RED WINGS 10, BRUINS 3

What have we learned about the Bruins the last few days? They're better than Montreal. They're good. But they're not great. They're only borderline very good when all their players are at their best. Against a high quality opponent, in a playoff-style game, they're likely to lose.

Friday's 6-1 loss to Detroit was a bit of an aberration. Rask let in a few soft ones, and maybe there was a hangover after the Canadiens game. Sunday's 4-2 loss looked much better. The Bruins weren't dominated, but they were outclassed.

Sunday was like a playoff game, especially in the 2nd period. It was high paced, it was close, it was physical. Not the fighting kind of physical we saw against Montreal, this was trench warfare in the corners and in front of the net.

Detroit won most of those battles in the trenches. And even when the Bruins won theirs, they didn't do much to capitalize.

A pair of mistakes by rookies allowed Detroit to score twice. Marchand's giveaway, and Seguin not covering Draper. Mistakes by 22 and 19 year olds are forgivable. Also, give credit to guys like Bertuzzi and Draper, who took advantage of those mistakes.

That's something that struck me. The Red Wings don't have an All-Star team. But they do deploy a ceaseless string of solid, well-rounded players. Eaves, Holmstrom, Bertuzzi, Hudler, Helm, Draper. These are the guys behind Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Franzen, and Cleary.

That's nine forwards right there. All solid. All capable of multiple things. Compare them to these nine guys: Lucic, Bergeron, Ryder, Marchand, Horton, Recchi, Krejci, Wheeler, Seguin. Detroit's is clearly better. Guys like Ryder might have 16 goals, but I'd take Kris Draper over him in a heartbeat.

Detroit didn't dominate. In playoff-style games, nobody ever dominates. But they were clearly superior in execution. That's nothing to be ashamed of. Detroit's 2nd in the West, and one of the best franchises in the NHL. Though it's hard to imagine a deep playoff run if the Bruins are so easily outclassed in playoff-style hockey.

It might be time to start worrying, as well. The B's have dropped 3 of 4, and are 5-5 in their last 10. They have an opportunity to rack up some points, though, as they'll face the 5th, 3rd, and 2nd worst teams in the NHL this week. They'll start with the Maple Leafs Tuesday night.

But in a few months, when this team is up against a quality opponent in a 7 game series, I don't think they're good enough to pull it off. This is a Conference Semifinal team, and nothing more.

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AP Photo

AN UNRIVALED RIVALRY GAME

14 goals and 176 penalty minutes. That's not bad for a 60 minute game of hockey. This was pretty much the best a regular season game can get. These teams are vying for a spot atop the division, they don't like each other, and they all have personal histories. I don't know why the NHL made the schedules more balanced and reduced divisional games from 8 to 6 per opponent. Rivalries like this one have fueled hockey for decades, and I wish we could see the Bruins play the Canadiens 8 or 10 times a season.

I've been attacking Michael Ryder all year. Two years, really. Last night was perhaps his best game in a Bruins uniform, though. In the 1st period, he had numerous plays that were slightly positive. Little stuff like getting the puck to an open space in the offensive zone when there's no clear passing or shooting lanes, thus allowing a teammate to win a battle for the puck. I normally would never notice something like that, unless it was from a perennially negaitve player like Ryder.

In the 2nd period, he really came to life. And he basically scored three times, having one goal disallowed because the referees called Marchand for goalie interference when he was shoved into Price.

Horton put forth a quality performance as well. On NESN, they showed some iso-shots of him winning battles against Subban. So even without the 1 goal and 4 assists, Horton was already doing his job. But the 5 point night was also very special.

Krejci rebounded nicely from the San Jose game. I ripped him quite a bit after that one. The thing is, when Krejci has a bad game (which is rare), you get the feeling like it costs the Bruins so much more than if say Blake Wheeler has a bad game. Krejci is such a vital cog to the Bruins' offense, that when he breaks down, the machine breaks down.

Milan Lucic has scored 7 goals in his last 7 games. That's staggering. I think his going after Price was a bit silly, but why tinker with something that's working? 23 goals for Lucic this year. He only had 34 career scores coming into this season.

It's difficult to gain any perspective on games such as this, until some time has passed. Then again, this was the first time the Bruins have beaten Montreal since September 24. So that's substantial. The Bruins are also 4 points ahead of Montreal, with a game in hand. That's also substantial. This game could be a keystone on which to build a foundation of success.

The Original Six fun continues Friday night when Detroit comes to town for the front end of a home and home.

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AP Photo

BRUINS SHUT DOWN SAVARD

I keep thinking back to the Matt Cooke hit on Savard. It might have ended Savard's career, and Cooke went wholly unpunished for it. Not that a 4 game suspension would bring Savard back, or have much long-term impact on how Cooke plays the game. But at least there'd be a fraction of a feeling that justice had been served.

The Bruins needed to shut down Savard for the season. Concussions, especially when they come on top of each other, are unlike any other injury. There's no timetable. There's no way to look at an MRI and say "it's 100% better." The B's needed to move on to life without Savard, at least for the season.

And this is probably good for Savard, as well. Again, it's different from other injuries. Hard work can make for a speedy recovery when a leg muscle needs rehabilitation. The rules aren't the same for concussions.

But to all the life-coaches out there who have publicly advised Savard to retire, please shut up. All the people who say he needs to do what's best for his family, for his health, need to remember where we live. This is America. We get to make our own decisions for ourselves. These amateur life-coaches are also doctors, and seem convinced that Savard's brain will explode if he's ever again checked into the boards.

I love how good people are at making decisions for other people.

Anyway, without Savard, the Bruins aren't in bad shape. They do have 4 centers, although Julien doesn't like to give two (Seguin and Campbell) of them more than 10 minutes of ice time each. Which leaves 40 minutes for the other centers to divy up.

Effectively, the Bruins have been without Savard for most of the season. Though now they can allow temporary fixes to become permanent. And maybe they can acquire some outside assistance to help fill the void left behind.

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AP Photo

BEANPOT PREVIEW

It's that time of year again. And the four college hockey teams of Boston will meet for the 59th time to determine which is best. And once again, the Eagles of BC and the Terriers of BU are the favorites.

BU and BC have won every Beanpot since 1993, and even though they'll be meeting in the opening round, that trend will likely continue. BC stands as the #1 team in the country, and BU is no slouch at 14th.

BC is averaging 4.8 games per game, which is simply ridiculous. And with goaltender John Muse, who has a few NCAA Championships under his belt, it's hard to pick against them. BC has defeated BU twice already. They won 9-5 at Agganis Arena, then 5-2 at Conte Forum. That being said, this is BU's tournament. So don't expect a blowout.

I do think BC will win, though. They're ridiculously deep. They roll so many quality lines, and everyone skates with speed. That speed draws penalties, which lets their Power Play dominate the game. It's just a perfect formula for college hockey. BC is gunning for National Championship #5, and that road starts in the Beanpot. For the last 3 years, the Beanpot winner has gone on to win the NCAA title.

In the early game today, Northeastern plays Harvard. NU has taken a step back this season, but Harvard's taken more than a few. The Crimson are 4-17, with those 4 wins coming against RPI, St. Lawrence, Army, and Colgate. Northeastern's 8-11-6 record is hardly impressive, but they're much better than Harvard.

So I predict BC beats BU 4-2. Northeastern beats Harvard 3-0. Then BC beats Northeastern 5-1, winning their 16th Beanpot.

NO PARADES FOR SCHADENFREUDE

Schadenfreude (noun): enjoyment obtained from the troubles of others (German)

As a Patriots fan, it's nice to see the Steelers lose. Apart from Mike Tomlin, there's really not much to like about that team. By the way, had Pittsburgh won, I would have written how Mike Tomlin doesn't get nearly enough credit as he deserves. Probably because he's not as secretive as Bill Belichick, not as preachy as Tony Dungy, and not as loudmouthed as Rex Ryan. The guy just coaches a football team and does a damn good job at it.

As a Patriots fan, and as someone who dislikes the Steelers, and who has an intense animosity (coupled with respect) toward Ben Roethlisberger, I'm relieved this morning. But I'm not happy. I'm not from Wisconsin. My team got bounced, early, again. So I recommend to my fellow Patriot fans not to smile so smugly today. Because for the last two seasons, we've enjoyed watching NFC teams doing our dirty work, and eliminating our rivals.

I do think that this game thoroughly exemplified what the NFL is truly about these days. There were about 10 quality teams in the League this year. And there wasn't much on paper that separated them from each other. Green Bay lost 6 games this year. They lost to the Falcons once, then beat them. The Patriots lost to the Jets, then beat them, then lost. The Steelers lost to the Jets, then beat them.

These games really do come down to execution on a few key plays. Last night, Pittsburgh's turnovers pretty much cost them the game. But there were also potential big plays that never materialized. Green Bay muffed an early punt, but fell on the ball. The entire shape of the game changes if that one play changes.

It's a League of execution. So while Patriot fans shouldn't be jumping for joy for a parade in Wisconsin, they also shouldn't be moping about. Our team in Foxborough, though imperfect, has sufficient talent to be among those 8 to 12 good NFL teams. They just need to execute. It's simple to say, difficult to do.

ANOTHER HANGOVER GAME

After the Bruins' hard-fought (literally) win over Dallas, you couldn't help but feel optimistic. But as they've done with frequency for the past 3 years, the B's followed a strong performance with a flat one.

They absolutely dominated the Stars, and if not for Rask and the refs, the score would have been closer to 8-1 as opposed to 6-3. Then they give us 60 minutes of mediocrity against San Jose. They managed 26 shots on Niemi, very few of which came from good scoring positions. The thing about Niemi is that he'll give up some juicy rebounds. The Bruins didn't collect any of them. Give credit to the Sharks, who usually had 4 bodies positioned around Niemi at all times, and clearing those rebounds. They outmanned and outmuscled the Bruins down low.

They outmuscled the Bruins everywhere, and that's been a repetitive theme of Sharks/Bruins games. The Sharks are bigger, they skate with power, they win battles.

The Bruins had 4 power plays, and failed to get a shot on goal for 3 of them. That's simply sad.

Krejci played like an utter turd. I don't know how he received the 3rd Star. Maybe it was a typo. Maybe it was a joke. I wouldn't be surprised if I heard he played the game drunk, he was that careless with the puck. It was the worst game I've seen him play. He was by far the worst player on the ice. His shorthanded foolishness cost the Bruins a goal, and who knows how many scoring chances he cost Lucic and Horton with his giveaways.

It's the same old story with this team. Ups and downs. Fighting for 60 minutes, then a few days later relaxing for 60. Playing with intensity and focus, then making stupid mistakes. And simple adjustments fail to be made during the game. Niemi gives up rebounds, so why not try some bad angle shots? Bad angle shot=good angle rebound, as this kindergarten level diagram illustrates:

I just don't expect much from this team. Not with these same repeating lapses in focus and intensity. Not with this coach. This cast of characters. This GM. Guys like Thomas, Lucic, and now Bergeron and Marchand have carried this team. Along with the defense. But they've been undermined by the likes of Michael Ryder, Blake Wheeler, Nathan Horton, and Claude Julien.

We have a good team in Boston, but they're too good at self-sabotaging themselves.

A few days off, then a short but tough stretch of games. The Bruins are 2 points ahead of Montreal and host them Wednesday night. Then it's a home and home with Detroit, the #2 team in the West. Time for the B's to bring their A Game.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

BIG BAD B'S DOMINATE DALLAS

The first 35 seconds of this game saw three fights and a goal. And the first 4 minutes saw four fights and two goals. And by the end of the night, 91 penalty minutes had been dispensed, and 9 goals scored. So yeah, this was a pretty action-packed game.

The 6-3 scoreline doesn't convey how thoroughly the Bruins dominated this game. The referees helped slow the B's down in the 2nd period. They disallowed a goal by McQuaid that would have made it 5-0. Then there was the matching 10 minute penalties to Chara and Ott, which kept the Bruins' leading ice-timer in the box.

Tuukka Rask had a bipolar outing. He was brilliant in some key stages. He made a Thomasesque post-to-post stop to keep the score at 2-0 in the 1st. In the 2nd, he made 10 stops in a 5 minute penalty-kill. In the 3rd, he allowed a pair of soft goals that gave Dallas some hope.

Even though he's 6' 2", Rask isn't that big of a guy. He doesn't occupy much space. He's 171, and a bit stringy. Whereas Thomas is 5' 11" and 208. So while Rask excels at the close-quarter stuff, he's vulnerable in long-range situations, when he simply can't make himself big enough to properly cut down the shooter's angle. Plus, he's nowhere near as balanced as Thomas, which is why it takes him so long to move from side to side.

Bergeron scored his 18th and 19th. He scored 19 all of last season. He hasn't reached 20 since the concussion but he's right on the doorstep.

Lucic scored the first goal, his 21st. Krejci set him up with a move so brilliantly subtle that the defender didn't even know he was being manipulated.

Seguin, Marchand, and Thornton rounded out the scoring. You were happy to see Thornton score in the 2nd, after he won his fight in the 1st period. You were happy to see Seguin score because Dallas was coming back, and Seguin has been mired in a slump. And Marchand now has 14, which is simply amazing.

The Bruins host San Jose Saturday afternoon.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

THOMAS' STAR SHINES ON IN CAROLINA

Two days after he got the Win in the All-Star Game, Tim Thomas won another game in Raleigh. While 2 goals allowed and 24 saves doesn't sound like a stellar night, Thomas once again was the biggest reason the Bruins won.

A few droughts ended, as Daniel Paille tipped in a Zdeno Chara slapshot, scoring his first goal since April 10th of 2010. He's found a suitable role on the 4th line. That line is more about possession, energy, and being a nuisance. With Marchand moving to the Bergeron line, Paille slots right in with Thornton and Campbell. Similar to those guys, he brings something to the table, namely speed, although he lacks the puck skills to do much with it. He's also an adept shorthanded player. He's this generation's PJ Axelsson.

Horton finally ended his goal drought with a nice backhander that beat Cam Ward up high. Hopefully, the confidence returns, and he starts playing less like Michael Ryder.

The Bruins were clearly the better team, but the last 6 minutes of the game did concern me. Once again, when opposing teams get desperate, the Bruins get sloppy. They're incapable of playing both fast and careful at the same time.

Against teams better than Carolina, that will be a problem. And in playoff games, those desperate minutes will come early in the 3rd period. I'm not sure if the B's are capable of withstanding that much pressure for that amount of time.

The Bruins host Dallas Thursday night.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo