BRUINS MAKE DEADLINE DEALS

The Bruins traded Petteri Nokelainen to the Ducks for defenseman Steve Montador. Montador is 6' 0", 210 lbs, has 4 goals, 16 assists and a +14 rating. Not surprisingly, he has a lot of penalty minutes, 125 already. He's a hard-nosed player that can move the puck. He reinforces the 2nd or 3rd defensive pairings, and he seems like a good guy to have on your team. I like this video clip of him sticking up and dropping the gloves for a teammate.



The B's also traded Martin Karsums and Matt Lashoff to Tampa Bay for veteran winger Mark Recchi. The 41 year old's been in the League for 19 years. He's got 13 goals and 32 assists. More importantly, he's got 1,472 regular season games under his belt, and 140 playoff games. He's been there, done that. He won the Cup with Pittsburgh in '91, and again with Carolina in '06.

With Lucic out for an unknown period with an unknown injury, Recchi adds some needed depth. Honestly, I don't see him making much of a difference on the ice, barring an injury. But the Bruins do lack playoff experience, and he has plenty of that.



Source:
Boston.com

BRUINS EASE UP, FLYERS ROLL OVER THEM

The first period of this game got me excited. It was like watching playoff hockey. Really tight checking, solid defense, excellent goaltending, few mistakes. The Bruins ended the first frame up 1-0 after a nifty Patrice Bergeron power play goal. Then they took the rest of the night off. Simultaneously, the Flyers found a higher gear, and embarrassed the Bruins on home ice.

The Bruins can't exactly cruise into the playoffs here, at least not without major risk. New Jersey is only 8 points behind, red hot, and has a game in hand. There's 18 games left, and Jersey is only 3 wins behind the Bruins' pace.

There's another problem. The Bruins haven't fared well against the other top teams in the East: Washington, New Jersey, and Philadelphia. In the 9 games against these opponents, the Bruins are 2-4-3, or have 8 points out of 18 possible. And in their last 4 against these teams, the B's are 0-2-2. That's no good.

We've seen them explode for 5 or 6 goals. Against Washington, they had a phenomenal effort. In the 1st period Tuesday night, they were physical, fast, and fun to watch. Then Marc Savard, of all people, turns the puck over on his defensive blue-line, and finishes the night with 3 giveaways.



So here's the question: Are they fizzling, or are they cruising? A fizzle means they're out of fuel and will eventually crash. But you can accelerate from a cruise.

In their 18 remaining games, they have 2 against those top 4 Eastern teams, and 8 against current playoff teams. Even if they continue to cruise, they can secure the #1 seed in the East.

I'm looking at the schedule and April 9th jumps out at me. The Bruins host the Canadiens. If the Bruins are on cruise control, that game should wake them up. If they've fizzled, it will be blatantly clear that night.

By the way, this was the save of the season...



It may have even wound up to be the biggest play of the night, as it kept the then listing Flyers from falling behind 2-0.

Bruins host the lowly Coyotes Thursday night.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credits:
AP Photo/Elise Amendola
Elsa/Getty Images

TOO MUCH GIVEN, NOT ENOUGH GAINED?

Mike Vrabel, and Matt Cassel for the 34th pick in the draft. Mike Vrabel and Matt Cassel for the 34th pick in the draft?

A brief timeline of this trade:

Friday afternoon:
I hear Vrabel's traded to Kansas City. Surprising, not shocking. He's 33 years old, and I've always found his pass rushing to be inconsistent, poorly disguised, and easily foiled by even the averagest of lines.

Saturday:
Patriots trade Cassel to Chiefs. Not at all surprising. Entirely expected. Brady's knees must be healthy.

Later Saturday:
Released that Cassel and Vrabel are part of the same deal. I assumed that throwing in Vrabel was to justify whatever exorbitant price the Chiefs paid for him. Friend of mine tells me it was just a 2nd round pick. I call him a liar.

Sunday morning:
Yeah, just a 2nd round pick for Cassel and Vrabel. Huh?

Let's assess this objectively. I know Mike Vrabel was a popular player. #50 was one of the most seen jerseys at Gillette this year. And he's caught TD passes. BUT, he's 33 years old. He had 4 sacks, and only 40 solo tackles last year. He's neutral against the run, rarely gets into the backfield on the backside of plays, can't disguise his pass rush, and he's 33 years old.

Matt Cassel had a great season, and he's emerged as an NFL calibre quarterback. But he was going to be a free agent. The Patriots weren't in a great situation to trade him because everyone in the NFL knew the Pats weren't going to keep both he and Brady.

But at the same time, there were multiple teams interested in Cassel, which should have (and did) drive his worth to a higher price. And shame on the Patriots for not exploiting this value to its maximum value.

I didn't want a first round pick for Cassel. Early first rounders are too expensive in terms of salary. I wanted multiple picks. I wanted a good 2nd rounder, and maybe a 3rd or a 4th along with it. At least a couple of 6th rounders thrown in as token compensation.

It's hard to believe that Scott Pioli being with the Chiefs had nothing to do with this. It seems like a twisted form of compensation for all his years of service with the Pats. A kind of severance package.

The Pats could have had a 1st and 3rd round pick for Cassel, but didn't explore this thoroughly. Or so it seems. Some suggest Belichick turned down better offers. I find that notion laughable. He'd sell his soul for 5 yards of field position. I just think maybe the Pats didn't explore their possible options fully.

Then again, maybe the Pats have a specific player targeted with this 34th overall pick. Yahoo!'s Dan Wetzel points out that teams may have been hesitant to acquire Cassel, as it would require a large contract extension. And remember, the teams that would want Cassel are poor teams, with many problems, and they need all the cap space they can get for multiple players.

Whatever the reasoning is, the Pats have failed to win the Super Bowl the last 4 years. This year will see more scrutiny, and even criticism if things don't go well.

In Foxborough, failure is not an option in 2009.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credit:
Associated Press

EXTRA! EXTRA! CAPITALS HAVE HORSESHOES UP ASSES

Does Jose Theodore play with his eyes open? That's my question. I know a few years ago with Montreal he was outstanding, but now he just seems to be the luckiest goaltender in the history of the game. Maybe it's because I'm used to seeing Tim Thomas' textbook form, so when Theodore wanders 8 feet out of the crease, and goes to the butterfly in the slot, Jose simply looks retarded.



The Capitals have won 3 of 4 against the Bruins this year. And I'm barely worried about facing them in the playoffs. Firstly, I think it will be miraculous if Jose Theodore brings them as far as an Eastern Conference Final. Secondly, their biggest enemy against the Bruins will be the law of averages catching up with them.

The Devils and Martin Brodeur are the biggest threat out there, folks.

One of the video headlines on ESPN.com reads "Caps send Bruins a message in overtime win." I wonder what the hell this message could be? "We're luckier than you?" "Without your most physical forward, we barely beat you." "Dennis Wideman had our biggest goal." "If the refs call bizarre hooking penalties every 10 minutes, we'll have the edge."

I'm not trying to detract from Washington. They're a great team, and Ovechkin's the best player in the world. I just think that the season series could have easily been 3-1 Bruins if not for one or two bounces.



But it is what it is. And Washington is a mere 8 points behind the Bruins, and both teams have 19 games to go. The Caps have the 2nd tie-breaker by winning the head-to-head series 7 points to 3, and the 1st tie-breaker is total wins.

Bruins host the Flyers Tuesday night.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credits:
AP Photo/Lisa Poole

KANSAS CITY PATRIOTS

The Patriots have made two big moves the last 24 hours. One was expected, one was a surprise. Veteran linebacker Mike Vrabel was traded yesterday afternoon. And today, the Pats sent QB Matt Cassel to western Missouri. Apparently, they're part of the same deal, which helps explain Vrabel. No word yet on the compensation the Pats will get, but they've certainly cleared some cap space.

More on this deal as details become clear.

Source:
Reiss's Pieces

PATS MAKE ANOTHER MOVE

The Patriots signed ex-Jet TE Chris Baker this morning, according to sources. Baker was released last week. He caught 21 passes last year, for 194 yards and 0 TDs. He's a 7 year veteran.

The Pats have gotten inconsistent production from their TE position, but I don't think Baker does anything but take up a roster spot and be used as a 3rd tight end in power formations.

Sources:
The Jets Stream
ESPN.com

PATRIOTS SIGN FRED TAYLOR

It isn't official, but multiple sources have reported that Fred Taylor is or will soon be a New England Patriot.

Taylor is 33 years old, which is way up there for an RB. He rushed for 556 yards on 143 carries last year (3.9 YPC), and only got into the end zone once. But in 2007, he ran for 1,202 yards on 223 attempts, or 5.4 yards per carry.

The Pats have struggled to find consistency in their running game. Even in '07, Maroney had great days, then others when he couldn't get past the line of scrimmage (See: Super Bowl). He's also struggled to stay on the field.

Sammy Morris rushed for 727 yards in '08, but he too is getting old. Kevin Faulk added 507 yards.

A combo of Maroney-Taylor-Morris-Faulk could be fun to watch. Reducing carries should keep Maroney fresh, and perhaps get the type of performance from him we saw when Corey Dillon was in the backfield.

At runningback, the Pats are as set as they're going to get.

Source:
Reiss's Pieces

RELENTLESS

The Bruins have scored 12 games in 2 games. In their last 4 periods of hockey, they've scored 9 times, and allowed 0 goals. That's domination. Plain and simple.

Tim Thomas recorded his 100th career win, and his career high 4th shutout of the season. He was undoubtedly the #1 Star of the game, stopping 35 shots, and getting an assist on Michael Ryder's power play goal.

Speaking of Michael Ryder, he has 3 goals and 2 assists since coming back from his face injury. Chuck Kobasew also had 2 goals last night. Matt Hunwick had a goal and an assist, and blocked 3 shots. Byron Bitz had his 3rd goal in 2 games, and has become a force on the ice. I'd like to see him get some extra time on the ice. He traffics the slot, and he's strong with the puck.

In the last 2 games, 19 Bruins have recorded points. Only Shane Hnidy has had ice time and hasn't been on the scoresheet. But he was +3 last night, and had a great game.

The Bruins are also fighting as a team. Even Marc Savard dropped the gloves, or at least he tried to. And Shawn Thornton took down 6' 5" 230 pound George Parros AND his mighty mustache.





The Bruins host the Capitals 1:00 PM Saturday afternoon in a potential preview of the Eastern Conference Finals.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credits:
AP Photo/Winslow Townson