Since the Flyers traded away captain Mike Richards and Jeff Carter this offseason we have wondered why. Of course they needed a goalie, but to trade away two of their best offensive players seemed a bit much. Then news started to come out that these two refused to write their uniform numbers on a board in the locker room under a pledge to abstain from alcohol, as the coach requested. There are also rumors that these two had some serious drinking/partying problems.
Well, I guess that would explain it, and I guess we shouldn't be all that shocked that a hockey player has a drinking problem, and even less shocked when that player is from Philly. There have been some rumors that Marchand is kind of a party animal and the Bruins have asked him to cut back, but at least he has something to celebrate.
The Bruins begin their defense of the Stanley Cup (God that felt good to write) on October 6th at home. They'll get to raise the banner (another orgasmic phrase to type out) as they host the Philadelphia Flyers. On October 8th, they'll play a rematch of the Eastern Conference Championship against the Lightning, also at home.
The big date that stands out is January 7th, when the Canucks come to town. The Bruins will not travel to Vancouver.
Canadien games: Thursday 10/27 in Boston Saturday 10/29 in Montreal Monday 11/21 in Montreal Monday 12/19 in Boston Thursday 1/12 in Boston Wednesday 2/15 in Montreal
The Detroit Red Wings come to town on November 25th in the Black Friday matinee.
The Bruins will host the Flyers on St. Patrick's Day (Saturday March 17) in what will probably be the drunkest game of the year, despite the 1:00pm start time.
The Bruins make their first trip to Winnipeg on Tuesday December 6th.
Phil Kessel and the Maple Leafs will come to town on October 20th, December 3rd, and March 19th.
The regular season will end Saturday April 7th when the B's host the Sabres.
In a stunning move, the Philadlephia Flyers traded centers Jeff Carter and Mike Richards, then signed goalie Ilya Bryzgalov. Carter went to Columbus for the 8th overall pick in tonight's draft, as well as a 3rd round selection, and 21 year old winger Jakub Voracek. Richards was sent to the Kings for a pair of young forwards and an undisclosed draft pick.
The Flyers then signed Russian goalie Bryzgalov to a 9 year, $51 million deal. The Flyers were 11th in goals allowed last year, and used three different goalies in the playoffs, never being able to settle on a true #1. Bryzgalov is a solid, 31 year old goalie and answers Philadelphia's biggest question going into the 2011-12 season.
But I think the size of the deal is a bit much for just a solid goalie like Bryzgalov. He's capable of brilliance, he recorded 7 shutouts this year. And he doesn't have Luongonian style meltdowns. But he's just not that great. Not for a $51 million commitment, at least.
The Flyers need a goalie, so I understand. It is funny, though. After last season, everyone thought that goaltending was an overrated commodity. The Cup winning goalie - Antti Niemi - got a 4 year, $15.2 million deal after the Blackhawks won it all last year. People thought that so long as your goalie wasn't a liability, and stopped the standard shots, then it didn't matter who he was. How things change.
I wonder if Tim Thomas will get a commission from Bryzgalov's deal.
No need for anxiety. No need for panic. The Bruins took care of business Friday night and let all their fans relax a little bit.
A few weeks ago, I stressed the importance of improvement in the playoffs. From game to game, from series to series. And the reason the Bruins are in the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 1992 is because they've improved.
Remember those painful turnovers in Games 1 and 2 of the Canadiens series? Remember Marchand and Horton playing with the jitters?
The turnovers stopped. Marchand and Horton were the Bruins' best forwards in the Philly series. The Power Play actually scored a 5-on-4 goal (eventually). Chara's fully hydrated. And Lucic scored twice in Game 4, ending a long drought.
It was a sweep, but it wasn't utter domination. Thomas stole Game 2. Game 4 was a nail-biter until the late stages. And in those tight games, the Bruins showed some character. They fought the tough battles, won most of them, and that's why they are where they are.
And it's nice sweeping, not just because it's easy on the nerves. Thomas gets a few extra days to rest. Chara and Seidenberg will be worked like mules, and they could use some time to recuperate. Unfortunately, there's not enough time for Bergeron to recover from a concussion. That's a huge loss.
Bergeron is the best defensive forward, best penalty killing forward, best faceoff taker, and he's become an offensive playmaker with Marchand and Recchi.
And against the Lightning, a defensive forward would have been nice to put on the ice against Stamkos. That will be an interesting series. Tampa Bay has some of the most talented forwards in the NHL. The Bruins have some of the best defensemen and the best goalie.
The series will start when the two Western series are decided.
That's what you will start hearing if the Bruins lose tonight, but this is a new year, with no injuries, with a new team, and the biggest part... TIM THOMAS.
The Flyers have showed me nothing in this series that makes me think they are going to turn it around. Pronger has a herniated disk, and they don't have one goalie on their roster that makes me think the Bruins will score any less then 5 goals.
With that being said I think Philly as too much talent to just get blown out again, and as good as Thomas has been I think he is going to let up some goals tonight. At the end of the day though he will make the key saves to win this series, and end it tonight.
If Boston can go up quick, I think this game will be over quickly, but I expect Philly to play a lot better in the beginning of the game, because well... they have to. Like I said I see the Bruins scoring at least 5 goals, and the difference will be at the end of the game Tim Thomas will make the key saves to win the game.
Actually fuck it, the Bruins are going to win and win big. Philly has given up.
Bruins win 7-1 Players of the Game: Tim Thomas/Mark Recchi Game starts at 8pm
Hockey is a funny sport, it seems to be the only sport where "coming home" might be a bad thing. The Bruins have struggled at their home rink basically all season, so you have to be a little nervous going into this game.
One thing you can say about the Bruins is they have been clutch. They have won 4 games in overtime in the playoffs already, which is great to see since the Bruins don't have a lot of standout scorers. Saying that, the Bruins would've been blowout last game if it wasn't for Tim Thomas and his 50+ saves. He is going to need to keep playing at that level if the Bruins are going to go anywhere, because the Flyers have the advantage on offense, and they are just too good not to get a bunch of shots every game.
Still, all you need is a hot goalie, and the Bruins have the best goalie in the NHL. Up and down the roster (excluding goalie) the Flyers are the better team, but how many time have we seen this scenario and usually it comes down to the goalie.
I think the Bruins are playing confident hockey, and that they are going to get over their "home struggles". The defense needs to play better tonight, as they were terrible last game, but if Boston can withstand the early pressure that is going to come from a desperate Flyers team I think they will win this game.
Bruins win 5-3 Players of the Game: Thomas/Horton Game starts at 7:00pm
#46 may have scored the game-winner, but it was the 46 straight saves made by Tim Thomas that truly won this game for the Bruins. The Flyers dominated the 3rd period and the Overtime, outshooting the Bruins 32-12 in that span. But Thomas was impenetrable. Finally, a miscue by Kimmo Timonen, plus plenty of open ice because half of each team was changing, gives Krejci the chance to win the game. And it was a perfectly placed shot.
Krejci and Thomas were obviously the stars of the game, but let's not forget Dennis Seidenberg. He was a well deserved +3, on the ice for all three of the Bruins' goals. In Game 1, he made an impact on offense. Last night, he made an impact on defense. So many big clears, poke checks, hits, battles won. He's +7 in this series, and there's a reason for that.
Krejci has been producing. As are the 2nd and 3rd lines, which each provided a goal last night. Horton's been an OT hero. Now, if only we could find Milan Lucic. Where is he? It's been 9 playoff games without a goal. And he ended the regular season riding a 10 game scoreless streak. 6 assists in his last 18 games. And it's not as if he's focusing on his physical game, either. He's just a ghost on the ice. He was out there for 24 minutes. I noticed him for maybe 24 seconds.
And the Power Play is just sad to watch. Marchand scored his goal because he moved around, opening a passing lane for Bergeron to find. The Bruins' forwards need to move around, not just shift within their little zones of operation. Especially since the Flyers are focused on taking away the points. Sending Recchi or Bergeron up to the high slot might not be a bad idea, either. It'd either create room for the forwards down low or the defensemen on the blue-line.
I know, I know, I'm being negative. The B's just took 2 games from Philly in Philly. They've won 6 of 7. But I've seen this team go 2-0 up on the Flyers before.
Then again, we didn't have Tim Thomas before. Goaltending, by itself, cannot win an entire series. But it can steal a game. Thomas stole one last night. Thankfully it wasn't played in Quebec, or the Montreal PD would be after him.
Playoff series are frequently won by the slimmest of margins. Think about where Boston would be if they didn't score 3 OT goals against Montreal. Think about one OT shot by P.K. Subban bouncing off a skate and past Thomas. The Bruins would be golfing.
This series will be determined by something like goaltending (which favors Boston) or special teams (which favors Philadelphia). At the moment, however, Tim Thomas is the difference between these two teams.
Game 1 was a breeze for the Bruins, but don't think for a second it's going to be this easy for the entire series, as the Flyers have a hell of a team. The big question, as it always seem to be for Philly is what kind of goaltending are they going to get. They have elected to keep Brian Boucher in net tonight, which I think is a mistake.
No matter who is in net the Flyers aren't going to do a damn thing if they don't play a lot better defense. Sure Boucher was bad, but the Fylers were letting the Bruins get very easy roads to the front of the net, and even the most inept offenses are going to score when you do that.
Tonight I think there are once again going to be a lot of goals scored, and I actually think Boston will win. I just don't like Boucher and don't trust him at all, and until they changed him I'm not going to pick the Flyers to win a game. Look for guys like Lucic to really get going tonight and charge that net, because unless the Flyers start playing some defense it's easy to do.
Bruins win 5-3 Player of the Game: Lucic Game starts at 7:30pm
You have to be happy, as a Bruins fan. This team does have some differences from last year's. Tim Thomas, for instance. He made a huge stop early in the 3rd to keep it 1-1. If Philly takes a lead there, who knows how momentum swings. Krejci missed the last 4 games of the series last year, he had 2 goals and 2 assists. Seidenberg was also hurt, and he had a monstrous game, pinching in on offense.
Then there's newcomers like Horton, Campbell, and Marchand. Marchand looks better and better with each playoff game he plays.
But we went up 1-0 last year. The Flyers are not pushovers. They stay even-keeled, and they're already over this loss. These are not the Canadiens. The Canadiens could be affected by a 3 goal deficit, or an unfortunate sequence of events. The Flyers don't care.
The Bruins' Power Play is still painful to watch. Is there a rule that allows teams to decline a Power Play, I think the Bruins should do that. They struggle with entry, and when they do take the zone, they stand still.
I'm happy with this result. But it has to already be put in the past for the Bruins.
The remaining 3 series kicked off last night. There was some exciting, close hockey.
MONTREAL CANADIENS 2, BOSTON BRUINS 0 Montreal leads series 1-0
Turnovers by the Bruins, quality goaltending by the Habs. The only good thing about Montreal winning is I get to post pictures of their female fans.
BUFFALO SABRES 1, PHILADELPHIA FLYERS 0 Buffalo leads series 1-0
The Philadelphia media gave James van Riemsdyk the #1 star of the game. Yeah right. Ryan Miller was the star, stopping 35 shots. Patrick Kaleta scored the lone goal of the game, off a rebound. Buffalo is not to be underestimated. But I still feel like Philly will wake up by Game 3.
I went to bed before the conclusion of the Kings/Sharks game. Sorry.
Tonight's games: 7:00 PM - Lightning @ Penguins (Pittsburgh leads series 1-0) 7:30 PM - Rangers @ Capitals (Washington leads series 1-0) - Versus 10:00 PM - Blackhawks @ Canucks (Vancouver leads series 1-0) - Versus 10:30 PM - Predators @ Ducks (Nashville leads series 1-0)
The most exciting postseason in pro sports begins Wednesday. Here's a preview of the first round Eastern Conference matchups:
#1 WASHINGTON CAPITALS vs. #8 NEW YORK RANGERS Ovechkin had an atypical year, only scoring 32 goals and 53 assists. The Capitals found some defensive discipline, and guys like Semin and Knuble contributed on offense. The Rangers won the season series, thanks in no small part to Henrik Lundqvist, who allowed 4 goals in 3 games against Washington. If guys like Marian Gaborik wake up for New York, it might be another early exit for Washington. I'm picking the Rangers in 7.
#2 PHILADELPHIA FLYERS vs. #7 BUFFALO SABRES The Flyers limped down the stretch, having clinched their division long ago. They boast some serious playoff experience, and a number of dangerous forwards. Buffalo also have some weapons. Thomas Vanek and Drew Stafford each surpassed 30 goals. And an ex-Vezina winner in net always helps. I think Buffalo takes an early lead in this series, then the Flyers wake up and win in 6.
#3 BOSTON BRUINS vs. #6 MONTREAL CANADIENS Strength vs. speed. I'm not very optimistic about the Bruins in the postseason, but I think they'll be able to instill fear in the Canadiens. Montreal doesn't have the high flying offense they once had, and Tim Thomas will help shutdown the Habs' power play. Bruins in 6.
#4 PITTSBURGH PENGUINS vs. #5 TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING No Crosby, no Malkin, no problem. The Penguins have been playing playoff calibre hockey for months now. They grind out every battle, turn every inch of the ice into a war zone, and make opponents pay for everything. Tampa Bay falls down too easily, their offense is too reliant on the power play (less penalties are called in the playoffs), and Pittsburgh's goaltending is far superior. Penguins in 5.
I actually think Pittsburgh will win the East. We'll preview the Western Conference tomorrow.
Yes, I am going to kill your buzz with this post. The Bruins clinched a playoff berth with a 2-1 win over the Flyers last night. Sounds grand, doesn't it? And if I hadn't seen the game, and also hadn't seen the 1-0 loss to the Rangers, I'd probably be smiling.
But how hard did the Flyers play last night? Those were two teams on cruise control, and the Bruins were going slightly faster. And maybe that's fine. Maybe the B's will hit the accelerator once the playoffs start. Then again, we've seen such "tendencies" from this team before. Are they coasting into the postseason, or just in the midst another mood swing?
On Saturday, the Rangers were trying. They're vying for a playoff spot, and are essentially in playoff mode already. And they completely shutdown the Bruins' offense. Sure, the goal they scored was a deflection which came after a missed offside call, but the Bruins never looked like the better team until about 8 minutes left in the 3rd.
The Rangers' forecheck kept the Bruins pinned in their own zone. The Rangers' stickwork harassed the B's in the neutral zone. And then there were the blocked shots. New York blocked 29 shots. But for most of those, the Bruins would shoot right at the skates of the Ranger standing 5 feet in front of him. They weren't blocks, they were bad shots taken by the Bruins.
The Bruins are in the playoffs, and that's nice. It's sort of like being bowl eligible in college football, though. Half the league gets in. They have 7 more games to tune up for the postseason, and there are more than a few wrinkles that still need straightening out.
Bruins host the Blackhawks Tuesday night on Versus.
Philadelphia needed a win on the final day of the regular season to sneak into the 2010 playoffs but is currently alone atop the Eastern Conference. The Flyers have won 4 straight and are 12-3-1 since Dec. 3. Yet, no Eastern team has more points since the start of December than the Bruins (27), going 6-1-3 in their last 10 to move atop the Northeast Division.
These two teams have meet twice since the Bruins were knocked out of playoffs last year by them. They each have won 1 game, the Bruins won 3-0 on December 1st, and the Flyers won 2-1, each winning on the road.
The Flyers obviously have the better offense, and I think the Bruins have the better defense and goaltending, but Boucher has been outstanding lately, winning seven of eight starts while posting a 1.87 GAA.
Tim Thomas is the best goalie in the league, and while the Bruins aren't the best home team, he has enjoyed success going 5-1 1.55 GAA. Still, I don't like this game for the Bruins. The Flyers have been playing really well lately and have gone 8-2 on the road in their last 10 games. It'll be close, but the Fylers are just a better team right now.
Flyers win 3-2 Player of the Game: Claude Giroux Game starts at 7pm on NESN.
Mike Richards' OT goal ended what was one of the most entertaining hockey games you'll get this side of the postseason. I was glad to see the Bruins pick up their energy levels, compared to their display against the Islanders last week. Some things did bug the hell out of me, though.
Look, this team will struggle to score goals. I've come to terms with that and so should you. They'll flat-out miss open nets, they'll bobble passes, they'll air on shots. I'm fine with that. It's not fun, but these guys are who they are.
However, when struggling offensive players like Ryder and Wheeler continually make negative defensive plays, I feel like throwing up in my mouth. These two made some horrendous plays with the puck all night. In a few short seconds, Ryder turned the puck over twice in the neutral zone (Savard got it back for him so he could lose it again), which eventually led to Philadelphia's 1st goal. And if not for Thomas, Wheeler would have been responsible for more permanent damage, too.
Savard also played his part in both Philly goals. He got a bit too aggressive hunting the puck after Ryder lost it, which allowed a Philly 2-on-2 rush to turn into a 3-on-2, and a goal. Savard also made a no-look backpass to nobody, thinking Seidenberg had cycled over to his side of the ice. This led to Richards' rush, which turned into a 3-on-1, and a goal.
But with Savard, you can attribute these mistakes to rust. And he's also going to contribute to the offense at some point. Ryder and Wheeler? They can't afford to make big mistakes. Rather, the Bruins can't afford to have them make big mistakes.
So the Bruins lost, but they did get a point from a high quality Philadelphia team. They showed some good fight, skated well, and for the most part played a good defensive game.
Oh, and how dirty are the Flyers?
They're not tough when they do stuff like that, they're cowardly. Turn your back and they hit you, legal or not. They play prison shower hockey. Thankfully, McQuaid returned to the game and seemed unhurt.
One thing the Bruins lacked in their painful collapse to the Flyers a few months ago was Tim Thomas in net. It's not that Rask had a bad series, he just didn't have a very good one. But last night, Timmy shut down the Flyers, stopping all 41 shots (including a penalty shot) for his 5th shutout of the season.
Fun fact: Thomas didn't collect his 5th career shutout until 13 years after he was drafted. Now he has 22.
But it was really a team shutout. Thomas played his part, but the Bruins as a team blocked 16 shots, 4 each by Boychuk and Chara. They also did something they hadn't done in 6 straight games: score first.
The return of David Krejci has reignited the Bruins' #1 line, and the Power Play. When he was on the ice, the Bruins' entry into the zone was just so much better, so much smoother. That's how Bergeron got his PP goal (technically unassisted, but it was Krejci and Lucic who set events in motion).
Seguin scored on a breakaway. It was nice to see both he and Ryder do something on offense once more. Ryder's settled into a nice drought of production. After 4 goals and 6 assists in his first 12 games, he's contributed 2 goals and 2 assists in his last 11 games. That's Michael Ryder for you. Unreliable and occasional offense.
Lucic's empty-netter was his 11th of the season, and that leads the team. It's both good for him that he's atop the stat sheet in the category, and also kind of scary for the rest of the forwards.
The Bruins now have the best road record in the NHL at 9-3-1. If only they could figure out how to play at home.
Hopefully, they learned a few lessons from this game. They adjusted their neutral zone play and their breakout. They were more fluid on offense. The forwards still aren't physical enough, though. Look at the Flyers. Their top-scorers are also their top penalty-minutes guys. They're big, aggressive, and punishing. There are some forwards on the Bruins like that, but not many. And for a team that struggles to score, they need physical players to win battles on the boards, wear opponents out, draw penalties, et cetera.
CHICAGO 4, PHILADELPHIA 3 (Blackhawks win series 4-2) It's been since 1961 that Blackhawks fans have waited for the Cup to return to their Original 6 city. There were only 6 teams back then. And now finally, the Cup has come back to Chicago.
Give all the credit in the world to the Flyers, who mounted one of the most impressive playoff runs I've ever seen. If it weren't for some deficiencies at goaltender, they would have been doing laps with the Cup. Look for them to address that need during the offseason.
Game 6 itself, I felt, was marred by overly tight officiating. Chris Pronger got a 2 minute cross-checking penalty for something he's done 10,000 times in this series, and 10,000,000 in the playoffs. Seabrook and Sopel each got soft minor penalties that would have been let go if this weren't an elimination game.
It's more than a little unfortunate that there were 9 total power play in this game.
That being said, I'm thankful that the refs swallowed their whistles and the pivotal goals were all tallied even-strengthed.
Including Patrick Kane's game-winner, which wriggled through Michael Leighton, who utterly failed to hold the post and be solid against an 87 degree shot. But as I said, that's Philly's only noteworthy weakness. Although I will pat myself on the back for declaring it so before this series.
While Eastern PA might be upset, I think the rest of the hockey world is glad. Then again, they'd be glad if Philly had won too (except me, I wouldn't've been glad). This is a big market city winning a title for the first time in decades. You have to appreciate it.
But how close did the Flyers come to being one of the most compellingly miraculous stories in sports history? Needing a shootout win to qualify for the playoffs, coming from 0-3 down against the Bruins. They are very very close to achieving victory in this Stanley Cup thing. So watch out next season.
This is how smart the NHL is. Why not have Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals go up against Game 2 of the NBA Finals? I know the NHL set their dates long before the NBA did, but can't Gary Bettman text David Stern and say "yo, if u hav a game on 6/6 what time RU gonna start ur game?" Then when Stern responds "LOL, 8pm EST ;-)" Then Bettman can schedule Game 5 of the Cup Finals for 3 in the afternoon.
But I guess that's too much.
CHICAGO 7, PHILADELPHIA 4 (Blackhawks lead series 3-2) You know what game I bet the Flyers would be good at (besides hockey, of course)? Duck-duck-goose. You slap them on the head and they'll chased after you like a rabid dog. And even if they don't catch you, you'll die of a heart attack from the strain. They simply do not believe they can die.
The Hawks went up 3-0 in the 1st, and looked to cruise through to Game 6. But the Flyers hate cruise ships almost as much as the Israelis do (couldn't resist and by no means is this a political commentary, just a fucking joke, so relax), and they fought back. The teams traded goals in the 2nd, and if not for some brilliant Niemitics, it easily could have been a 5-4 game, instead of 5-2.
More goal-trading in the 3rd, and after the dust settled, Chicago won 7-4, but it was hardly easy. You have to stay aggressive and keep slapping the scoreboard against Philly. Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp, Dustin "pug fufly" Byfuglien all woke up. The Chicago power play made its debut, as well.
So now Philly is facing elimination. Which is familiar and seemingly comfortable position for them. And much like this game, the Blackhawks need to keep the pedal pinned to the floor, because the Flyers will fight like Rocky Balboa until the bitter end.
Game 6 Wednesday night in Philly. Hey! It's not conflicting with an NBA Finals game! Whaddya know?!? How fucking novel!
It was NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman's birthday last night, and it's safe to say he enjoyed it. Not only did this close Stanley Cup Finals continue it's 1 goal margin-of-victory trend, not only was there an overtime, but the series between the 3rd and 8th largest media markets in the country is very far from over.
PHILADELPHIA 4, CHICAGO 3 (Blackhawks lead series 2-1) This felt like a Game 7. The Flyers acted like it were Game 7. The Blackhakws acted as if it were Game 3. Niemi bailed out his teammates more than once, but Chicago was unable to consolidate the one lead they had, which only lasted 20 seconds.
Some Blackhawks had great nights. The afore-mentioned Niemi, Marian Hossa, Toews and Kane hooked up for a goal. But some Blackhawks weren't so great. Chris Pronger stifled the monstrous Dustin Byfuglien, and antagonized him into taking a stupid penalty that resulted in a power play goal.
Special teams have been one-sided in Philly's favor this series. They're 7 of 10 on the power play (yikes!), while the Blackhawks are 0 for 6 with a man advantage. You hear that and it's shocking that Chicago's up 2-1.
The Flyers were faster, made much better decisions with the puck, dominated key faceoffs, out-hit the Blackhawks, and were better at everything except perhaps goaltending. I wouldn't say Philly dominated, but how many Stanley Cup Final games are dominated by one team or another?
Chicago needs to rebound in Game 4. They don't need to win, but now neither do the Flyers. The Blackhawks need a better effort, and they need to do things like not get outshot 15-4 in the 3rd period.
A tale of two cities, of two teams, of two historic franchises long overdue for some silverware. The Blackhawks rode the high road to get here, winning 52 games, claiming the 2nd seed in the West, and going 12-4 in the playoffs, rolling through their competition. The Flyers, took the low road. They squeezed in on the last day of the season by the slimmest of margins: a shootout goal. They're 12-5 in the playoffs, but were once on the brink, down 0-3 to the Bruins, before surging back, then thumping Montreal.
The Blackhawks haven't won the Cup since 1961. The Flyers since '75.
Philly's playoff run has been, in a word: compelling. They lose Jeff Carter, but are able to beat Brodeur and the Devils in 5 games. They fall behind Boston 3-0, even losing their goalie, then comeback and win the series in the Bruins' ice. Then they face the giant slayers from Montreal, who could beat Washington and Pittsburgh, bet couldn't handle the Flyers. Not even close.
But I'll burst your bubble, Philly. The playoffs are about weaknesses more than they're about strengths. The Flyers have a balanced offense (10th in scoring) with multiple threats (7 players with 4+ goals this postseason). They also boast 4 stalwart defenseman, including the guy with a triathlete's endurance: Chris Pronger. Where's the weakness? Goaltending. Despite their solid defense, the Flyers were 15th in goals allowed this season.
But in the playoffs they have the best GAA, an impressive 2.12! Have Leighton and Boucher stepped up in the postseason? Yes. But that's not the total story. Certainly both have been solid, but they've also benefited from their opponents' lack of offensive prowess.
The Devils were 19th in the NHL in goals scored. The Canadiens 23rd. The Bruins 29th. The Devils had Kovalchuk and Parise. The Bruins' offense was spearheaded by a 42 year old in Mark Recchi and a scrap-heap acquisition in Miroslav Satan. The Canadiens had Mike Cammalleri, and nothing else.
Chicago had the 3rd best offense in the NHL's regular season, averaged 3.31 goals per game in the post-season thus far (behind only Vancouver and Detroit).
They get offense from multiple players, just like Philadelphia. Six Blackhawks have 4+ postseason goals. Six Blackhawks had 20+ regular season goals.
Moreover, Chicago will be playing with home ice advantage. Philadelphia was 17-21-3 on the road during the regular season, and 5-4 during the playoffs. Chicago was 29-8-4 at home this season. But they've actually been better on the road in the postseason, with a spectacular 7-1 record away from Chicago.
Now what's Chicago's weakness? It might just be goaltending too. Antti Niemi's had an impressive 2.33 GAA in the postseason, but his SV% is much less staggering, at .921, it's 5th among playoff goalies with 4+ starts.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that there will be goals. Both teams have good offenses and exploitable goalies. Chicago's power-play wasn't very good in the regular season (17.7%), but it's been decent in the postseason (22.6%). Then again, both teams are very good penalty killers. (85.0% for Chicago and 83.0% for Philly in the regular season, 86.6% and 87% for them, respectively, in the playoffs).
So who has the edge? Chicago. While Philadelphia's Top-4 D-men have been outstanding this postseason, they've yet to face a team that can roll 2 to 3 good scoring lines. Moreover, Chicago can keep possession of the puck, wearing out those 4 defensemen.
My gut wants to say Chicago in 5. But I'll temper that with some pessimism and say Chicago in 6.
CONN SMYTHE WATCH: Antti Niemi, G, CHI - 2.33 GAA, .921 SV%, 2 shutouts Michael Leighton, G, PHI - 1.45 GAA, .948 SV%, 3 shutouts, 6-1 record Jonathan Toews, C, CHI - 7 goals, 19 assists, +4, 3 GWG Mike Richards, C, PHI - 6 goals, 15 assists, +6 Patrick Kane, RW, CHI - 7 goals, 13 assists Danny Briere, C, PHI - 9 goals, 9 assists, +4, 4 GWG Claude Giroux, RW, PHI - 8 goals, 9 assists, +10 Patrick Sharp, C, CHI - 7 goals, 9 assists Chris Pronger, D, PHI - 4 G, 10 A, 26 hits, 51 blocks, like 30:00 per game Brent Seabrook, D, CHI - 3 G, 6 A, +8, 60 hits, 41 blocks Dustin Byfuglien, RW, CHI - 8 G, 2 A, 4 GWG, 56 hits
Heads are going to roll. And the first head that should roll is the bald, beefy melon of Claude "Les Choke" Julien. This guy is now 21-21 as a head coach in the playoffs, 1-3 in Game 7s (0-3 with the Bruins), and behind the B's bench his teams are 2-7 in games that they can eliminate their opponents. This guy is not a winner. Just replace "Elliot Ness" with "Claude Julien" in this clip:
And of course, it was a too-many-men penalty that allowed Philly to score their game-winning goal. The Bruins have been notorious for having too-many-men penalties called on them all season. I can't find the actual statistics for it, but I'd venture to say that the B's have had too-many-men on the ice about a dozen times this season. And of course, Philly fans will revel in the irony, as it was a missed too-many-men call that allowed Marco Sturm to score the game-winner in the Winter Classic.
But to pinpoint only one failure, one mistake, would be taking it easy on the Bruins. This was such an epic Bruins collapse that it can't just be because of one play, or even two. Countless errors, shortcomings, and fuckups have led us to this sad place. This was a clinic of defeatism. This is the biggest choke in Bruins history, which true fans of this team know is quite an allegation. It's like accusing the French of having the biggest defeat in their military's history.
The Bruins went up by 3 goals in Game 7. How? By outplaying Philadelphia. Plain and simple. The first goal was a great sequence, with Lucic blocking a shot, keying a breakaway which failed, but then winning the puck on the boards, allowing Savard to take a nice shot. The puck dribbled out to the neutral zone, but a tired Hartnell got sloppy with his stick and the B's earned a power-play. Faceoff win, Chara shoots, big rebound, Ryder has the best finish of his season and it's 1-0 B's.
Second goal: Wideman carries the puck in on another power-play, brilliant centering pass to Lucic, who simply has to tap it in. 2-0 Bruins.
Third goal: Lucic wins a battle in the defensive zone, with Philly's defensemen so involved on offense, this win triggers a 3-on-1 breakaway. Lucic wisely keeps it himself and goes 5-hole on Leighton. 3-0 Bruins.
But I have a saying for Claude Julien's Bruins. I'm much more comfortable with a 2 goal Bruins lead than a 3 goal lead. The B's get foolish with 3 goal leads. They try to be too clever. They don't value possession of the puck anymore. And they typically forget what it was that actually got them that 3 goal lead. In poker it's called "reverse tilt," when things go so well that a player kind of goes nuts, just assuming that he'll continue to get lucky and run well forever.
The B's kept the pressure up, and showed good puck support. They were relentless along the boards. Then in the defensive zone, that puck support failed. Wideman moved the puck along from the corner, but Satan whiffed on it. This allowed Philly to regain possession. A couple odd bounces later, and it's 3-1. But the bounces would have never happened had Satan played Hockey 101 and been able to move the puck along and out of the zone. Inexcusable.
The 2nd period has been dominated by the Flyers in this series. A clear indication of Peter Laviolette's outcoaching of Claude Julien. Going into Game 7's middle frame, Philly had outscored Boston 8-3 in 2nd periods. That turned into 10-3.
The Bruins came out decently, but couldn't get much on net. Leighton was reeling but the B's weren't able to do anything to capitalize. They were actually shooting too much, instead of waiting for clear shooting lanes, they allowed the Flyers to block shots (18 in total). Then Hartnell outworked the Bruins in the offensive zone and was able to sneak in a severe angle shot. 3-2 Flyers. Wake up time, right? Not for a Claude Julien team. Snooze button time.
The Flyers continued to get to every loose puck. They were hungry again. And should we be surprised? That's how Philly has been when they've faced defeat. Briere scored an excellent wraparound goal. And what a surprise, Andrew "Why Did I Get a Contract Extension" Ference was on the ice, and fell down as Briere maneuvered around him then the net.
But hey, the B's ended the 2nd period with a nice 5 minutes of possession, getting a few shots on goal, keeping Philly from doing anything more. Like a girl with a pretty face, nice legs, and a pudgy beer belly, the 2nd period had a good start, an ugly middle, and a good end.
The 3rd was crazy. Leighton made some big saves. Rask made some big saves. The Bruins were giving away the puck too easily, particularly Wideman and Chara. But Rask was forgiving them. The Flyers hit a post. The Bruins hit two posts. It seemed as though OT was predestined. Then the Bruins put 6 skaters on the ice.
It was unforced. And by that I mean that there was no panic, no confusion in a hurried situation, it was just your run-of-the-mill fuckup. It wasn't like when the puck drifts toward the benches during a change and someone plays it too early. It was an inexcusable, unforgettable, unbelievable mistake. The Bruins put 6 skaters on the ice. As if it were no big deal. But the refs can count to 6.
And give credit to Simon Gagne. As much as I'm blaming the Bruins for this loss, the Flyers showed us here in Boston how real scorers finish. Gagne's goal was just good solid offense.
Then air. A few near misses, a few nifty saves from Leighton, but the clock dwindled down seemingly at double-speed. And the season was over.
It's silly to discuss, but if you'd asked me in February if I'd be happy if the B's lost in a Game 7 of the 2nd round, I'd say "Yeah, sounds like a good season for this struggling team." But once you add the caveats that the Bruins were up 3-0 in the series, and up 3-0 in Game 7, I'd say "Fuck you, I'd rather lose in the 1st round or not make the playoffs at all."
Marc Savard had his worst game of his tenure here in Boston. I know he's concussed, but he'd been apparently fine until Friday night. In the 2nd he launched a breakaway shot about 10 feet above the net. This is against a goalie who has shown susceptibility to low goals, particularly in his 5-hole. Savard got a retarded hooking call in the 2nd (his actions were retarded, not the call), he aired on another breakaway shot from the top of the faceoff circle, and he completely failed to even touch the puck in the neutral zone, which allowed Hartnell to take possession, then Hartnell found Briere, and Briere scored his game-tying wraparound goal. At one point in the 3rd, Savard tried a no look pass between his legs. There's a two letter abbreviation for that: GV. It's short for giveaway.
Blake Wheeler was hit and miss. He had some solid plays, but wasn't the force he was in the Buffalo series. Same goes for Sobotka. Sometimes good, sometimes bad.
Lucic and Ryder woke up, especially Lucic. Milan outskated everyone, at least in the 1st period. His game depends entirely on skating. He's not a clever offensive player, nor is he a defensive genius. But he atones for those shortcomings with strength. But that strength is useless if he's not skating hard enough to get in on the play.
Chara gaveaway the puck too much, and wasn't much of a force on offense. He got an assist on the first goal, but that was because his slapshot was saved, then Ryder swatted the rebound in. To be fair, the guy has played about 2,000,000 minutes for the Bruins, plus the Olympics.
Satan gaveaway the puck too. He was to blame for Philly's 1st goal. And offensively, he never did anything of serious note. To be fair to him as well, he's carried the Bruins in this postseason, even though he was an add-on, garbage-heap kind of player, wallowing in the European leagues until the B's snagged him.
Daniel Paille is completely useless on offense. But he's only playing 19 minutes because other forwards are hurt, and because the B's traded Chuck Kobasew. Unfortunately, seemingly half of the Bruins' breakaway opportunities found the stick of Daniel Paille. If this guy were a Mortal Kombat character, his finishing move would be to shoot a puck 10 feet to the side of his opponent.
Briefly looking ahead to 2010-11, what do the Bruins need to do?
#1: Fire Claude Julien and hire anyone else in the Universe to replace him. I nominate Phil Esposito.
#2: Trade Thomas. As much as I love him, there are too many needs elsewhere to absorb his contract as a backup goalie.
#3: Bribe and/or blackmail Andrew Ference so he asks out of his contract.
#4: Re-sign Seidenberg. This team has great defense (Chara, Seidenberg, Boychuk, Hunwick, Wideman, Stuart), let's build around that.
#5: Get a solid, 20 goal type of forward (possibly in the Thomas trade).
#6: Hope the #2 draft-pick is a quick learner.
The Bruins need some ondemand offense. We saw in the last week how an effective counterattack can turn a series in an instant. Right now, the Bruins offense is based on the notion that if you shoot 40 times on a goalie, one or two pucks will randomly go in. When the Bruins get breakaways, it's a guarantee that they won't score. The best finishers on the Bruins are: Recchi, Chara, Boychuk, Krejci, and Savard. Recchi's collecting social security, Chara and Boychuk are D-men, and Krejci and Savard are supposed to be the set-up guys, not the finishers. They're on this short list by default.
The B's didn't skate in the 2nd or 3rd periods. Maybe they got tired and ran out of gas. Maybe they weren't properly motivated. Whatever the case, they lost, Philly won, deservedly so. Let's get a guillotine (spelled correctly on the 1st try), behead Claude Julien, then use his skull to play some pick-up soccer while we enjoy the World Cup.
NHL Draft is June 25th. The Bruins pick 2nd, 15th, 32nd and 45th.
