Former Boston Bruin Rich Peverley Collapses on Bench in Dallas

On Monday night in Dallas, a game between the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Dallas Stars came to a sudden halt due to a frantic commotion on the Dallas bench. Coaches scrambled and yelled up into the crowd looking for a doctor. Players on both teams poured out of their benches and looked on in stunned silence as 31-year-old Stars forward Rich Peverley was on the ground, unconscious. It was a terrifying scene that seemed to be the beginning of a tragic incident.

Peverley had suffered a cardiac event. Thankfully, due to quick actions by everyone involved, Peverley's heart rate was brought back to normal. He was taken to the hospital and was conscious and aware of his surroundings. He even expressed a desire to return to the game.

That game was suspended due to the intense emotions of players from both teams.

In September Peverley underwent surgery to correct an irregular heartbeat.

Peverley won the Stanley Cup with the Bruins in 2011, playing a key role as a jack of all trades. A friend of mine once compared him to Troy Brown due to his willingness to do whatever the team needed him to do. Peverley is a veteran of 8 seasons, this was his first in Dallas. Former Bruins Tyler Seguin and Tim Thomas are his teammates with the Stars. Also, Nathan Horton plays for Columbus. Current Stars Kari Lehtonen and Vernon Fiddler also played with Peverley on other teams. Lehtonen in Atlanta and Fiddler for three seasons in Nashville.

Thankfully Peverley is as okay as you could hope for. It's always scary when the heart is involved. Medical staff responded quickly, chest compressions and defibrillation were necessary to get his heartbeat back in rhythm. He was also given oxygen. That's frightening stuff.

Hopefully this is something that he can have corrected.

Everyone in Boston is thinking about you, Pevs.

The Stars play the Blues in St. Louis tonight.

Photo Credit:
Fox Sports

Barry Bonds Returns to Baseball, Baseball Still Hypocritical

For some reason I get Comcast Sports Bay Area with my cable TV package. It's weird seeing promotions for Oakland A's spring training updates and Golden State Warriors coverage.

On Monday they broadcast a press conference involving Barry Bonds, who will be spending a few days with the San Francisco Giants in spring training as a guest hitting coach. This marks Bonds' return to the game after retirement, conviction, and failing to be elected into the Hall of Fame.

He was asked 45 questions (not counting multi-part questions and follow-ups). Only 10 of them had to do with PEDs or the Hall of Fame. Many were about his responsibilities as a guest hitting coach. There was also a number of suck-up questions phrased in ways to praise his greatness. "These kids are in awe of you..." one question began.

I don't want Bonds to be cross-examined wherever he goes. Nor do I think he should be issued a restraining order by the game of baseball and court ordered to remain 300 yards from any MLB facility. I do, however, think it's odd that the faces of PEDs in baseball are being invited back to the game. Mark McGwire, for example, as the hitting coach for the Dodgers.

The hypocrisy of the PED era remains alive and well. The game wants to appear clean and so it harshly and publicly punishes those who break the rules. Yet teams welcome back McGwire and Bonds. The Bay Area media treat Barry Bonds like a king, and they defend him like his knights. Meanwhile the high priests of the BBWAA judge him as a sinner, even though for years they praised him as he sinned.

The 30 Major League clubs have made a big deal to demonstrate their absolute intolerance of PEDs. They even went so far as to suspend Alex Rodriguez for a bizarre number of games. The 30 clubs don't want PEDs to be part of the game.

If you were to create a Mount Rushmore of PED usage in baseball, Barry Bonds' swollen cranium would be up there, along with McGwire's, and then Jose Canseco and A-Rod. Baseball wants PEDs out, yet PED users are welcome to return.

It's baseball saying one thing and doing another. It's baseball writers saying one thing and doing another.

At least McGwire admitted it. Kind of. Actually, let's not praise McGwire for his post-PED "honesty." When Bonds was asked on Monday if he should admit to his usage, he gave this answer worthy of a politician:

"I already went to court and that's where I'll leave it."

When asked about Biogenesis he responded:

"I don't want to get into that at all."

When asked about his intimidating persona, Bonds modestly admitted "I had teammates who said 'Barry, you're too nice.'"

The question I would have asked is "What will you say to a young player who tells you he's thinking about doing a little something extra, maybe outside of the rules, to help himself out, and wants to know your thoughts on that?" That's the question to ask. It falls within his role as a guest coach, he'll probably still give a meaningless answer, but it's not a direct, accusatory question about his PED use either. You can even add "As a veteran," or "As someone who played in the era."

I'm not mad at Bonds. I'm mad at the game for making a spectacle of punishing steroid and HGH users, and then welcoming the men who inspired that use back into the game as coaches.

More than that, I'm mad at the Bay Area media who have been Bonds apologists for years. They've given Bonds more free passes than NL pitchers did. There were only a handful of difficult questions for Bonds to answer. And when he was asked if he was jealous or upset about the Giants winning the World Series without him in 2010 and 2012, one of the gathered media pointed out that Bonds was at the games and cheering. The Bay Area press stood and defended Bonds like knights defend their king.

At the end of the press conference, the microphone caught reporters saying "Thanks, Barry." And "Good job."

And while one segment of baseball media defends Bonds at all costs, another has the unshakable stance that he should never enter The Hall of Fame except as a paying customer. Both groups are hypocrites. Both are fighting a battle over ethics, but doing so in unethical ways. The Bay Area Knights of Bonds dismiss and excuse any and all wrongdoing by their king. And the high priests of the BBWAA have banished him from Cooperstown because of his sins, even though those same priests praised him endlessly while he was sinning.

Baseball wants to seem clean, yet guys like McGwire and Bonds still carry their inflated skulls and massive biceps around baseball clubhouses. Even if they are clean as coaches, what's the message to young players? Take PEDs, hit 600+ homeruns, then get paid to coach. No Hall of Fame? No problem.

Then the writers are divided on how to be unethical and wrong in their coverage of the game. Some want to gloss over the truth or explain it away. Some with sin want to cast the first stone.

All are wrong. The 30 clubs punish violations too harshly, and also shouldn't welcome back famous cheaters with open arms while doing so. And the media shouldn't be so entrenched with their positions. Bonds can be a cheater and a Hall of Famer. He can be bad and be great.

Tim Thomas and Roberto Luongo Endure Painful Separation

Tim Thomas and Roberto Luongo were teammates for mere hours, but I don't think either will forget the experience. Thomas was traded to the Dallas Stars just before the NHL Trade Deadline on Wednesday. Thomas will backup Kari Lehtonen as the Stars push to make the playoffs. Dallas currently has the 8th best record in the West.

Thomas and Luongo were teammates for less than a day, although Luongo probably flew to southern Florida for the Panthers next game at home against Buffalo. Thomas was up in Boston playing in net for the Panthers, who lost 4-1 to the Bruins. I doubt the two were ever in the same room. However both goalies were able to make light of the situation, and poke fun at the other. Luongo's unverified Twitter account posted this on Tuesday:

And on another note me and Tiny Tim are gonna rip it up the rest of the year!!!!!!! #dreamteam
— Strombone (@strombone1) March 5, 2014

Tim Thomas, after Tuesday night's Bruins-Panthers game, was asked about being teammates with Luongo...

"It looked like [Florida GM Dale Tallon] went kicking some tires and found one that needed to be pumped."

Thomas also seemed to think that his time with the Panthers might be nearing an end, as he continued to say "I don’t know how things are going to work out assuming I stay in Florida, it will be interesting."

Once Thomas was traded, Luongo's Twitter reacted with this:

@TSNBobMcKenzie NOOOO!!!!!!!!
— Strombone (@strombone1) March 5, 2014

So no reality TV show in Sunrise. There will not be a second dream team in South Beach. No Twitter vs. Facebook debates. All of this makes perfect hockey sense, but it is disappointing that there will be no Bobby and Timmy Show.

Canadiens Acquire Bruins Killer Thomas Vanek

While the Boston Bruins didn't do much at the deadline, acquiring Andrej "Meh"-szaros, up in Montreal the Habs traded for Thomas Vanek. Vanek, when he was a member of the Buffalo Sabres, absolutely killed the Bruins.

In Vanek's career against the Bruins he's played 53 games, scoring 30 goals with 31 assists. He's +21. 14 of those 30 goals came on the power play. Which Montreal needed to improve, and the Bruins have had difficulty defending since Dennis Seidenberg's injury.

Vanek has a 20.0% career shooting percentage against the Bruins. Which is ridiculous. He scores every 5 shots he takes against the B's.

Vanek also has decent numbers against the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Tampa Lightning. With the new divisional formatting of the NHL playoffs, the Habs will likely have to go through these teams. If the season ended today, the Canadiens would play Tampa Bay, then face the winner of a Toronto/Boston series.

I mentioned Montreal's power play. Typically the Habs bring a frightening power play to the table, but this year it's been a disappointment. They're 13th in the NHL with a 19.7% scoring rate with a man advantage. They're tied for 8th with 41 power play goals.

Vanek hasn't been great on the power play since leaving Buffalo. However, a few seasons ago he routinely scored 10+ power play goals a season, including 20 in 2008-09. If he can find that form in Montreal, it might be time for Bruins fans to have a Vanek-panic attack.

The B's have lost both their games against Montreal this season, and will play the Habs next Wednesday up at the Bell Centre and again on March 24th in Boston.

Photo Credit:
Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

Bruins Make "Meh" Trade for Andrej Meszaros

The Bruins needed to add a defenseman. If they failed to do so, their chances of winning a Stanley Cup would have been quite small. They traded a 3rd round pick to the Philadelphia Flyers for defenseman Andrej Meszaros. It's a very "meh" trade.

Meszaros is 28-years-old, 6' 2" tall and weighs 223 pounds. He's played with Zdeno Chara as a member of the Ottawa Senators, who originally drafted him late in the 1st round of the '04 draft. He's played in 38 games this season with 5 goals, 12 assists and a +1. He has 46 games of playoff experience in Ottawa and Philly.

My main concern is penalty killing. Since losing Dennis Seidenberg, the Bruins' penalty kill has statistically been one of the worst in the League.

Meszaros is averaging 0:51 of shorthanded ice time per game this season. Once again, meh.

I'm not thrilled about that. That's good that he plays on the penalty kill. And he improves the defense, adds depth, et cetera. He reportedly has played well with Zdeno Chara in the past. Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli is familiar with him, as he was part of Ottawa's front office when Meszaros was drafted. So maybe he'll improve as a member of the Bruins.

So the Bruins slightly improved their biggest weakness. Hopefully Meszaros does work well with Chara. Hopefully they click. Hopefully Chara can make Meszaros a better player.

All I know is the Bruins have a suspect penalty kill and special teams takes on added importance in the postseason. I don't think the penalty kill improved much, although it did improve somewhat. Time will tell.

Until we know, my reaction to this trade is just "meh."

Roberto Luongo and Tim Thomas To Be Teammates in Florida

Roberto Luongo and Tim Thomas are now reportedly teammates. In the summer of 2013 I wrote a post imagining the hilarious, reality-TV style drama that would ensue if the Vancouver Canucks signed Thomas, making he and Luongo teammates. Now Luongo will be taking his whining and choking to South Beach.

Florida is where Luongo wanted to go. He used to play there, still has a house there, and who wouldn't want to spend the winter in Florida?

It also seems like the perfect place for him to avoid pressure. He's going from a hockey obsessed market to southern Florida, where they don't even know they have a team. He's going from a franchise that expects to be in contention for Stanley Cups, to a club that's happy just to qualify for the playoffs. The less pressure there is, the better Luongo plays.

Here was how his unofficial/unconfirmed/but-everyone-knows-it's-him Twitter account announced the news Tuesday afternoon:

The move makes sense for Vancouver. They're reportedly getting goalie prospect Jacob Markstrom in return. They'll shed themselves of most of Luongo's salary cap hit, and all of his drama.

Florida gets an experienced quality goalie. I love Tim Thomas but I think his career as a starter is coming to a close. Luongo is 5 years younger. In the games I've seen this year, Thomas has been sluggish, and easily rattled. Maybe in a backup role Thomas can maintain his quickness, and get less frustrated.

For Bruins fans this is great. Bobby Lu is now in the same division as the B's.

For the record, Luongo did apologize for his criticisms of Thomas after the 2011 Cup Finals. As long as Luongo sticks to Twitter and Thomas to Facebook, things should remain professional in the Florida Panthers locker room. And if two goalies clash, and there's no fans around to care about it, does it make a sound?

Bruins 6, Rangers 3, Oscars Style

Last night the 86th Academy Awards were held in LA. In New York, the 681st meeting between the Boston Bruins and New York Rangers was also held. The Bruins won the game 6-3. There were many compelling performances. And since it was Oscar night, I thought it would be appropriate to do a game recap by awarding awards in the style of the Oscars.

Let's start off with a Lifetime Achievement Award for Jarome Iginla who scored Boston's first goal and added an assist. He's scored 18 goals this season, and is almost assured of a 20+ goal season, his 15th. He also has 46 points, on the verge of 50. This would be his 15th 50+ point season. Apart from the recent lockout shortened season, he hasn't fallen short of 50 points since 1997-98. That was also the last time he failed to score 20+ goals, apart from the lockout shortened season. Over 500 goals and over 1,100 points. Quite a career.

Best Supporting Actor goes to David Krejci. Krejci had 2 assists in the game. And on Iginla's goal it was his puck support and then his pass that set Iginla up for the score. Krejci is one of the best supporters in the League.

There is no Academy Award for best new actor, but Dougie Hamilton would have won its hockey equivalent Sunday night. He scored the Bruins' second goal by driving to the net while Iginla won a puck battle on the boards.

The award for Best Foreign Film should go to Carl Soderberg of Sweden. Soderberg roofed a shot that beat countryman Henrik Lundqvist in the 2nd period. Of all the non-American, non-Canadian players, he was the best. It certainly wasn't Lundqvist, who seemed a shell of himself. Nor was it Tuukka Rask, who let in some soft goals and some tired goals.

Best Makeup goes to Ryan McDonagh, who was bloodied late in the 2nd period.

Best Costume Design DID NOT go to the Bruins, as they were frequently undressed in the neutral zone. Too many turnovers, too many breakaway chances for the Rangers, and the Rangers capitalized on most of them.

There's no award for product placement, but Gregory Campbell's mmmm, mmmm good shorthanded goal in the 3rd would certainly garner a nomination if such a category did exist. Campbell's soup, baby.

About 16 minutes into the 3rd, Ryan McDonagh won the award for Best Actor when he collapased to the ice after a light jostling from Jarome Iginla. I didn't buy it. The refs didn't buy it. The Academy didn't but it.

Best Cinematography is an award given to the person who shoots the camera best. So it's essentially the Best Shooter Award. In this game, Gregory Campbell, with 2 goals on 3 shots, was the best shooter.

So there we have the Bruins/Rangers Academy Awards. The Bruins' next performance will be in Boston against the Panthers on Tuesday night.

Photo Credit:
Seth Wenig/Associated Press

Bruins Lose to Buffalo, Torey Krug Should Have Been on Team USA

The Bruins could have won this game. They should have. They didn't. Let's start with the reasons why they didn't, then move on to the reasons why they could have.

They lost because Chad Johnson is a backup goalie. They lost because of rusty players in their first game after a long break. Neither of those two reasons is cause for much concern. What is cause for concern is that the B's allowed yet another power play goal. Since losing Dennis Seidenberg, the penalty kill has gone from a strength to a slight liability.

There were two Buffalo goals in regulation that could have been prevented with stronger play from the defensemen. The Bruins need to acquire a defensive defenseman. They need a guy who can do the basics of the position and play the penalty kill.

On the bright side, there were plenty of reasons that the Bruins could/should/would have won this game. The power play was amazing. Chara scored a power play goal by camping out in front of the net. And his net-front presence helped Milan Lucic score another power play goal.

Torey Krug also played a big part on Lucic's goal. Krug used the space behind the net to set up a play. Chara and Jarome Iginla kept the Buffalo penalty killers occupied in front of the net. Lucic was wide open on the point and slammed it home.

Maybe Team USA could have used Krug. Not as part of the regular 6-man defensive pairs, but as a specialist on the power play. Krug's 2 power play assists in this game give him 18 PP points on the season. The Bruins have scored 37 power play goals as a team, Krug has been a factor in almost half of them. Among defensemen, he's 10th in power play points. Among American defensemen his 6 PP goals are the most, his 18 points are 5th most. Then again Team USA didn't select the top two US defensemen in power play points (Keith Yandle and Dustin Byfuglien), so what chance did Krug have?

Team USA had plenty of offense when they played Canada and Finland. Ugh.

It's going to be a long time before I get over the Olympics.

Anyway, the Bruins looked much more energized and in rhythm in the later stages of this game. They came back from a 2 goal deficit, took a lead, and Buffalo needed a lucky deflection off Johnny Boychuk's skate to set up their tying goal. This game is not an indicator of the beginning of a poor stretch of play.

The Bruins host the Capitals Saturday afternoon.

Photo Credit:
Gary Wiepart/Associated Press