The Tuukka Rask Problem: Rask gets worse as series get longer

As series grow longer, Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask's performances get worse. His splits in playoff series speak for themselves.

	Games 1-4	Games 5-7
Record:	27-13	6-12
GAA:	1.93	2.77
SV%:	0.936	0.904

In his Game 6 starts, Rask is 1-5, with a .901 save percentage and 2.82 GAA. It gets worse in Game 7, where Rask is 1-2, with an .849 SV% and 3.63 GAA.

Why is this? I wouldn't go so far as to say Rask is a choker. He's allowed some soft goals in the playoffs but he doesn't typically have meltdowns in big games.

However, opponents do seem to figure him out as they play against him. After getting 100 or so shots on net, teams seem to know where the gaps will be.

Rask, at 176 pounds, is more prone to having leaks than bigger goalies who have more surface area to protect the net. It makes sense that after 4 or 5 games of trying to find those holes, other teams figure out where they are. For example, in Saturday night's Bruins loss, the Leafs successfully went high on Rask and chased him from the game. And unfortunately, Rask doesn't seem to be as good at figuring his opponents out, as they are at figuring him out.

With Rask in net, if series get past 5 games, the Bruins are 2-4. Rask hasn't won a Game 6 since 2010 against Buffalo.

If he doesn't win tonight's Game 6, and then the following Game 7, it's time for the Bruins to look for a new goalie.

Why is Tuukka Rask starting tonight?

You can't say anything negative about Rask without qualifying your remarks, or risk the scorn of his many defenders. And I don't know why. His play has been shabby and lazy this season. In his career he's never come up big in a playoff series when the Bruins have needed him to. His play was one of the primary reasons the Bruins lost a 3-0 series lead to the Flyers in 2010. And the best thing to happen to the 2010-11 Bruins was Rask losing the starting job to Thomas.

Yet any legitimate criticism of his play is often met with excuses and my favorite "He's not the reason they lost." (even though his job is to be a reason the team wins, not to just not be a reason they lose)

But let's limit our scrutiny of sacred cow Tuukka Rask to October of 2015. And let's also not talk about his play as a percentage of the blame pie for the Bruins' struggles. It doesn't matter if he's only 10% responsible for the B's losses, or 5% or less than 1%. His quality of play is what matters, and it's below the standards of an NHL goalie, let alone one of the allegedly better goalies in the League.

He's been lackadaisical, imprecise, passive. He cuts off angles incorrectly, he handles the puck awkwardly, and his form has been allowing pucks to leak through. He's done the bare minimum of his job. He's not the cause of the Bruins' losing, but he's not doing much to cause them to win.

So why is he in net tonight instead of Jonas Gustavsson? J-Goose hasn't been amazing, but he is trying. Unlike Rask, who seems to be trying to be benched or traded. Don't the Bruins want to reward effort and punish apathy? Jonas Gustavsson has been playing the best that Jonas Gustavsson has been playing. Rask is playing nowhere near the best that he can play.

The Bruins have 3 wins this season, 2 of those were with Gustavsson in net. I'm not saying the B's should trade Rask, or permanently put Gustavsson ahead of Rask on the depth chart. But Rask shouldn't be starting right now. Send Rask a message and play the goalie who is giving you 100% and winning.

BBS Awards: Tuukka Rask wins Varitek Award for Most Overrated Athlete

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

When you call someone overrated, you're not criticizing the person, you're criticizing the people who have unduly lifted that person up beyond where they should be lifted. Jason Varitek was an integral part of the Red Sox winning their first World Series since 1918. But he was horribly overrated by us Boston fans. That's why this award is named after him.

Being overrated isn't a direct criticism, but I will directly criticize Tuukka Rask. The Bruins goalie followed up on his Vezina winning season with disappointment, and almost nobody pointed it out. Sure, the team around him sucked, so there were plenty of guys for B's fans to hate on, but Rask seemed immune.

He was 14th in GAA, 10th in save percentage, and 19th in shutouts.

Rask wasn't a reason the Bruins lost, but he didn't do much to help them win. And since he was not criticized sufficiently for his average play, he was the most overrated athlete in Boston sports last year.

Tuukka Rask makes Islanders suck his stick

The Bruins might have made their final trip to Uniondale, NY (although, if the season ended today, the B's would be playing the Islanders in the first round). The Islanders are moving to Brooklyn next season, and the Bruins are trying to move up in the standings this season.

The Bruins won 5-2 behind a stellar performance by Tuukka Rask. But as stellar as Rask was, for some reason his efforts did not merit being named the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd star. Nevertheless, the Bruins goalie stopped 43 of 45 shots, a season high in saves. And one of those saves might be the stop of the season.

That save was a cold-blooded stoning. I can't even imagine how demoralizing it was for the Islanders. You have an open net to shoot at, and Tuukka Rask just goes "SUCK MY STICK!" Yeah, that's a big wide paddle, and he knows how to use it.

The Bruins have 33 games left on their schedule. They're 7 points behind Tampa Bay for the division and conference lead. That's a very surmountable deficit. Right now the focus has to be on making the playoffs. So for the Bruins it's all about points. Two points on Long Island is pretty good (the Islanders are 17-5-0 at home this year). Next the B's host the Kings on Saturday, who aren't very good this year and have only won 5 road games.

This is the time to accumulate points. The Kings struggle on the road, so beat them.

Photo Credit: Al Bello/Getty Images

Bruins somehow winning without Tyler Seguin

The Bruins were struggling 10 days ago, and I explained why. My explanation had nothing to do with Tyler Seguin. I made four main points:

1. Tuukka Rask wasn't playing well
2. Milan Lucic wasn't playing well
3. The Bruins weren't dropping the gloves
4. The team couldn't make moves to improve because they were imprisoned in a cap jail they'd constructed themselves.

The Bruins have won 5 straight since I wrote that post. Why? Well, their winning, just like their losing, has had nothing to do with Tyler Seguin.

Tuukka Rask is playing better. The saves he made early in Thursday night's 3-0 win over the Rangers were the types of saves you'd expect a $7 million goalie to make. He's doing his job.

Lucic has awoken from his slumber. He's skating, he's getting involved in the play, and the result is production: 3 goals and 6 points these last 5 games.

The B's have 4 fighting majors in the 5 game winning streak. That doesn't include the two times Zdeno Chara threw punches against Paquette and Tampa Bay. The Bruins had 15 fights in their first 40 games. They have 4 fights in their last 5, which is more than twice the pace. More fights and more wins. Coincidence?

And finally, while the Bruins still find themselves in cap jail, with Peter Chiarelli facing the death penalty, the emergence of David Pastrnak was like a call from the Governor, arriving the moment before the switch was flipped and the electric chair turned on. The 18-year old came back from the World Juniors red hot, and has scored 4 goals in the last 3 games.

During this streak, the B's have beaten teams like Tampa Bay (1st in the Eastern Conference), and Pittsburgh (3rd in the East). They've won their way into the playoff picture, leapfrogged the Rangers Thursday night by beating them, and now find themselves 7th in the East.

And somehow they've done this without Tyler Seguin. Speaking of whom, the B's host Columbus on Saturday, then travel to Dallas to play Seguin and the Stars on Tuesday.

Do Rajon Rondo and Tyler Seguin hang out in Dallas, and if so, why isn't a film crew documenting their shenanigans?

Photo Credit:
AP

A Tyler Seguin free explanation of why the Bruins suck

The Bruins played two games against weak opponents over the weekend, and only got 2 points. The Senators had a losing road record, and the B's lost to them at home. The Hurricanes are the second worst team in the NHL, and the B's lost to them in a shootout. Want to avoid playoff hockey? Continue to lose points to poor teams.

Tyler Seguin's absence is not the reason the Bruins are 5th in the division, are a point out of the playoffs, and have allowed more goals than they've scored. The Bruins won the President's Trophy last year without Seguin. So winning without Seguin is possible. And having Seguin doesn't automatically cause winning. The Stars are also out of the playoffs. The 16 teams sitting in playoff positions all lack Tyler Seguins. Somehow, they can win without Seguin. The Bruins can also win without Seguin.

I'll agree that the Bruins should have gotten more in return for him, and that the lack of return for him is contributing to their current struggles, but his presence on this team would do little to improve some very serious issues. Such as...

Tuukka Time running out
Rask is 23rd in GAA (2.54) and 25th in save percentage (.911).

If Rask were caught wearing a Jeb Bush 2016 campaign button, I think fans and media would turn on him just like they turned on Tim Thomas. Rask's play isn't much better than Thomas' back in the 2011-12 season, when Thomas and his politics were blamed for the team's post-Cup struggles.

Rask hasn't been awful. But his job requires more than "not awful." His job is to help the team win. And he's not doing that.

He stopped 35 shots against Carolina Sunday, but the goal he allowed in regulation was a little soft. He's capable of doing better. He's capable of stopping that shot, and pitching a shutout to give his team 2 much needed points. And against Ottawa on Saturday the Senators' first goal over his shoulder was very stoppable. The B's probably win in regulation if Rask had done his job.

Seguin isn't a goalie, he wouldn't be able to help solve this problem.

Loafing Lucic a.k.a. Sleeping Beauty
Can someone slip some adderall in this guy's Gatorade to wake him up and get him focused? Lucic is just a lumbering oaf on skates these days. One goal and 4 assists the last 15 games. Did you even notice him in on the ice in those games? Only when the camera accidentally caught him wandering around the ice lost.

I don't care about the lack of scoring as much as I do about the lack of energy. Svedberg has skated more miles and with more intensity than Lucic this season. Lucic is not playing with any purpose.

Seguin is not a power forward like Lucic can be. Seguin wouldn't help.

No Shawn Thornton replacement. No fighters=no fight
Last year the B's were second in the NHL with 46 fighting majors. Today they're tied for 11th with 15, on pace for 31, a 32% reduction in fights. The Bruins are also on pace for a 23% reduction in points. Coincidence?

Shawn Thornton had 10 of those fights last year, and those were against the strongest, toughest fighters in the NHL. Those were the heavyweight bouts that got the blood pumping. This season Gregory Campbell leads the team with 4 fights. Lucic has 3. I guess Lucic's value as a scorer means he's too important to be fighting. Can't risk hurting those goal-scoring hands. Bobby Robins, currently playing in Providence, is third on the Bruins with 2 fights.

Fighting was part of this team's identity last season. Nine Bruins fought multiple times, 5 had 5+ fights. Even Bergeron dropped the gloves.

This team lacks energy. I understood not keeping Thornton, but the B's made no effort to replace him and the energy he brought both as a 4th liner and a fighter. Not replacing Thornton was like replacing your morning coffee with warm cream and valium.

Seguin doesn't fight.

Cap jail
The Bruins never made tough salary cap decisions until they were forced to before this season, trading Johnny Boychuk to the Islanders (who should rename their team: Lost). The B's didn't make compromises with who'd they sign, who'd they let go. They locked up their top 4 forwards, their top 2 defensemen (3 counting Boychuk), and their goalie.

Milan Lucic costs the team $6 million. He's on pace to score 12 goals. $500k per goal. That's a horrible rate.

Chris Kelly and Loui Eriksson combine to make $7.25 million. So not only do the Bruins spend for their best forwards ($17.75 million for Bergeron, Lucic, and Krejci), they also spend for guys whose production could be replaced by players making a third as much.

Is Marchand a $4.5 million player? At times. But he's paid that salary all the time.

You can't just retain everybody you want. The Bruins did that for years, re-signing everyone who played well. We as fans praised it. We thought the B's were building a strong foundation. What they were doing, however, was building their own prison cell around themselves.

They now have overpaid, under-performing players, and lack the flexibility to make significant changes.

Here Seguin would help, because he's not making much money. But Chris Kelly would still be on the roster.

By the way, Bruins fans, stop giving Neely all the credit when moves work out, and Chiarelli all the blame when they don't. I know we all love Cam, and Chiarelli is just a guy in a suit to us, but let's not divide credit and blame based on fanboy love.

This team can play better than this. But if they haven't gotten their collective heads out of their collective ass by now, when will they? They see the standings. They see the calendar changing to 2015. They've seen Krejci and Chara return. What will it take to wake the proverbial bear? Will Jack Edwards need to sacrifice himself to the hockey gods by humping the third rail at North Station?

Even if that works and they make playoffs, I'm not optimistic about their chances for a deep run. Rask is not yet a proven playoff goalie. Marchand is awful in the playoffs. This team has no defensive depth.

Tyler Seguin isn't a goalie, so he can't help Rask. Seguin struggles more in the playoffs than Marchand has. Tyler Seguin is not a defenseman. So even with Seguin, this team would be facing playoff difficulties, if they can get their act together and make the playoffs.

Photo Credit:
Jerome Miron/USA Today Sports

Bruins Can Only Blame Themselves for Game 7 Loss to Canadiens

Before I allow my rage to overcome me, let's remember that it's been less than 7 months since the last Boston sports team won a championship. And in 2011 the Bruins gave the fans here a title for the first time in 39 years. Let's be very thankful we can enjoy this time and place of sports greatness.

And now, it's time to get angry.

Who on the Bruins had a good series? Carl Soderberg. Patrice Bergeron. Ummm... Matt Fraser?

Anyone else?

Did Milan Lucic, David Krejci, or Brad Marchand have a good series? Dale Weise, a 4th liner with 10 career NHL goals, scored twice in this series. Krejci and Marchand didn't score at all. Lucic scored once. Dale Weise was paid $750,000 this season, by two different teams. Krejci, Marchand, and Lucic combined for $15.75 million against the cap this season. That's exactly 21 times the cost of Weise. For half the goals in this series.

Brad Marchand has failed to score in 20 consecutive playoff games, dating back to early June last year against Pittsburgh. He also failed to take care of the puck, took stupid penalties, and he didn't really get under anyone's skin. I don't think he belongs on this team. No playoff production, doesn't play "Bruins hockey," he sounds more and more like his ex-BFF Tyler Seguin. Except he's also a penalty magnet.

The Bruins put themselves in this position when they didn't make any significant moves at the trade deadline. With Dennis Seidenberg out and Adam McQuaid's recovery a massive McQuestion mark, the B's needed a true defenseman. He didn't need to score, or be a "puck mover," just somebody who would follow the principles of Claude Julien's defensive systems.

Instead, the Bruins got Andrej Meszaros, who didn't even dress for this Game 7.

I still remember the days after the deadline, when the Bruins front office and some pundits and fans didn't seem to mind that the Habs had acquired Thomas Vanek (4 goals in the series), and the Bruins didn't do much of anything. Don't worry. Be happy.

How many Montreal goals started with glaring defensive mistakes by Bruins blue-liners?

And how often did the Habs outmuscle the B's for position down low, on both ends of the ice? The Canadiens scored some key goals because they had inside position in the crease. The Bruins whiffed on major opportunities because they DIDN'T have inside position (or anyone at all) in the crease. This isn't an area you typically expect the Canadiens to be better at than the Bruins. And yet they were.

Carey Price was able to clearly see almost every puck the Bruins shot at him. When he couldn't see it, a Canadien blocked it. The Bruins rarely obstructed his view. They were too busy attempting fancy passes.

Speaking of goalies, Tuukka Rask deserves his small share of criticism. He was very good in the last three games of the series, stealing Game 5, keeping the Bruins close in Games 6 and 7. However, he was not good in Games 1 or 3. He was below his average at key moments in those games. Rask wasn't the only disappointing Bruin in this series. He was similar to Krug in Hamilton in that he had bad moments, but also good ones.

Ultimately, however, Rask had it within himself to steal this series for the Bruins. Just one big save and this series might have a different result. He didn't do that. He's won 5 playoff series, lost 3. He's 1-2 in Game 7s. He's 1-3 in games when his team faces elimination. He's a very talented goalie. He just isn't much of a thief.

I'm not asking Rask to carry the team while so many highly paid, highly touted players in front of him are failing to produce. I'm just pointing out that Tuukka Rask has yet to prove that he's a great playoff goalie.

Tell me that Tuukka Rask is clutch. Go ahead, try it.

What do the Bruins do now?

Get healthy. Dennis Seidenberg's absence was quite apparent in this series. Chara + Seidenberg are greater than the sum of their parts. Chara without Seidenberg is old and overworked.

The Bruins need real defensemen on their depth chart. Matt Bartkowski is wound too tight to play postseason hockey. I would like to see the Bruins acquire the most boring, dullest d-man available this off-season. Someone with no flair, no personality, just follows the system.

If Brad Marchand weren't already on the team, would you want the Bruins to go after him? I wouldn't. Does he belong on this team?

You don't need to blow it all up. But the B's are more than just a few slight tweaks away from being as good as they can be, and from reaching the peaks that are within their grasp.

Photo Credit:
Associated Press

Matt Fraser Wins Game 4 in Overtime

On May 3rd Matt Fraser played for the Providence Bruins of the AHL, as they beat the Springfield Falcons 6-3 to advance in the Calder Cup Playoffs. 4,427 people were there. The next game Fraser found himself in, he scored a game-winning overtime goal to push the Boston Bruins over the Montreal Canadiens, in front of 21,273 Habs fans. What a difference a week makes.

Fraser scored the goal to end the game, but it was Tuukka Rask's play that won the game. In the 2nd he stopped Brian Gionta on a breakaway after David Krejci was stripped of possession. In the 3rd Rask stopped Gionta again on a point blank shot. He made all the big saves, he kept his team in the game when they were struggling to score at the other end. He stopped all 33 shots the Canadiens took at him. You can't ask anything more from a goalie.

If not for Rask's play, Matt Fraser would never have gotten the chance to be the playoff hero.

The Bruins played this game much more solidly than Game 3. There were fewer glaring mistakes. At the same time, there wasn't much pressure put on the Canadiens or on Price. The Krejci line is still a nonfactor. Krejci himself did win more faceoffs than he lost (10 for 18), and Iginla leveled a nice hit on Max Pacioretty, but Krejci only had 1 shot on goal, Iginla had none. Lucic managed 4, but most were token shots at the logo on Price's sweater.

Carl Soderberg's line produced the best chances. Soderberg hit a crossbar late in the 1st, and Fraser was skating with the Soderberg line in overtime when he knocked in a rebound to win the game.

Zdeno Chara and Johnny Boychuk were the Bruins best defensemen and their best skaters. Chara broke up a 2-on-1 in the 1st (PK Subban soon thereafter broke up a Bruins' 2-on-1 at the other end of the ice). Boychuk made a big block late in the 3rd period, one of his 4 blocks in the game.

This was a classic, defensive Bruins victory. The Bruins were patient and poised, and they leave Canada on a victorious note.

It's such a massive difference to come back to Boston tied 2-2 as opposed to being down 3-1.

Game 5 Saturday night in Boston.

I'm Going to Criticize Tuukka Rask, Because He's Not Doing His Job

Tuukka Rask wasn't THE reason the Bruins lost Game 3 to the Canadiens. However, his job is to help the Bruins win, not just to avoid being a reason they lose. He didn't do much to help them win Game 3. Nor did he do much to help the B's win Game 1. Had the Bruins won Game 3, his play wouldn't have been a reason they won.

Here's what makes the goaltending position so important and so special: good goaltending covers for bad play. Good goaltending keeps a struggling offense close to their opponent, it prevents turnovers and defensive lapses from becoming goals. Pundits and fans have been pointing to defensive miscues and poor performing forwards as reasons the Bruins lost Game 3. And while that's accurate, it's also within the powers of the goalie to mask those weaknesses, and help his team win despite their failings. Tuukka Rask didn't do that.

It's okay to criticize Rask for not doing what he's capable of doing.

For instance, he is quite capable of making saves on breakaways. Like this one in March...

This year he had a .727 save percentage in shootouts. In his career it's .694. So about 70% of the time that he's facing an opponent's best shooters one-on-one to decide a regular season game, the puck doesn't go in.

And in the NHL as a whole, shooters converted 31.65% of shootout attempts. More than 2/3 of the time (68.35%), the puck fails to go in and the goalie is successful.

Breakaways aren't easy to stop, but they are stopped very often.

Rask is quite capable of stopping Dale Weise (who has 10 career goals) on a breakaway. Had he stopped Weise's breakaway, Rask would have helped his team win. It's okay to criticize him for failing there. And yes, it is a failure. A goalie of Rask's caliber, who stops 70% of shootout attempts, leaves his 5-hole wide open and allows a 4th liner beat him? That's a failure.

Even if you disagree with that assessment, you must concede that Rask didn't come up with a big stop there. And a big stop would have helped the Bruins win. On that play, Rask didn't help the Bruins win. Which means he didn't do his job.

In Boston we've seen how much of an impact big stops can have in the playoffs. The breakaway and odd-man rush saves can be seen at 0:00, 0:16, 0:30, 0:50, 1:41, 2:30, 3:03, 3:35, and 5:17.

I once thought it unfair to compare Rask or any other goalie to what Tim Thomas did in the 2011 playoffs. It was superhuman at times. Then I heard the Boston Globe's Christopher Gasper argue that Rask's stats in the 2013 playoffs were comparable to Thomas' in 2011, so the performance levels were also on a similar level. Really? Even though Rask lost 3 in a row against Chicago that year, allowing 11 goals in those 3 games?

Rask rarely gets criticized for not helping his team win playoff series. And he should. Such shortcomings are not new. In 2010 Rask was a significant contributor to the Bruins' 3-0 collapse to the Flyers. He allowed 16 goals in the final 4 games, and in Game 7 he failed to hold a 3-0 lead. Last year the Bruins had a 2-1 lead in Game 6 against the Blackhawks, who scored twice in the last 2 minutes to win the game and the series.

In 2010, 2013, and now in 2014, many are quick to point out the various other reasons that the Bruins have lost games and series. David Krejci was hurt at the end of that Flyers series, as was Patrice Bergeron in the Stanley Cup Finals. There were turnovers, Tyler Seguin wasn't scoring, Milan Lucic wasn't finishing opportunities. All valid points, all true, all contributing factors to defeat.

It isn't about blaming Rask, it's about pointing out when he hasn't helped the team win.

As I said earlier, good goaltending can make up for those deficiencies. Tim Thomas' goaltending carried the Bruins when their power play was the worst to ever win a Stanley Cup. Patrick Roy's goaltending did it for the Canadiens and Avalanche. Jonathan Quick's goaltending did it for the Kings. Carey Price's did it in Game 1. Tuukka Rask's did it against Detroit.

The Bruins have the good goaltender. Now they need him to play up to his ability. They need good goaltending from that good goalie.

Tuukka Rask, more than any other individual player on the Bruins, has the power to turn this series around. When a defenseman turns a puck over, Rask has the power to stop the ensuing breakaway. When the Krejci line doesn't produce, Rask has the power to keep Montreal scoring to a minimum.

His job is to help the team win. It's time for him to do his job.

Photo Credit:
Allen McInnis, Montreal Gazette

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

PK Subban Defeats Bruins PK

Special teams, special teams, special teams. It was a massive strength for the Bruins in their series win over Detroit (the B's were 6 for 16 on the power play, and held Detroit to 2 PP goals in 20 chances). In just one game, however, the Canadiens have already equaled Detroit's total power play production. PK Subban scored a pair of power play goals for the Habs. The first gave Montreal a 1-0 lead, the second gave the Habs a 4-3 win.

Meanwhile the Bruins power play went 0 for 2.

I would say that special teams was the deciding difference in the game, but it wasn't. The difference was goaltending. The Bruins came into the series with likely Vezina winner Tuukka Rask in net, and the Habs brought Carey Price, who was unspectacular in Montreal's sweep over Tampa Bay. Price had a .904 save percentage in that series, with a GAA of 2.33. But it was Price who was vastly superior to Rask in Game 1.

Price stopped 48 shots, 19 more than Rask. Price also had more difficult stops to make. He played so well that he affected how the Bruins attacked. At times the Bruins tried to be too fancy with too many passes and too many moves in an effort to beat Price. It wasn't until the B's went back to basics that they were successful.

Montreal's second and third goals were saves that Rask should make. The first goal he was screened by his own players. But the second goal simply beat him high, and the third goal he had a perfectly clear view of and still got beat. So far this morning the media narrative for this game seems focused on missed offensive opportunities. I disagree. Rask didn't play up to the level he's capable of, and that should be the focus.

Rask only faced 6 shots in the 3rd and he let 1 of them in. If not for Johnny Boychuk's goal with under 2 minutes left, Rask and the Bruins lose the game in regulation.

Those missed opportunities were frustrating. But I don't consider hitting the post to be "unlucky." It's a miss. The goal is 4' x 6' and always has been and the posts are outside of the goal. When basketball players hit the rim it isn't unlucky, same goes for field goals in football that hit an upright and ricochet out.

The Bruins' young defensemen were exposed in this game. Torey Krug scored a goal but his miscues also led to 2 Montreal goals. Matt Bartkowski committed an unwarranted holding penalty that led to Subban's game-winner 7 seconds later. I miss Dennis Seidenberg. I miss Adam McQuaid. I miss Andrew Ference.

On the bright side, Brad Marchand finally scored some points with 2 assists. The Bergeron line was +2. However the Krejci line was -1, so was the Merlot line. And as mentioned, the Bruins were -2 on special teams.

PK Subban (2 goals) and Rene Bourque (goal, assist) were Montreal's best offensive weapons. Bourque remains scorching hot. Thankfully Thomas Vanek looks completely lost out there.

I'm a little worried. After Dennis Seidenberg went down the Bruins penalty kill went through some tough times. They seemed to sort it out at the end of the regular season, and they shut down Detroit. But you're only as good as your last game. Which is great news because Game 2 is Saturday afternoon at 12:30 on NBC, which means the Bruins have a chance to improve their special teams. And their goaltending.

Photo Credit:
Elise Amendola/Associated Press

The Wings Were an Appetizer, the Canadiens Are the Main Course

It's finally Thursday and it's finally time: The Bruins against the Canadiens. The B's against Les Habitants. Black and gold against the bleu blanc rouge.

This is my favorite sports rivalry. I'm more emotionally invested in this rivalry than any other in Boston sports (at least since the 2004 ALCS when the Red Sox finally overcame the Yankees). I hate the Canadiens. I hate everything their team stands for (and falls down for). And I hate their fans. This is true, mean, irrational hatred.

With all due respect to the Red Wings, the only way they were going to beat the Bruins was if the Bruins beat themselves. And did so on multiple levels. Even when Tuukka Rask let in a soft goal and the B's played like crap, Detroit barely took Game 1. The Bruins-Red Wings series was by far the least exciting of the 8 first round series in the NHL.

Montreal is different. While I can't say I respect them, I do respect the threat they pose. They're fast and they know how to use that speed. They have a goalie capable of greatness. They have very talented players like PK Subban, Max Pacioretty (39 goals this year), and Bruins killer Thomas Vanek.

In playoff hockey the Bruins usually do a good job of shutting down, or at least minimizing, an opponent's best forwards. Put Zdeno Chara and the Bergeron line on the ice against an opposing top line and keep them from beating you. However, the Canadiens don't rely on a top line for their offense. They rely on guys like PK Subban. Subban and fellow defenseman Andrei Markov were 2nd and 4th on the Canadiens in points this year. That's one reason the Habs are such a matchup problem for the B's. To be fair, PK Subban is a matchup problem for the entire NHL.

Another reason is that the Canadiens can get under the Bruins' skins. When the Bruins feel like the officials aren't calling the game they way they ought to, the Bruins have one reaction: hit somebody. And not when the time is right, NOW. The B's have a tendency to lose their composure and give gift penalties to opponents with post-whistle punches, interference, slashes, et cetera. That can only hurt them in this series.

Montreal isn't as reliant on their power play as they've been in years past, but it only takes one or two goals to flip a close series around. And this will be a close series. Don't give them the extra chances.

The emotions of this series will sway back and forth. There will be tidal waves of frustration and rage, floods of good play and bad. The difference between winning and losing might be who plays composed even when they're mad, and who forces the other team into making a heated mistake.

Some things I'd like to see from the Bruins, apart from composure:

Brad Marchand either scoring or helping others score. It's been 11 games since his last playoff point. Tuukka Rask has more points (1 assist) in those 11 games than Marchand has. Marchand is a top 6 forward, he's paid like a top 6 forward, he needs to play like a top 6 forward.

Milan Lucic needs to be a freight train that stays on the tracks. Don't derail for the sake of sending a physical message. Don't remove yourself off the ice with unnecessary penalties. That's what Montreal wants.

Don't take Montreal's speed for granted. That cross-ice passing lane that seems open, their speed will close it like a bear trap. See what I did with that pun there?

Rask needs to be exceptional at critical moments. Not just good, exceptional. There will be breakaways, there will be power plays, Rask's job is to make timely saves. Giving up a goal when it's 1-1 in the 1st period is not the same as when it's 1-1 late in the 3rd.

Special teams need to remain an advantage. I don't expect the Bruins' power play to continue at the 38% clip it produced at in the Red Wings series. It does need to continue to produce goals, and to pressure Carey Price and the Habs for 2 minutes. No easy kills for Montreal. Wear them out. This series will be a battle of attrition.

The Bruins need more production 5-on-5. They only scored 6 even strength goals against Detroit in 5 games (14 total, 6 on power play, 6 even, 2 empty-netters).

This will be an exciting, emotional roller coaster of a series. Moments of unparalleled exultation along with periods of deep dread and despair. And all of it hangs in the balance with each game, each period, each shift, each pass.

My prediction on these extremely difficult series to predict: Bruins in 7.

Red Wings Hold Sticks, Can't Hold Lead

The 1st period and the overtime were mirror images of each other. The Bruins were outshot 15-5 in the 1st, and then outshot Detroit 12-3 in overtime. In the middle were a number of big saves by Tuukka Rask, two huge misses by Brad Marchand, and lots of Red Wings holding on to Bruins sticks.

The Bruins' first line showed up fashionably late in this game. Milan Lucic tied it in the 3rd and Jarome Iginla was credited with the game-winner. Patrice Bergeron also had an assist on Torey Krug's power play goal in the 2nd.

Dougie Hamilton added 2 assists. That's 3 points for Hamilton in the 2 games in Detroit. Hamilton did more than any other skater to help the Bruins win both games on the road.

Tuukka Rask was the #1 star of the game, at least in my book (the media named Iginla the #1 star). He only allowed 1 goal in the 1st period when Detroit was dominating play. He stopped 35 of 37 shots, and the 2 pucks that got past him were essentially unstoppable. On the first goal Todd Bertuzzi eclipsed Rask's entire field of vision, and the second goal was a result of poor defensive coverage (Bartkowski falling down). Rask had no chance to stop either shot. Throughout the game he made the standard saves as well as some very tough ones.

If the Bruins had lost this game, it would have been Brad Marchand's fault. He had two empty nets in front of him, with plenty of time, plenty of space, and he missed the net both times. Not even close. Imagine a basketball player going for an uncontested layup and not even hitting the backboard.

Marchand is a pest, but he's also a top-6 forward and he's paid to play like one. Pests come cheap. He makes $4.5 million per year, and that salary isn't to get under opponents' skin, it's to put pucks in their nets. He has 0 points in this series. Going back to the Cup Finals last year that's 10 straight playoff games without a goal or an assist, and 12 since his last goal. Do your job, Marchand.

The Red Wings did quite a bit of stick holding, or "chicken winging" as Jack Edwards and Andy Brickley repeatedly called it. The Bruins tried to lobby the refs to make a call, to no avail. In these circumstances, when officials aren't calling the game the way the Bruins want it to be called, the B's tend to have one reaction: hit the guy.

It's not smart. It's harmful to your cause. It can result in stupid penalties, and only makes the opponent want to do it even more. They know they've gotten into your head.

The proper response, after lobbying the refs and failing, is to do it yourself. If the refs are letting Detroit get away with it, then do it to them. Fight fire with fire, not with fists and shoves.

Game 5 is Saturday afternoon in Boston. The Bruins can't be complacent. The opening period of this game showed how dangerous Detroit could be, and Jonas Gustavsson looked strong in net. I'm hoping Mike Babcock goes back to Jimmy Howard.

Photo Credit:
Carlos Osorio/Associated Press

PK Subban and Canadiens End Bruins Winning Streak and I Start a Being Pissed Off Streak

For the Boston Bruins, playing the Montreal Canadiens is like playing with a double-edged sword. The Bruins are considerably stronger and more physical than the Habs. That's an advantage sometimes, a disadvantage at others. "It's one of those teams you want to hit," Brad Marchand remarked after the game. And this thirst for hitting can sometimes cause some Bruins to lose their cool and commit stupid penalties.

Such stupidity is exacerbated by inconsistent officials, like the ones who called the game Monday night. How does Thomas Vanek play with a broken stick and not get penalized?

I won't blame the refs for this loss, though. They eventually called plenty of penalties on Montreal. The Bruins only capitalized on one power play. And they failed to convert many other 5-on-5 opportunities. Give credit to Peter Budaj for a great game. The Bruins also didn't seem to receive passes very well. The closer the B's got to Montreal's net, the more jittery they seemed.

The Bruins also played into Montreal's game. When Milan Lucic gets hip-checked at the start of the game, Zdeno Chara can't go over and take a penalty just to send a message. ESPECIALLY Chara, your most important penalty killer.

The Bruins are a better 5-on-5 team than Montreal. Therefore the B's should do what they can to keep it 5-on-5.

I hate PK Subban. He is more of a late 1990s WWF heel than a 2014 NHL defenseman. His manager is Mr. Fuji, or Jim Cornette. The Undertaker challenged him to a casket match and he chickened out.

Subban would be a great hockey player if he'd just play hockey. The problem is, he can't help being himself. It's natural for him to act the way he acts with the Canadiens. His comfort zone is how he's played in Montreal for years. I hate when Boston media pundits say "You'd love to have him on your team." I would, ONLY under the condition that he just played hockey. It's one thing to be pesky, it's another thing to be a flopper who only picks on guys smaller than he is. If he continued to be the turd that he's been in Montreal, I wouldn't want him polluting the game with his WWE antics while wearing my team's colors.

In case you can't tell, I get emotional about games against the Canadiens.

That's what rivalry is all about. I love it.

This game has generated some interesting goaltending questions for both teams. If the Bruins and Habs meet in the playoffs, does Carey Price start in net for Montreal?

And for the Bruins, Tuukka Rask's record against the Canadiens remains something to worry about. He seemed to play more aggressively in this game than he normally does, venturing out of the crease more often, and moving further out than usual.

Lost in all this is that the B's still earned a point, and are now 4 away from clinching the Atlantic. They host the Chicago Blackhawks Thursday night, and if the B's win and the Tampa Bay Lightning lose to the Islanders, then the Bruins will claim the division title.

Photo Credit:
Charles Krupa/Associated Press

Jarome Finneginla Leads Bruins to St. Patrick's Day Win

The Bruins won their 9th straight Monday night against the Minnesota Wild in convincing fashion. Jarome Iginla scored twice. Loui Eriksson scored as well, and Reilly Smith scored his 19th of the season. Zdeno Chara had two assists.

Iginla has scored 25 goals this season, and as I think about his potential contributions in the upcoming playoffs, I can't help but imagine how much he might have helped the Bruins last year. When the B's faced the Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup Finals, they had run out of healthy and performing forwards. Iginla might have been the difference, or at least helped the Bruins force the series to 7 games. At least he's part of the team now.

Tuukka Rask made a couple of big saves in this game, much to Mikko Koivu's chagrin. Rask stopped 33 of 34. As part of this 9 game winning streak he's won 6 times, only allowing 9 goals (1.5 per game) with a save percentage of .947 (161 saves on 170 shots).

But the big story of the streak has been the offense. The B's have scored 36 goals in the last 9 games. If you've forgotten your multiplication tables, that's 4 goals per game.

One reason for the offensive success is the IKEA line of Loui Eriksson and Carl Soderberg. The two Swedish Fish combined for a goal Monday night and have combined for 5 goals in this streak. Not bad for the third line.

The top line has been leading the way. The aforementioned Iginla has scored 8 goals in this streak, including 5 in the last 3 games. David Krejci and Milan Lucic have each scored 3.

So 14 goals from the top line + 5 goals from the Swedish connection + contributions from everyone else + Rask playing well in net = 9 straight wins.

The Bruins now stand with 97 points, first in the Eastern Conference (5 points ahead of Pittsburgh), tied for the second best record in the NHL. With 14 games remaining, the Bruins have a 16 point lead over Tampa Bay and Montreal in the divisional race. The B's are 13 points away from clinching the division and home ice in the first two rounds. They're 7 points away from clinching a playoff spot.

They now embark on a weird road trip, playing in New Jersey Tuesday night, then Colorado on Friday and Phoenix on Saturday. The Bruins end the season with 15 games in 23 days, so clinching stuff will give them a chance to rest key players (Iginla, Chara, Rask) for the playoffs.

Photo Credit:
Charles Krupa/Associated Press

Bruins Overpower Canadiens

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

Tuukka Rask Finnishes Off Russia

Apart from Pavel Datsyuk, and Evgeni Malkin kind of, Russian hockey players typically fail to do the little things. Alex Ovechkin, for instance. He's a great scorer, he's strong on the puck, yet he doesn't do the small things that you see star players on other teams do. And that's a theme in Russian hockey. It's also the reason why they lost 3-1 to Finland.

Russia also struggles to build on plays as a team. This is an extension of the lack-of-little-things issue. The Russians don't string together small plays and turn them into big opportunities.

What Russia lacks as a team, Finland has in abundance. They attack as a team, they defend as a team, they line up in the neutral zone as a team. Everyone's on the same page.

This game was a series of Russian mistakes. Their first mistake was to continue with their strange goalie rotation and keep Vezina winner Sergei Bobrovsky on the bench. Semyon Varlamov got the start and allowed 2 soft goals. He was eventually pulled. Bobrovsky looked good in his two games before this. Why bench him in the most important game against a tough opponent?

Ilya Kovalchuk gave Russia a 1-0 lead with a power play goal. His celebration was so exuberant, it was almost too much. He jumped up as if he had scored an overtime game winner. I know emotions were riding high, but it was the first period. Russia played this entire tournament unable to control their emotions.

Finland scored their first goal after Russia needlessly iced the puck in an attempt to make a big play. Juhamatti Aaltonen weaved through Russians who stood around like cones. Then Varlamov failed to make a routine save.

A bad bounce on chipped ice resulted in a Teemu Selanne breakaway goal. So that means the Russians were betrayed by their own flimsy post against Team USA and now by their imperfect ice surface. Russia, you're supposed to have an advantage at home. Your own building shouldn't be sabotaging you.

Penalty killing requires players who do little things and who work as a team. Since those are two things Russia struggles with, it's not surprising that they allowed a power play goal. The penalty itself was unforced and unnecessary.

Tuukka Rask played a great game. He stopped 37 of 38 shots. The one goal he did allow was slightly soft, but he more than made up for it by making two or three incredible stops. That's usually the story with Rask. He will let in the occasional bad goal. His big saves usually outnumber those soft goals.

Russia is out of their own Olympics. That pleases me greatly.

Finland plays Sweden in the semifinals Friday morning at 6:30am (Eastern) on NBC Sports. So we have a European semifinal and a North American semifinal.

Photo Credit:
Alexander Nemenov /AFP/Getty Images

Bruins Beat Whalers... I Mean Stars

Did anyone else look at the TV during Thursday night's Bruins game, see the color of the Dallas Star jerseys, and just for a moment think that the B's were playing the Hartford Whalers?

The Stars would become my second favorite hockey team if they adopted Brass Bonanza as their anthem.

The Bruins really needed to get points from this game. Dallas has been mired in a tremendous slump. The Stars were 1-6 in January entering this game. The Bruins have also been slumping, though not as badly. They've only managed 6 points in their last 8 games. They have the Blackhawks and Kings after this, so leaving Texas with 2 points was a necessity.

It was good to see Chad Johnson (hockey) play solidly. The minimum standard of play from a backup is someone who doesn't put his team in position to lose. You want a backup who is decent enough to make winning possible. Johnson did his job Thursday night. I wouldn't mind seeing him a few more times until Tuukka Rask is as sharp as usual.

It was also good to see the Bruins' top forwards carry the load and score some goals. Krejci, Marchand, Lucic, and Bergeron all scored. Krejci, Lucic, and Bergeron all had assists. The B's even scored on the power play. And it was a forward (Lucic) who did it! Not Chara or Krug! Krug did have an assist on that goal, his team leading 13th power play point.

I have faith the Bruins will play their way out of this funk. But the penalty kill allowed yet another goal. And beating Dallas doesn't demonstrate that they're out of it, or even that they've started to play out of it. It's a 2-point grab when you're playing poorly. If they play well in their next games, then maybe they'll be playing their way back into a groove.

The Bruins play Sunday afternoon in Chicago on NBC. Which is a nice appetizer before the main course of the AFC Championship.

Photo Credit:
Tony Gutierrez/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 Show Up Late, Leave with Win

The Bruins are in the middle of two things: a bad rash of injuries, and a relatively easy part of their schedule. So when the last place Nashville Predators come to town, even if half your roster feels more at home in Providence, you still have to take advantage.

Just like last night's snowstorm, the Bruins started slow then poured it on stronger and stronger as the night went on. Johnny Boychuk fired a patented rocket past Mazanec in the 3rd. Then Jarome Iginla drove to the net like Shaq, outmuscling a defender for position on his way to his 13th goal of the season. And in overtime Brad Marchand self-pased the puck between the defensemen's legs to give himself space to score the game-winner.

Niklas Svedberg started in goal for the B's. This was his first career NHL game. He played solidly. Nashville isn't much of a test (5th fewest goals scored coming into last night's game). The Bruins need a backup goalie who can be put into the lineup often enough to keep Tuukka Rask fresh. And the Bruins need to at least have a chance to win those games. Maybe Svedberg can give them that chance in the future. Not right now though, since he's already been sent down to Providence.

The Bruins host the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday afternoon. That's another bad team that the B's need to collect points against. Then the Bruins go on the road and play the top 3 teams in the Pacific division (Anaheim, LA, San Jose).

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Charles Krupa