New blog format

I want to keep this blog as fresh and up to date as possible.  If you look to your left, you will see a number of links you can use to stay up to date on the Bruins.  I have included links to the Providence Bruins along with a link to Hockey's Future, giving you insight into the prospects the Bruins have in their system.  Along with that, I have included a site (My Peer-to-Peer) that you can use to watch all types of live sporting events over the internet.  Since I live in Kansas, it is difficult for me to watch regular Bruins broadcasts.  This link allows me to watch almost all Bruins games; on top of that, all the programming is free.  I have used it for more than 5 years with no issues. 

LET'S GO BRUINS!

Bruins drop Coyotes in OT, 2-1

Some immediate reactions after the Bruins knocked off the Coyotes:

ALL HAIL DARTH QUAIDER - During the Stanley Cup finals last year, one of the NBC announcers called Adam McQuaid "one tough hombre."  He proved that again tonight with an absolute beat down of Raffi Torres, who ran Andrew Ference into the boards.  Raffi left the ice beaten and bloodied.  Once again, the Bruins stood up for each other when it mattered.

TUUKKA DOES IT AGAIN - Rask won his fourth in a row.  In those four games, he's faced 104 shots and stopped 103 of them, a save percentage a little over 99%.  The Bruins just might have the 2 best goalies in the league.

LUCIC/HORTON/KREJCI DOMINATE - Of the four Boston lines, this line dominated and led the way all night.  They kept the offensive zone pressure on the Coyotes the entire game.  All three players stayed engaged and played hard throughout.

WHERE ARE YOU TYLER? - Tyler Seguin seems to be struggling some.  He had a good game against Florida but struggled tonight.  Bergeron and Marchand were around the puck all night; Tyler seemed to be one step behind.

WHO SELECTS THE STARS OF THE GAME? - How can you select 3 Coyotes as the stars of the game when you LOSE?  It just doesn't make sense.

NEXT GAME:  @ Dallas, December 31st.  The Bruins will face their old teammate, Michael Ryder, who's had a good start with the Stars.  He didn't always play up to his potential in Boston, but he sure showed up come playoff time.  Thanks for helping bring the Cup back to Boston Michael.  Good luck in your new home, just not on Saturday night.  

Bruins schedule January 2012

BRUINS NEW YEAR SCHEDULE

     So far, the Bruins have played 33 games.  Of those 33, 20 were at home and 13 were on the road.  Honestly, it’s hard to see a difference in the Bruins play when they’re on the road.  They’ve won 10 of their 13 road games so far.  They play the same type of game whether they’re in front of their home crowd or not.  When I watch the Bruins, I see a skilled, tough, diligent, hard working, committed to one mind set team.  It doesn’t matter if they’re in the TD Garden in Boston or the Bell Center in Montreal; they play the same type of game and try to impose that on their opponent.

     For this column, I’ll discuss January.  This month seems like it will bring the Bruins the toughest stretch of hockey they’ll face until March.  All total, they play 13 games in January; 6 are home, 7 are away.  Although they’ll only play 13 games in 31 days, they play 12 of those games in a 21 day period.  They’ll have 3 sets of 3 games in 4 nights and 1 set of 3 games in 5 nights.  Here’s how it breaks down:

4 Jan - @ New Jersey

5 Jan – vs. Calgary

7 Jan – vs. Vancouver (Welcome back Roberto (NOT!)

10 Jan – vs. Winnipeg (Welcome back Wheels and Stuey (good to see them playing well in WPG).

12 Jan – vs. Montreal (I hate the Habs)

14 Jan - @ Carolina (0-2 so far this year, time to get rid of the donut)

16 Jan - @ Florida

17 Jan - @ Tampa Bay

19 Jan - @ New Jersey

21 Jan – vs. New York Rangers

22 Jan - @ Philadelphia (this team doesn’t look the same without Pronger)

24 Jan - @ Washington

     Due to the All-Star break, the Bruins won’t play again until Ottawa visits on 31 Jan.  The Bruins rolled into the Christmas break in 1^st place in the Northeast Division and the Eastern Conference.  They’ll have a tough stretch of 7 games (6 on the road) in 11 nights in Jan.  However, they’ve proven they can win in just about any environment.  I’d expect the Bruins to get through Jan with a few nicks and bruises but still in charge of the Eastern Conference.   

  

Bruins defeat Panthers, 8-0

5 immediate impressions of the Bruins win over the Panthers:

* SMOOTH - As a team, the Bruins looked smooth the whole night.  Defensemen quickly moved the puck to the forwards.  The forwards passed the puck quickly and sharply all night.  It was hard to believe this is the same Panthers team that beat the B's 2-0 just a few weeks ago.

* KILLER INSTINCT - It wasn't that long ago that I was worried when the Bruins went into the 3rd period in a close game.  Up until last year, they seemed to shut down their offense when they had a lead and focused on defense.  Not anymore.  The B's were flying all over the ice tonight.  McQuaid (gotta love his "Darth Quaider" nickname.  Thanks Ference) was impressive driving to the net on Marchand's last goal.  The Bruins pressured Florida from beginning to end.

* BERGERON JUST KEEPS GETTING BETTER - After his first serious concussion, it seemed like Patrice Bergeron was never going to be the same player.  I'm glad I was wrong.  He was all over the ice tonight, assisting Marchand with his shorthander, getting a PP goal of his own, wreaking havoc defensively.  It's criminal if he doesn't get serious consideration for the Selke this year.

* RASK CONTINUES TO IMPROVE - Although the Panthers put 30 shots on goal, Tuukka didn't really seem challenged.  However, he did get his second shutout in a row.  Peter Chiarelli could be charged with a crime with the way the Bruins stole Rask from Toronto.

* SEGUIN WILL BE OK - I watched the NESN broadcast of the game.  Edwards and Brinkley questioned Seguin's performance since November.  Although he's not getting many goals, he still leads the league in plus/minus and is now over 30 points for the year.  He seems to be in a little slump, but I think he'll get out of it.

The Bruins have now won 20 of 23 games.  It's scary because they don't seem to have many "bad" games.  I'm looking forward to seeing how they perform after the Christmas break.

LET'S GO BRUINS!!!

Bruins goalie situation in the future

     Without a doubt, the Bruins boast the best goalie tandem in the league.  Tim Thomas, 2 time Vezina winner and last year’s Conn Smythe winner, looks poised to be named the best goalie in the league once again.  Not many people believed Tim could top the numbers he put up last year.  However, so far this year he’s been even better (16-5, 1.84 GAA, .940 save percentage).  Tuukka Rask is no slouch himself, posting a 6-4-1 record, a 1.82 GAA, and a .940 save percentage.  Thomas is still signed on for 1 more year at $5 million.  Rask is a restricted free agent after this year.  Anton Khudobin, the Baby B’s starting net minder, has put up respectable numbers for the Bruins and Minnesota Wild organizations.  What happens with Boston goalies after this year?

     Assuming the Bruins make the playoffs at the end of the 2011/2012 regular season, Tim Thomas will be 38 years old when the quest for Lord Stanley’s Cup begins.  As stated earlier, he’ll have 1 more year on his contract.  Many elite goaltenders in the past put up excellent numbers in their late 30s/ early 40s.  Tim looks like he’ll be able to do the same.  Barring injury or a dramatic drop in production, Tim should be the Bruins #1 goalie for the next 3-4 years.

     Rask will be 25 years old later in the regular season.  Since he joined the Bruins, he’s gone 42-31 with a 2.20 GAA and .927 save percentage.  Rask would easily be the #1 goalie on just about any other team in the league.  There were rumors earlier this year of possible Rask trades with Columbus and other teams looking for goalie help.  Fortunately for the Bruins, none of those rumors proved to be true.  Rask will be a restricted free agent at the end of this year.  Is he willing to remain Timmy’s backup for the next 3-4 years?

     Khudobin is the wild card in the Bruins goalie situation.  The B’s traded for Khudobin early in 2011.  They’re main focus was to find a goalie for Providence.  Khudobin’s put up good numbers in the NHL when called up by Minnesota.  He was 4-1 with 1 shutout and a GAA of less than 2.  He threatened to bolt to the KHL after the Bruins won the Stanley Cup.  However, he signed a 2 year contract with the Bruins through the 2012/2013 season.

     Since his hip surgery at the end of the 2009/2010 season, Tim Thomas has been phenomenal in goal.  He’s the Bruins #1 goaltender for the next few years.  Rask goes into RFA status at the end of this year.  Khudobin is signed through 2012/2013.  What will the Bruins do?  Will they let Rask walk at the end of the year?  Will they trade Rask?  If they sign Rask, will Khudobin be happy knowing his chances of making the big club are slim?  We’ll just have to wait and see.

NEXT BLOG:  How will Dougie Hamilton affect the Bruins defense in 2012?   

    

Trade Zach Hamill

TIME TO TRADE ZACH HAMILL?

     As many of you already know, center Zach Hamill of the Everett Silvertips of the Western Hockey League was the Bruins 1^st round selection in the 2007 NHL draft.  Hamill was drafted at a time when the center position in Boston was in flux.  Marc Savard was clearly the #1 center, coming off a 96 point season the year before.  Following Savard was Patrice Bergeron, who enjoyed a 70 point season and was becoming one of the better defensive forwards in the league.  David Krejci began the year in Providence before being called up to the big club.  After Krejci, depth at the center position tailed off.  Hamill looked like he had a bright future in Boston.

     Hamill’s outlook with the Bruins began to change with the hiring of Claude Julien.  Julien brought to the Bruins a defense oriented system, built around team play and support.  His system demands that forwards support the defense and cover as much of the ice as possible.  Prior to joining the Bruins, Savard had the reputation of being about goals and assists, not team play.  He quickly bought into the system, going from a -19 in 2006/2007 to a +3 in 2007/2008 and +25 in 2008/2009.  Bergeron continued to blossom as one of the leagues best defensive forwards.  Krejci exploded on the NHL scene with the Bruins.  He put up 27 points in 56 games in 2007/2008 and followed that up in 2008/2009 by playing in all regular season games, scoring 73 points and putting up the one of the best plus/minus numbers in the league at +37.   The fact that Savard was in his early 30s and Bergeron and Krejci were in their early 20s made it apparent that the Bruins would have few, if any, openings at center in the near future.  Additionally, Claude Julien prefers to have a hard working, gritty, get in your face type of fourth line.  Hamill is a scorer and playmaker, not typical of your fourth line center.  Hamill’s chances to make the big club began to dim.

     Hamill continued to play for the Providence Bruins of the AHL.  He left the Everett Silvertips with many of the team’s scoring records.  Much was expected of him in Providence.  However, his impact with the team was less than that expected of a 1^st round pick.  His first full season in Providence, he posted 26 points in 65 games.  He followed that up with 44 points in 75 games and then 43 points in 68 games.  He enjoyed one game with the Bruins in 2010, scoring his first NHL point with an assist against the Capitals.  He never seemed to capitalize on the potential the Bruins saw when they drafted him.

     This year, Hamill made the move to wing with Providence.   So far, he’s been one of the bright spots for the little B’s.  He’s put up 14 points in 25 games.  His plus/minus is a respectable 0 for a team that’s been outscored by 26 goals.  This year, he’s earned two call ups to Boston.  Each time I’ve watched him, he plays with confidence, speed and skill.  He’s played 6 games with Boston, registering 2 points and a very good plus/minus of +5.   However, Hamill seems destined to return to Providence once the Bruins are healthy again.  That’s why I think it’s time to trade Zach Hamill.

     Zach Hamill has done everything the organization has asked of him.  He helped lead younger players through Bruins development camp.  He plays his butt off in training camp.  He moved to wing to try to improve his chances of joining the big club on a permanent basis.  Zach has done enough for this team that I believe he’s earned the right to be traded to a team that will be able to give him an everyday slot. 

     The Bruins have a bunch of youth in Providence and around the junior leagues fighting to make the NHL team.  Many of them are younger than Hamill and appear to have brighter futures (Jordan Caron, Jared Knight, Ryan Spooner, Maxime Sauve, and more).  According to Hockey Futures, Hamill is the 18^th ranked prospect in the Bruins system.  His chances of sticking with the big club look slim.

     I don’t think the Bruins should trade Hamill because he’s a bad hockey player.  I think the Bruins should trade him to give him an opportunity to make it with another team.  This year, he’s demonstrated the skills and talent required of a top 9 NHL forward.  Boston’s minor league teams need some help in the goalie position.  Make a trade that’s best for all

     Hamill deserves the chance to make it in the NHL.  Send him to a team that will give him the best chance to make it.

    

My first post

     This is the first of what I hope to be many stories I write about the Boston Bruins.  I love many things in life.  I love my wife, my kids, my grandkids, my family, my country, and my Boston Bruins.  I grew up in a small town in eastern Pennsylvania, just 60 miles or so north of Philadelphia.  Many assume that because I grew up near Philly, I’m a Flyers fan.  I love Philadelphia, but I am not a Flyers fan.  I love my Bruins.

     I moved away from Pennsylvania when I joined the Army in 1981.  I remained on active duty for the next 27 years, moving across the U.S. and around the world.  I’ve lived in Georgia, New York, Alaska, and Texas.  I’ve lived overseas in Korea, Jordan and Kuwait.  I deployed in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.  When I retired from the Army, my family and I settled in eastern Kansas, just 30 minutes or so from Kansas City, Missouri.   I do everything I can to watch the Bruins whenever possible.  When the Bruins schedule allows, my son and I make the four hour drive to St. Louis to see the B’s play the Blues.  You see, I love my Bruins.

     With this product, I plan on providing other Bruins fans like myself with information sources about our beloved B’s along with my own take on the “state of the Bruins.”   Here’s the first bit of information I’d like to share with all of you.  If you live outside New England, have a difficult time watching our beloved B’s, but have Internet access, try this website:  www.myp2p.pe.  A friend in Korea introduced me to this site about five years ago.  I’ve been using it ever since.  I’ve never had issues with viruses or malware or any other type of computer related problem due to this website.  I want you to enjoy the B’s as much as I do.  You see, I love my Bruins.

     I promise that, whenever possible, I’ll update this site daily no later than 12:00 PM CST.  If the Bruins played the day before and I watched it, I’ll give you my take on the game.  I’ll provide links to websites with the latest Bruins information.  I’ll do what I can to keep information fresh and up to date.  Your feedback and comments, positive or negative, are welcome.  I want to share my love for my Bruins.  Now, let me make my first correction.  They’re not my Bruins.  They’re OUR Bruins.  Enjoy! 

Garry Christman