Thursday, January 12, 2012
Bruins 2, Canadians 1
The B's knocked off the Habs 2-1 tonight at the TD Garden. The Bruins did not put their best effort on the ice tonight. Thomas had to make key saves throughout the game to give the Bruins a chance to win. Seguin and Krejci were all over the ice, making plays, forechecking, cycling the puck. Quaider had a nice tip of a pass while the Habs had a 2 on 1 coming in towards Thomas. Subban threw an elbow into the head of Krejci. Luckily, David wasn't injured on the play. With the Habs having a down year, the emotions weren't as high in this one as they've been in the past. Outside the 2 points they collected, the best news to come out of the game was Michael Cammalleri getting traded to the Flames in the middle of the game. Cammalleri has been a thorn in the Bruins' side for a few years now. Nice to see him off to the Western Conference.
NHL All-Star game
The NHL named players for the All-Star game being held in Ottawa on January 29th. Tyler Seguin and Zdeno Chara were selected to represent Boston; Tim Thomas was selected earlier as a starter by the voters. These selections make sense. Seguin is one of the best young forwards in hockey. Chara is his normal "mountain of a man" on defense. Thomas is, well, Thomas. It will be great to see all 3 representing the B's in Ottawa.
Let's hope all 3 do well in the skills competitions. Not much beats watching a Z slapshot going faster than 105 MPH!
LET'S GO BRUINS!
Let's hope all 3 do well in the skills competitions. Not much beats watching a Z slapshot going faster than 105 MPH!
LET'S GO BRUINS!
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Bruins ground Jets, 5-3
5 immediate impressions of the Bruins win over the Jets:
BALANCE: Once again, the Bruins demonstrated their balance across the scoresheet with 3 separate lines putting up goals. Depth like that will be hard to defeat come playoff time.
POULIOT CONTINUES TO IMPRESS: Much was made about Chiarelli's signing of Pouliot in the off-season. Pouliot is a former 1st round pick, taken 4th overall by Minnesota. He flamed out there and with the Habs. Chiarelli paid little money to bring him to Beantown. Right now, that's looking like an excellent decision. He's bought into the system Julien plays. He goes to the net and all the dirty areas. He can play top line down to the 3rd line. He scored a PP goal last night by driving to the goal. His grit, hard work and speed make him a valuable multi-dimensional player.
THORNY HAS GOT SOME SKILLS: Shawn can do a whole lot more than just drop the gloves. Sweet score on the penalty shot.
BERGY HAS TO GET SOME SERIOUS CONSIDERATION FOR THE SELKE: Nicholas Cotsonika at Yahoo! sports put out an article today identifying mid-season award winners. His pick for the Selke would be Bergeron. Good read at http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/news;_ylt=AveQZFL0yMf.plzztbnnaQp7vLYF?slug=nc-midseason_awards_giroux_weber_lidstrom_011012
WHEELS AND STUEY: So far, Blake Wheeler has 32 points (9 goals, 23 assists) and is +10. Mark Stuart only has 7 points, but he's got over 100 hits and 100 shots blocked. Nice to see both of them doing well in Winnipeg, just don't want to see Stuey fighting Thorny anymore. Although Wheels and Stuey were traded out of Boston, I've still got tons of respect for both.
BALANCE: Once again, the Bruins demonstrated their balance across the scoresheet with 3 separate lines putting up goals. Depth like that will be hard to defeat come playoff time.
POULIOT CONTINUES TO IMPRESS: Much was made about Chiarelli's signing of Pouliot in the off-season. Pouliot is a former 1st round pick, taken 4th overall by Minnesota. He flamed out there and with the Habs. Chiarelli paid little money to bring him to Beantown. Right now, that's looking like an excellent decision. He's bought into the system Julien plays. He goes to the net and all the dirty areas. He can play top line down to the 3rd line. He scored a PP goal last night by driving to the goal. His grit, hard work and speed make him a valuable multi-dimensional player.
THORNY HAS GOT SOME SKILLS: Shawn can do a whole lot more than just drop the gloves. Sweet score on the penalty shot.
BERGY HAS TO GET SOME SERIOUS CONSIDERATION FOR THE SELKE: Nicholas Cotsonika at Yahoo! sports put out an article today identifying mid-season award winners. His pick for the Selke would be Bergeron. Good read at http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/news;_ylt=AveQZFL0yMf.plzztbnnaQp7vLYF?slug=nc-midseason_awards_giroux_weber_lidstrom_011012
WHEELS AND STUEY: So far, Blake Wheeler has 32 points (9 goals, 23 assists) and is +10. Mark Stuart only has 7 points, but he's got over 100 hits and 100 shots blocked. Nice to see both of them doing well in Winnipeg, just don't want to see Stuey fighting Thorny anymore. Although Wheels and Stuey were traded out of Boston, I've still got tons of respect for both.
Monday, January 9, 2012
Possible suspension for Marchand
Sometime later today, we'll find out if Brad Marchand is suspended for his hit on Sami Salo in Saturday's game against the Canucks. Since it will be a hearing by phone, the most Marchand can be suspended for is 5 games. Although I'm a Bruins fan, I believe Marchand should be suspended for his hit. I thought Lucic should have been suspended earlier this year for his hit on Ryan Miller. Although Chara's hit on Pacioretti last year was terrible, it wasn't illegal or dirty. It was a hockey play gone wrong. I agreed with the league's decision regarding Chara.
Greg Wyshinski, the Puck Daddy on Yahoo! Sports, included a story about the Marchand hit in his blog today. You can read it at http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/. Very good read, many comments from hockey fans across North America, including myself.
Greg Wyshinski, the Puck Daddy on Yahoo! Sports, included a story about the Marchand hit in his blog today. You can read it at http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/. Very good read, many comments from hockey fans across North America, including myself.
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Canucks take out B's, 4-3
The Canucks defeated the Bruins today behind 4 power play goals. After the game, Alain Vigneault was quoted as saying “Our guys played whistle to whistle, it’s hard to play that way when the other team gets two or three extra (hits) in after the whistle.” He must be watching a different game from everyone else. His players were chirpy after the whistle, just like the Bruins. He said the same thing last year; the Bruins still brought the Cup back to Boston.
Fortunately for the Bruins, the league rescinded Milan Lucic' game misconduct penalty earlier this evening. It was ruled that Lucic didn't leave the bench to join a fight, he'd made a legal line change earlier.
It's clear the Bruins lost because they couldn't control their emotions. Oh well, they've proven in the past that they learn from their mistakes. Although this was a rematch of the Stanley Cup finals, it's still only 1 game of 82.
LET'S GO BRUINS!
Fortunately for the Bruins, the league rescinded Milan Lucic' game misconduct penalty earlier this evening. It was ruled that Lucic didn't leave the bench to join a fight, he'd made a legal line change earlier.
It's clear the Bruins lost because they couldn't control their emotions. Oh well, they've proven in the past that they learn from their mistakes. Although this was a rematch of the Stanley Cup finals, it's still only 1 game of 82.
LET'S GO BRUINS!
Friday, January 6, 2012
Bruins Bits for Friday
3 Bruins Bits for this Friday:
FACEOFFS: The last 5 games, the Bruins won 157 of 254 faceoffs. That's a 61.8% clip. They lead the rest of the NHL by more than 2%. Chiarelli sure knows what he's doing; build down the middle and in the back end.
BERGY AND THE JETS: The top 3 plus/minus players in the NHL play on the same line; Bergeron, Seguin and Marchand. Their plus/minus sits at +82 for the year. Phenomenal.
2 U'S, 2 K'S, 2 POINTS: Tuukka Rask has seen victory in his last 5 games (4 starts). He's stopped 128 of 129 shots, a save percentage of 99.2%. He looks calm and confident in net. 2 big THANK YOUs out to Toronto, 1 for Rask, 1 for Seguin.
FACEOFFS: The last 5 games, the Bruins won 157 of 254 faceoffs. That's a 61.8% clip. They lead the rest of the NHL by more than 2%. Chiarelli sure knows what he's doing; build down the middle and in the back end.
BERGY AND THE JETS: The top 3 plus/minus players in the NHL play on the same line; Bergeron, Seguin and Marchand. Their plus/minus sits at +82 for the year. Phenomenal.
2 U'S, 2 K'S, 2 POINTS: Tuukka Rask has seen victory in his last 5 games (4 starts). He's stopped 128 of 129 shots, a save percentage of 99.2%. He looks calm and confident in net. 2 big THANK YOUs out to Toronto, 1 for Rask, 1 for Seguin.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Bruins pummel Flames, 9-0
5 immediate impressions of the Bruins win over the Flames:
BALANCE - It was clear throughout the game that the B's would roll 4 lines all night. All lines contributed to this offensive outburst. 12 different players put points on the board; 7 different players scored goals. The defensemen stayed fresh too. Big Z played a little over 20 minutes; same for Seidenberg.
ICING - I started watching the game about 5 minutes into the 1st period. From then until the end of the game, I didn't see the Bruins ice the puck once. That tells me the Bruins are playing with patience and keeping the other team on its heels.
DAMN, I WAS WRONG ABOUT SEGUIN - In one of my earlier blogs, I wrote that Seguin looked a step slower than Bergeron and Marchand. Dam, was I wrong. Seguin was all over the ice tonight. He was clearly faster than any player Calgary put on the ice. What was even more impressive was the way he kept the puck in Calgary's zone all night. If he keeps this up, he will be one of the top 5 players in the NHL. Soon.
TUUKKA PITCHES ANOTHER SHUTOUT - Lost in the brilliance of the offensive explosion was Tuukka's 3rd shutout of the year. Calgary didn't put much pressure on him, but he still had to make some outstanding saves to keep the shutout. As Jack Edwards and Andy Brickley like to say, "2 U's, 2 K's, 2 points."
CONGRATS Z - Zdeno Chara was credited with his 300th NHL assist during the game. Congrats big man, let's hope you get 300 more with the Bruins before you call it a career.
EXTRA OBSERVATION - Jarome Iginla is one of the classiest players in the NHL. Right now, he stands at 499 goals scored in his career. Although it would have cost Tuukka a shutout, I was kind of hoping to watch Iginla score his 500th against the Bruins. It's a shame he's stuck on the team he is after a long and distinguished career. The Flames cannot compete with the better teams in the league on a consistent basis. Jarome deserves better. Let's hope he gets traded to a contender before his skills start to diminish drastically.
LET'S GO BRUINS!
BALANCE - It was clear throughout the game that the B's would roll 4 lines all night. All lines contributed to this offensive outburst. 12 different players put points on the board; 7 different players scored goals. The defensemen stayed fresh too. Big Z played a little over 20 minutes; same for Seidenberg.
ICING - I started watching the game about 5 minutes into the 1st period. From then until the end of the game, I didn't see the Bruins ice the puck once. That tells me the Bruins are playing with patience and keeping the other team on its heels.
DAMN, I WAS WRONG ABOUT SEGUIN - In one of my earlier blogs, I wrote that Seguin looked a step slower than Bergeron and Marchand. Dam, was I wrong. Seguin was all over the ice tonight. He was clearly faster than any player Calgary put on the ice. What was even more impressive was the way he kept the puck in Calgary's zone all night. If he keeps this up, he will be one of the top 5 players in the NHL. Soon.
TUUKKA PITCHES ANOTHER SHUTOUT - Lost in the brilliance of the offensive explosion was Tuukka's 3rd shutout of the year. Calgary didn't put much pressure on him, but he still had to make some outstanding saves to keep the shutout. As Jack Edwards and Andy Brickley like to say, "2 U's, 2 K's, 2 points."
CONGRATS Z - Zdeno Chara was credited with his 300th NHL assist during the game. Congrats big man, let's hope you get 300 more with the Bruins before you call it a career.
EXTRA OBSERVATION - Jarome Iginla is one of the classiest players in the NHL. Right now, he stands at 499 goals scored in his career. Although it would have cost Tuukka a shutout, I was kind of hoping to watch Iginla score his 500th against the Bruins. It's a shame he's stuck on the team he is after a long and distinguished career. The Flames cannot compete with the better teams in the league on a consistent basis. Jarome deserves better. Let's hope he gets traded to a contender before his skills start to diminish drastically.
LET'S GO BRUINS!
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