Avalanche 4, Bruins 3

I know what I'm gonna be for Halloween: the Bruins' penalty kill unit. Because it's fucking scary.

Going to B's games the last few seasons, and in each section there'd at least one loudmouthed, simple-minded, one-step-logic moron screaming obscenities at PJ Axelsson. I'd like to meet these jerks now and ask them how they enjoy the PK without the PJ.

The Bruins' penalty kill is 20th in the NHL. The power play unit isn't exactly inspiring to watch either. That's 25th.

All true Bruins fans have a nemesis on the team, a guy that just annoys the piss out of you. That used to be Shane Hnidy for me. Now it's Derek Morris. I just don't understand what he's trying to do. He shoots too often when he's got a guy on him (resulting in blocked shots that rebound into the neutral zone), he misses easy passes from Chara, and in the defensive zone he's a ghost.

The Bruins have a few days off before a nice little road trip to the Southwest. The dry air might help clear their heads a bit. I'd like to see some lines get changed around. I've never been a fan of Lucic on the 1st line. I'd rather see him with Ryder and Krejci. That combo worked well today. And Bitz needs more time, which should come at the expense of Blake Wheeler, who didn't win a single one-on-one battle in this game.

The penalty kill unit might need some external help in the form of a trade or signing. But there's no excuse for an impotent power play. The Bruins are loaded with fast, talented skaters who can make tremendous passes.

Bruins @ Stars Friday night, then Bruins @ Coyotes Saturday night.

-The Commodore

Joe Sakic To Retire

"Joe Sakic, the Colorado Avalanche's longtime captain who led the team to two Stanley Cup titles, is retiring after a 20-year NHL career, a person familiar with the situation told the Associated Press on Tuesday (Sportsline)."


Sakic had been the face of the Colorado (and Quebec) franchise for so many years. One of my favorite teams of all time was the team that won the Cup with Bourque. That team was awesome with guys like Roy, Bourque, Blake, Forsberg, Tanguay, Foote, and the list goes on. He is 40 years old now, so I understand wanting to hang it up, but I really feel like if Roy decided to coach the team next year he would have stuck around for one more year. In the end it's just an end of an era...

Patrick Roy Turns Down Colorado Coaching Job

"Hall of Famer Patrick Roy has turned down an offer to coach the Colorado Avalanche. Roy phoned Avalanche president Pierre Lacroix late Tuesday night to tell him he won't accept the team's offer to coach the team because of family reasons, a spokeswoman for the junior league club Roy co-owns and coaches told the Associated Press (Sportsline)."

Basically he doesn't want to leave Canada. Roy wants to eventually take over the Canadiens head coaching job, but there is no news yet if it will be offered to him. For now he will continue to coach the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, where Roy is also general manager. I really wish he would have taken the Avalanche job, because it might have been enough to keep Sakic (on of my favorite players) for another year.

Patrick Roy To Coach Colorado?

"Patrick Roy may return to Colorado as the head coach of the Avalanche and has already earned the endorsement of legendary bench boss Scotty Bowman. "I think he has enough experience now and deserves an opportunity," Bowman, the winningest NHL coach of all time told the Denver Post. "I know he has the passion to coach. He's done a good job in junior (ESPN)."

I would love this. Patrick Roy is one of (if not the) best goalie I have ever seen. If he does get the job he has a lot of work to do. The Avalanche were horrible last year, and a big reason for that was their goaltending. Peter Budaj and Andrew Raycroft are both terrible, so Roy is going to need to find someone that can bring back this team from the bottom. Hopefully is Ray takes this job Sakic will come back, and I also hope he can't find a goalie and just makes himself a player coach...yea that's the world I want to live in...

Avalanche Fire Giguere

"The Colorado Avalanche have fired general manager Francois Giguere after the team finished last in the Western Conference. Team president Pierre Lacroix on Monday called the season "unacceptable." He will oversee the Avalanche until a replacement is hired (Sportsline)."

Avalanche had to do this. They really need to pull this team in a new direction. The Problem with this team was the goaltending. Raycroft and Budaj are just flat out terrible. So, they will obviously on the on market for a goalie this offseason. it is really too bad that Sakic's career will mostly likely have to end like this. He is nothing, but a class act, and has meant the world to this organization. I gained all the respect in the world for him when Bourque was on the team with him, and he handed the cup right away to him. In my eyes Sakic is an automatic Hall Of Famer, and one of my personal favorite players of all-time.

Voodoo Attacks on Sakic?

"Colorado Avalanche captain Joe Sakic, already sidelined by back problems, broke three fingers in a snowblower accident at his home and will be out at least three months (ESPN)."

What the hell? The guy is already out with a bad back, and he goes out and almost gets his fingers cut off my a snowblower. Does someone have a voodoo doll of poor Joe Sakic. He is one of my favorite players of all-time, and I can't believe he is still playing. Hopefully he is able to come back from this, but I am really worried a piano is going to fall on this guy's head.

-BMack

Bruins 5, Avalanche 4

Last night the Bruins did something they hadn't done in 15 years:

Win a season opening game on the road. The last time was 1993 against the Rangers. And the last time the Bruins won any opening game was 2001 against the Ducks. This is only the 35th time in franchise history (which spans back to 1924), that the Bruins have won their opening game.



And in a complete surprise, they won it thanks to an explosive offense. They only got 20 shots on Colorado's net, but 5 went in. Defensively, they were porous, allowing 39 shots to reach Tim Thomas, who had a good night despite the 4 goals allowed.



Newcomers Blake Wheeler and Michael Ryder each scored in their Bruins debut. Wheeler's score was a product of some nifty passing as the puck was brought up ice. Kobasew, Krejci, and Wheeler knocked it around as they took the zone, then Wheeler drove it in for his first career goal.

I don't know much about Michael Ryder's personal life, but his new best friend is Marc Savard. Savard hit him in front with a behind the back pass just as he passed the net. Ryder hit the top shelf for his first Bruins goal, and the 100th of his career.



Patrice Bergeron had two assists in his first NHL game since last October. He would have had a goal or two if not for some outstanding saves by Peter Budaj, robbing Bergeron of several one-on-one opportunities.

A win on the road against a solid team like Colorado is a good way to start a season. But there were some problems that need immediate fixing. The Bruins took a few boneheaded and soft penalties. Chara inadvertently boarded a guy, Bergeron tripping a guy with less than 2 minutes left in the game in neutral ice, Aaron Ward flipping the puck over the glass when the Bruins were already shorthanded. The Bruins also gave up 3 leads in this game, let Colorado get deep into their zone and rattle off too many shots at Thomas.

The Bruins go to Minneapolis next and face the Wild on Saturday night... the same time the Sox are on. I wonder who will win that ratings battle?

-The Commodore

Stanley Cup Playoffs: 2nd Round Recap

Eastern Conference:
#6 Philadelphia Flyers defeat #1 Montreal Canadiens in 5 games
Carey Price was exposed in this series, even to the point of being replaced in game 4. Watching Montreal lose is always fun, but it makes the Bruins’ first-round loss hurt even more, because it is now all too clear how human Price is.

#2 Pittsburgh Penguins defeat #5 New York Rangers in 5 games
I honestly thought this series would be much closer. Although Pittsburgh never really blew out the Rangers, the goaltending of Marc-Andre Fleury (who is 5 days younger than me) stifled New York. Sidney Crosby may not have scored a goal in the series, but he did pick up 6 assists.



Western Conference:
#1 Detroit Red Wings defeat #6 Colorado Avalanche in 4 games
The word “sweep” is insufficient to describe Detroit’s domination in this series. Detroit scored 21 goals, Colorado managed to get 9. Although two of the games were close, Detroit was never in any danger of losing this series. They made Jose Theodore look like an amateur, which gives them a special place in my heart.

#5 Dallas Stars defeat #2 San Jose Sharks in 6 games
Dallas is playing out of their minds. Marty Turco has been a wall in net, and guys like Mike Ribeiro, Brendan Morrow, Mike Modano, and Brad Richards are not only scoring, but scoring when it counts the most (like 9:03 into the 4th overtime).



-The Commodore