Round 2 Game 7 BRUINS 2 CANES 3 WELP

Yup. Pretty much.

Congratulations to Byron Bitz for his first career playoff goal. It was a good one. Thanks also to Lucic for getting one.

I'll admit, I got a bad feeling as soon as this game got to overtime.

And I was right.

I'm a little disappointed that the bruins didn't do a stick-raising "celebrate the fans" type of thing, but I guess they followed tim thomas's lead in sprinting to the dressing room. What sealed it was hearing Byron Bitz getting called as third star and the security guard closed the door to the ice from the bench.

It was a very good year, the best since 1999 in terms of playoff depth, but obviously still a disappointment.

I don't know about y'all, but I'm hopping on the Penguins bandwagon. Both because fuck the Hurricanes and because I really like what the guys over at thepensblog do day in and day out.

...sigh...
There's always next year, right?

More focusing on the positives later, and maybe a little site redesign.

GO BRUINS!

Game 72 Recap: BRUINS 2 KINGS 3 OT LOSS WHAT THE HELL BRUINS

Are you kidding me? Are you fucking kidding me?

At least it wasn't an own goal, I guess.

The story of this game is the LAKings scoring late. The first period, the Bruins look like they're finding their legs in the early goings, then they seem to find them. They start playing like they mean it.

Ok, back on track. 15 minutes into the first, krejci gives it to ryder down low. Ryder puts that puck from behind the net through a guy or two onto hunwick's stick and hunwick blasts it home. This is after John Quick has managed to make a lot of good stops.
GOAL!
1-0. Hunwick gets the goal! Huzzah!

The rest of the first goes on but I don't remember anything particularly noteworthy.

EXCEPT

Right at the end of the first, the kings are working the front of the net as the final seconds count down. The green light flashes and the siren sounds, and then they put one in. It's like those fake goals you "score" in NHL 09. You know what I'm talking about. For me, it usually foreshadows real goals.

Then the second period starts, and within a couple minutes Recchi manages to get one home when Patrice gives him an absolute gift of a pass, completely faking out Quick.
GOAL!
2-0. One of their home-run passes finally does something. It's the last time, but they keep trying. Learn a new tactic, Kobasew.

Then Ivanans tries to start a fight or something and the Bruins aren't going for it, they like their 2-0 lead right where it is. Which is ok for the next 25 minutes of play.

But then the Kings are an aggressive, play 60 minutes because we want to make the playoffs team. Like the Islanders with more points and better talent. So then Michael Handzus.
2-1. 10:10. Uh oh.

Drew Doughty. 1:36
2-2. Shit.

Overtime time. The bruins for some awful reason are trying to get it to the shootout. I don't know why, it doesn't make any sense what the hell is going on with this team why are the L A KINGS more successful in February and March than the Bruins? Shit.

Oh yeah, Dustin Brown. 0:35.
2-3. Game.

Overtime Loss.

Shit. And I was all ready to stop shaving, too.

Quote of the night:

"Our powerplay was totally flat tonight and took away the momentum. If anything, I thought our PK had better scoring chances" - Coach Claude

Record: 45-17-10 (L 2)
Home: 24-6-6 (L 1)
L10: 3-5-2
The only teams with 10 or more OT Losses in the east are the Bruins, Flyers, and teams further back than 8th. The only teams with 3 wins in their last ten are Tampa Bay and Buffalo.

Don't push it just yet.
GO BRUINS!

Game 63 Recap: BRUINS 3 CAPS 4 ARE YOU KIDDING ME

I try not to swear on the blog, but this game makes me reconsider.

I was in a terrible mood for hours afterwards, even while skating.

I don't really want to relive it. Bruins never led, but always came back. Kessel had a good one in there, the second one.

Here's Thomas:

Ouch. The Bruins played really well. Hunwick is a good forward, he scored a goal too.

At least we got a point and Florida beat up on them in their house the next day.
The caps are a tough team, and they won.
Go Bruins.

Game 54 Recap: BRUINS 3 FLYERS 4 OFF OF FERENCE? GOAL JONES? REALLY? Ooog.

oog. That's a tough loss. Of course, the Bruins are still doing just fine overall, so we can look on. Blake Wheeler didn't turn in a Rookie of the Year performance by any stretch of the imagination, but I'd like to think that's just the transition from college to pro. I'd rather not spend too much time on this, so let's do this quickly.

Marc Savard does that top-shelf short-side thing where the goalie goes "WHAT I HAD THAT COVERED!"

1-0. I love those goals.

Flyers get a 5-on-3.
1-1.

Then a puck gets stopped by the crossbar, and Bitz puts it in.

2-1. First NHL Goal for Bitz.

Then Kobasew gets in the driver's seat and special-delivers a third goal in the first.
3-1.

Biron gets pulled, and Nittymaki doesn't let a thing in, though he did throw the puck over the boards with less than 2 minutes in the third. Blah Blah Blah I hate it when the bad bounce doesn't benefit us, but it has sometimes.

As they say, "Sometimes you get the bear, and sometimes the bear gets you."

vs. PHI: 1-0-1
Record: 39-8-7
Home: 19-3-4
L10: 6-1-3
Feb: 3-0-1
GO BRUINS!

Game 49 Recap: BRUINS 3 DEVILS 4 OT LOSS IN WHICH THE DEFENSE PLAYS WELL ONLY 85% OF THE TIME

The Bruins looked pretty weak last night. They couldn't get anything going in the first two periods. Shawn Thornton fought a guy, the Devils scored twice including just an awful defensive mistake to let up a shorthanded goal.

Vomit.

Let's take a look at how the Bruins scored, and then never talk about this again.

Third Period Begins.
0-2. You're hoping it all gets better.

Luckily, Patrice Bergeron is a brilliant beam of light. He hits it behind the net, and Clemmenson comes out to get it. Chuck Kobasew is like a racing truck on his way there, and wraps it around. The wraparound doesn't make it, but it does make it over the line afterwards. The replay on nhl.tv doesn't show how.

1-2. Not a shutout no more.

7 Minutes into the third. The top line is back together again. Chara to Kessel, to Lucic. Lucic carries it up and backhands it off the side of the net. Kessel passes to Savard in front. Savard shows us why he was picked for the accurate shot competition.

2-2. Tied up. Huge.

About that top line. with 7 left to go, The Bruins gain the zone. They move it around a little, and Kessel passes to savard, who perfectly one-times it back to Wideman, who tees up and nails it right into the back of the net. GOAL.

3-2. The Bruins lead near the end of the third, right when you want them to.

Then Patrick Elias tries to prove he's the better Czech. Thomas has gotta cover that backdoor.
3-3. Vomit.

We go to overtime. Overtime ends.
3-4. Your hangover this morning doesn't feel as bad as that loss.

Game.

OT Loss.

Despite my disparaging comments about Thomas on the OT goal, this loss was by no means his fault. The Devils were very good at capitalizing on the Bruins mistakes, and the Bruins weren't as good at not making them. I mean come on, a short-handed goal? What is this, the Rangers?

Record: 35-8-6 (L 1)
Home: 18-3-3 (L 1)
L10: 6-2-2
January: 7-3-2
GO BRUINS!