Bruins Leave Penguins in Ruins

Before reveling in the Bruins' 3-0 victory over Pittsburgh, I must point out that the score doesn't do justice to how close this game was. Pittsburgh hit 3 posts, and one puck dribbled along the goal-line, kept out by flakes of snow, and perhaps the hockey gods, who are still cross at Matt Cooke for what he did to Marc Savard. And Erik Karlsson. And what he tried to do to Adam McQuaid.

What made Cooke's hit on McQuaid so dirty is what led up to it. This wasn't an instance of Cooke contesting with McQuaid, then McQuaid putting himself vulnerable, then Cooke deciding to finish his check anyway. Cooke was jousting with Krug. McQuaid, apparently unchallenged, went to the boards to get the puck. When McQuaid turned and made himself vulnerable, Cooke stopped playing Krug, and with a surge of energy he went after McQuaid's back, driving McQuaid, spinal column first, into the boards. Cooke was not going to touch McQuaid until McQuaid showed his numbers to Cooke. McQuaid's vulnerability is what attracted the vulture Cooke to hit him.

And the reaction of the Pittsburgh crowd demonstrates the kind of spoiled morons they have for fans down there.

Anyway, to the game. The Bruins did a few things that put them in position to win:

#1 Rask
Tuukka was great. He made a few tough saves. He didn't make saves tougher. He adapted his play to each situation. Sometimes he looked like a standard butterfly goalie, solid and predictable. Other times he flailed around like Dominek Hasek, keeping the puck out of the net with instinct and sheer will.

#2 No gifts
The B's did not have bad shifts. They didn't make bad turnovers in dangerous areas of the ice. Pittsburgh is good enough to generate their own offense, for the Bruins to win this series they can't afford to give the Penguins bonus opportunities.

#3 Neutral zone
The Penguins were almost never able to move the puck through the neutral zone without some minor disruption. This threw off their timing, and more importantly it frustrated them. They're used to skating through the zone unimpeded. This got under their skin more than anything, I think.

#4 First line play
Lucic, Krejci, and Horton find another gear in the playoffs. Lucic becomes a speed demon. Krejci becomes a tough along-the-boards grinder, and Horton becomes a smooth scorer. Horton has 4 multi-point games this postseason. He's also +17. Krejci is +14, leads the Stanley Cup Playoffs in points, and has the second most goals. Lucic is +11.

#5 Under their skin
Zdeno Chara is +9 in the playoffs. He goes against the best forwards the opposing teams have, and he's +9. And having to play against him every night pisses off even the best of players. In this game both Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby tried to get physical. That's way out of their element. And for Crosby against Chara, that's way out of his league. Chara would end Crosby. When Crosby was trying to antagonize Chara (and also elbowed Rask who had a great "wtf, mate? I'm a goalie" reaction) it reminded me of footage from protests in the Middle East, when unarmed civilians throw rocks at tanks. It's like really man? Do you really want this to get real? This is what Chara did to a guy who was 6' 6" and 238. Crosby is 5' 11" and 200.

Crosby, who is teammates with Matt Cooke, had this to say about the game's level of physicality:

"They're letting a lot go out there, and the more it gets like that, the more it’s going to escalate. You can only control and channel that stuff so much. You keep letting guys do that stuff, you’re just going to push the envelope. That’s something we obviously want to stay away from, but it’s kind of a natural thing when it gets like that."

What a whiny dink.

So this was a great win. Starting a series with a road win, it doesn't get any better than that.

All this being said, you can't rely on the posts all series long. You can't lean on your goalie and one line all series long. And I'm sure Pittsburgh will adjust and adapt to what the Bruins are doing to them in the neutral zone.

There were also a lot of "zero tolerance interference" penalties called. This favors Pittsburgh, who have the best PP units the Bruins have faced, and also have an aggressive PK group. The fewer penalties, the better.

Game 2 is tonight. A win would be titanic. A loss wouldn't be the end of the world. The Bruins are playing with house money, which has sometimes been when they play their worst. This is a chance, however, to really get in the driver's seat of this series.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar

Bruins Bad Habits Bite Back

Before last night the Bruins had won 5 of 6, and yet their fans were unhappy. Why? Because their play was uninspired, relaxed, inconsistent, and sometimes careless. They played the same way last night, against a decent team struggling for a playoff spot, and it bit them.

When is Milan Lucic going to get a healthy scratch? Or be once again demoted for the 3rd line (for longer than a game)? Claude Julien had the balls to scratch Phil Kessel in the playoffs. He kept Tyler Seguin on the bench as he developed. And this season he's moved Seguin to the 3rd line. Is Julien afraid of Lucic? This guy is playing with half a heart for almost all of his shifts.

The Bruins wore camouflage warm-ups pre-game, Lucic seems to wear camouflage during games because he is invisible on the ice.

And he makes the most obvious and dumbest mistakes with the puck. In his defensive zone he attempted a BLIND, slow, backhanded pass across the width of the ice. Of course it was intercepted. Lucic has no conception of where he is on the ice, and how careful he should be in certain spots.

Dougie Hamilton was a healthy scratch. Because Adam McQuaid came back. I guess Matt Bartkowski is better than Dougie Hamilton these days. If solid, mistake-free hockey is so important to Julien, why does Bartkoswki get rewarded for it and Lucic evades punishment for lack of it?

And has Hamilton been making mistakes? Has he been costing this team goals? He's been helping them score goals. He's been playing very sound at his position, especially considering his age. Hamilton was a healthy scratch. Why? Because taking care of the puck is vital. Unless you're Milan Lucic.

I apologize for my vexed frustrations. This team is like a rock band that has a great drummer, good guitarists, a capable bassist, and lead singers that sound like cats being anally raped. They ruin the whole act. And the manager seems to favor the singer over everyone else.

The B's travel to Raleigh to play the godawful Hurricanes. That should be a win, despite how crappily Lucic plays.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Charles Krupa

Bruins vs. Capitals Preview*

I'll be honest. I'd prefer it if the Bruins were playing against the team from the Canadian capital, not the American one. Simply because the B's matched up very well against the Sens. Ironically, the Bruins beating the Senators last Thursday is why they're not facing them this Thursday.

Washington has been one of the most intriguing teams in the NHL all season. Ovechkin scored 38 goals, but as a whole, the Caps didn't score like they have in the past. They were 10th in the Eastern Conference in scoring.

Tomas Vokoun had a good year and beat the Bruins 3 times, but he's out with a groin injury. Michael Neuvirth is also unavailable. So 22 year old Braden Holtby will be in net. He has 18 career starts and 21 games under his belt. And 0 playoff minutes.

The Capitals' offensive production comes from a few key people. Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, and Jason Chimera accounted for 36% of their team's goals. The first line of Ovechkin, Brooks Laich, and Troy Brouwer combines for 32% of their goals. So if Chara and Seidenberg can shut that line down, Washington loses 1/3 of its offense.

Ovechkin scored about a third of his goals on the Power Play. So if that gets slowed down, Washington will struggle. The Bruins won the Cup last year because they were able to shut down opponents' Power Plays.

The Caps shouldn't be overlooked. They have defensemen that can contribute to the offense (3 with 9+ goals). And they'll be playing with nothing to lose. They won 38 games in regulation and OT this season. The Bruins won 40. This is a team that can win.

This is the Bruins' series to lose. Thomas has looked sharp lately, but was sluggish only a few weeks ago. The Krejci line has been inconsistent all year. There are health concerns on the blue line. Boychuk and McQuaid are very physical players, and without their services, the defense isn't as intimidating.

McQuaid is out for Game 1, and Boychuk will be a game-time decision.

If the Bruins don't jump on Holtby early, or if Holtby stands on his head and wins a game in Boston, then the Caps will feel a surge of life and give the Bruins a tough series. But if the Bruins put Washington down early, they won't come back up for air.

Bruins in 5.

Series schedule:
1: Thursday 4/12 - 7:30pm - WSH @ BOS - NESN/NBC Sports
2: Saturday 4/14 - 3:00pm - WSH @ BOS - NBC
3: Monday 4/16 - 7:30pm - BOS @ WSH - NESN/NBC Sports
4: Thursday 4/19 - 7:30pm - BOS @ WSH - NESN/NBC Sports
5: Saturday 4/21 - 3:00pm - WSH @ BOS - NBC
6: Sunday 4/22 - tba - BOS @ WSH - tba
7: Wednesday 4/25 - tba - WSH @ BOS - NESN

Bruins Injury Updates

The Bruins have so many names on their injury report that we need a whole post to talk about them.

Patrice Bergeron, Adam McQuaid, and Max Suave (such a porn name) left Sunday's game with various injuries. The Bruins haven't released any details but Bergeron's currently listed with a foot injury. McQuaid has an "upper body" injury and Suave has a "lower body" injury.

Benoit Pouliot also has a lower body injury and seems to be day-to-day.

On the bright side, Andrew Ference returned to the lineup this weekend. Tuukka Rask seems optimistic that he'll be healthy for the playoffs. And Daniel Paille worked out with the team over the weekend.

Bruins Win Duel in the Desert

It was a goaltender's duel, but the Bruins emerged victorious thanks to some good old fashioned grinding. They were sloppy at times, and for most of the 2nd period they seemed to listlessly drift around the slushy ice. But they picked it up in the 3rd, then ended it in OT. The Bruins outshot the Coyotes 12-4 in the 3rd period and overtime.

Krejci's goal to start the game was a heads-up play as the Bruins took advantage of the Coyotes paying too much attention to Brad Marchand. Then the Bruins hibernated for a period and a half, then woke up.

The only goal Tuukka Rask allowed was a piece of craftsmanship from Ray Whitney. There's a reason that guy has nearly 1,000 points.

The highlight of the game was Adam McQuaid's thrashing of Raffi Torres. Torres had just checked Ference underneath the jaw, and McQuaid made him pay for it.

Check out the girl in the front row at 0:55. Warm desert temperatures may cause poor ice conditions, but they also allow girls to wear stuff like that.

Anyway, Torres only deserved a minor penalty for the hit, and McQuaid dished out the rest of the punishment. McQuaid is as insane as Mark Stuart, only taller, and a more sound defenseman.

Last night he was more like the Road Runner, nearly killing a Coyote.

It's nice to see that the Bruins can win an 8-0 game, then come back and grind out a 2-1 victory. They play in Dallas Saturday night.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

BRUINS BLOW 3-0 LEAD

You wonder why I'm so negative about this team. Games like this one stick in my memory more than 3-2 wins over Atlanta. Games like this one not only hurt, they scare me.

The Bruins took a 3-0 lead, taking advantage of a worn out Rangers team. Then McQuaid makes a mistake, and it's 3-1. Then more defensive lapses, and it's 3-2. But the penalty killing unit seems to sap New York's momentum, and the Bruins get back to sensible hockey.

Then comes the 3rd period. The exhausted Rangers summon their final ounces of energy, and pressure the Bruins. As we've seen again and again, the Bruins failed to put away a desperate team.

McQuaid and Kaberle made the two most glaring defensive mistakes. Both of them assumed their teammates would win a battle, and moved to positions to receive a pass. Instead, their teammates lost their battles, and dangerous amounts of space was opened up. McQuaid surrendered the middle of the ice on Vaclav Prospal's first goal. And Kaberle left the crease open, giving Brandon Dubinsky all the time and space he needed to deke out Thomas.

In the defensive zone, you can't assume your teammates are going to win the puck. You have to react and play DEFENSIVELY. Weird concept, eh?

There were also numerous defensive shortcomings by Andrew Ference. I'd rather see Hnidy out there. I'm tired of watching Ference lose battles. Kaberle isn't much of a defensive defenseman either, but at least he can pass and score.

And the game-winning goal came when the Bruins collapsed into the slot. But none of them took a body. They tried fishing for the puck. Which is exactly what the Rangers did to allow Horton's goal in the 1st. In that type of frantic situation, you have to tie up your opponents' stick. The puck will randomly bounce around, but at least if it finds your opponents' stick, they won't be able to do anything with it.

Statistically, the Bruins are one of the best defensive teams in the NHL. 4th fewest goals allowed. But in tough situations in big games, they make so many inexcusable defensive errors. Claude Julien might have implemented a masterful defensive plan in Boston, but it relies too much on the opponent playing predictable, traditional, station-to-station hockey. In other words, not the brand of hockey you see in the playoffs.

The Bruins finish the season against some non-contending teams. It's a good chance to give Thomas a break, and to play guys like Seguin and Kampfer. B's host the Islanders Wednesday night.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo