able to for awhile.

Offensively the Bruins looked lost. Marchand without Bergeron is like Robin without Batman. The Bruins barely had an offense in this game. They were sloppy in the neutral zone, they turned pucks over, they didn't get pucks deep into the offensive zone. When they won possession battles there wasn't support to take advantage of it. The few good plays they made, like Jagr's moves through traffic from the halfwall to the net, were individual efforts, not team-based offense.

The Bruins managed 5 shots on goal in the 2nd period. Five! Then only 9 in the 3rd. They're facing a goalie who has shown repeated vulnerability and they're making his job easy by failing to force him to make saves. On average in this series, the Blackhawks are getting 5 more shots on goal per game than the Bruins. Crawford will allow goals. But you have to get shots on goal to make that happen.

Give credit to Chicago. Kane was brilliant, nearly scored a natural hat-trick. Patrick Sharp was robbed a few times in the 1st. The Blackhawks did a good job harassing the B's in the neutral zone. They controlled the ice in front of both nets. This was the Blackhawks' best performance in the series. And the Bruins' worst.

Game 6 tonight. Without Bergeron it's time to dig deep. Chara, Marchand, Seguin, Kelly, Peverley, everyone has to play up to their potential. And then find a way to play a little better.

Photo Credit:
Scott Stewart-USA TODAY Sports

GIF Credits:
Yahoo! Sport

Keep Calm and Win the Fucking Game

So much to say about this game. To make a long, long story short: the Bruins played their worst 3 periods of the series then played 2 of their best. Tuukka Rask bailed them out 53 times. Vokoun and Rask dueled in the overtime. Jaromir Jagr kept making good plays and eventually the plays Jagr started were finished by Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron.

Now let's get into details. For most of this game I was getting angrier and angrier at the Bruins. They scored early thanks to a Pittsburgh mistake in coverage, then played the type of hockey that has allowed opponents to come from behind against them all season long. For one stretch in the 2nd they were outshot 10-2. In the 3rd they were outshot 14-4. Pittsburgh had 8 scoring chances in the 3rd, the Bruins had 0.

The B's weren't dumping the puck on offense. They were trying to carry it in, then screwing around in the middle of the ice in the offensive end, instead of keeping the puck along the boards and trying to win battles. On the power play this inept strategy was exposed even more acutely. There were also a handful of neutral-zone turnovers that the Bruins simply didn't make in Games 1 and 2. Also some dumb, inexcusable penalties. All this gave Pittsburgh great chances to score. Rask was the reason Pittsburgh didn't score.

This was Rask's stand-on-your-head, become-a-Conn-Smythe-contender, where-legends-are-made performance. He was unflappable. The only goal he allowed, no human goalie could save. 53 saves on 54 shots. In this series he's stopped 108 of 110 shots (.981 SV%), and only allowed 2 goals in about 11 periods of play (0.56 GAA in this series), all against the highest scoring offense in the NHL. Such a high level of goaltending against such high level of scorers sounds eerily similar to what Tim Thomas did against the Vancouver Canucks in 2011.

Bergeron won the game in a fraction of seconds. Rask's play for 95 minutes allowed Bergeron to win it.

Some honorable mentions to some Bruins' defensemen. Zdeno Chara played 42:05, all of it great. In the 2nd regulation period he broke up a golden scoring opportunity that Evgeni Malkin would have had. It was a play only he and his vast reach could have made.

Andrew Ference logged almost 35 minutes of ice-time. He played his solid, physical brand of hockey. He left a few marks on a few Penguins.

Johnny Boychuk led the Bruins with 5 blocked shots, 2 of which came in double-overtime when Pittsburgh mounted a major scoring threat.

Dennis Seidenberg didn't have a bad game, but did make some weak/unwise passes trying to move the puck out of the defensive zone. This led to longer Pittsburgh possessions, more shots, more chances, more anxiety from me. However, he sharpened up in overtime.

All of the Bruins seemed to elevate their games in the overtime. Milan Lucic skated hard, Jagr looked half his age, Horton created a few chances for himself, even the faceoffs seemed to even out.

One player we didn't see in overtime was Gregory Campbell, who blocked a shot with his femur, then gutted out the remainder of the shift, doing what he could as a stationary obstacle. That determination energized the Bruins for the next 4 or 5 shifts. That's what you can't see on paper when you look at a roster. That's what you can't count on when all you do is assemble talented all-stars like Pittsburgh. This group of players in Boston have been together for a long time. They play for each other and for the team. And newcomers like Jagr and Krug see that, want to be a part of it, and if they buy into it they're accepted.

I don't know if Pittsburgh has that. Are Crosby and Malkin leaders? How does their leadership stack up against Chara or Bergeron? Or Ference? Or Campbell? Or Thornton? Does Pittsburgh have the same camaraderie in their rank and file? Chemistry counts.

Game 4 is Friday night. A sweep would be fantastic for so many reasons. Crosby, Iginla, and of course Cooke would all end their season in Boston. It would be glorious. Let's hope.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Elise Amendola

Bruins Roller Coaster Ride to Continue

Wow. In my mind I'd already written an indictment of the Bruins, their coach, their GM, their system, their players. All of this was in my head and ready to disseminate into a tirading blog post. Horton scored to make it 4-2, and my pre-written blog post remained undisturbed. Lucic scored to make it 4-3, and I became partially optimistic. Then with 51 seconds until death, Patrice Bergeron scored and extended the season. An intermission and 6 minutes later, he catapulted the Bruins into the next round. And may have also exonerated Claude Julien and Peter Chiarelli. Or at the very least, made them more difficult to fire.

As joy and optimism flows through my veins and courses through my mind, I must also temper myself with the knowledge that the Bruins put themselves in a position to be eliminated. The Bruins blew Game 2, sucked in the 1st period of Game 5, sucked in Game 6, and allowed the series to extend as long as it did. And if the Bruins play at the same level against the New York Rangers, then they will be quickly disposed of. Henrik Lundqvist is not James Reimer.

Give due credit to the Krejci line. Bartkowski scored the first goal, but it was Lucic's physical play that allowed it to happen. Horton and Lucic both scored in the 3rd to make it a 1 goal game.

Marchand and Seguin assisted on the game-winning goal. It was Seguin's first point of the series.

I love how the jubilant Bergeron first hugged Zdeno Chara. These are two of the hungriest players on the team. These are two guys who give 100% on each shift. They drain their reserves in order to win. I hope their teammates pay attention and follow suit.

It's good news and bad news time. The overwhelmingly good news is that the Bruins won and will advance to the Conference Semifinals. The bad news is they will play the New York Rangers.

The Rangers played the Bruins well in the regular season. They have as many offensive weapons as Toronto but also have a defensive capability and a goalie that can be quite difficult to score on. This will be a tougher series. And the Bruins needed 7+ games to get by a weaker opponent. In other words, the Bruins need to shift into a higher gear. All the time. They can't afford to play 2 periods a night anymore.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Charles Krupa

Maple Leafs Pay Tribute to Past Toronto Teams By Losing a Home Playoff Game

As a Bruins fan there was a lot to love about this game. With a side dish of stuff to hate. Let's start with the love and work our way to the hate.

The Krejci line looked like a #1 line. Lucic was skating hard, which led to physical play, which led to rhythm, which led to goals. Horton's goal in the 2nd was exactly the kind of play that line is capable of putting together. Krejci made a good play on a loose puck in the defensive zone, Lucic used his strength to drive the puck up the ice, and Horton used his hands to beat Reimer. The timing of the goal was perfect, just 50 seconds after Toronto made it a 2-1 game.

Patrice Bergeron had a very Bergeronian game, not standing out on the box score, but he stood out on the ice. He won 60% of his faceoffs. At desperate times in the defensive zone he moved back in front of the net and played as a 3rd defenseman.

Despite being the road team, the Bruins won 45 of 75 faceoffs (60%). Peverley won 10 of 11 and Kelly won 12 of 15.

Each line contributed something. The Krejci line generated 3 goals. The Bergeron line played great defense. The third line contributed with a goal created by Jagr and Peverley forechecking. And the fourth line played smart yet physical hockey in the 3rd, especially Thornton. Not to mention the shorthanded goal scored by Paille.

I could go down the whole Bruins roster and find something positive to say about every player. Except one. Tyler Seguin.

Seguin had a golden opportunity to score in the 1st. Actually, it was a platinum opportunity, encrusted in jewels and diamonds. And he didn't finish.

Seguin isn't a smasher. He's not a penalty killer. He's not a grinder. He's supposed to be a scorer. And he's not scoring. Only 16 goals and 32 points in the regular season (pace for 27 goals and 55 points in an 82 game season). Zero goals and zero assists in this series. Meanwhile Phil Kessel has 2 goals already. In the regular season Seguin usually does well against Toronto, and Kessel struggles against the Bruins. Three games into this series and their roles have been reversed.

In this series the Bruins have allowed 4 shorthanded goals already. That's inexcusable for what is supposed to be a strength of this team. The PK unit looks chaotic, disorganized, frantic. They're being too aggressive playing the puck-carrier. It's okay to give some space and allow shots when shorthanded. Let the goalie do his job and stop them. It's better to allow a predictable shot then over-commit to coverage and allow room for someone away from the puck to take a surprising shot.

Speaking of goaltending, Rask has, overall, been very good. He does have an annoying tendency, though, in those frantic and chaotic moments to over-commit himself. He gets a few yards away from the net then things get crazy in front. This type of melee was how Kessel scored in the 3rd. Tim Thomas was equally aggressive, venturing far from his net. But at his peak Thomas was much faster in recovering and getting back home. Rask goes out, leans away from the net, and takes an eternity to return. I'd prefer it if he stayed at home more, since it takes him so long to get back.

And the B's need to stop passing to empty space, unless it's a corner. That's a regular season thing to do. It's dangerous in the post-season because that space doesn't exist. Passing to space is essentially passing to the opposition.

The Bruins need to maintain the good habits we saw last night and limit the bad in Game 4, which is Wednesday night in Toronto.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Nathan Denette

Bruins Leave It Late Against Leafs

The Bruins needed this win. More accurately, they needed to not lose. What's the difference? Well, the positive impact of winning this game isn't nearly as significant as avoiding what the negative impact of losing would have been.

It was good to see Milan Lucic score a goal. Hopefully it doesn't take him 15 more games to score his next goal (that would be the second-to-last game of the season, which emphasizes how close to the end of the season we are coming). This team cannot succeed with just the Bergeron line scoring.

By the way, can we stop calling the line of Bergeron, Marchand, and Seguin the "second line?" This line is obviously the primary line. They're the scoring line. Look at the three shooters the Bruins sent out for the shootout: Seguin, Bergeron, Marchand. This is the #1 line.

It was this line that scored the tying goal. Marchand sent a puck deep into the zone, Dougie Hamilton won a battle on the boards and protected the puck, then Bergeron finished with a backhand goal.

Let's not get overjoyed about scoring 2 goals and winning in a shootout, especially against Toronto. This team is still relying on one line, and a few defensemen, to generate their offense. And once again there was a facepalm inducing goal scored when Andrew Ference was on the ice.

This team doesn't need a trade to right itself. Although a trade might help, just adding a few pieces or adjusting lines won't solve the fundamental inconsistencies from players like Lucic and Krejci. As well as the complete lack of offense from the 3rd line.

Lucic needs to continue to play like a first line forward. EVERY NIGHT. Or at least TRY to play like a first line forward. Too often he just cruises around the ice, completely unnoticed, and you look at the box score after the game and see he played 17 minutes. And you ask yourself "When? I never saw him."

Bruins host the Canadiens Wednesday night.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Winslow Townson

Patrice Bergeron Wins Selke Trophy

The NHL awards the Frank J. Selke Trophy to the "forward who demonstrates the most skill in the defensive component of the game." It's an unsung trophy for the unsung hero. It's given to guys who can kill penalties, who don't make mistakes with the puck, who disrupt the neutral zone, who do the "little things."

Patrice Bergeron was awarded the Selke Trophy last night, beating David Backes and Pavel Datsyuk (who's won the Selke three times) by a significant voting margin.

As Jack Edwards reminded you a million times this season, Bergeron is one of the best two-way players in the game. He was a +36 this season which led the NHL. He led Bruins forwards in shorthanded time on ice per game.

He's a team player. He's glue. He brings it all together. And up until last night, his big awards have been won by the teams he's been on. He has an Olympic gold medal and his name on the Stanley Cup. But now he has something that he's won as an individual: an award for how good of a team player he is.

Bergeron is only the second Bruin to win the Selke Trophy. Steve Kasper won it in 1982.

Centers have won the last 8 Selke Trophies. Twenty-five of the 34 recipients have been centers.

It's hard to believe that Bergeron will turn 27 in a month. He's been around forever. And his story is one of the few feel-good concussion recovery stories the NHL has seen recently.

He wasn't the only first-time trophy winner last night. Evgeni Malkin won both the Hart Trophy (league MVP) and Ted Lyndsay Award (players' MVP). Henrik Lundqvist won the Vezina as the League's best goalie. Gabriel Landeskog of the Avalanche won the Calder Trophy as top rookie. Daniel Alfredsson won the King Clancy Trophy for leadership. Brian Campbell of the Florida Panthers won the Lady Byng Trophy for sportsmanship.

And Erik Karlsson won the Norris for best defenseman.  A post detailing my outrage at that decision is soon to come.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

Caps Even Series at 1-1

On the bright side, with just one more goal the Bruins could be up 2-0 in this series. On the not-so-bright, with just one more goal the Capitals could be up 2-0.

As painful as double OT losses are, I'm going to start with a very positive thing I've seen in this series.

Tim Thomas is in Conn Smythe form. Maybe it won't last, but he is fresh and playing at his absolute peak. 2 goals in 144 minutes. He's stopped 96.4% of the shots he's faced. He's averaging less than a goal allowed per game (0.83 GAA).

Statistically, he's been matched by Braden Holtby. In fact, Holtby's save percentage is higher (.977). The 22 year old former Hershey Bear has become one of the biggest stories of the playoffs so far.

But Thomas' saves have been much harder. That's no knock on Holtby, it's a compliment to the Capitals and a criticism of the Bruins' forwards. The Caps are occupying space in front of and around Thomas. The Bruins aren't doing the same to Holtby. Holtby has had the crease to himself.

The B's seem content with peppering Holtby from the perimeter. The Caps seem fine with that too. They're yielding the outside to the Bruins and clogging up the middle. Holtby's given up rebounds that would be juicy if there were anyone in a black sweater to capitalize.

Guys like Marchand, Lucic, Bergeron, and Rolston need to get to the front of the net. Be there for rebounds. And be there to make Holtby's job difficult. Screen him, disrupt him, get him angry. He's already taken a minor for roughing. Push his buttons some more. See if he unravels.

The Bruins have not produced any offense. The Power Play has been crap, and Kelly's line are the only players with points.

Part of the problem might be Bergeron's line being on the ice to face Ovechkin. Seguin, Marchand, and Bergeron were #1, #2, and #5 on the list of Bruins goal scorers. They've been playing in much fewer offensive situations than usual. And lining up against a tough line.

Maybe Seguin can move to the Krejci line. Seguin is a bit out of place when facing Washington's top guys anyway. And his playmaking ability could spark Krejci and/or Lucic. Peverley can move to the Bergeron line which might even make them better defensively.

Lucic and Krejci need to step up. It's the playoffs. Krejci was 1-8 on faceoffs Saturday. He played close to 28 minutes and I can't remember that he was ever on the ice. He's been a ghost.

Considering how well the Bruins have played defensively, and how poorly most of them have played offensively, they deserve to be tied 1-1. The good news is, these are all problems that can be solved internally. Washington has played well, but the B's haven't been making things very tough on them.

Game 3 tonight on NESN and NBC Sports. Not a bad way to end Patriots' Day.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo