HOCKEY EAST TOURNAMENT PREVIEW

The OTHER March Madness. #1 Boston University won the Hockey East regular season crown, #4 Northeastern fell 1 point shy, losing to Boston College the last day of the season. Those two teams are essentially guaranteed an NCAA berth, but #7 Vermont and #9 New Hampshire need strong showings, and perhaps to win the Tournament, in order to continue their season.

Heres the bracket:



The first round is best of 3, so BU and Northeastern shouldn't have much trouble advancing. UNH swept BC a few weeks ago, but you never know with the Eagles when it comes to hockey. Last year, they were 4th in Hockey East, won the Hockey East Tournament, then rolled through the NCAAs. UMass-Lowell is also a surprisingly solid team, but Vermont is a hard place for visiting teams to spend a weekend.

Prediction: BU beats Northeastern in the finals in a repeat of the Beanpot.

ACC TOURNAMENT PREVIEW

It's that time of year again. The appetizer to March Madness' main course: Conference Tournaments...

Boston College fell short of securing a 1st round bye in the ACC tourney, although they do have a cupcake first round opponent in Virginia. Here are the games and my guaranteed to be wrong predictions...

ROUND 1:
#8 Virginia Tech vs. #9 Miami
Both these teams have something to prove to the Selection Committee. Virginia Tech beat Miami in OT during the regular season, but the Hokies have been ice cold since then, losing 6 of their last 7, and 8 of 11. Give this one to the Hurricanes.

#5 Clemson vs. #12 Georgia Tech
Clemson is ranked 18th in the country, and should demolish the Yellow Jackets, who were a dismal 2-14 in the ACC.



#7 Maryland vs. #10 NC State
Maryland was an NCAA bubble team until losing 4 of their last 6, but one of those 2 that they won was against NC State. The Terps might be playing with the illusion that they have a shot at the Dance, the Wolfpack would have to be blind to think that. Maryland wins this one.

ROUND 2:
#9 Miami vs. #1 North Carolina
UNC is the best team in the country. It's a fact. They'll be challenged by the national powerhouses in the NCAAs, but the ACC tournament is theirs to lose. They'll destroy Miami, who they beat twice in the regular season.



#5 Clemson vs. #4 Florida State
FSU has been a Jekyl & Hyde team this year. They beat Clemson twice, yet lost to Boston College and Northwestern. Despite sweeping the season series, I think the Seminoles lose to Clemson in a close game. But here's a picture of FSU alum Jenn Sterger anyway:



#7 Maryland vs. #2 Wake Forest
I'm feeling an upset here. Wake Forest is ranked 9th in the country, and they beat Maryland in their sole meeting. But that was a 65-63 contest. And if NC State, Georgia Tech, and Miami can upset the Demon Deacons, why not Maryland?

#6 Boston College vs. #3 Duke
BC can blame themselves for the 6 seed and a date with Duke instead of Florida State or a bye. Two losses to Miami, and a recent loss to NC State pushed the Eagles down to 6th in the ACC. Duke fell to BC in February, but this is March, the game is in Atlanta, and this is Duke. Blue Devils pull away after a closely fought game.

SEMIFINALS:
#5 Clemson vs. #1 North Carolina
The Tar Heels ripped Clemson apart 94-70 in January. The same sad story will be told in March.



#3 Duke vs. #7 Maryland
Maryland's miraculous run comes to an end here. Duke beat the Terps 85-44, then 78-67. That's a combined margin of victory of 52. Maryland will be lucky to score that many in this game.

FINAL:
#1 North Carolina vs. #3 Duke
UNC beats Duke... again. Because Duke sucks and blows, defying the laws of physics.

MORE BULLSHIT

Really? REALLY?!? Another fucking loss?!?

Give credit to Steve Mason and Columbus. Mason recorded his 9th shutout of the season, which leads the NHL. Pretty good for a 20 year old. And even though the refs fucked up all night (only 2 minute penalty when Mark Stuart's nose was bleeding, no diving penalty for Kristian Huselius' embellishment of Chara's hook, no call when Thomas was accidentally hit behind the net, no interference call when Kessel was bowled into the boards before he even touched the puck), Columbus played a good, tight hockey game.

But wasn't it typical Bruin luck? Thomas gets run into, his helmet pops off, hits the ice, and breaks. He has to either use Manny Fernandez's helmet, or Manny Fernandez has to come into the game. The Blue Jackets get a power play score from an awkward angle, a shot Thomas typically stops. A shot that he perhaps stops if he has his own mask.

At the same time, the Bruins score 0 goals, which is the best way to avoid winning.

The Bruins can watch this game, among with several others, and find many examples of how they messed up. Early in the 2nd, Kessel had a clean breakaway, just him and the goalie, and he didn't even get the shot on net. Seconds later, he Savard, and Lucic bungled a 3 on 2 opportunity.

David Krejci and Marc Savard have both turned into turnover machines, not the high percentage playmakers they were in the first 50 games of the season. Phil Kessel can't finish anymore. PJ Axelsson flat out sucks. Why was Axelsson on the ice longer than Michael Ryder and Blake Wheeler? With 2:04 left, why was Axelsson on the ice AT ALL?

I keep waiting for this team to emerge from this funk. And if it doesn't happen on Thursday when the 26-29-10 Senators come to Boston...

it may never happen.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Jay LaPrete

PATS' NEW LOOK DEFENSIVE BACKFIELD

The Patriots allowed the 2nd most passing TDs in the NFL last year, and the 2nd most 40+ yard pass plays. This off-season, there's been a concerted effort to improve the pass defending elements of the defensive alignment.

Last week they acquired veteran Shawn Springs, and today they signed Leigh Bodden formerly of the Detroit Lions.

Neither of these guys are shutdown corners, neither of these guys are big playmakers, but neither of these guys are Deltha O'Neal. Springs is a 13 year old veteran, and Bodden has 7 years in the League. They don't make big mistakes. They don't blow coverage schemes. They'll help the younger CBs, like Terrence Wheatley, develop into solid CBs.

But once again this year, the quality of the pass-defense will be determined by the consistency of the pass rush. Pass rushing isn't just about sacks, it's about forcing hurried throws, and not allowing the QB to go through his progressions. The front 7 will determine how many passing TDs and 40+ yard passes the defense allows, more so than the DBs.

DON CHERRY VS. SEAN AVERY

Don Cherry calling Sean Avery what he is.

WHEN DID MANNY FERNANDEZ BECOME MANNY RAMIREZ?

What once was a terrific tandem of tenders has turned into a Jekyl and Hyde in between the Bruins' pipes. When Tim Thomas is in net, the Bruins are practically guaranteed an excellent fundamental goaltender, one who makes next to no mistakes, and is capable of amazing athletic saves. When Fernandez is in, the Bruins are guaranteed a pointless night unless they score 5 or 6 goals.

The Bruins lost to the Rangers, in yet another unfortunate display of hockey. To be fair to Fernandez, it wasn't entirely his fault. Just mostly his fault. Byron Bitz was primarily responsible for the first of 4 Ranger goals. He found himself out of position after a faceoff in the defensive zone, allowing Nik Antropov space. Enough space to score a goal.

But Fernandez was responsible for New York goals #2 and 3. The Rangers took advantage of a dreadfully bad hooking call on Marc Savard. They also took advantage of Fernandez's inability to cover the inside of his post. That's Goaltending 101 stuff.



And the 3rd goal was pure blooper reel material. Fernandez gets the puck caught up in his skates, doesn't know it, twirls in the crease, the centrifugal force of the twirl spins the puck into the net.

The Bruins came back, which was nice to see. They seemed to be playing with some confidence and purpose, something that's been lacking as of late. But a big bounce of the endboards served as a perfect set-up pass for Nikolai Zherdev.

It's too bad. Had the Bruins left New York with a point, they could start rebuilding what was their biggest strength: their poised confidence. Instead, for most of them, it might seem like another wasted effort.

Oh, and what the fuck was with the NBC announcers talking about Sean Avery every 5 minutes? The guy's a 2nd or 3rd line forward AT BEST, and he's a cunt. When the word "cunt" was invented, the guy who came up with it had people like Sean Avery in mind.

The Bruins host the Columbus Blue Jackets Tuesday, another decent team fighting i na tight playoff battle. The B's still have an 8 point lead on New Jersey, but the Devils have 2 extra games in hand.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credits:
AP Photo/Stephen Chernin

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