Tag: Stanley Cup Playoffs

Bruins Drop Game 5 to Maple Leaves, 4-3.

Image result for Bruins Leafs game 5 2018

Supremely fucking frustrating.  The Bruins had the chance to put the final fork into Toronto’s season on Saturday, but a series of miscues will extend this series to a sixth game.  Patrice Bergeron re-entered the lineup, after missing game 5 due to an undisclosed injury.  Bergy’s return wasn’t enough to overcome a shitty 35 minutes of play.

Image result for Patrice Bergeron return

The first period saw both teams come out with energy.   The Bruins had their chances, but were playing too loose.  Guys were making sloppy passes, or taking themselves out of defensive positioning trying to do too much offensively.  The Bruins sloppy play would bite them early on, as Auston Matthews wrap around attempt was stuffed home by Connor Brown to make it 1-0 Toronto.

Adam McQuaid allows Auston Matthews to get behind him easily in the slot, and Matthews has loads of space/time to attempt a wrap-around.  Rask stuffed the puck by hugging his post, but Torey Krug allows Connor Brown to get to the garbage in front and shovel it home.

Just a few minutes later, ex-convict Nazem Kadri fed Andreas Johnsson behind the Bruins defense.  Johnsson received the puck behind all Bruin defenders, quickly shifted the puck to his backhand, and shoveled it home to make it 2-0 Toronto.  This goal was just a pathetic display from two guys you wouldn’t normally expect to fuck up this badly.  Charlie McAvoy basically let Johnsson get behind him, and Zdeno Chara was unable to contest the pass from Kadri.  McAvoy had his worst game as a pro on Saturday.  He was falling all over the place, turning pucks over, and was unable to keep up with the Leaves.  I was calling for his ass to ride the pine for the remainder of the game, but Bruce Cassidy did not throw his prized Rookie into the doghouse.

The first period would end 2-0 Leaves, but early in the second the Bruins started to tighten up.  Finally, nearly 10 minutes into the second period, David Backes notched his second goal of the series to make it 2-1 Leaves.

Meat and potatoes goal there for our man Backes.  The Bruins worked the puck around on the power play, get a shot on goal with Backes providing the screen, and he shovels home the rebound.  Vital goal in the quest for a comeback.  Wouldn’t matter though, as just Tyler Bozak added a third goal for the Leaves.

This would come just a few seconds after Backes’ goal to make it 2-1.  Once again, McAvoy got absolutely torched on the rush.  Both he and Zdeno Chara were getting beat on simple 2 on 2’s all night long.  James van Riemsdyk added yet ANOTHER goal on the power play less than 2 minutes after Bozak made it 3-1.   JVR’s goal would make it 4-1 Leaves.

Garbage effort from all Bruins associated with this goal.  JVR is able to stand free in fron of Tuukka Rask, and easily bang home the rebound for a goal.  There was little resistance from any of the Bruins.  Pathetic effort.  Tuukka Rask would be pulled from the game at this point, and Anton Khudobin came on in relief.

Image result for Anton Khudobin playoffs

The end of the period saw the Bruins turn it on.  They hounded Toronto, and the puck for the remainder of the game.  Towards the end of the second period, Matt Grzelyck flung a centering pass in the offensive zone, and Sean Kuraly fired it past Andersen to Make it 4-2 Toronto.  The garden was finally buzzing again, and the Bruins threw the kitchen sink at Toronto in the third period.   Just 5 minutes in, Noel Acciari slapped home a loose puck in a net front scramble to make it 4-3.  The rest of the game was basically pond hockey.  Both teams went up and down the ice exchanging chances.  Khudobin did his part in keeping the deficit at 1, but Freddy Andersen made enough saves to preserve the win.  The Bruins will be heading back to Air Canada Centre for a game 6.

The first 35 minutes saw the Bruins play like dog-shit and it cost them a series victory in this one.  The Leaves have had a hard time generating much offense off anything other than stretch passes.  It is no secret they would be doing so all series, and last night the Bruins decided they did not want to defend it.  Multiple stupid breakdowns on non odd-man rushes is not very characteristic of a Bruce Cassidy coached Bruins team.  Rask had himself a tough night, as he let in 4 goals on 13 shots.  He will look to rebound tonight, as Bruce Cassidy confirmed he’d be in the pipes for game 6.   Cassidy says he is considering shuffling the forward lines for this one.  I’d like to see Ryan Donato get a crack in the lineup.  Danton Heinen has been a regular since coming up in October, but he has gone bone dry in terms of goal scoring.

Seinfeld gif lol.gif

As always, Let’s go Bruins!  End this fucking thing once and for all tonight in their fuckin’ barn.

Bruins 3 Maple Leaves 1.

OH BOY!! After suffering a 4-2 loss at the hands of the Leaves on Monday night, the Bruins were handed a dose of bad news just before game 4.

Patrice Bergeron was ruled out of Game 4 with an upper body injury about 20 minutes before puck drop. Oddly enough, I wasn’t all too surprised about this. Game 3 saw each member of the Bergeron line take a few shots. The Leaves played them physical all night. It’s alarming that the extra day of rest didn’t give him the time he needs to return. As many know, Patrice Bergeron played game’s 5 and 6 of the 2013 Stanley Cup Finals with a pierced day lung, separates shoulder, and broken ribs. If Bergy can’t go, that’s alarming.

I can’t believe I’m saying this, but thank Christ for Riley Nash. Nash fills in for Bergy whenever he’s out, and does a fantastic job. He can do just about everything Bergy can, but not nearly as good. Yet again, Nash filled in admirably.

The game started off perfectly. A mere 28 seconds into the game, Torey Krug fired a snap shot over the shoulder of Freddie Andersen.

This exactly what the Bruins needed. Come out and score first after a tough loss and missing your best player. From here on out it was all Leaves. They dominated from the 5 minute mark of the first period, to the 18 minute mark of the second. The Leaves dominated, looking to feed of the energy gained in game 3. It wasn’t long after Torey Krug’s opening goal, that an old nemesis came back to haunt the B’s:

Fuck this prick. Seriously fuck this piece of shit. Plekanec was traded from Montreal to Toronto at the deadline, and he hasn’t done shit since. He was in and out of the lineup for the Leaves, simply because he’s old and sucks. Nothing more than a fourth line center. This series saw Leaves Coach, Mike Babcock play him against the Bruins top line, because it’s a familiar matchup. That decision paid off 6 minutes into the first period, as Plekanec fired a wrister home to tie the game.

From this point on, Tuukka Rask stole the show. The Leaves threw the kitchen sink at Rask, and the Bruins for 30 minutes. Rask stayed calm, and stopped 31 of 32 shots when it was all said and done. This game was all him, without Tuukk’s this one is a bloodbath.

Just a few examples right there. He was incredible last night. He often gets shit on for not “Stealing one”, but last night he fucking stole one. Give the man the Starter Jacket!

An old tradition with the Bruins, the players pass around a Bruins Starter Jacket for the duration of the playoffs. The players hand it out each game to the player that was most impactful on the game. Cool little tradition that I hope they continue. Badass jacket, honestly.

With about 2 minutes left in the second period, the Bruins finally broke through.

The Leaves finally cracked late in the second. David Pastrnak made an unbelievable play in his own zone by chipping the puck past the defenseman trying to keep the puck into the offensive zone. The sprung Marchand and Pastrnak on a 2 on 1. Naturally, Pastrnak’s pass was just perfect, and Marchy easily slotted it home.

At this point all life inside Air Canada Centre was sucked out. All the energy expended to try and get a go-ahead goal only to be stoned by Rask. The Marchand goal pretty much iced the game. Just in case, Jake DeBrusk added another goal early in the third to truly ice the game.

Just a disgusting saucer pass from David Krejci, who played like shit again last night. Who the fuck cares? Wouldya look at that fuckin’ pass? Sexy. The game would end 3-1, with the Leaves not really challenging after the DeBrusk goal.

The Bruins will have tonight off, as they travel back to Boston for game 5. They have the chance to eliminate the Leaves on home ice on Saturday. Bergy skated today back in Boston. Let’s hope he’s good to go for Saturday. If not, they have some time to rest up and heal. There are still two additional games if they can’t close the deal tomorrow, but this is a good sign.

Please be ok, Bergy!!!

Bruins Drop Game 3 to Maple Leafs 4-2.

Image result for Bruins Maple Leafs game 3

Just a brutal night up in Toronto for the Boston Bruins.  Coming in, they were looking to put a stranglehold on the series by taking a three games to none lead.  Alas, it wasn’t meant to be as the Leaves broke through for a 4-2 win.  The series now stands at two games to one in favor of the Bruins.

Much of the first period was a feeling out process for both teams.  The Bruins had to weather an early Leaves attacking storm.  Being back on home ice really gave them the jump they needed early on.   The Bruins were able to calm things down, and get some quality chances of their own.  They were even starting to carry the play, when the Officials shoved a Sherwood up the Bruins ass. With 3 minutes left to play, and the puck in his own defensive zone, Riley Nash went to fire the puck off the glass to get it out of the zone.  The puck deflected off the dasher, and went out of play.  Harmless right?  Wrong.  The Bruins were assessed a two minute delay of game penalty.  Normally, the rule is if a defender is clearing the puck and he shoots it over the glass (without it deflecting/ricocheting) it is a penalty.  It prevents players from doing it on purpose to get a whistle.  Video replay CLEARLY showed the puck ricocheting off the dasher and glass before exiting the ice.  They even pretended to review the call, but Nash was inexplicably left in the box.  James Van Riemsdyk would make the Bruins pay just a few seconds later, making it 1-0 Leaves.

So frustrating that time and time again the Bruins get screwed by the officials.  This was the wrong call, it was reviewed, and still ruled incorrectly.  Even with all of this, the Bruins were able to keep the score at 1-0 for the remainder of the first.

The Bruins continued to push through Toronto surges.  When you are on home ice, you are given “Last Change”.  This simply means the home team gets last chance to change lines before a face-off.  This allows Leaves Coach Mike Babcock the match-ups his team needs.  Tomas Plekanec, an ex-Canadien spent most of the evening shadowing Patrice Bergeron.  Plekanec spent the previous 15 seasons in Montreal playing against Bergy.  Plekanec and his linemates stoned the Bruins top line all night.  David Pastrnak coming off one of his best games, had arguably one of his worst last night.  He was trying to do too much, getting run over by opponents, and missing chances he normally doesn’t.  With the top unit getting shut out, it lead to an unlikely goal scorer for the B’s:

Darth Quaider scored on a seeing eye slap-shot just barely three into the second period.  The Bruins were on the board making it 1-1.  New game!  Wrong.  A mere 48 seconds later oldie but goodie, Patrick Marleau scored to make it 2-1 Leaves:

Horrible fucking effort after you just tied the fucking game, and looking to take the lead.  Everyone caught standing around, and the Leaves walk in with an easy odd man rush.  38 year old Patrick Marleau was there to tap it home.   Not an issue for this years Bruins, however.  All year long we have seen them comeback, especially when you think they’re done.  A few minutes after the Marleau goal, Big Z rumbled down the left wing down to almost the goal line.  At a near impossible angle Z flicked the puck over Freddy Andersen’s shoulder.

This time the Bruins were able to keep the game tied for more than a couple of minutes, but the Leaves kept pressing.  Finally noted Sally, Auston Matthews finally got on the board.  Not much that can be done there.  It wasn’t a shot that is stoppable, but it was still a rocket.  Congrats to Auston Matthews on scoring a goal in the playoffs.

The remainder of the game saw the Bruins battle for a tying goal.  They had numerous chances to tie the game, but choked.  Pastrnak hit two posts, while David Krejci whiffed on a one-time chance set up by Jake Debrusk.

Shoulda had it tied right there, but David Krejci was in one of those “I don’t give a fuck” type moods, and was off all night.   Finally with less than 5 to play in the third period, the Leaves put the game away.

You can’t tell in that clip, but Krejci was working on trying to dangle through three Leaves there.  The puck is stripped from him, and it’s off to the races for Patrick Marleau.

Overall, it really wasn’t the worst game ever.  The Bruins didn’t play great, but they still had plenty of chances to win.  The Leaves expended a massive amount of energy to win a one goal game essentially.  Obviously the blown call in the first period was brutal, but it is no excuse for the loss.  A valid excuse in my book is David Krejci played loaded last night.  Holy shit was he bad.  When Krejci is bad it looks as if he doesn’t care, and when he does care he tried to do too much.  There were multiple instances of this throughout last nights game.  This is a long series luckily, and the Bruins will look to re-gain momentum on Thursday night.  Two days off will allow Matt Grzelyck time to heal, and hopefully he will be good to go.  Nick Holden was just horrible in his place last evening.

Get some much needed rest, and come out balls to the fucking wall on Thursday.  Let’s go Bruins!

Boston Bruins Take Games 1 and 2 From The Leaves… “Shit Happens, That’s Hockey”.

Image result for Bruins vs. Leafs 2018 playoffs

Just an ass kicking through and through.  The Boston Bruins opened up their first round match-up with the Toronto Maple Leaves on Thursday, and they came out with a convincing 5-1 win.  Saturday saw the B’s take the second game of the series 7-3.  They are now up two games to none in this best of 7 playoff series.  A lot has gone down since the Series began, so let’s get after it!

Game 1 saw the Bruins come out and assert themselves into the contest.  The previous 5 games to end the season the team had stalled.  They finally looked tired, and warn out from all the injuries.  They lost the number 1 seed in the Eastern Conference on the final day of the season, by losing to the Florida Panthers on the last day of the season.  Had they won the game, they’d be playing the New Jersey Devils.

Luckily for the Bruins, they finally began to roll out a fully healthy lineup for the first time in well over a month, and it showed.  They were the better team in Period One, they were hounding the offensive zone, and firing everything at Freddy Andersen.   Finally, leading a 3 on 2 attack, Torey Krug fed Brad Marchand behind the Leaves Defense.  Marchand took the feed, and slipped it past Andersen.  1-0 Bruins.

What an absolute beauty of a feed from Torey Krug, who is having a monster campaign.  The Toronto Defense is old and slow.  It really showed on this goal.  Roman Polak and Ron Hainsey were out on the ice together.  It doesn’t get much older and slower than those two.   The game stayed 1-0 for most of the period, but as it went along the Leaves really picked up their game.  Soon they were carrying the play.  Eventually, with just under 5 minutes left in the first, Zach Hyman tied the game at 1 for Toronto.

Bad pinch from Zdeno Chara in the Bruins offensive zone.  This sprung Hyman up the right wing side, and he was able to out-muscle Rask and McAvoy for the game tying goal.  The first period ended at 1-1, and Toronto had all the momentum.

The second period saw the Leaves continue to push the play.  They got the better chances, and forced the Bruins to take stupid penalties.  A couple of beautiful saves by Tuukka Rask, and missed empty netters kept the game at 1-1.  The intensity was raising with each passing second.  This is when Nazem Kadri did exactly what I had expected him to do:

Fucking rat.  Not sure what in the shit Kadri was doing here.  Wingles is on his knees, looking down at the puck, and Kadri takes a fucking run at him. This would give the Bruins a 5 minute Power Play, and eventually the game.  The stupid fuck is a 30 goal scorer, and he pulls a busch league move like this? Moronic. This may be the last memory of this series for Kadri, as the NHL Suspended him 3 games for the hit.

From here on out the Bruins meticulously picked apart the Leaves, and their molasses D -corps.

David Backes proved to be a force in front of Andersen, as he parked his ass out front, and shoveled home a garbage goal to make it 2-1.

David Pastrnak ripped home a high-slot one-timer shortly after to make it 3-1 B’s:

Early in the third, David Pastrnak’s breakaway chance was blocked into the air by Freddy Andersen, and Sean Kuraly followed up the play to bunt the puck into the gaping cage.  4-1 Bruins.   David Krejci would slip a puck off the back of Andersen’s legs later on to make it 5-1, and that’s how game 1 would end.

Image result for Bruins Leafs Game 2

Game 2 on Saturday Night saw the Bruins continue to slap around the Maple Leaves.  Game 1 went of the rails for the Maple Leafs towards the end of the second period.  They were able to hem the Bruins in their own zone, and generate quality chances.  Game 2 this was not the case.  The Bruins took it to the Leaves en route to winning 7-3, and taking a 2-0 series lead.  The Maple Leafs were without Center, Nazem Kadri, and will be for an additional 2 games.  Kadri was suspended three games for his blindside hit to Tommy Wingles.

The first period started out a little uneasy for the Bruins.  The Leaves brought an initial surge to start the game, and the boys had to weather it.  Weather it they did, and just five minutes into the game David Pastrnak made it 1-0 Bruins.

Skill level off the fuckin charts here.  Pastrnak would not be done, as we’ll see here later on.  It was the goal the Bruins needed to break the will of the Leaves early on.  You could feel all the momentum tipping to Boston.

A few minutes later Jake DeBrusk notched his first career NHL Playoff goal.  Bit of a lucky bounce off a nice feed from Krug, and it was 2-0 Bruins.

#22 in White, Nikita Zaitsev.  Embarrassing effort my man.  The joke that is the Toronto Maple Leaves Defense corps continues to grow.  If Zaitsev’s nuts had dropped yet, he would not allow DeBrusk free standing room in front of his goalie’s cage.  Pathetic.  Just a few moments later, Kevan Miller decided he wanted to join the party.

Lucky goal to get here.  See kids, flinging the puck to the net is never a bad thing.  Millsy just trying to generate some havoc in front throws the puck there, and it goes in.  Later on a Boston Power Play, Rick Nash added his first of playoffs doing exactly what Rick Nash does.  Parking his ass in front of the net.

Mitch Marner added the Leaves first goal just 1:22 into the second period to make it 4-1, but David Krejci beautifully re-directed a David Pastrnak slap-pass to up the lead to 4 goals once again.

Tyler Bozak made it 4-2 before the end of the second period, but David Pastrnak decided it was time to ice the game.  Pastrnak scored twice in the third period capping off a natural hat-trick.  In between the two third period Pastrnak goals, James Van Riemsdyk added a third goal for the Leaves.  Final score in this one was 7-3 Bruins.

Just a great way to start off the playoffs for the Bruins.  They come out and kick the shit out of a team that I thought would match-up better than it has so far.  Losing Nazem Kadri did not help their chances.  Kadri had 32 goals this year, and much like Brad Marchand, creates energy by being a fucking rat.   Bis loss  in the Leaves lineup.

Toronto’s Holy-Trinity hasn’t shown up AT ALL this series.  Mitch Marner has a goal and one assist, Nylander has none, and Matthews has none.  The best line in hockey (Marchand, Bergeron, Pastrnak) has amassed 20 points in two games by comparison.

WHAT A FUCKING SALLY.  Screw having to work harder, having to come up with a new game plan, or watching more film.  Shit happens, right golden boy?  That is a worrisome take if I am a Leaves fan going into game 3.  Now, he’s only in his second year, but man.  Your getting your ass beat to hell and back, and “shit happens” is your answer?  (I think I now hate Auston Matthews? What a fucking pussy).

Game 3 is tonight from Air Canada Centre in Toronto.  The Bruins look to take a commanding 3-0 series lead.  Riley Nash will be returning to the lineup after missing the last 1-2 weeks with a cut on his ear/concussion like symptoms.   Matt Grzelcyk is doubtful for the Bruins, and Nick Holden will replace him (brace yourselves). Leo Komarov will be out of the Leafs lineup with a lower body injury.

krug and pasta.gif

Lets go Bruins!!

Stanley Cup Playoffs Preview: Bruins vs. Maple Leafs.

Image result for crying leaf square bruins

Well folks, the regular season is finally over, and the best tournament in sports commences.  The Stanley Cup playoffs began with a bang last evening with two Western Conference match-ups, and one in the East.  The Flyers got run out of Pittsburgh by Sidney Crosby 7-0.  The Winnipeg Jets won their first ever playoff game (The current version of the Jets) 3-2 over the Minnesota Wild, and Las Vegas squeaked past L.A. 1-0.  Tonight the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs will commence their first round playoff match-up.

Image result for 2018 Toronto Maple Leafs

Image result for 2018 Boston Bruins

The Maple Leafs come into the series having finished third in the Atlantic Division:

atlantic standings

All last season, and current season everyone has been hyping up the Toronto Maple Leafs.  A young, fast, skilled core of forwards is developing in front of everyone’s eyes.  Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander have all been drafted and inserted into the Maple Leaf lineup within the past two seasons.  Auston Matthews being the most important of any of their forwards.  Matthews was drafted 1st overall in the 2016 NHL Draft.  From the very get go, he has been one of the league’s top players.  Not just young players, all players.  Hell, in his first NHL game he scored 4 fucking goals.  That is how good he is.

 

 

 

Mitch Marner was drafted 4th overall in 2015.  Seen as a flashy, undersized forward, there was a lot of speculation as to whether or not he would succeed at the NHL level.  Not only has he succeeded, he’s been a valuable goal scoring winger for Matthews.  In his two seasons, Marner has amassed 61 and 69 points respectively.  He has contributed since day 1, much like Matthews.

 

William Nylander was drafted 8th overall in 2014, and spent the following 2 seasons in the AHL.  He debuted last season with Marner and Matthews posting 61 points, and helping the leafs reach the playoffs for the first time since 2013.   This season saw Nylander pot 61 points again,  and his Leafs are in the Playoffs in back to back seasons for the first time since 2004-05, thus completing the “Holy Trinity” up in Toronto.  The Leafs looked to take a large step forward this year, and these three were able to do so.  Last year they squeaked into the playoffs as the second Wild Card team, and they were 8th and final seed.    This season they were within the 3 automatic playoff seeds for the duration of the campaign.  This means they will be facing the Boston Bruins, who finished 2nd in the Atlantic.  These two have been on a collision course all season.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Bruins weren’t playoff favorites coming into the season.  They were inserting youth into the lineup in many places.  It just seemed like it would be a developmental type season.  The Bruins got off to a luke-warm start, as a rash of injuries hit the team.  Under .500 in November, Anton Khudobin saved the season out West.  The Bruins lost the first game in Anaheim on a massive three game California Road Trip.  The Bruins were able to beat both San Jose and L.A. in the following games.  At this point, the season took off.  They kept winning, and winning, and winning some more.  They went on an 18 game point streak that wasn’t snapped until January 30th.  This propelled them above the Leafs in the standings, and gave the 1st place Lightning a run for their money.  In the end, a push for first place was not meant to be.  The Bruins finished 1 point shy of Tampa to secure second place.

A lot has been said about the Leafs young guns, and rightfully so.  That trio lights you up for a lot of goals.  The Bruins have some pretty good youngsters themselves.  They might not be as flashy, but they all contributed to this teams surge up the standings.

Jake DeBrusk has been on the Bruins second line all year long.  It was his first full season in the NHL, after spending all of 2016-2017 in Providence.  That time has really paid off.  While he didn’t score 60 points, he was a solid contributor potting 43 points.  He rode shotgun with David Krejci for most of the year, but Cassidy is not afraid to sit his ass, or play him on a lower line if need be.  A lot to like from this kid, a bit of prime Nate Horton in his game.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Danton Heinen was an early season call-up from Providence when a rash of early season injuries hit the Bruins hard.  Heinen earned a spot on the third line full time shortly after.  Riley Nash, David Backes, and Danton Heinen has been the Bruins second best line when all parts are healthy.   Problem is, there has rarely been a time when all three are healthy.  The time they were, they went on their 18 game point streak.  Heinen was a major contributor offensively, grabbing 47 points in his first full season with Boston.  He’s creative with the puck on his stick, he can dangle, shoot, and pass at a high level.  Better yet, he’s able to play a physical game and win battles in the dirty the areas.  He will be an important piece moving forward for the B’s.  He’s got a lot of Loui Eriksson in his game.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally, the big one.  Charlie McAvoy.   The Bruins X factor.  Charlie was drafted in 2016 from Boston University, and made his NHL debut in the 2017 playoffs.  This first full season he continued to develop into a future number 1 Defenseman.  He missed a full month due to a MCL sprain, but still was able to notch 32 points in his Rookie Campaign.  He finished with a +20 +/- rating and averaged well over 20 minutes a night when healthy.  This kid is going to be the number 1 Defenseman here for a long ass time.

 

 

 

 

 

Recent history does not bode well for the Boston Bruins when it comes to beating the Leafs.  They are 1-3 against Toronto this season, and 1-7 going back two seasons.  When it comes to dynamic, game-changing forwards the edge goes to the Leafs.  Along with the three kids they have, James Van Riemsdyk, Patrick Marleau, Zach Hyman,  Nazem Kadri, and Tyler Bozak.  These are all forwards who can score, and bring toughness.  Look for Kadri to turn himself into a villain this series.  Dudes a punk.

After the forwards, the Bruins have the just about edge everywhere else.  The Achilles heel for these Leafs is defense.  They have a top 10 bad D-corps.  Morgan Reilly and Jake Gardiner are there two best Defenseman.  They both can skate, and add offense to their game.  Those two will be eating up a lot of minutes for the Leafs.  After them it falls off.  They have veteran Ron Hainsey who is on his last legs.  He is not very mobile at all, and will mostly be used to block shots and kill penalties.  They have 31 year old Roman Polak, who is in the same mold as Hainsey.  He can’t skate whatsoever, but is gritty enough to block shots and kill penalties.

Image result for Roman Polak slow

The Bruins have the edge here with a solid balance of shutdown D-men, and puck movers.  The first pair features Zdeno Chara and Charlie McAvoy.  Despite being 41 Big Z still has plenty left in the tank, and is as good as ever Defensively.  He doesn’t contribute much offensively anymore, but he may surprise with a few clappers.  The second pairing features Torey Krug and Kevan Miller.  Miller has completely transformed his game in the past 2 seasons.  In 2015-2016 he was the team whipping boy.  He was injured for much of the campaign, and when he was healthy he sucked.  This season he is probably the second most valuable D-man on the team.  He allows Torey Krug the freedom to be more creative offensively.   Torey Krug is coming off his best regular season as Bruin posting 59 points.

As for the Goalies:

Rask stats

Anderson stats.JPG

Frederik Andersen will be between the pipes for the Leafs and Tuukka Rask will man the cage for the Bruins.  I wouldn’t say either team has a distinct advantage in Goal, as their stats are almost identical.  Rask has a lower Goals Against Average (2.36), and Andersen has a highers Save Percentage (.918). I’ll give the edge to Rask and the Bruins, largely because Rask has lead the Bruins to the Cup Final in the past.

The Verdict:

This series is going to be as close as it possibly can be.  The Bruins could sweep the Leafs in 4 games and they could lose to the Leafs in 4 games.  I see it going 7, and just based off the heart………………………Bruins in 7.

Fuck the Leafs.  NEVER FORGET:

 

 

 

 

 

 

I look forward to Kayaking through tears in Maple Leaf Square.  Lets go Bruins!!

Playoff Bound

Playoffs 2

Last night the Boston Bruins dropped a 2-1 overtime game to the St. Louis Blues, but there is a silver lining.  The 2018 Bruins officially punched their ticket to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.  This makes it back-to-back playoff appearances for the Black and Gold.  It comes as a bittersweet consolation prize after the tough loss in overtime.

The Bruins limped into Scottrade Center with two new members added to the M.A.S.H. unit.  Rick Nash and Torey Krug both sat due to Upper Body Injuries.  It looks like those two are day-to-day  for the time being.  Enter two JAGS:  Paul Postma and Jordan Swarz were recalled from Providence to fill in.

Image result for Torey Krug injury

The game itself was was a bit of a bore.  The Bruins lineup is so depleted you’re just sitting there someone doesn’t sneeze, and have to go IR because of it.  Despite all of this, the Bruins struck first:

The Bruins caught one helluva break here.  Normally the stripes are doing their darnedest to fuck the Bruins.  Not this time!  The NHL’s most underrated Defenseman, Alex Pietrangelo attempted to clear the puck out his own zone.  He turned and flung the puck, which hit off the skate of a nearby official.  Bruins rookie Ryan Donato pounced on the rolling puck, and fired it home.  That’s Ryan’s second goal in his short two game career.

The Bruins continued to press for a second goal, but St. Louis picked up their game.  Anton Khudobin did his damnedest to protect the slim 1-0 lead.  He was able to do so until early into the third to period:

Just an insane shot from Schwartz here.  Dobby didn’t have a prayer in stopping it.  The Blues were by far the better team for the third period, and that continued.  Dobby was fantastic in goal stopping 18 of 20 shots, without him this game would not have made it to overtime.

A mere 30 seconds into the overtime, Jaden Schwartz made the Boston Bruins look completely inept.  After winning the opening face-off, Schwartz grabbed the puck, skated around his goal, and proceeded to skate end-to-end with the Bruins D-men allowing him to do so.  Schwartz ripped the puck on goal once he got to the hash marks, and it beat Khudobin low stick side.  Brutal goal to give up, as Matt Grzelcyk simply allowed it to happen.  Grzelcyk has had a fantastic year, but man you gotta contest there.  Youth Hockey 101: Gap control.  Giving forwards too much time and space leads to goals like the one above.

Silver lining: By reaching overtime, the Bruins officially clinched a playoff spot.  The three seasons prior to this were tough for the Bruins and their fans.  They missed the playoffs in 2014-15 on the last day of the season.  They finished with 96 points, but failed to qualify for the postseason.  In 2015-16 the Bruins again missed out on the postseason on the final day of the season, but finished with 93 points this time.  2017 saw them squeak into the postseason on the final week of the season, and they finished with 95 points.  It was brutal each season watching the final 20 games of the year, because each one was a playoff game.   Two of those three years the Bruins controlled their destiny and lost on the final day to miss out.  It was just fucking brutal.   Not this year, and not these Bruins.  They are comfortably locked into playoff position, and all that was needed was 1 point to secure a spot.  They got it done.  With weeks to spare.  So much better than the cheek clenching final months of years past.  I cannot fucking wait for the playoffs.  Lets go Bruins.