Why couldn't the C's make this move BEFORE the dunk contest?
The Celtics will send Eddie House, JR Giddens, and Bill Walker to the Knicks in exchange for Nate Robinson and rookie forward Marcus Landry.
I like this deal, but only a little. While it improves the Celtics by providing the bench with a legitimate PG, it doesn't do anything beyond that. It doesn't make KG or Pierce 2 years younger. It doesn't alleviate Ray Allen from his month long shooting slumps. And it doesn't make Rasheed Wallace stop taking threes.
The one position where the Celtics had both quality and youth was point guard. Now they have depth there. But they're still too agéd and injury prone to go beyond the 2nd round.
As much as I wish the NHL switched to European sized ice, thank God we still have North American style officiating. An automatic 10 minute misconduct just for knocking some guy in the head? And how soft did the refs call the Germany/Sweden game? Daniel Alfredsson draws a penalty by losing a shoving contest with a German. Lame.
FINLAND 5, BELARUS 1 The '06 Silver Medalists expectedly dominated Belarus, but compared to the other blowouts, this was one of the least impressive. But what does that matter? Only in goal differential (which is a tie-breaker). Finland went undefeated in the '06 Games until they met Sweden in the final, and their team is equally as "unimpressive" (in quotes, because it's relative compared to the other powerhouses in the tourney) as it was back then. Don't judge this team until they play Germany on Friday.
SWEDEN 2, GERMANY 0 Sweden won Gold in '06. Sweden is the #3 team. Germany was 10th in the '06 Olympics. Germany is ranked 12th in the world. As a German fan, I'm satisfied with a 2-0 loss. Especially since Sweden's first goal should have been waved off for a blatant goaltender's interference.
To be fair to the Swedes, they looked extremely rusty (except for Alfredsson). The number of offsides they had testified to this. They hardly ever put together the lengthy, pretty, passing plays they're capable of. This will probably be their worst performance of the tournament.
But look out for Germany. Finland, I'm talking to you. This team won't score much, but they can play defense. And it's not a boring, backfoot kind of defense like we saw from the Swiss, or from past German teams. It's a slightly more aggressive defense that could frustrate contending teams.
CZECH REPUBLIC 3, SLOVAKIA 1 Jaromir Jagr returned to North American ice with a goal and an assist, and Tomas Vokoun stopped 34 of 35 shots faced, propelling the Czechs to a victory in the first legitimately competetive matchup of the tournament. Marian Gaborik scored the lone Slovakian goal.
David Krejci was -1 for the Czechs, and Zdeno Chara registered 4 penalty minutes.
Today's games: 3pm on USA: USA vs. Norway 8pm on CNBC: Canada vs. Switzerland 12:30am on CNBC: Russia vs. Slovakia
Tough draw for the Slovakians, having to face the Czechs and Russians on back to back nights.
Some expected results yesterday, as three giants crushed three underdogs. I have to say that I miss the wider European ice surface typically seen in Olympic games. I don't know why, after spending billions to ready their city, Vancouver couldn't temporarily remove two or three rows of seats to make for a wider ice surface in the Canucks' rink.
U.S.A. 3, SWITZERLAND 1 I gave the Swiss a chance in this one, as the US players are either too inexperienced, or too old, with very few falling optimally in between. The Swiss also have Jonas Hiller, who helped propel the Ducks past the Sharks in last year's playoffs.
But the US's depth and talent was apparent in the 2nd period. The Swiss were in a defensive trapping style, which frustrated the Americans' attack (especially on NHL width ice, ironically giving an advantage to a European team). The Swiss had some nice chances, but lacked the skillset to properly aim the puck. They looked like a bunch of Michael Ryders, in other words.
The US will advance to the Elimination Round, but not much farther. They're simply not good enough to score or to prevent talented teams from scoring on them.
CANADA 8, NORWAY 0 The only surprise here is that the game was 0-0 after the 1st period. Jarome Iginla scored a hat-trick, Dany Heatley scored twice. Crosby had 3 assists, and the Bruins' Patrice Bergeron had an assist.
What I noticed most came after the game. While the Canadian fans celebrated a bit too much (Norway has 0 NHLers and hasn't even qualified for the Olympics since 1994), the Canadian players calmly and cooly congratulated each other. It was as if they were already past this 8-0 win and preparing for their meeting with Switzerland on Thursday. Pretty remarkable considering for 75% of the team, this is their first Olympics.
This is a team deadset on a mission.
RUSSIA 8, LATVIA 2 Ovechkin scored twice, as did KHLer Danis Zaripov. Kovalchuk had a goal and an assist, as did Malkin. This team is loaded with talent, perhaps a bit moreso than the Canadians. They too are on a mission. Canada may be the favorite on home ice, but Russia is the #1 ranked team in the world (IIHF), and hasn't won Gold since they were the "Unified Team" (just after breakup of the USSR) in '92. If Canada is hungry for Gold, Russia is starving for it.
Today's games: 3pm on MSNBC: Finland vs. Belarus 8pm on CNBC: Sweden vs. Germany 12:30am on CNBC: Czech Republic vs. Slovakia
Here's the men's hockey TV schedule. This is all based on my cable provider, and all the times are Eastern, so some local adjustments might be necessary. The really good games are denoted with a star*
Date - Time - Channel - Game Tue 2/16 - 3pm - USA - USA vs. Switzerland Tue 2/16 - 8pm - CNBC - Canada vs. Norway
Wed 2/17 - 12:30am - CNBC - Russia vs. Latvia Wed 2/17 - 3pm - MSNBC - Finland vs. Belarus Wed 2/17 - 8pm - CNBC - Sweden vs. Germany
Thu 2/18 - 12:30am - CNBC - Czech Rep. vs. Slovakia* Thu 2/18 - 3pm - USA - USA vs. Norway Thu 2/18 - 8pm - CNBC - Canada vs. Norway
Fri 2/19 - 12:30am - CNBC - Russia vs. Slovakia* Fri 2/19 - 3pm - MSNBC - Sweden vs. Belarus Fri 2/19 - 8pm - CNBC - Czech Rep. vs. Latvia
Sat 2/20 - 12am - MSNBC - Finland vs. Germany Sat 2/20 - 3pm - MSNBC - Norway vs. Switzerland Sat 2/20 - 7:30pm - MSNBC - Slovakia vs. Latvia
Sun 2/21 - 12am - MSNBC - Belarus vs. Germany Sun 2/21 - 3pm - NBC - Russia vs. Czech Rep.* Sun 2/21 - 7pm - MSNBC - USA vs. Canada*
Mon 2/22 - 12am - MSNBC - Sweden vs. Finland*
The elimination round commences Thursday February 23rd.
While I'm certainly satisfied with the way the Bruins finished their 4 game roadtrip, with a shootout win over Florida, I'm still a bit concerned. One might be tempted to call this victory "finding a way to win." I'm more cynically inclined.
I remember back in October and November. The Bruins would play 30 minutes of good hockey, 30 minutes of bad hockey, and somehow come out on top. That's what happened Saturday night. The team was utterly listless for long stretches of play, struggling with even basic things like moving the puck up the ice out of their own zone.
But Recchi deflected a puck to tie it in the 3rd, Krejci lost his handle on a shootout attempt and it found the 5-hole, then Recchi beat Vokoun for the win. There was as much luck as there was strong play.
I don't mind good luck, especially in a desperate playoff race (the Bruins went from 12th place to 7th in about a week). But it would be nice to see the Bruins remain emotionally balanced for more than 3 games in a row.
They've got time to work on it. About 2 weeks. Bruins host the Canadiens on March 2nd. They'll have 22 regular season games left, an extended sprint to the finish. And lapses like those in Florida cannot be afforded.
The Bruins scored 5 goals on their way to their 3rd win in a row. That's the most goals they've scored since December 23rd. The B's are also on a 5 game point-streak, and haven't been trailing in any of those games.
But it wasn't as pretty as it should have been or could have been.
The first 30 minutes was sheer dominance. The best the Bruins have looked since Game 2 of the season when they crushed Carolina 7-2. They got 21 shots off in the 1st. After the first 7 minutes of play, Tampa Bay didn't get a single puck on net in the opening period.
But in the 2nd, the Bruins only got 5 shots on goal.
Remember Mighty Ducks 3? The Ducks get recruited to play JV hockey for some prep school. In their first game they score like 8 goals, and everyone's real impressed, then they allow 8 goals in the 3rd period. That's what this game reminded me of.
I actually felt worse about the game AFTER the B's scored the 5th goal. The Bruins play awful when they have leads. And the bigger the lead, the worse they play. They lose their focus and the fundamentals breakdown.
Tuukka Rask is not God. He's mortal (unlike Manny Fernandez) and he has flaws. Flaws which can eventually be polished, but they're still there. All the "Tuukka Time" jerks out there are quick as Mercury to point out Tim Thomas' foibles and miscues, so when I criticize Rask, just shutup and deal with it.
He closes up his 5-hole well enough, but he is slow to close it. That comes with being 6' 2". He's not anticipating things well enough. Again, that can improve with experience. He doesn't steer rebounds away as well as some goalies (Thomas). He's wretchedly indecisive handling the puck.
He's the hot goalie, and if a playoff series started tomorrow, I'd want Rask in net because he is the hot goalie. But he is human.
Had the Bruins blown this game, the season would've ended. No exaggeration here. To surrender a 5 goal lead against a playoff competitor, right before going into the Olympic Break. That's utterly devastating. And guys like Derek Morris did their best to sabotage this win.
I wish the Bruins would alter their breakaway strategy. When you're up by 2+ goals, you're going to force turnovers and get odd man rushes up ice. The Bruins fail to score about 99.9% of the time on these rushes. And what they often do is create a rush for the opponent.
It's simple math. You have a 2-on-1 edge going up the ice, that means your opponent has a 4-on-3 advantage behind you (or worse if you're changing lines). So puck possession is precious in these situations. Unless there's a good scoring chance with the goalie out of position, the B's should hang onto the puck and wait for everyone else. Try to set-up a sustained possession, keeping the puck 150 feet from your own net.
When up 3 or 4 goals, the Bruins need to summon their inner Bill Belichick and "run up the score." The best way to protect a lead is to add to it.
Despite the near tragedy, a win is a win is a win. Michael Ryder looked confident for the first time this season. I think going against Nittymaki, who he's owned in the past, was a good opportunity for him to once again find that scorer's mentality.
Oh, and fuck Steve Downie. Guys like this just piss me off. He tries to fight with Satan, who has been in 2 fights in his 14 year career (Thanks Hockeyfights.com!) Then he instigates Chara by punching him in the back of the head, then Chara turns his 6' 9" 250 pound body around, and suddenly Downie shrinks and turtles.
If you don't want to fight Chara, who is nearly a foot taller and has 50 pounds on you, then don't strike him in the back of the neck. Don't pull on Superman's cape.
Although the whole thing reminded me of this video...
Bruins end their Florida excursion Saturday night against the Panthers. Why does Florida have 2 teams and Wisconsin has 0?
The Celtics blew yet another double-digit lead last night, in what's becoming an increasingly disturbing trend. This time the C's fell to the barely .500 Hornets. And look out in the rear view mirror because the Raptors are only 4 games behind.
Why is this happening? This team was 23-5 on Christmas. They're 9-13 since then.
To be brutally honest, the Celtics are old. You can blame injuries, but shouldn't you expect injuries from 33 year old power forwards? Did we not see this coming? Pierce, Garnett, and now Ray Allen have all experienced injuries. Injuries that have kept them off the court, AND hindered their performance on it.
In order to have the chance of achieving anything this season, it's time to cash in Ray Allen, and get ANYTHING younger and healthier. Even when healthy, what does Ray Allen do? Shoot threes. And sometimes he hits them, sometimes he hits them. His cold streaks are insufferable, and somehow always seem to happen in the playoffs.
But even trading Allen won't change the destiny of this team. They're a group of ex-thoroughbreds that should be put out to stud. This is their last chance. If they can get healthy, maybe they can make a run. But I doubt it.
This team also needs to find its soul again. There's no more Ubuntu left. You've got Glen Davis worrying about his nickname, a 7 footer taking 3 point shots and harassing officials, then Rondo tries to show some leadership but it gets snuffed by KG. Get back to winning!
When the Bruins acquired Daniel Paille, I didn't like the move one bit. I've very much enjoyed regretting that.
Paille scored both of Boston's goals, his 8th and 9th of the season. That's not earth-shattering, but he's been a key part to the Bruins' penalty kill. If you remember, the PK unit struggled when the season began, and now it's 2nd in the League. Without Paille, the recent struggles of the Bruins would have been worse.
If not for the Vezinian quality goaltending from Ryan Miller, the Bruins would have won 4-2, maybe even 5-2. Miller is simply exquisite to watch. He's a spider and the goalmouth is a web that very rarely allows pucks to slip through.
Tuukka Rask had another good game. And I have no problem with him finishing out the roadtrip in net. But for those out there who would go so far as to trade Thomas, just look at the 2nd goal Rask allowed. He's inexperienced, and easily surprised. That's blood in the water for NHL piranhas.
I don't like to focus too much on the selection of shootout shooters, but why Michael Ryder. He doesn't have a good track record in shootouts, and he's colder than the ice he mishandles the puck on. Chara, Satan, Rechhi, Bergeron, HUNWICK, anyone.
Marco Sturm, who leads the Bruins with 18 goals, has been used in a shootout JUST ONCE THIS SEASON. And that was last night. Not surprisingly, he scored.
The less Michael Ryder, the better.
On a positive note, Milan Lucic showed a bit of fierceness last night. I've been close to criticizing Lucic for his invisibility on the ice, but his injuries and my murderous hatred of Dennis Wideman have shielded him. He got his first fighting major in 8 games. And he won the fight.
Bruins visit the Lightning Thursday night. Tampa Bay is only 2 points ahead of the Bruins, so it's a big game.
