TIM THOMAS = GOD

RED SOX COMPLETE THE SUNDAY NIGHT TRIFECTA

The Red Sox hadn't won a series against the Rays since last June. Pathetic, right? Finally, that streak came to an end.

Should the Red Sox just sign Jason Bay right now? Another clutch performance for Bay, who was 2 for 4 with a pair of doubles and the game winning RBI.

Josh Beckett was good, not great, and we're still waiting to see that Ace reemerge. But putting two solid starts together in a row is a step in the right direction. And he gave the team a chance to win, which is the first job of a starting pitcher.

Jonathan Papelbon's save wasn't the prettiest, but it had its own appeal. He struck out the side while giving up some baserunners and making Fenway Park nervous. But maybe he saw Big Baby's dramatics earlier and wanted to outdo the Celtics.

Dustin Pedroia "tweaked his groin" and left the game in the 3rd. He should be back by Wednesday, though. I was a bit nervous, because it seems like the injury bug has removed the hottest Red Sox hitter from the lineup. First Kevin Youkilis, then Pedroia? Then Bay?

Man of the Game: Jason Bay... again.

The Sox embark on their last West Coast trip of the year, first to Anaheim, then Seattle. Jared Weaver and his 3-1 record and 2.66 ERA take on Justin Masterson Tuesday night.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Michael Dwyer

SHOW OF FORCE

"When torrential water tosses boulders, it is because of its momentum"
-Sun Tzu, The Art of War

Last year, the Bruins demonstrated they are not an easy team to knock out. And hockey teams in general usually put up a good fight when facing elimination. Except, of course, the Canadiens, which is merely a testament to the Habs' lack of class and character.

Apparently, Carolina forgot this was a best of 7 series, because they did not show up for this game at all. The Hurricanes didn't get their first shot on goal until 11:03 into the 1st.

The only spark Carolina was when they decided to be cheap.

Jussi Jokinen slashed Zdeno Chara in the ankle. The dirty hit went unnoticed by the refs, but it felled the 6' 9" Chara for several minutes. The Garden went nuts when the big man climbed over the boards and returned to the ice in the 3rd.



Scott Walker sucker punched Aaron Ward in a 3rd period post-whistle confrontation. The unofficial word from the Bruins is that Ward has a broken orbital bone. He's to be reexamined today. Walker received a 2 minute penalty, a 5 minute major, and a 10 minute misconduct. Considering the nature of the punch, the apparent severity of Ward's injury, and the NHL's anti "message sending" crusade, it's safe to say Walker's series is done.

But it's no coincidence that the Canes went after the Bruins' top two defenseman. And if the Bruins lose Ward, or even have to reduce his playing time, it will test an already thin D-corps. And losing Scott Walker is hardly a big loss for Carolina. He only had 5 goals and 10 assists this year.

Hopefully Big Z and A-Ward will be fine for Game 6. And hopefully Carolina's Montrealesque attempt to get under the Bruins' collective skins was in vein.

Back to the hockey in Game 5...

Timmy Thomas continues to prove to any and all doubters why he will be the Vezina winner. He only had to stop 19 shots, but some of his saves, and clears, were simply stunning. He utilized his athleticism, and his ability to remain balanced in every position. And these kinds of games can be tough on goalies. Like I mentioned above, no Carolina shots for the first 11 minutes. Goalies don't like to be peppered with shots, but they like to build a rhythm.

First career playoff shutout for Thomas.



Phil Kessel was Phil Kessel again. After only getting 12 shots on goal in Games 1 thru 4, Phil fired 6 on Cam Ward. And 2 of those went in.



Kessel was keyed by Marc Savard, who was the Marc Savard we've all come to know and love over the past 3 years: The Assist Monster.



Zdeno Chara was the 1st Star, and he earned it. He was +3 with 2 assists, 5 massive hits, and still managed 24:34 of ice time, despite Jokinen's slash.

Milan Lucic continues to shine in postseason hockey. His 3rd period goal eliminated any chance of a Carolina comeback. He was also +3, with a goal, an assists, and 2 arena shaking hits. He gave energy to the crowd, to his teammates, and took energy from the Canes.

Blake Wheeler was a healthy scratch, a la Phil Kessel in 2008. Byron Bitz took his place in the lineup, and had a solid 10 minutes of 4th line grinding. Hopefully we'll see more Bitz in Game 6.

Bad news: the Bruins failed to score on 9 power plays

Good news: they had 10 power plays

The power play actually looked very good. Excellent puck-cycling, and they got some nice shots on goal. Cam Ward is a good goalie. He's not god, as some douchebags think he is. Cam Ward is quite mortal.



We're still waiting to see David Krejci and the 2nd line come up with another big game. They all had solid nights in Game 5, but nothing extraordinary. Since Game 1, Ryder and Krejci have been quiet, but I think if given enough time, that line will have a multiple goal night.

Shawn Thornton was back in the lineup. 4 minutes, 25 seconds on the ice. 6 minutes in the penalty box. And he was the one to respond to Carolina's cheapness, so he did his job, and the Bruins don't lose Lucic via suspension again.



Steve Montador once again had a failure of a game. He made one or two good plays, but he couldn't keep the puck in the offensive zone, struggled to get it out of the defensive zone, and I didn't notice him much in the neutral zone. He's not a good puck handling defenseman, at all. He's a liability with the puck.

And that sucks. Because if Aaron Ward goes down, thats 20+ minutes of ice time that has to be eaten by lesser defenseman, including Steve Montador. And that's penalty killing ice time, power play ice time, crunch time ice time.

I don't know what to expect in Game 6. But I'm glad the Bruins didn't go out with a whimper in Game 5. It was the best Bruins game I've ever been to, in terms of the building's intensity, and the players' intensities. They flat-out rolled over Carolina.



Game 6, Tuesday night, 7 PM, in Raleigh, NC, and it's on NESN.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credits:
AP Photo/Charles Krupa
AP Photo/Winslow Townson

BABY STEPS

What a night. What an incredible, unbelievable night. The Bruins stay alive, the Sox beat the Rays, and Glen Davis wins Game 4 for the C's with a buzzer beater. Such a great night, it was a shame the sun had to rise.

And what a postseason Glen Davis is having. He's emerged as a quality player in the absence of Kevin Garnett. His game winning shot was merely icing on the cake that Celtics fans have enjoyed for weeks.



Marv Albert sounds depressed as Davis shoots, then explodes. I love it.

But Paul Pierce was the hero in this game. He stepped up with 27 points, and of course he was the one who found Davis in space for the game winning shot.

Rajon Rondo continues to impress. He had yet another double-double with 21 points, and 14 rebounds. His 7th double-double or better in this postseason.

Perkins also had a nice game, with 12 points and 13 boards.

The starting five had to perform, because the bench provided a minuscule 2 points. I think the Scalabrine well has run dry.



It sucks that the Celtics let Orlando have a chance in this one. I've harped on this whole "killer instinct" the C's seem to be lacking this year, and last night was a perfect example of said lacking. But they atoned for letting their opponent have extra life by simply killing him later.

And think about how big that shot was? A miss, and the Celtics are down 3-1. A make, and it's a best of three series with two games in the Garden.

Speaking of the Garden, Game 5 is there on Tuesday night.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credits:
AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack

BACK TO NORMAL AGAINST TAMPA

It's clockwork. Evan Longoria steps to the plate, is able to reach over and drive a ball on the outside half of the plate, and pull it hard. 5 more RBI for the young third baseman. If he wins the MVP, in his acceptance speech, he should thank the Sox for allowing him to own the entire plate. 21 of his League leading 44 RBI have been against the Red Sox.

And Jon Lester needs to be able to beat the Rays. He's 0-2 against them this year, which follows his 0-2 performance in the ALCS. He cannot be an Ace so long as the Rays own him.

Jason Varitek has a .207 career average with the bases loaded. That sucks.

Man of the Game:
Evan Longoria - 2 for 4 with a double (that was a foot from a grand slam), a homer, 5 RBI, and 3 runs scored.

Bitch-Goat:
Lester: 0.8
Jones: 0.1
Varitek: 0.1

Rubber game is Sunday night at 8 on ESPN, which is the same time as both the Bruins and the Celtics playoff games, so few people in New England will witness Matt Garza's inevitable 20 strikeout performance, and Josh Beckett's 4 innings and 6 earned runs.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Mary Schwalm

OH AND THE RED SOX PLAYED TOO

When was the last time the Red Sox were the third story in the sporting news around here? 1988?

They did provide the only good news of the night. They finally beat the Rays, for only the second time since Opening Day.

Jason Bay continues to hit the crap out of the ball. He was 2 for 4 with another homerun, his 9th. That's good for 3rd in the AL. Manny Ramirez is still stuck on 7 HRs, and probably will be for awhile. Bay is also 2nd in RBI with 32.



Dustin Pedroia was 4 for 5, and continues his surge from an early slump. His average is up to .336. He's hitting .485 in May. He started the season 7 for 39 (.179). Since April 15th, he's 34 for 83 (.410).

Brad Penny had a solid start, 6.1 innings pitched and only 3 runs allowed on 8 scattered hits. That's what we're going to get from Penny, hopefully on a regular basis.

How nice was it to see Papelbon pitch a clean inning? 3 up, 3 down. Pair of strikeouts, 11 total pitches, 9 strikes. Lovely.

It's just nice beating Tampa. They're not that good. They're nowhere near likable. They're a bunch of cocky little punks, and we let them take control of the American League last year. Hopefully we can remind them that they are, in fact, a 14-17 team.

Scott Kazmir vs. Jon Lester at 3:40 on Fox. I'm probably not going to watch until the 6th inning. Wink.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credits:
AP Photo/Charles Krupa

CELTICS DECIDE TO TAKE AN EXTRA DAY OFF

In Game 1, an understandable fatigue was apparently responsible for the Celtics' lackadaisical play. In Game 2, they woke up and cruised to victory. In Game 3, it was once again nap time. In this case, however, there is no excuse.

The Magic shot 59.1% from the field. More disturbingly, they were allowed easy layups and dunks, especially in the 1st quarter.

Ray Allen once again had a subpar night, 3 for 13 shooting, 0 for 5 in three pointers, and only 8 points. Glen Davis also struggled, only 7 points and 3 rebounds.

But the C's put up 96 points. That should be enough to win. The C's held opponents to fewer than 96 points 18 times in last year's playoffs. I know without Garnett, such a feet is impossible to duplicate. However, one man doesn't make a good defense, it takes 5 men working together. The Celtics simply didn't do it last night.

Game 4 is Sunday night. It's not a must-win, but not winning will put the Celtics in a deep hole.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack

APPARENTLY ONLY ONE BOSTON TEAM CAN WIN PER NIGHT

Things seem to be falling apart for the Bruins. Or are they? I'm pretty pissed about the lack of control the Bruins have shown, and they certainly deserve to be down 3-1. But they aren't out. All that pre-game nonsense about Friday night's contest being a "must win" was bullshit. But clearly now, the Bruins are in a must-win situation.

Before I pepper the Bruins with my rage filled criticisms, let's remember how few breaks they got in this game. A pair of posts hit in the 1st (one by Kessel, one by Chara), as well as Cam Ward's guessing save on Axelsson's breakaway (he moved before P.J. shot the puck, and just so happened to guess right). The tempo of the game would have changed a great deal had the B's drawn first blood and been up 1-0, 2-0, or even 3-0.



Then there was Carolina's first goal. Jussi Jokinen flopped after David Krejci brushed him, the Canes got a power play, and Staal scored. Krejci shouldn't have given Jokinen a chance to flop, and also given the referees a chance to make a questionable call. But Krejci will get his abuse later in the post.

Carolina got a power play early in the 3rd thanks to a botched hooking call. To be fair to the refs, they've called a great series, and the game was 99% well-called, which is as good as it gets. But Chara didn't commit an infraction worthy of a power play. Carolina took advantage and Jokinen scored.

All this bad break business being said, THE BRUINS WERE THE ONES WHO LET THESE UNFORTUNATE EVENTS DESTROY THEM. Krejci could have avoided a penalty by not making contact with Jokinen from behind. After Chara committed the penalty, and Jokinen scored, it was only a 1 goal game, but the Bruins played like they were down by 4 or 5 scores.

From the 2nd period to the 3rd, I felt like a proud parent who watched his 20 children go from the honor roll to injecting heroin. The Bruins' 2nd period was their best period of hockey in this series. Outstanding forechecks, winning one-on-one battles, winning faceoffs, testing Ward, and dominating in all three zones.

Then in the 3rd, the B's let one bad thing (a penalty on Chara), turn into a worse thing (a goal), then into an even worse thing (17 minutes of atrociously sloppy hockey).

The Bruins' lack of experience is being exposed. But it's more than that. A few key players are trying too hard to be perfect, and are making costly mistakes.

Blake Wheeler:
He's sucked this series. His goal-scoring cooled off long ago, but he had always been a good two-way player on the 3rd line. I was glad to see him demoted to the 4th line, especially with how good Bitz looks. Wheeler seems to find himself offside at least once a game in a pivotal spot, spoiling a quality Bruins' offensive rush. He's also not taking full advantage of his size.



David Krejci:
How many times has he forced Tim Thomas to make unnecessary saves with turnovers near his own blue line? He is slow on offense, letting the puck get past him instead of being instinctive and opportunistic. He's sloppy in the neutral zone, giving the Canes additional chances.

Steve Montador:
He has single handedly raised my blood pressure to dangerous levels in this series. Too many giveaways, both pressured and unpressured. He also telegraphs his shots, allowing the Canes to set-up their shot-blocking counterattack.



Mark Stuart:
He's been mostly invisible, and he too has telegraphed his shots.

Stephane Yelle:
He's supposed to be a low-key, high percentage puck handler kind of guy. But he's turned the puck over quite a bit. He's sucked in the neutral zone, and been a ghost in the offensive zone. Apart from penalty killing, the lesser we see Yelle, the better.

On the bright side, Thomas is playing great. Michael Felger, and anyone who wants to suck-off Cam Ward while simultaneously criticizing Thomas need to be banned from Bruins games FOR LIFE. Thomas is the sole reason the Bruins had a chance in Games 3 and 4. And Cam Ward has been allowed to relax in his cage. The B's only got 21 shots on goal in Game 4 and 23 in Game 3.



I want to see more Byron Bitz in Game 5. Putting him on the 3rd line is great. Speaking of line juggling, I've never been a fan of Lucic alongside Kessel and Savard. You get Lucic trying too hard to be a fancy hockey player, and when he does win battles along the boards, Kessel and Savard aren't in the crease to take advantage of it. I'd like to see Lucic on the 2nd or 3rd line, and maybe even Axelsson or Recchi or Ryder on the 1st line. I'd prefer Lucic on the ice at the same time as Kobasew, so the two tough forecheckers can feed off each other, and help each other out.

If the Bruins play like they played for 25 or 30 minutes in Game 4, Carolina needs to get lucky to win. That's just the way it is. The Bruins have dug themselves this hole, but they're good enough to get out of it.

It's up to the 20 men in that locker room. They just need to play good solid hockey. It's not that complicated.



Game 5, Sunday night, in Boston, on Versus.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credits:
AP Photo/Gerry Broome
AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker