BRUINS/THRASHERS PREVIEW*

Atlanta is the streakiest team in the NHL. They've won 4 in a row, but that's right after losing 6 straight. They've got offensive talent, but not nearly as much since they traded Kovalchuk. Their goaltending's mediocre and their defense is far from stifling. They've allowed the 3rd most goals in the NHL.

On paper, the Bruins are clearly superior. But which Bruins team will show up each period?

I think the Bruins will play well for 30 to 40 minutes in this game, which should be enough to score 3 goals against the Thrashers. It'll be closely fought, as both teams are playing for a playoff spot, but the Bruins are simply a better team. And I can see this game going to overtime. But Rask pushes the Bruins over the top.

Bruins 4, Thrashers 3, shootout win for the B's.

THE OTHER MARCH MADNESS*

To give you a break from basketball, here's my NCAA Hockey Tournament preview...

Four New England teams made the tournament, three from Hockey East (BC, UNH, Vermont) and one from ECAC (Yale). BC won the Hockey East tourney, earning a #1 seed and the privilege of playing in Worcester. UNH is a #3 seed and will be playing their games in Albany. Yale is also a #3 seed and will also be in Worcester. Vermont barely squeezed in as a #4 seed and will play all the way out in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Northeast Region (Worcester, MA):
#1 Boston College Eagles vs. #4 Alaska Nanooks
This is BC's 29th NCAA appearance, it's Alaska's 1st. The Nanooks are just happy to be there, while BC will be doing work, trying to get to their 22nd Frozen Four. Both teams are fast, BC is faster and stronger, and will prevail.

#2 North Dakota Fighting Sioux vs. #3 Yale Bulldogs
UND won the very tough WCHA tournament title, while Yale finished the season losing 3 of 4 and being eliminated from the ECAC tourney by lowly Brown. But before those 4 subpar games, they ripped off 7 straight wins and won the ECAC regular season title. But I have to go with the experienced Fighting Sioux to win this one.

So it'll be BC/North Dakota in the Northeast Regional Finals. This is a nice non-geographic NCAA rivalry here. I think BC gets a few calls, scores a few PP goals and squeezes by the Sioux to advance to the Frozen Four.



East Region (Albany, NY):
#1 Denver Pioneers vs. #4 RIT Tigers
Denver has been dominant all season before losing in the WCHA semis. RIT is much closer to Albany, but Denver should be used to travelling long distances (the WCHA spreads teams from Alaska to Michigan). RIT won the weak AHA tournament and will be obliterated by Denver.

#2 Cornell Big Red vs. #3 New Hampshire Wildcats
A very good matchup here. Cornell won the ECAC tournament and fell short of the regular season title by only 1 point. UNH won the Hockey East regular season, but were knocked out in the first round of the tourney by Vermont. This will essentially be a home game for Cornell, and the Big Red are a very patient, confident, big team. I think they prevail over the Wildcats.

So it'll be Cornell vs. Denver. I'm going to be biased and say Cornell advances to Detroit.



Midwest Region (Fort Wayne, IN):
#1 Miami (Ohio) RedHawks vs. #4 Alabama-Huntsville Chargers
Miami's been on a mission since their heartbreaking last minute defeat to BU in the NCAA Finals a year ago. They absolutely dominated the CCHA, losing only 2 conference games and winning the regular season title by 20 points. Bama-Huntsville won the CHA tournament, which is as unimpressive as it gets. The CHA is folding after this season and UAH will be an independent next season. This will likely be their last NCAA bid for awhile, and it won't last long. Miami advances, PDQ.

#2 Bemidji State Beavers vs. #3 Michigan Wolverines
A contrast here as BSU dominated the regular season in the CHA, while Michigan finished 7th in their conference. BSU somehow lost in the CHA tourney, while Michigan needed to win the entire CCHA tourney to get here. Big Blue is red hot, winning 8 of their last 9, and it's only a 150 mile drive from Ann Arbor to Fort Wayne. Michigan wins.

So the final will be Miami vs. Michigan. The Wolverines beat Miami in the CCHA semifinals, but I don't see that happening again. Miami moves on to the Frozen Four.



West Region (St. Paul, MN)
#1 Wisconsin Badgers vs. #4 Vermont Catamounts
Wisconsin finished 2nd in the mighty WCHA, but watch out for Vermont here. The Catamounts were 8th in Hockey East, so how did they make the NCAA tournament? By beating quality teams. They split a pair of close games with Denver (in Denver) in October, beat BC 2 of 3, beat Yale in November, beat Bama-Huntsville, and shutout UNH twice in the Hockey East quarterfinals. Against NCAA tournament teams, they're 7-5-1, so Wisconsin better be ready. But I think they will be, and the Badgers move on.

#2 St. Cloud State Huskies vs. #3 Northern Michigan Wildcats
In a tournament with Badgers, Catamounts, Nanooks, Fighting Sioux, Beavers, and Big Reds, these two teams have the most unoriginal nicknames. St. Cloud State was very close to garnering a #1 seed, and Northern Michigan is a bit of a late-comer to the national scene. The game's in Minnesota, so I'm picking St. Cloud State.

And Wisconsin will beat SCSU.



So my Frozen Four:
Boston College
Cornell
Miami
Wisconsin

But don't be shocked if Michigan sneaks in.

The games start Friday. UNH/Cornell will be at 6:30pm. Vermont/Wisconsin will be at 7:00pm. On Saturday, BC/Alaska will be at 1:30pm.

ARE THE CELTICS "BACK?"

Not really.

As much as the super-optimists and bright-siders surrounding the Celtics want to gush about them winning 2 of 3 on a tough road trip, and 4 of 5 overall, I can't help but see the same malfunctions that have plagued the C's since Christmas.

Utah's a good team, #4 in the West, and losing to them in Salt Lake City is nothing to be ashamed of. Unless you're up by 5 at halftime, only to lose by 13 in the end. And those afore mentioned ultra positive Celtics apologists can harp on the bench scoring 42 points, which is lovely, but when the team is -17 when Garnett and Ray Alen are on the floor, something's wrong.

This is an old team that gets tired. It's as simple as that. When the playoffs do come, they'll be able to "flip the switch" and have enough juice for 5 to 10 games. But a Championship run requires a minimum of 16 games, and as many as 28 games. That's 1/5 to 1/3 of a season. In '08 the C's needed 26 games to claim the title. They don't have the fuel to keep the fires burning for that long.

Source:
ESPN

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Danny Chan La

BC WINS HOCKEY EAST

BC Assistant Captain Matt Lombardi entered Saturday night's Hockey East title game with 3 goals on the season. He had 3 goals in the game, as the high-flying BC offense held off a hungry Maine side that refused to go down without a fight.

I'm a BC fan, but I'll admit to wanting to see Maine win here. They've had a solid year after back-to-back dismal 13 win seasons, and a win would've given them an automatic berth in the NCAAs. Their resume is not good enough for an at-large bid.

The Black Bears never led the game, but they never trailed by more than 2 goals. Three of their scores came on the very next shift after BC had scored. They never let the Eagles get out of sight. But the Eagles were too good, too loaded.

BC has potential to do some serious damage on a national level. They've earned a #1 seed, along with the privilege of playing the first two rounds in nearby Worcester. They're a fast, deep team with ample experience at several key positions. This will be the 3rd NCAA Tournament for some of BC's seniors.

BRUINS DO WHAT THEY MUST

I won't get too excited over Sunday's 2-1 victory over the Rangers. The game can be summed up thusly: a solid Bruins team with good goaltending took advantage of two Rangers' missteps to score twice and beat a 10th place team.

The Rangers are almost as offensively inept as the Bruins, averaging just 2.58 goals per game. Despite having some recognizable names on their roster, they've been a disappointment all season, failing to fully function as a team. And you saw that yesterday when their defencemen were easily "mesmerized by the puck" and drawn out of position, allowing Miroslav Satan, then Dennis Wideman time and space to score.

You know every time the Bruins' power play fails, I not only miss Marc Savard, I think to myself "The loss of this unit's effectiveness resulted in only 11 seconds of retribution?" I'm still not over Thursday night's shortcomings, at least in the revenge department.

But this win is what the Bruins must do if they want to make the playoffs. It's what they must do to control their own destiny. It's what they must do to maintain hope of avoiding Washington in the 1st round.

The Bruins are a mere 3 points behind 5th, 6th, and 7th placed Ottawa, Philadelphia, and Montreal. The Bruins also have an extra game remaining. Unfortunately, the B's are also only 1 point ahead of 9th place Atlanta, who they play Tuesday night in Atlanta. The Thrashers have won 4 straight.

Source:
ESPN

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

BRUINS FAIL AT EVERYTHING

I am not entertained in the least.

It started off beautifully. Shawn Thornton, as if imbued (inspired/possessed) by the '70 Bruins who were honored pregame, totally whaled on Matt Cooke. It was more than a fight, it was a beatdown, and Thornton got in a few shots after the linesmen tried breaking it up. He got an extra 10 minutes for it, but it well was worth it.



What happened to Cooke after that?

Nothing!

Seidenberg sort of hit him with a bodycheck I guess. Krejci, to his credit, tried to rattle his cage a bit with a forgettable "check." But nobody dropped the gloves with him again, nobody took aim at him. I guess losing your best player for the season is only worth 11 seconds of fisticuffs.

But in the 1st period, at least, the Bruins were physical and fought well. Lucic looked like the Lucic from last year. And the play was generally even, if not favoring the B's. They allowed a silly breakaway and a goal, but so what? They hit some posts, and M.A. Fleury was flailing about like the utter spaz he is. Goals were imminent.

But things seemed to change after the 1st intermission (thanks for the unpep-talk, Claude). The Bruins left Cooke alone. NESN's announcers kept saying that there was a "dance card of guys willing to tangle with him." Stuart, Lucic, Begin, Chara, and Sobotka are the names that come to mind. But Cooke was just sort of left to his own antagonistic devices.

It was as if Luke, Obi-Wan, and Leia decided to go to the mall in the middle of Star Wars instead of trying to destroy the Death Star. "Yeah, they blew up Alderaan, but we destroyed 6 of their anonymous fighter pilots, so we're done. Let's shop!"



Even when the game was 3-0 and out of hand, the Bruins were more focused on being embarrassed by the Penguins on the ice, than piledriving Matt Cooke through the ice. They were still trying to claim points in a game that was by then pointless.

When the game was about revenge, the Bruins played focused hockey. They all had the same fire, the same goal, the same ideals. They were still limited by their own physical (Krejci) and mental (Satan) shortcomings, but they appeared to be playing at their best levels, and playing together.

Then when Julien tried to refocus the Bruins on getting 2 points, not so mysteriously they lost focus on their jobs. They were focused on moving a number in the standings, not on getting to loose pucks or making tape-to-tape passes. The result was then made inevitable.



Michael "Appendix" (because he serves no purpose) Ryder has another new nickname: It's Michael Bystander. At the start of the 3rd period, he's lined up with Cooke on the wing for the faceoff. Not even a nudge when the puck drops. He actually gave Cooke 2 or 3 feet to maneuver. Michael Bystander is completely useless, and I'd rather see Tim Thomas play right wing. Or sign Glen Murray again!



So even though the headlines are saying "The Bruins Got Revenge, but Lost the Game," I obnoxiously disagree. The Bruins got no revenge. Do you think Cooke will think twice the next time some premier centreman is vulnerable in their backswing? Do you think the next goon will have any apprehension when he has Patrice Bergeron in his crosshairs?

Nope. Cuz all they'll have to endure is 11 seconds of hell with Shawn Thornton, and that's it. Is that vengeance enough? Is it retribution, "payback," repayment, retaliation. Does it even things up? Is it justice? Is it fair?

When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, did we bomb Tokyo just once? No, we bombed it until we obliterated it. Then we bombed other cities.

If someone steals $1,000 from you, are you satisfied if they give you $100 back?

If a dog attacks a human, does the human get to bite the dog? No, the dog gets destroyed. That didn't happen to Matt Cooke.

Bruins will get shutout by the Rangers Sunday afternoon, and they will either miss the playoffs or get swept out in 4 games. This team has no heart, no soul, no chance. I feel as depressed and cynical as Randy Quaid in the middle of Major League II.

Thankfully, at least Shawn Thornton had the right idea.

Source:
ESPN

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

WHY I WANT TO SEE SIDNEY CROSBY LYING FACEDOWN ON THE ICE TONIGHT

As much as I dislike Crosby, he's a relatively clean player. And he bears no responsibility for what happened to Marc Savard.

Then again, it's a team sport, isn't it? And let's say the Bruins go after Matt Cooke tonight, and even injure him, does that seem fair? The Bruins' #1 offensive threat goes down, while the Penguins lose a 3rd line winger. That's about as balanced as The Treaty of Versailles, and as fair as Fox News' political coverage.

Is a fight gonna satisfy you? Shawn Thornton steps up to Cooke, they both drop their gloves, dance a little, maybe Thornton lands a big punch or two, but so what? 5 minutes later and it's forgotten. Is that sufficient justice?

And what about deterring future goons from harassing top-flight Bruins players. Will they bat an eye the next time they have a chance to light up Patrice Bergeron, for fear that they'll have to drop the gloves and fight? Nope.

Go after Crosby. Punish the PENGUINS for what THEY did to the BRUINS. Like when a pitcher throws at Youkilis, the Sox pitcher has to nail the opponent's best hitter, not the #8 hitting short-stop.

Punish Matt Cooke, but not psychically. Make his teammates blame him for what happens to Crosby. Make him and every other cheap-shotting goon think twice about blindsiding an opponent, knowing that it'll cost him their best teammate.

Most of all, punish the Penguins.

BRUINS FORGET IT'S A 3 PERIOD GAME

After the 5-1 over Philly, I was thrilled. But this team has shown sparks before, only to fail in kindling those sparks into a lasting fire.

There's been a theory floated that the Bruins play much more inspired hockey when Tuuka Rask is in net. I'm starting to give this notion more credence as it's tough to argue with it after last night. But if true, I think it's utterly pathetic. You obviously go with Rask then, but how long will the Bruins give 100% in front of him?

This team is like a combination of Wizard of Oz characters. They lack heart, they lack brains, only Mark Stuart seems to have courage, and Dennis Wideman just wants to go home.

They lack coaching too. For New Jersey's first goal, Julien opted for a line of Sobotka-Satan-Lucic, with Hunwick and Boychuck as the defensive pair. This was for a faceoff in the defensive zone, after the Devils had turned it into a shooting gallery.

And what the hell is Satan doing on a line with Sobotka and Lucic? That's like putting high performance racing tires on an '88 Buick.

Speaking of Lucic, while it's not his fault, he really is useless on the ice. He's obviously nursing multiple injuries, which prevent him from playing the physical game he's known for. The problem is, he doesn't possess much in the finesse/skills department. And his Hockey IQ has always been in the meaty center of the bell curve. A healthy Daniel Paille is twice as effective as the current version of Milan Lucic.

The Bruins sit one point ahead of the Rangers for the 8th and final playoff spot. They play at lowly Carolina tonight. Anything less than 2 points is inexcusable.

Source:
ESPN