The Rink Podcast Episode 66 Featuring ME!

Hey everyone, I know I haven't posted in a while and I'm sorry about that, but what can you do?  Anyhow, I'd like to let everyone (and I do mean everyone) know that James/@Tapeleg of The Rink Podcast is getting back into action after about a year's hiatus and naturally decided to get into the swing of things with the Bruins.  Thanks to a couple of the fine folks on twitter, he found me as a local Bruins Expert.  I'm pretty happy with how it all turned out.  Please, give it a listen:

http://www.rinkpodcast.com/2011/09/the-rink-episode-66-big-bad-bruins-with-hbadventure/

(It's about an hour long but I had a lot of fun recording it and I think James did a great job putting it together and it sounds great.  Check it out! Really!)

Here's to posting!

GO BRUINS!

The Fan's prayer

Our GM who art on the 9th floor, 
Chia be thy name.
Thy shiny dome.
Thy deals be done
for 1 or 5 years at a time.
Give us this day our Brad Marchand,
and legitimize our purchases,
as we forgive those who raise prices,
and lead us not into early exits,
but deliver us from holdouts.
Amen.

GO BRUINS!

Playoffs in Pictures: Round 1 Game 1+2 Habs @ Bruins

Ugh, let's move past this quickly since it sucked. Here's games one and two, both losses at home, of the Habs/Bruins series. Every journey begins with a loss at home a single step.

Game 1:

Game 2:

Okay, everyone puke and get ready for the rest of the games because they are/will be a lot better.

Status: down 0-2

Emotion: Tip your garden beer vendor extra, this series is over and you won't see them again until next year. By the time next morning rolls around, you're telling everyone at work who is giving you shit (aka everyone) "Bruins in 6!"

A coward dies a thousand deaths.

GO BRUINS!

If I Were Commissioner...

(of the NHL, not the Gotham Police), things would be different around here, I tell you what.

For one thing, we'd change the calendaring system. Yep, that's right. No longer would the Bruins raise the banner and drop the puck on October 6th, 2011 AD/CE. No, it would be 113 ASC - After Stanley Cup. Some other important dates on the calendar, for handy reference:

• 89 ASC: Patriots Season Starts
• 105 ASC: Last Regular Season Red Sox game
• 127 ASC: 1st Toronto @ Boston game
• 129 ASC: Last Revs game of the season
• 134 ASC: 1st Montreal @ Boston game
• 164 ASC: 1st Winnipeg @ Boston game
• 201 ASC: Winter Classic
• 206 ASC: Vancouver @ Boston
• 297 ASC: Last day of The Boston Bruins' regular season
• 349 ASC: My 27th birthday. Yipes.
• ~365 ASC: Here's hoping...

Enjoy your new calendaring system. Commissioner, away! (superhero flying noises)

GO BRUINS!

2011 Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins: YES!!!

This is one of my favorite pictures, all-time, of the cup. It's not from when the Bruins won it, but it says it all: The year's done. It's over. No more games. No more practice. Just off-season workouts, spilling champagne, and a parade.

And what a beautiful thing.

In the coming however-longs, I'll be putting up retrospective pieces on the playoffs, since I didn't want to jinx anything with a post. As you can see, the Bruins dropped 2 at home right after my last post. Anyhow, what I'm saying is high-res images are on their way.

Here's are two to tide you over, click for HUGE versions:

These pictures really say it all: Victory.

Parade's tomorrow at 11am.

GO BRUINS!

Round 1: NO HABS NO

Here we go again...

Well it's Bruins vs. Habs and in my time humbly (or not-so-humbly) blogging I think I've covered this once or twice. This will be the 49th time I use the "Habs Suck" tag on a post. I think my favorite was about 2 years ago, honestly. And if it's not your favorite, please be to be checking in with Four Habs Fans, the only good habs blog on the internet. Ask HF10 about his favorite player, Cam Neely. As for good Bruins blogs, there's pretty much one and it's Days of Y'Orr so give the champs some love.

Stats? They don't matter much now. It's the Habs, it's at home, it's whatever. There's little left to say. There are some storylines or whatever.

Time to make some history.

Time to keep the Alouettes as the last team in Montreal with a championship.

Time to go.

GO BRUINS!

Game 79: Bruins @ Rangers 7:30 PM ON VERSUS

Not much at stake tonight except pride and feeling out a possible 1st-round matchup.

I love that picture of torts up there.

Rangers' magic number is 5 but with a win tonight, I think they eliminate Toronto.

Stats!

GO BRUINS!

Game 78: Bruins vs. Thrashers THE RETURN OF THE AMERICANS

Well we've recently played some teams from Canada so there's been a lot of talk about the USA USA USA chant these days. Today is of course the return of half the Bruins' American players this year - Blake Wheeler and Mark Stuart. Since the trade, Blake's taken off, currently tied for scoring through the last ten ATL games. No word on whether he started hitting.

The Bruins magic number (to clinch the division) is

Cool thing I saw today: Playoff matchup probabilities

Oh and the upside of that leafs game was Brad Marchand stealing the puck and burying it behind Reimer...for his 5th Shorty of the season. He's having a huge year, I hope we can afford re-signing him and Kaberle. No time to worry about that now, though. Here's the goal, it ruled:

Stats!

GO BRUINS!

Game 77: Toronto @ Boston BRUINS CAN CLINCH TONIGHT

Yup, it's the leafs again. For the last time all year.

It's been quite the run, from one of Seguin's only home goals:

To the acquisition of one Tomas Kaberle, Esq.

And some Waffles:

Not really a whole lot left to say about it all at this point.

Stats!

Everything's in our favor but Powerplay Opportunities and record over the last 10 games.

Trap game, big time.

A win tonight clinches the division. Remember crushing New Jersey's dreams? That ruled.

Make them cry.

GO BRUINS!

Game 76: Bruins v. Blackhawks

The game tonight is on Versus at 7:30pm, a concession for Chicago fans (and games starting at 7pm.) This is a different team than the one that won the cup last year but the important pieces are still there. Beatable but not easily so.

Stats!

Second-best PP in the league, behind Vancouver. 6th-worst PK. Should be interesting.

The magic number to win the division is 6.

GO BRUINS!

Game 73: Habs @ Bruins RIVALRY

Big rivalry game tonight. Nothing to do about it except go lose your voice at the game.

You should know the storylines by now. I really don't have to write much of anything at all.

Stats!

Feels like days until puck drop.

Habs suck but 4 habs fans doesn't, check them out.

Bruins magic number is 7 to clinch a playoff berth, 14 to clinch the division.

GO BRUINS!

Peter Chiarelli STH Conference Call Recap

I was live-tweeting the conference call Peter Chiarelli had with season ticket holders today, here's what I wrote on twitter:

And here...we...go! Bob Beers: "what's the deal with all the losing?"

Chiarelli points to weak wins to end 7w streak, dip in special teams. "Guys have allowed themselves to drop a bit"

Chiarelli: "We didn't show up" in Toronto. Liked special teams practice on Sunday.

Chiarelli "winning battles applies to every facet of the game, and that includes powerplay"

Seguin getting limited time, is he tough enough? Chiarelli: "Good question. In TOR game, he's on PP half wall. He's done a good job."

Chiarelli says Seguin's been "diligent" with stuff the Bruins give him to work on. "You can't teach his hands."

Chiarelli: cautious about headshot rules, shoulder-to-shoulder hits are what fans want but if it glances up to the chin, is that a headshot?

Keep KABERLE on point and move Chara to goalmouth on powerplay? "Obviously we're struggling with our PP, and we have discussed that." Bruins don't want to lose cannon from the point but if it's not working, well...maybe.

Why not so much Boychuk on powerplay? Chiarelli: We like Johnny. Broke his finger late last year and has been struggling. Looking at options

Thomas having a dip after unreal start. "Guys can't perform like superheroes all year." Tuukka's finding his game. Goaltending can be better

"I feel we're in a good spot right now" with KABERLE re-signing. Hasn't been elite numbers-wise since coming here "but no one has"

Mark Stuart move? Chiarelli: Weren't making compromises by moving Mark Stuart. Still have blueline size.

Scratched players? Chiarelli: Paille gives us speed, can't tell about tonight's lineup.

BAD QUESTION ALERT: Why haven't Bruins won cup yet? Why haven't you made that adjustment yet? Chiarelli: "I want to win a cup as much as anyone."

Hnidy's role? Chiarelli: "Right now? Depth. He'll get some games and we'll see."

Chiarelli: When "we have to win one" is theme of practice, heavy practice. Some new plays on PK, PP. Spending more time on PK in practice.

How will Horton do in playoffs? Chiarelli: "Pretty high expectations" Stepped up game recently, plays hard game. Been happy with Nathan.

Marc Savard? Chiarelli: daily concussion symptoms, no depression. Slow and delicate matter.

Ryder re-signing? Chiarelli: "haven't entered into any extensions talks for anyone at this time."

Blown leads? Chiarelli: We've seen it. Concerning. Hasn't been much of an issue up until recent slump. "Maddening and frustrating."

Recchi getting old? Chiarelli: Can win battles, leads by example. Hope that's the case in playoffs as well. Sure he will.

Shootouts? Chiarelli: some managers want to remove it. "Sometimes difficult to swallow." Fans like it, so it's here to stay.

Bad o-zone entries? Chiarelli: Tried to generate more speed since camp, been pretty good until slump.

Cycle too much outside on PP? Chiarelli: Puck hasn't been getting there [inside] for a shot as much as we like.

Matt Cooke? Chiarelli: He's a repeat offender. "I've seen him do it too many times." Thinks it was a good ruling.

Callers on powerplay more than Bruins. Not rely on Chara blast? Chiarelli: 3 or 4 plays that work for formation. Too much for slot guys to do?

Fatigue? Chiarelli: no excuses, observations. Road trips are tiring, everyone goes on them, and Bruins don't win at home enough.

Montreal game Thurs? Chiarelli: Likely no revenge hit on Chara but expecting a tough game.

Goalies been struggling but they're still really good. New guys "fit in well. Stats haven't stood out."

Montreal in playoffs? Chiarelli: "we're not as fast, but we're bigger" and deeper. Get pucks behind their D and forecheck hard. Winnable.

Good work by @guy3777 who was also live-tweeting the call.

Overall the questions were focused mostly on the powerplay and the recent slump the Bruins have been on. Sorry that's so poorly put together, I don't have time to really write a good recap. Powerplay's sucked, recent 6-7 games have really sucked, Seguin's improving, trying new things on PP, we can definitely beat Montreal in the playoffs. Cam Neely doesn't have his name on the cup yet but he wants it there pretty bad.

GO BRUINS!

Game 72: Devils @ Bruins TEN GAMES LEFT

Tough draw tonight. Devils need to basically win every game from here on out to make the playoffs. Jacques Lemaire is making a run to get the Jack Adams renamed. He's got the Devils in serious trap mode. They're letting up very very few shots. The last 2 games they let 12 and 13 shots get to Brodeur.

Will luck change? I certainly hope so. Players to watch for: Kovalchuk, Patrick Elias, Travis Zajac, Jacob Josefson, and Brian Rolston have all played a large part in the scoring. So watch out.

Stats!

Magic number is still 9.

Habs 1 point behind, hosting Buffalo tonight. GO BUFFALO!

GO BRUINS!

The Bruins' Magic Number is 9

The Bruins have a magic number of 9 to clinch a playoff spot and 20 to clinch the division.

Games coming up:

71	Sat, Mar 19, 2011	@	Toronto Maple Leafs	.500
72	Tue, Mar 22, 2011	v	New Jersey Devils	.500
73	Thu, Mar 24, 2011	v	Montreal Canadiens	.599
74	Sat, Mar 26, 2011	v	New York Rangers	.549
75	Sun, Mar 27, 2011	@	Philadelphia Flyers	.671
76	Tue, Mar 29, 2011	v	Chicago Blackhawks	.592
77	Thu, Mar 31, 2011	v	Toronto Maple Leafs	.500
78	Sat, Apr 2, 2011	v	Atlanta Thrashers	.507
79	Mon, Apr 4, 2011	@	New York Rangers	.549
80	Wed, Apr 6, 2011	v	New York Islanders	.458
81	Sat, Apr 9, 2011	v	Ottawa Senators	.430
82	Sun, Apr 10, 2011	@	New Jersey Devils	.500

Seems simple enough, right? Right. A combined points percentage of .532 or so for upcoming opponents. Not bad but beatable.

Well except for the Devils x2, Flyers, Blackhawk, and maybe Rangers. I'm pretty sure they'll make it. It's time to bring up Horton and Campbell, who combined for 0 playoff games with Florida, and said this about it back in June when they came to the Bruins:

"I watched the playoffs pretty closely and it's not fun ending your season in April," Campbell said. "I follow it closely and you kind of get a taste of what it's like to play, but it's not close to being in one of those arenas."

"As a player, that's the best part of playing hockey, getting to the playoffs," Horton said. "You don't make them for seven years, it's too long and it can't happen. The Bruins organization [missing the playoffs] just doesn't happen and it's exciting for me to come and be a part of it.

(Both from Joe MacDonald's piece for ESPN back then.)

A quick look back over the last 2 years, the Bruins' 88 points are 11 points behind 08-09. With 2 more wins, the Bruins will pass last year's point total. They're on pace for over 100 points, to boot.

Anyhow, yeah, I'm looking forward to it. There's little better than live playoff hockey.

GO BRUINS!

Game 70: Bruins @ Smashville ST. PATRICE BERGERON-CLEARY

Nashville fans gonna complain and say Shea Weber is a better defenseman than Zdeno Chara but I don't see him breaking hardest-shot records or winning the Norris, so hmph.

Pekka Rinne is also first loser on the save percent leaderboard this year, and has been hot as .931 goaltending can be, so pretty much assume he's a brick wall. Thomas has a .938 in the Bruins' last 10 games. Rask weighs in at only .929 aka "still amazing." If it's not a goalie duel tonight then something funny is in the air and I don't mean leprechauns or green beer.

Patrick Hornqvist is trying to pass Andy Brickley as highest-scoring last-overall pick of all time. He's got 92 points in 175 games. Brickley had 222 points in 385 games as a defenseman. Brickley's got a better career pace but Hornqvist might play more games. He had a great year last year but has tapered off. We'll see whether he gets another 130+ points.

On the whole I think the Preds are a pretty cool team.

Marchand's probably suspended but I'm not sure yet since the NHL is taking it's sweet time with the hearing.

Stats!

Yeah, you could say I'm worried.

Don't expect to see a lot (if any) powerplay time for the Bruins tonight.

GO BRUINS!

Game 69: Bruins @ Columbus

Yup, Blue Jackets on a tuesday. Nothing to get excited about, right? Well, let's not be so sure.

For one, the Bruins are in the midst of a 4-game losing slump and that sucks, so of course watching them on TV will help them break on through. Columbus introduced and mothballed a new mascot, Boomer, this year. Feel free to check out Boomer's backstory on Sports Argument Wiki. Great stuff.

Game's at 7 on NESN, see you there.

STATS!

Generally I find that if the Bruins win every stat column, it's not promising for that night's game.

Welp.

GO BRUINS!

Bruins V. Lightning

First home game in a while. Should be a good game. Two division leaders, one with the high-flying offense of St. Louis and Stamkos and Lecavelier and the other with more goals for per game. Owned.

However the Lightning have gone from a -6 goal differential and leading their division to an even goal differential and leading their division. They're improving ever since they got Dwayne "a real goalie" Roloson.

The winner of tonight's game is second in the conference tomorrow.

GO BRUINS!

The KABERLE Era has begun!

THE KABERLE ERA HAS ARRIVED!

Yes, the KABERLE era has begun. Can't say I'm disappointed so far, I'm even...excited. Optimistic, even. KABERLE has the third-highest point total for defensemen since the lockout, behind only the Lidstrom-Rafalski combo. 10th on that list is Chara, though he's only 2 points behind Scott Neidermeyer in the same time period. KABERLE is the puck-moving offensive defenseman we've been waiting for.
Look at his grace in skating, his defensive responsibility, and (of course) his slick passing. Truly, he's an elite player. Now's the time to pick up your PLAYOFFS!!!1 shirt.I mean, seriously, did you see that sweet stick-lift against Iginla last night? KABERLE doin' work.
Through 2 games he hasn't appeared on the scoresheet yet but he's getting used to a new situation. Our powerplay doesn't score much but it already looks better. So does our breakout. It's even more painful to see the Ference-McQuaid pairing get stuck behind the goal line now.

As for Peverley and Kelly, I'm pretty pumped about them too. Peverley can skate like the wind and both of them are winning a couple faceoffs, I believe.

I'm going to call this next picture "The newer new hotness"

I may be getting my hopes up here but I'm starting to get a good feeling about this team. I'm starting to Believe in Boston.

KABERLE! KABERLE! KABERLE!!!1

GO BRUINS!