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.
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.
(of the NHL, not the Gotham Police), things would be different around here, I tell you what.
Here we go again...
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.
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 optionsThomas 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.
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.
| 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 |
"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.
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.
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.
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.
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.I figured out that I haven't written anything here for a while. As it turns out, I've been busy or on twitter or on another blog or whatever. If you're using this blog for all of your NHL news, here's a couple tidbits since the last time we spoke:
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