Round 1 Game 1 Preview: (1) Bruins vs. (8) Habs LET THE PUCK DROP ALREADY

16 April 2009 7 PM ET

TV: NESN
Radio: WBZ 1030 AM
vs. Habs

Notes:

• What has not been written yet?
• I wish I didn't have to root against Metropolit.
• In non-Bruins news, KG is hanging out with Sturm this playoffs. They're busted-knee buddies.
• Markov Out, Ference out.
• Expect Thomas/Price in nets.
• Gainey wants Laraque to fight some dudes tonight. One of Brickley's keys to the game is Control Emotions. This is why Brickley is the best NESN guy covering the Bruins.
• Kevin Pollock (40-23-4-5) and Dennis LaRue (40-24-5-3) will be refs tonight. The numbers are home team records, click each name for more info.
• Fan Fest today.
  

Previous Games:
Here's how the regular season series between Bruins and Habs began:and ended:

None of it matters now.
Other Previews:

• Most people are doing series previews instead. It's all good.
• Stanley Cup of Chowder: "The strategy last game against the Bruins seemed to be to agitate and turtle to bait the B's in to taking dumb retaliatory penalties. Judging by his lineup that will not be the case tonight. Gainey has inserted hired goon Georges Laraque back into the lineup. Ryan the Cowardly Purse Snatchin' Turtle will watch the game from the 9th floor, while Patrice Brisebois takes his place on the Habs blue line."
• The 2 Man Advantage: "The main reason that I’m nervous for the Bruins is that so many people picked them to either win outright or get to the Finals. Things were so easy when I was the only guy in my circle of friends who cheered for or really believed in this team."
  
• Cameron Frye: "The Bruins have a great mixture of youth with experience and experienced veterans, while the Habs are filled with purse snatchers, divers and wannabe Russian gangsters."
  
• HacksWithHaggs: "I watched a lot of Laraque questions getting tossed around the B's locker room this morning. The players weren't biting."
• Matt Kalman: "Expect the Bruins to be as business-like as they can be despite the best efforts to the Habs to knock them off focus and the sure-to-be electric atmosphere that will engulf the Garden. The Bruins have come too far to let this moment go away unclaimed."
• CBC: Habs are ready.
• Bruins Blog scouting report.
  
• NESN First Shift: "The Bruins enter Thursday’s game 1 of the first round in the 2008-09 Stanley Cup playoffs looking for their first playoff series win since 1999 and first over their rival Canadiens since 1991-92"
  
• bruins.nhl.com: Preview
  

Stats:The regular season is over. None of this regular season stat stuff really matters in a rivalry like this.
DROP THE PUCK!
GO BRUINS!

Playoffs: (1) Bruins vs. (8) Habs: Lazy Links, Playoff Preview Edition

Pretty much everything that can be written about this series is being written. So I have two options: Regurgitate what everyone else is saying, or analyze the analysts. I've always liked to think I'm ripping off thepensblog anyways. Anyhow, carrying on, here is your playoff preview edition of Lazy Links:

• Four Habs Fans: Goalies and D | Forwards ("You want to beat these guys? You skate, you skate like fucking Kristi Yamaguchi and you move the puck forward and quickly.the.fuck.out.of.your.zone.") | CLtS Preview
• TwoLinePass: Bigtime Playoff Preview. Funny guy, read his stuff. "The No. 8 Montreal Canadiens: WHY WE’RE GOIN’ ALL THE WAY: Carey Price seems to be playing better lately, and they might just be able to cajole Alex Kovalev into caring. WHY THIS TEAM SUCKS: But probably not."
  
• Melt Your Face Off: "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH NOOOOOO U BEN HIDIN IN DA WEEDZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ADV: Bs ADV: Bs ADV: Bs ADV: Bs ADV: Bs ADV: Bs ADV: Bs ADV: Bs ADV: Bs"
• The Old NHL: Asked me to contribute. Go read what I wrote there!
  
• Puck Daddy: Doesn't like my blog. Boo. (but writes well)
  
• Kynch's Korner: C'mon, Habs are not the Ninja Turtles. They would need to be way awesomer.
  
• Double A Hockey: "Let a bull loose in the arena"
• Barry Melrose Rocks: "Guys on Ice" chatroom-style preview
• The 2 Man Advantage: Islanders are out, but that doesn't mean they have to not write about meeting the flyers at some bar.
• On the Forecheck: The one good thing about the Preds not making the playoffs (shoulda been you, ducks) is that we get the Forechecker writing about other hockey stuff full time.
• Goon's World: Wise words from Komisarek. I might like him if he wasn't a Hab.
• Puck Prospectus:

I still think most of my playoff preview posts are less impressive than my season series in pictures.

Puck drops at 7pm tonight. Do I do a gameday preview? Signs point to yes, depends on how much work I've got.

GO BRUINS!

Oh you have got to be kidding me

Times are tough. Times are hard. The economy is in the shitter and everyone's trying to drum up some business. But this is the playoffs, and we are playing the habs. So imagine my disappointment when I see this:

You have got to be fucking with me.

I guess we know where to bar the doors tomorrow afternoon.
Better yet, sneak into the valet lot with a stack of Bruins bumper stickers.
Actually...*

GO BRUINS!
*Note to police: I am not planning on doing this.

PLAYOFFS START TODAY

If that doesn't get a rise out of you, check your pulse.
I'll be posting later, too.
GO BRUINS!

Playoffs are coming: BRUINS (1) vs. HABS (8) A LITTLE LOOK BACK FOR OLD TIME'S SAKE

Just about any hour of the day where there isn't a red sox game or a charlie moore outdoors episode, NESN will probably be replaying Game 6 of last year. I was there. It was amazing. Watch it. I guess living in the past is nice once in a while.

But it's 2009 now.
Playoffs start anew in 2 days.
It's time to stop watching ancient game footage (or I'd be putting this Neely goal from 1990 or the 1991 Game 7 in - check out the snipe by Neely at 1:50 if you want).
Neely, Bourque, Roy, Lafleur, Orr, Esposito had their turns.
They are what has gone before.
It is Lucic, Chara, Savard, Thomas, Krejci, Kessel's turn.
Here's this year against the Habs, prepared for the game last Thursday:

GO BRUINS!

Playoffs are coming: (1) Bruins vs. (8) Habs: NOT THESE JERKS AGAIN

I figured I'd do a little review in pictures of the year that was. Because it is easier than actually doing a writeup for every game like everyone else is doing. FourHabsFans did this. So put on your favorite anthem, and get to scrolling.

GO BRUINS!

Game 82 Recap: BRUINS 6 LOLANDERS 2 PHIL KESSEL HAT TRICK

Phil Kessel got a hat trick.
Thomas made some amazing saves.
It's finally time for the playoffs.

I feel bad tagging this "Recap." Bruins won, 6-2. Is it Thursday yet?

vs. NYI: 4-0-0
Final Regular Season Record: 53-19-10 (W 1)
Final Away Record: 24-13-4 (W 1)
L10: 8-2-0
April: 4-2-0
GO BRUINS!

Playoff Schedule

EDITED FOR TRUTH

• SERIES A TIME (ET) #1 BOSTON vs. #8 MONTREAL NETWORK
• Thursday, April 16 7 p.m. Montreal at Boston CBC, RDS
• Saturday, April 18 8 p.m. Montreal at Boston VERSUS, CBC, RDS
• Monday, April 20 7 p.m. Boston at Montreal CBC, RDS
• Wednesday, April 22 7 p.m. Boston at Montreal CBC, RDS
• *Saturday, April 25 7 p.m. Montreal at Boston CBC, RDS
• *Monday, April 27 TBD Boston at Montreal CBC, RDS
• *Wednesday, April 29 TBD Montreal at Boston CBC, RDS

From NHL.com

Habs suck.
GO BRUINS!

Game 82 Preview: Bruins @ NY Islanders BETTER LUCK NEXT YEAR

April 12, 2009 5:00 PM ET

TV: NESNplus
Radio: WBZ 1030 AM
@ New York Islanders (26-46-9)
Notes:

If the last game meant very little, than this game means even less. The Islanders are locked into the worst place in the league, meaning they get one of the top 2 draft picks this year. Bruins are locked into top in the east, won't get passed in the league standings and won't be passing the Sharks. Seriously, this game will not change anything if the bruins win, lose, tie, or don't show up.

My hope is that nobody gets hurt and the Bruins stay under 200 goals against this year. That means fewer than 5 goals against today. The islanders have scored 4 goals in 3 games against the Bruins, but the Bruins might just sit in the locker room for the season.

Games That Matter:

• Rangers/Flyers: Flyers are playing the Penguins in the first round. If the Flyers get to OT or win, they get home ice. If they lose in regulation, Pens get home ice. Go....Rangers?
• Blues/Avalanche: Blues win and they leapfrog to 6th place and face the Vancouver Luongos. Lose and they stay in 8th and play the San Jose Sharks. Overtime doesn't matter in this game. I don't care much about who wins this one.

Stats:

GO BRUINS!

Game 81 Recap: BRUINS 1 SABRES 6 NOT GETTING THE PRESIDENT'S TROPHY THIS YEAR

Yup, even though LA did their part and beat San Jose the Bruins pulled EXACTLY what they did last year against Buffalo and sat down for this game. Here's your recap.

Third Period.
0-5. If you tuned in late, you tuned out pretty quick.

In the third, the Bruins Powerplay sets up and Recchi's in front of the net. Hunwick plays the part of blue-line slapper.

1-5. Hey, nice goal, guys. Way to not get shut out.

When the score is 1-6 and the save highlights page looks like this:
The defense sucked.

1-6. Final score.

Loss.

Is it Thursday yet?

vs. BUF: 2-3-1 (final)
Record: 52-19-10 (L 1)
Away: 23-13-4 (L 2)
L10: 7-2-1
April: 3-2-0
GO BRUINS!

Game 81 Preview: Bruins @ Buffalo OH WHO CARES

April 11, 2009 4 PM ET
TV: NESN
Radio: WBZ 1030 AM
@ Buffalo Sabres (40-32-9)

Notes:
The only way this game matters for anyone but the fans watching the last game of the buffalo season is if San Jose loses tonight.

Luckily for us viewers, the Sabres are wearing their third jerseys, aka their updated classics.

Stats:

GO BRUINS!

L10: Games 71-80 (7-2-1)

(picture from here)

The Bruins turned around their slump with the last ten. They clinched first seed in the east and are playing well. There are 2 games left and they don't decide anything (unless San Jose loses to LA today).

• Game 71: @ Pittsburgh Penguins L 4-6
  
• Game 72: Los Angeles Kings L OT 2-3
  
• Game 73: New Jersey Devils W 4-1
  
• Game 74: @ Toronto Maple Leafs W 7-5
  
• Game 75: @ Philadelphia Flyers W 4-3
  
• Game 76: Tampa Bay Lightning W 3-1
  
• Game 77: Ottawa Senators W 2-1
  
• Game 78: New York Rangers W 1-0
  
• Game 79: @ Ottawa Senators L 2-3
  
• Game 80: Montreal Canadiens W OT 5-4
  

I was going to do best of and all that, but I think the important parts are here:

Yup. That was a good enough game to take it all.
Thanks to Bruins superfan and Youtube Superstar dafoomie for the video.

Playoffs are coming. Here's Hub Hockey's Review of playoff ads.

Record: 52-18-10 (W 1)
Final Home Record: 29-6-6 (W 5)
Away Record: 23-12-4 (L 1)
L10: 7-2-1
April: 3-1-0
GO BRUINS!

Game 80 Review: BRUINS 5 HABS 4 THANKS FOR COMING DON'T FORGET TO TIP YOUR WAITRESS

Holy shit what a game that was. There were a ton of Habs fans in the building. Actually, if you piled them all up I bet it would be more than a ton. Looking around during the anthems, there was a whole lotta red. Rene Rancourt sang, and we're ready to play.

So are the Habs. It was a knock-down, drag-out kind of game. Here's the penalty summary:
Yup, it was just that kind of game. Lots of roughing, a little fighting, and such. I'm still trying to get my voice back.

I don't know if I can write the writeup that's worthy of this game. Shit. Ok, let's give it a shot.

First Period.

The first period has a lot of corner-to-corner hockey - battles, penalties,neither team really having the upper hand or scoring much. Lucic and Komisarek hug it out, get roughing minors.

With about 2 minutes to go, the Bruins tic-tac-toe it to the front of the net and Patrice shovels it in.

GOAL!

1-0. Some asshole named "Gorges" or whatever decides to shove him into the goal afterwards. A whole lot of pushing and shoving goes on. Doesn't change the score one bit.

At the end of the period all that shit starts again. It's exciting, but the best part is it keeps people in their seats so you can get to an earlier spot in the bathroom line.

Second Period.

Of course, with the Habs on a powerplay, Kovalev decides to show up to a game.
1-1. Half the stadium cheers. What a bunch of jerks.

A couple minutes later, Phil "American Hero" Kessel puts one behind Price. If I remember correctly, it was a pretty sweep snipe top shelf. Check yourself below:

GOAL!

2-1. And that's how you come back quick.

About 30 seconds later Ryan O'Byrne takes time off from scoring own-goals and stealing purses to pull a sean avery and hit Shawn Thornton in the head with his stick blade. Of course that leads to all kinds of penalties and brouhaha.

Boston gets a powerplay. Recchi sets up in front of the net. Chara slaps one in and Recchi gets the tiniest of deflections.

GOAL!

3-1. Hey, that's pretty good.

A couple seconds later Bitz get goalie interference and the place explodes. Yard sale.

D'agostini
3-2. Awww, I don't like the looks of this.

Neither do the Bruins. More fireworks, and Lucic gets himself a 10-minute timeout. A whole bunch of other penalties, see the image above.

You're glad there aren't many Habs fans in your section.

Somewhere in here, Bergeron blocks a shot and hobbles to the bench.

Schneider. PPG.
3-3. I thought he was out for the season?

D'agostini.
3-4.

Thornton and Komisarek hug it out some more.

Third Period.

About 5 minutes in, Dandenault gets the puck over the glass and the Bruins go on their last powerplay of the game.

Chara makes it count. He shovels in a rebound from up front. I love it when they put Chara in front of the goal.
4-4. That about ties it up. Montreal needs 1 point to clinch a playoff spot. I wonder who's going to play defensive hockey for the next 15 minutes?

Answer: BOTH TEAMS! and we're back to corner-to-corner hockey.

At some point in here, we see Bergeron back on the ice. Because he is a hockey player.

Montador gets compared to Recchi a lot because we got them both at the same time. Montador gets noticed a lot this game for missed defensive chances and then...

Penalty. 1 minute left. Montador goes to the box for "holding." Whatever. Bruins keep killing the penalty.

The green light flashes and the horn sounds. Habs clinch playoffs.

Overtime.

So the bruins start the OT on the PK and guess what? They kill the shit out of it. Like Thomas does bears.

about 2 minutes in, the Habs have it in their own zone. They start to bring it out. Bergeron stands him up on his own blue line, and gets the puck away. He goes in on Price and Recchi streaks to the net. It's a Bergeron pass. Recchi is in front of the net. You know how this story goes.

GOAL!

Game.

WIN!

What a game. What a great game. And a win to boot!
Did anyone see Savard lose an edge and keep possession? He's pretty good.

vs. Habs (5-0-1)
Record: 52-18-10 (W 1)
Final Home Record: 29-6-6 (W 5)
L10: 7-2-1
April: 3-1-0
GO BRUINS!

Game 80 Preview: Bruins vs. Habs THIS IS OUR HOUSE

April 9, 2009 7:00 PM ET
TV: NESN
Radio: WBZ 1030 AM
vs. Habs (41-29-10)
Notes:

• The Bruins will play at Fenway against the Flyers or Caps. MLB.com says not confirmed.
  
• A Girl's Guide to rooting for the Boston Bruins.
• Montreal is the only other team in the division that isn't eliminated already.
• Have you signed up for the Beard-a-thon yet? I did.
• Take a look at Cameron Frye's pictures from yesterday's Cuts for a Cause.
• Sobotka has been recalled. Let the black aces roll in.
  
• The BlueJackets made the playoffs for the first time ever. Rick Nash and Steve Mason are a good combo, apparently.
• Great read from Habs Eyes on the Prize about Bruins/Habs.
  
• This is Glen Metropolit's first game against the Bruins as a Hab.
• If the Habs make the playoffs, the cops are more ready this time.
  

5 Questions with the enemy:
It's BACK! Earlier this season, we used to ask other teams about how the beginning of their season is. I decided to resurrect it, because it's awesome and I like to hear what other team's fans are thinking. With the way things are going for the centennial, well.....
Anyhow, here's HF29 from Four Habs Fans, my personal favorite Habs blog:
1. The regular season is almost over. What has been the high point so far?
Thinking, thinking, thinking.... Nope, nothing comes to mind.
2. Have you celebrated the centennial in any special way?
No, except making fun of it. I will be celebrating by pretending it never happened.
3. Who is in Bleu, Blanc, et Rouge that won't be next year?
So many possibilities! I will guess Kovalev. I think we may finally give up on him.
4. How do you think the last game of the Bruins/Habs season series will go?
Badly
5. How do you think a Bruins/Habs playoff series would go?
Even worse.

Ouch. Thanks again to Four Habs Fans for putting up with this shit.
Previous games:
4-0-1
Other previews:

• Four Habs Fans: "Everyone is cold for the Habs, except maybe Metro who rocked the Rangers game. I care not to look up who to watch for on the B's. I am only interested in watching Claude Julien outcoach the man who fired and replaced him."
  
• Stanley Cup of Chowder: "Speaking of using grooming habits and hockey to raise money for charity, the Bruins Foundation has launched Beard-A-Thon. Fellow Bruins blogger Cornelius Hardenbergh was chosen as today's "Beard of the Day".
• WickedBruinsFan: "Tonight's sellout attendance of 17,565 gives the Bruins a total home attendance figure of 699,073 this season (average 17,051). This gives the Bruins the second-highest single regular season attendance mark in their history behind only the 716,443 total (average 17,474) in 1995-96."
  
• Kynch's Korner: "It isn't impossible for them to slip entirely out of the playoff picture if they lose Thursday. They only have one game remaining after Boston...and that is at home against Pittsburgh."
• The Bear Cave: "Thomas has gone 3-0-1 in the four games he has played, turning aside 119 of 126 shots. That translates into a .944 save percentage. Thomas's two biggest games were the third and fourth games of the series, when he combined to make 67 saves on 70 shots."
• Matt Kalman: "Will the sight of those Montreal Canadiens’ uniforms be enough for the Boston Bruins to up their intensity from their sleepwalk Tuesday in Ottawa?"
  
• NESN First Shift: "Defenseman Mathieu Schneider (shoulder) is out indefinitely."
• thumbnails: Globe | Herald
  
• bruins.nhl.com: Preview | Game Notes (pdf) | BishBlog
  

Stats:

GO BRUINS!

Game 79 Recap: BRUINS 2 SENS 3 ONE WEEK LEFT

Yup, the Bruins played last night. With the loss, they're probably not going to get the president's trophy. There's a banner in the garden for that one. It has one date on it. 1990.

Do you know what banner isn't there? Champions, 1990. So whatever.

Schubert.
0-1.

Dany Heatley gets a penalty.
Fisher.
0-2. Shorthanded.

While you're down in the dumps in the first intermission, I'm busy watching the habs get beat by the rangers. Both teams are in the bottom third of the league in record since new years'. Bruins will likely face one of them.

Phil Kessel gets riled up. He gets in way close to the net and scores one off his own rebound.

GOAL!

1-2. One goal game.

Ottawa gets a powerplay.
Dany Heatley.
1-3.

With 10 seconds left in the second period, the Bruins are set up on the PP. Chara slaps one in. Toronto takes a few minutes to see whether it went off Recchi. Nope.

GOAL!

2-3.

Third period: no scoring.

The bruins pulled Manny even though they were on the PK at the end of the game. Ottawa even got an icing call. The Bruins definitely showed up for that part of the game (and much of the rest, to be honest) but couldn't finish.

Game.
Loss.

I'm about as interested in this loss now as I was when I was half-watching it. I probably missed some crap. Prove it.

Florida bandwagon update: Montreal or New York will have to get zero more points (start rooting for Boston and Pennsylvania teams) and the Panthers will need to beat Atlanta and Washington.

Central division Bandwagon update: Anaheim needs to lose out to Dallas and phoenix and Nashville needs to beet Minnesota and Detroit. St. Louis should ideally beat columbus in OT and then we'll see what st. louis does against Joe Sakic on the last day of the season.

So few games left. Day by day, there are 2, 11, 4, 13, 4 over the next 5 days. That's 34 games total. most teams are playing 2 more at this point. 8 teams have 3 games left. Boston is one of them.

Is it Thursday yet?
Is it next Thursday yet?

I want my playoff ads.

vs. OTT: 5-1-0 (final)
Record: 51-18-10 (L 1)
Away: 23-12-4 (L 1)
L10: 7-2-1
April: 3-1-0
GO BRUINS!

Game 79 Preview: Bruins @ Ottawa TRAP GAME

Apr 7, 2009 7:30 PM ET

TV: NESN

Radio: WBZ 1030 AM

@ Ottawa Senators (35-34-10)

Notes:

• Ottawa is on a two-game winning streak, having just beat Montreal last night.
  
• The Montreal game last night was pretty hard-hitting, (64 hits in the stats) with some late-game heroics by Dany Heatley.  Ottawa will either be beat up and tired or on a roll.
  
• Puck the Media gives us the stunning conclusion to their (excellent) Jack Edwards interview.
• Thornton, Kessel, Aaron Ward in.  Axelsson, Ference, Wideman out.  The rotating injury list continues.
• Manny in net.
• Everyone and their dog is hurt with a day-to-day undisclosed injury.
• Blake Wheeler is in the running for Goal of the Season on NHL.com.
• Sens fans started the No Habs No campaign.  They got a reply!
• One more reason to root against BU.  (Last question)

Big Games tonight:

• MTL/NYR: Habs could help knock out the Rags with a regulation win.
• CGY/VAN: Always good games this season, they are bitterly fighting for the top of the northwest division
• FLA/PHI: A win tonight and a loss by the Rags would put them in eigth tomorrow morning.  Here's a reason to jump on the panthers bandwagon.
• NSH/CHI: Nashville has a tough schedule to finish the season and St. Louis is nipping at it's heels.
• STL/PHX: St. Louis is trying to get into the playoffs.  If nashville and st. louis both can leapfrog the ducks, the whole Central division would be in the playoffs.

Previous Games:

5-0-0

Other Previews:

• Stanley Cup of Chowder: "The Bruins have been very tight-lipped about injuries lately so there is no indication of how serious any of these injuries are. The team is likely being cautious and allowing players to rest before the playoffs start."
• The Bear Cave: "Looking at injuries and lineups, aside from Marco Sturm, the Bruins will definitely be without three players on Tuesday. PJ Axelsson, Andrew Ference, and Dennis Wideman did not make the trip to Ottawa, as all three are dealing with some type of injury."
• NESN First Shift: "The Senators may be out of the playoff picture for the first time since 1996, but they are playing for jobs and won’t be an easy foe. They beat the Canadiens 3-2 last night and are 6-4-0 in their last ten games."
• Matt Kalman: "Player to watch: This is the spot where I usually pick an opponent to keep an eye on, but tonight it’s all about Phil Kessel. Assuming the speedy winger returns, it’ll be important to watch him and see his level of rust after missing five games with an undisclosed injury"
• Papers: globe thumbnails | herald scouting report
• bruins.nhl.com: Preview | Game Notes (pdf)

Stats:

GO BRUINS!

Monday Lazy Links: BASE...BALL?

It's the last week of the regular season. By Sunday night, we'll know who's in and who's out. Less than 168 hours. Playoffs are coming. If you're not psyched up for that, you don't like hockey. I question if you're even alive. Bruins clinched 1st in the east, and can still get the President's Trophy. Exciting stuff. Now it's watching the east race to see who we're playing in the first round. Who we will be heckling a week and a half from now. Which goalie's name we'll be chanting from the balcony. Which instigators' villainy we'll be yelling and gnashing our teeth at. Which scorers we'll secretly watch in amazement while hoping Chara knocks them onto a golf course. Who we'll want Thornton to destroy while telling our moms that we're not big hockey fight fans. Where the red lights followed by boos will be the sweetest sound.

I hope it's Sunrise, Florida, home of the Panthers.

Holy shit I'm so excited.

Bruins haven't won a playoff series yet this millennium.

The second season is coming.
Get ready.

Before all that, there's still a week of games coming up. Let's see what's going on on the internet.

• SENSHobo is hanging up the skates for 2 weeks and letting the rest of the season play out.
• Mirtle delivered some bad news about Thomas's contract: it will count against the cap.
• The Blue Jackets could back into their first playoff spot ever if they continue their streak and lose 5 in a row in overtime.
• Leafs fans figure out ways to measure success so they come out on top.
• Everyone who took the day off work to go to opening day got kinda screwed by the rain.  I don't like it, but since I didn't take the day off I don't feel all that bad about it.
• Eric McErlain tells us how to root for the Panthers.
• Crunk and Hockey, together again.
• Puck the Media interviewed Jack Edwards.  Good stuff.  Part 2 is tomorrow at 10am in the same place.

That's all, folks. Tonight there are a couple games. Go Ottawa, Buffalo, LA tonight! Most importantly,

GO BRUINS!

Game 78 Recap: BRUINS 1 RANGERS 0 CLINCH THE EAST? YES PLEASE

Hahahaha, awesome.

This game can pretty much be summed up in three parts:

1: 2:


3:

A battle of two elite goalies, a nice goal by Wheeler, and some douchebag up to his usual tricks.

Also, my friend got to ride the zamboni! It was fan appreciation day, and he won it. Pretty awesome stuff.

The win clinched the east. The sharks lost, and now they have 1 point on the Bruins and both teams have 4 games to go.
Here's a good resource: http://www.nhlplayoffrace.com/presrace.html

The Bruins are the only team in the East to have let in less than 200 goals. The only other team in the league to do that is San Jose.

vs. NYR: 2-1-1
Record: 51-17-10 (W 6)
Home: 28-6-6 (W 4)
L10: 8-1-1
April: 2-0-0
GO BRUINS!

Game 78 Preview: Bruins vs. NYRangers THIS COULD CLINCH THE EAST

April 4, 2009 7:00 PM ET

TV: NESN

Radio: WBZ 1030 AM

vs. New York Rangers (40-29-9)

Notes:

• Fan Appreciation day.
• Boston vs. New York in 1998.  Boston wins.
• Colton Orr managed to get a Major Penalty for boarding recently.
• Tim Thomas got re-signed for 20 million or so for 4 years (6,6,5,3).
• Our thoughts and condolences go out to Tyler Pyatt and the Bragnalo family.
• Maple Leafs coach Ron Wilson will be coaching the US Olympic Hockey team.
• LeBron meeting Ovechkin:  Almost as cool as Shaq meeting Chara.
• Rangers are sliding.
• Yes, I still like the Wild.  Puck Daddy interview with Cal Clutterbuck.
• Bruins clinch the top seed in the East with a single point.
• Matt Kalman is reporting Rask/Thomas next year.  Duh.

Previous Games:

1-1-1

Other Previews:

Just click the names near the top over on the right.  Most recently updated stuff is at the top, and most blog's most recent posts are current.

Stats:

GO BRUINS!

Game 77 Recap: BRUINS 2 SENS 1 FIFTY WINS AIN'T HALF BAD

First of all, I finally broke down and joined twitter, because it was getting annoying having it all come into google reader. Here it is:

http://www.twitter.com/HBAdventure

Who knows how much I'll do with it, but there you go.

Second of all, ESPN is reporting that Thomas is getting a contract extension. This could be huge.

Thirdly, there was a game last night. That's why we're here.

First Period.

It was ugly. The Bruins were getting outworked by a team playing for pride and pride alone. Luckily, they seemed to wake up later on in the game and managed to be just good enough to beat Ottawa. They also removed the 0.000004 chance of Ottawa making the playoffs with the Ottawa loss.

5.5 in, Alfredsson.
0-1. Please don't let Ottawa embarrass the Bruins. They've beaten them every time this year, now is not the time to change that.

Hnidy pastes Ruutu along the boards.

Basically the rest of the period is some crap hooking call and the puck getting battered from place to place. And some nice saves by Auld and Thomas, including one by Auld on Savard on a breakaway out of the penalty box.

Second Period.

About two minutes in, some good chaotic defense leads to Lucic getting a half breakaway. Slapper from the top of the circle.

GOAL!

1-1. Lucic goals are awesome, and then the crowd does it's LUUUUUUUUUUCH thing, not unlike YOOOOOOUUUUUUK. I mention to my friend that Boston fans are bandwagon fans, which is as true here as it is anywhere else. The arena came alive after that goal.

Late in the period, Ruutu runs Thomas and Hnidy and Winchester drop the gloves and hug it out for matching roughing minors.

Third Period.

The bruins like to score early. Both defenses and goalie seem to settle in and not allow much after the first 5-6 minutes. Take for example this third period.

Savard shoots it on net, Wheeler forechecks. It gets to Axelsson on the other side, he gets it to Savard in the slot. Savard does his thing.

GOAL!

2-1. The Bruins finally take the lead!

Recchi gets a high-sticking penalty to give the senators a 2-minute powerplay to end the period, and they pull Auld for the 6-on-4. It doesn't manage to get anything. Then Spezza takes a call with 3 seconds left.

GAME.

WIN!
That's 50 wins. Five-Zero. Nice.
Washington loss or Bruins win clinches Eastern Conference.

vs. OTT: 5-0-0
Record: 50-17-10 (W 5)
Home: 27-6-6 (W 3)
L10: 7-2-1
March: 1-0-0
GO BRUINS!

Game 77 Preview: Bruins vs. Ottawa TWO WEEKS TO GO

Apr 2, 2009 7:00 PM ET

TV: NESN

Radio: WBZ 1030 AM

vs. Ottawa Senators (33-33-10)
Notes:

• The magic number to clinch the 1 seed in the east is 4.
• Stanley Cup of Chowder is in another contest.
• Tim Thomas Hunts Bears is 6-0-0 with 1.32 goals-against average and two shutouts in his last six starts versus the Senators.
• People are pledging to Right to Play for Bruins achievements.
• Kessel is skating, but not back.  Neither is Thornton.
• Thomas vs. Auld in nets.
• The leafs are mathematically out of the playoffs.  Brian Burke is going to send an offer sheet to Krejci or Kessel this offseason, maybe.
• There's a new Fluto mailbag.  "Good bet that the Bruins will start on Thursday, April 16. Game 2, then, would be on Saturday. Not sure whether it would be an afternoon or night game. "

Previous Games:
4-0-0
Other Previews:

• SENShobo says there's plenty to fight for.  Other Sens blogs: Sens Army, Silver Seven.
• The two above and to the left are behind the No Habs No campaign.
• Cameron Frye: "I would take a loss only if Carrie Underwood was in town and for some freak reason during the t-shirt toss, she got shot in the face with a t-shirt gun. I'm not saying kill her, I'm just saying - a black eye or bump on the forehead would be amusing to me."
• Stanley Cup of Chowder: "The Senators have the highest winning percentage in the league when leading after the first period (.875)."  Public skate today, as well.
• HubHockey: "I would watch the Bruins power play and traffic in front of the net tonight as tonight's keys to victory."
• The Bear Cave: "Manny Fernandez got the nod in the first two, making 47 saves on 53 shots for an .887 save percentage with his 2-0 record. Tim Thomas has started the most recent two games, going 2-0 with an .880 save percentage after stopping 44 of 50 shots."
• Matt Kalman: "The Sens are going to start looking toward next season. That means rookies trying to get a headstart on training camp and veterans trying to either earn a chance to stay or impress other teams that will be shopping for free agents."
• NESN First Shift: "It would be very easy for the Bruins to take their foot off the peddle [sic]  right now against an Ottawa team that they’ve taken six-straight decisions from and a team that has nothing to play for except pride and roster spots next season."
• Thumbnails: Globe
• bruins.nhl.com: Preview | Game Notes (pdf)

Stats:

Is there significance to the selected box?

Also, it's Ottawa, not Tampa.  

GO BRUINS!

Game 76 Recap: BRUINS 3 LIGHTNING 1 HAPPY BIRTHDAY GORDIE HOWE HERE'S A GORDIE HOWE HAT TRICK

Yup, for real. A Gordie Howe Hat Trick. Do you know who got it? Hint: He's 6'9." There are two other major stories here:

• The Bruins have 7 20-goal scorers, more than any other team in the league.
• Manny got a convincing win. WOOHOO!

Ok let's get this party started. Vroom vroom party starter!

First Period.

When the first starts, the Lightning come out like a team with nothing to lose...because they don't really have anything more to lose. So they get chippy. Really chippy. Former Boston Bruin Brandon Bochenski takes a hooking penalty about 4 minutes in. The Bolts kill it. The Bruins are flatter than flat. They have no momentum. Luckily, Vinny Lecavelier decides it's high time to take a hooking penalty, and then all hell breaks loose. There's a big scrum by the benches, Artyukhin goes after Krejci and then Chara decides it's time to throw down. Two really big guys have themselves a fight. Hockeyfights doesn't have the video this morning, odd. Here it is, though:

That really got the party started, though it did leave Chara in the box for 7 minutes, considering he got a roughing penalty (probably to match the hooking call). Nobody likes losing Chara for 7 minutes, but the Bruins certainly came out on fire at the next faceoff. They started playing really really well. A couple minutes later, the bruins dump it in for dump and chase. McKenna passes it around the end boards, and Savard picks it up. He throws it at the net, and Wheeler is there to nudge it in between pad and post.

GOAL!

1-0. Blake Wheeler, 20-goal scorer. Huge start.

With a little over 2 minutes to go in the first, Lucic takes a penalty for interference. I didn't see it, but I assume it was crap. About 30 seconds later, the geniuses in black and white stripes call Aaron Ward for high-sticking. Uh oh. 5-on-3 city, population Manny Fernandez. Every single Bruins fan is doing the thing where they can't look, but are secretly peeking through their fingers. Unless you're like me and too busy holding a beer and cheering for that.

Savard, Chara, and Wideman take to the ice for the 5-on-3. Savard gets it to Chara, they play some really good defense. Manny makes a couple saves, the Bruins get it out. They end up killing 1:26 of 5-on-3, and the last 20 or so seconds of the period. The Gahden is on their feet with the kill. Huge.

Second Period.

The Bruins start off on the PK at the beginning of the second, and they start off right by winning the opening faceoff and attacking. Penalty Killed.

Of course, it doesn't take long for Artyukhin to get a high-sticking penalty, and 6.5 minutes in the Bruins go on the Power Play. They set it up and start working it down low. A quick outlet pass to Ference throws all the bolts back into the box and then ference gives it back up front. Patrice gets it. Chara sneaks in on the other side and Bergeron makes a pretty pass to his Chara's tape in the crease.

GOAL!

2-0. So this is how it's supposed to go when you're playing the lightning. Awesome.

As they're announcing that goal the Bruins score another one, but it's waved off due to "goaltender interference," whatever that is. Wheeler goes to the box for two.
P.K. Axelsson gets on the ice. PKed.

Richard Petiot takes a high-sticking penalty, and I believe this is the one on Recchi. Whatever. Powerplay.

Kobasew-krejci-ference-Chara. Chara shoots a big one. Kobasew tips it. Well, he puts his stick in the way and it pops up. Kobasew's stick flies out of his hands when the Big Slovak's slapper hits it. The puck chips up and over McKenna.

GOAL!

3-0. Yeah, this is looking pretty good. Nobody think shutout now, y'hear?

Petiot is so angry about it he fights Byron Bitz. Hockeyfights: no video. Youtube.

3 Minutes later Melichar and Lucic fight. Well, I don't even know if I could call it that. Lucic one-punches melichar, hits him once more, but melichar is down after one. Hockeyfights. Youtube. Ouch for Melichar. Also, this moment in the video:

This is where he shows mercy.

And here's my favorite expression of Lucic's:

The "Oh shit what did I just do to that guy?" look.

So huge. Same as when he put Van Ryn through the glass. He's a monster.

There's a third period, and we see stamkos score his 20th goal of the season to ruin Manny's shutout.

Game.

WIN!

I know it's against Tampa, but every win from here on out is a big win.
Here's Manny after the game:

They play that way in front of everyone, Manny.

Lots of throwing it across the crease and hoping for the best in this game. Odd.

When they announcer Patrice Bergeron as the Bruins' nominee for the Bill Masterton trophy, they made the (admittedly common) mistake of calling it the Masterson trophy. You'd think they remember how to spell it from when Kessel won it in '07.

vs. TBL: 3-1-0
Record: 49-17-10 (W 4)
Home: 26-6-6 (W 2)
L10: 6-3-1
March: 7-5-1
GO BRUINS!