Bruins: 2010-2011

[Jason Harris 31]

We'll see, Cup contenders get up by 3 and want to be up by 4; also rans get up by 3 and think that's enough.

To an extent you're right, but a closer look shows the B's have made the mistake that hundreds of teams have made in the past: they've overlooked lesser teams.

Against the top four teams in the Eastern Conference (Flyers, Penguins, Capitals and Lightning), the B's have an 11-5 record, but against the bottom three teams (Sabres, Rangers, Canadiens), they are 5-11. Yet every one of us is fully aware of games against those bottom three teams that they just flat out blew: the 7-6 shootout loss against the Sabres, the 4-3 OT loss against the Canadiens, and Monday's loss to the Rangers.

The bottom line is the B's have the talent to be one of the top contenders, but I fully agree with you that they can't relax against any team, because their system particularly doesn't leave much margin. What I'm hopeful is the urgency of the playoffs will help them get by their first round, which will be against one of those teams in which they've had ugly losses. After that, they have the talent to beat any of the top four, but I admit the playoffs are a different animal than the regular season.

[chippa13 1844]

Well, we have seen that Lucic rises to the occassion when the big games come around. Let's hope that Horton does the same in his first foray into the postseason. The x-factors for me this year as the B's head into the playoffs are Marchand and Boychuk. I'm hopeful that the gritty, speedy Marchand who helped Bergeron to player of the month honors shows up and not the dirty, soon-to-be suspended again Marchand. The Bergeron line really needs to help take some of the pressure off of the top line in terms of production for the B's to be successful in the postseason. Kelly's line will need to chip in as well but I'm more interested in them using their speed and defensive smarts (Seguin excluded) to keep the opposition off the board.

Boychuk has had a much different season than a year ago and I'm hopeful that he can find last year's magic again. He is the B's other booming shot from the point and teams will do all they can to take away Chara offensively. The B's have to be able to rely on Boychuk being able to put in some good minutes and hope he doesn't continue with the bad giveaways that have plagued much of his season.

[trevor13478 1]

Seguin a scratch for the playoffs?

I can't believe this, did Chiarelli not learn anything from running Kessel out of town? You can't put offensively gifted players in checking line roles and you can't not play a kid because he scores goals instead of stopping them. If Chia pet and Claude keep this up they will either a) run Seguin out of town like they did to Phil, or b) squander the offensive talent he has and watch him put up 40 or 50 point seasons for the next 10 years. This kid has something special, let him use it please.

[chippa13 1844]

There is no law that says you can't be offensively productive and also play well on the defensive side of the puck. Seguin has looked better lately but he still gets lost in his own zone. The kid is 19 and is still learning. I'm sure watching a few playoff games isn't going destroy his potential to become an offensive force in this league.

[Joshison 1]

I disagree trevor the kid is too afraid to go into the dirty areas and the corners to make a play. Maybe sitting him a few will make him realize its not the Seguin show and he's got to play tougher because that's the type of team we are. Krecji isn't afraid to take a hit to make a play or beat a guy to the puck in a corner so I don't know why it would be okay for Seguin not to.

[Jason Harris 31]

I disagree trevor the kid is too afraid to go into the dirty areas and the corners to make a play. Maybe sitting him a few will make him realize its not the Seguin show and he's got to play tougher because that's the type of team we are. Krecji isn't afraid to take a hit to make a play or beat a guy to the puck in a corner so I don't know why it would be okay for Seguin not to.

That's an interesting way of looking at it, because the truth is I agree with both of you. I'd rather add his offensive skills to the mix, while living with his defensive shortcomings, but there's no doubt I'll tell my wife on certain plays that Seguin should have checked someone.

[trevor13478 1]

I disagree trevor the kid is too afraid to go into the dirty areas and the corners to make a play. Maybe sitting him a few will make him realize its not the Seguin show and he's got to play tougher because that's the type of team we are. Krecji isn't afraid to take a hit to make a play or beat a guy to the puck in a corner so I don't know why it would be okay for Seguin not to.

Thinking like this is why the Bruins go after players like paille, campbell, grinders and muckers and chase skilled guys like Kessel and Wheeler out of town because they don't play defense. Lucic should be not be your best offensive player. To be successful you need a blend of gritty guys and skill guys, not a lineup full of 3rd liners. This is why you have scoring lines and checking lines. It'd be great if Seguin could be a great 2-way guy like Datsyuk, but there's only one Datsyuk and Seguin is a talented, creative, offensive player, why stifle him when youve got plenty of guys who can play the shut down role and very few who can create offense

[chippa13 1844]

Blake Wheeler? Seriously? That guy was getting knocked over by stiff breezes the last two seasons. You are officially the only person who misses that guy in a Bruins uniform.

[trevor13478 1]

he's also putting up close to a point per game since the trade.

[Jason Harris 31]

he's also putting up close to a point per game since the trade.

Closer to .75 PPG, but I agree with your sentiment. If you we averaged his scoring for each team over 82 games, he'd scored 38 points with the B's or 63 with the Thrashers, while maintaining a similar plus/minus.

I think the Bruins would be better served to let some of their players play with more offensive intentions.

[trevor13478 1]

And I'm not by any means saying tell the kids defense isn't a big deal, If they start making turnovers that hurt the team or blatant defensive lapses obviously Claude needs to say something. What I'm saying is don't shove Julien's game down their throats to the point where they're too scared to make a move in the neutral zone and instead just dump and chase every time out of fear of turning the puck over and being benched. It doesn't do any good to force round pegs into square holes.

[chippa13 1844]

he's also putting up close to a point per game since the trade.

It was the Thrashers, they do have to put somebody on the ice. Before we get all giddy over what Wheeler did I suggest we wait until we see what he does next year. Remember, a lot of players see a post-trade bump in production because the trade gives them a wake-up call and/or they get a burr in their saddle about being dealt and want to show their former team that they made a mistake. I can't believe that there is anyone who watched Wheeler in a Bruins jersey this season or last that can honestly say that what he was doing warranted more ice time.

[crazyhick 19]

wow what a game tonite!!! Ryder finally shows up to the series and it's all tied up

[bagsbie 8]

Great game, indeed. Finally, the Bruins showed some teeth! Go, B's!!!

[Jason Harris 31]

I don't think we can put too much stock in last night. I'm pretty sure that I could've scored on Tampa's goalies the way they were playing. Nice to see Savard back and Thomas definitely seems to have recaptured his, I use the term loosely, form. Seguin looked a little lost out there at times, hopefully some of that was due to trying to figure out Savard.

I think they're due for a pasting, probably at the hands of the Pens. Playing so-so and getting points always hides problems and lets some bad habits sneak in. Don't be surprised if the Pens score at least 6 on Monday.

Folks on sports radio are almost pushing the panic button around these parts, trying to come up with that deal that will put them over the top. The problem is, I don't see them as a Cup contender even with adding that one rental. I would rather see them stand pat and find out if what they've been growing on the farm is going to turn into anything. You should hear some of the horrible or fantastical ideas that some are coming up with.

We'll see, Cup contenders get up by 3 and want to be up by 4; also rans get up by 3 and think that's enough.

chippa, please understand I say this affectionately, but as I've been basking in the B's winning the Cup again, I've had a lot of streams of consciousness, and one of them was thinking about this thread and that I'd put a slightly optimistic spin on things, then you'd put a "still living in New England" damper on it. It reminded me of 2007, when the Red Sox were running away with the division (10 or 12 games up), so one friend sent out an email to six others asking for our predictions on how much the Sox would win by. The funny thing was the range was almost entirely dependent on how far we lived away from New England, with me saying 10 games, the guys in Minnesota and Philly saying 5-6 games, and the guys in New Hampshire saying the Spankees would overtake them. The line of the thread was one friend saying to those two: "You REALLY need to move out of Boston!"

Anyway, since you're about as big a Bruins fan as I know -- and still in New England at that! -- it got me wondering, "How giddy are you?!?"

[chippa13 1844]

It was funny. As the playoffs rolled on I was thinking to myself, "Are they really doing this? Can they really do it?" After watching this team since birth and only seeing a Cup victory at 9 months old, I've been conditioned to wait for the inevitable failing. I said to a friend Thursday morning, it was a nice change to not be totally pissed off for once the day after their season ended.

To be fair, there is a smidge of tempered optimism in a couple of those quotes. Not much, but a smidge. Now I'm curious what the comments were that I was responding to. And, let's be honest, with the way the Bruins went through a few lulls during the season and their penchant for blowing or nearly blowing 2-3 goal leads, there weren't too many folks picking them to be winners back in February.

As for the feeling, it is more a sense of relief than anything else. Kind of weird but that is the best that I can describe it.

Well, we have seen that Lucic rises to the occassion when the big games come around. Let's hope that Horton does the same in his first foray into the postseason. The x-factors for me this year as the B's head into the playoffs are Marchand and Boychuk. I'm hopeful that the gritty, speedy Marchand who helped Bergeron to player of the month honors shows up and not the dirty, soon-to-be suspended again Marchand. The Bergeron line really needs to help take some of the pressure off of the top line in terms of production for the B's to be successful in the postseason. Kelly's line will need to chip in as well but I'm more interested in them using their speed and defensive smarts (Seguin excluded) to keep the opposition off the board.

Boychuk has had a much different season than a year ago and I'm hopeful that he can find last year's magic again. He is the B's other booming shot from the point and teams will do all they can to take away Chara offensively. The B's have to be able to rely on Boychuk being able to put in some good minutes and hope he doesn't continue with the bad giveaways that have plagued much of his season.

Sure, you couldn't quote this gem............

[Steve_v3 289]

It was funny. As the playoffs rolled on I was thinking to myself, "Are they really doing this? Can they really do it?" After watching this team since birth and only seeing a Cup victory at 9 months old, I've been conditioned to wait for the inevitable failing. I said to a friend Thursday morning, it was a nice change to not be totally pissed off for once the day after their season ended.

To be fair, there is a smidge of tempered optimism in a couple of those quotes. Not much, but a smidge. Now I'm curious what the comments were that I was responding to. And, let's be honest, with the way the Bruins went through a few lulls during the season and their penchant for blowing or nearly blowing 2-3 goal leads, there weren't too many folks picking them to be winners back in February.

As for the feeling, it is more a sense of relief than anything else. Kind of weird but that is the best that I can describe it.

I can relate to that feeling a lot when they were raising the cup. I almost couldn't believe it was really happening.

I still remember watching game 1 in the 1990 finals & thinking it was finally there year. Only to lose that series & slowly turn into those abysmal teams we had to watch in the mid to late 90's. I still remember some of those guys: Landon Wilson, Jeff Odgers, Trent McCleary, Sandy Moger & Mattias Timander. And then after there most recent failures & the playoff disappointments in the early 2000's. It made this championship even better.

[Chadd 916]

As for the feeling, it is more a sense of relief than anything else. Kind of weird but that is the best that I can describe it.

As a Hawks fan, I understand completely.

[JTully317 11]

Went to the parade today in boston. I have been to a patriots parade and red sho parade, imho it was by far the best one. Everyone was there and the fans were awesome. Estimated to have been over 1 million people there. Welcome to title town baby.

[Chadd 916]

Buffett was playing Great Woods last night. He went to the parade and re-wrote boat drinks, his only hockey related song. Interesting story behind that one and involves Derek Sanderson and a stolen cab.

[Jason Harris 31]

Oh, I cherry picked the posts, chippa!

And I remember that post; I thought it was a very good analysis and, even.....optimistic. The truth is I'm the type of guy who thinks the Sox still have a chance when they're four back with two games to go, so I'd make a cautiously optimistic assessment, and you'd make sure I wasn't getting ahead of myself! However, I started to feel fairly early that the B's were one of the contenders to reach the Eastern Finals, once we realized that TT was playing so well. I had thought that Savard's return would boost the offense, but I think it actually turned out to be Marchand's promotion (and, to a smaller extent, Kampfer for a while). But the bottom line is always health and, fortunately, other than Savard's injury or Horton's in the Finals, the B's had good health.

As for the feeling, relief is a good word. I kind of thought of it as a cathartic release of 39 years worth of dashed hopes, but I suppose those are two words for the same feeling. What's funny is our lives were back to normal two minutes after it happened, but then I'll think about the ride we just enjoyed and I find myself smiling.

[HolyRollie 0]

Went to the parade today in boston. I have been to a patriots parade and red sho parade, imho it was by far the best one. Everyone was there and the fans were awesome. Estimated to have been over 1 million people there. Welcome to title town baby.

News reports were saying it was like taking the entire population of New Hampshire and dropping it along the parade route. I was posted up right at the Garden and got to see the players hanging out, speeches, and then the beginning of the parade. Nice to see Rene Rancourt, Andy Brickley, and Jack Edwards out there.

[JTully317 11]

Haha that's awesome. That must have been a good spot...were you in the garden or outside? I ended up at Government Center and still had a great view and got some good pics.

[HolyRollie 0]

I was right across the street from the entrance to the parking lot of the Garden so I had an unrestricted view for everything going on.

[Steve_v3 289]

SAVARD HAS DAY WITH CUP; TALKS ABOUT ONGOING HEALTH ISSUES

Great to see him get his day with the cup, but very sad to see his current health condition. In the video of the story it looks to me that he realizes his career is over.

Whether you liked him as a player or not it's sad to see someone with his talent have his career taken away from him. F#%@ing Cooke.