Bruins vs. Blues Recap

Posted on February 23, 2012 by amazze

Unfortunately, I couldn’t catch the game last night but the Bruins did pull out a solid 4-2 victory against one of the better home teams in the NHL. Marchand got on the board with two goals in the game scoring 2:29 into the first. It’s good to see this team have some success on the scoreboard because as of late they have been weak in the goal-scoring department. It doesn’t look like Nathan Horton is coming back any time soon. The Rick Nash trade rumors are starting to swirl and I would love to see the big goal-scorer in a Bruins sweater, but at what cost? He is a special player and an elite goal scorer (and only 27 years old) but he will command at least Tuukka Rask and top D prospect Dougie Hamilton. The Bruins play the Sabres tomorrow night.

I’m Throwing Another Name Into the Toughest Bruin Race

Posted on February 22, 2012 by amazze

So I saw Jimmy’s post yesterday about the toughest Bruin on the team, Lucic or Thornton. It’s definitely a toss-up between those two but I’m probably taking Looch because he has the size advantage. However, I honestly believe both of these guys are not the toughest on the team. Two words Adam McQuaid. He is an animal. A throwback hockey player who is tough as nails and will beat the tar out of anyone who messes with his teammates in a manner he does not find appropriate. Sure, Chara would probably beat any of them in a fight but that’s because he is 6’9” 260 lbs. Check out the video below to see a McQuaid beatdown.

Thornton Embodies the Black and Gold

Posted on February 20, 2012 by amazze

If Shawn Thornton is not one of your favorite Bruins players then you probably are not a big fan of hockey. This guy is laying his ass on the line night in and night out. In terms of skill he is limited. But he is willing to out-work, out-hussle, and out-physical other players. I’m glad Claude brought the fourth line (Campbell, Paille, Thornton) back together against the Wild, because they bring an energy this team has clearly lacked since the calendar flipped to 2012.

Check out Shawn’s fight against a much bigger Matt Kassian (6’4” 232 lbs) who keeps his helmet on for the whole fight. Thornton hangs in after a quick start by Kassian and gets a few shots in. He is literally not afraid of any player in the NHL, but he knows the right time to get involved. Claude trusts his judgement and usually Thornton rewards him with a well-timed fight that raises the energy of the rest of the team to where it needs to be. He is a throwback hockey player that is fun to watch. Next time you are watching a B’s game, pay attention when the fourth line comes out and you will see constantly these guys out working the other team.

Bruins Winnipeg tonight @ 8

Posted on February 17, 2012 by amazze

The team received some depressing news today, Rich Peverley will be out 4-6 weeks with a knee injury sustained during the Canadiens game. It was the result of a knee-to-knee collision with former B’s defenseman Hal Gill. His speed and playmaking ability will be missed but others are going to have to step up. Let’s see if the Bruins can get some momentum in the right direction after a nice win vs. the Habs. I’m expecting a strong performance from them tonight as they continue there six game road trip. Look for Pouliot to have a nice game as he is starting to gel nicely with Krejci and Looch.

In other news, Brad Marchand won’t be subject to a hearing with NHL principal Brendan Shanahan for his 2nd period hip check/clip in Montreal. No doubt he likes to play on the edge.

Projected Lineup:

Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Tyler Seguin
Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Benoit Pouliot
Josh Hennessy-Chris Kelly-Jordan Caron
Daniel Paille-Gregory Campbell-Shawn Thornton

Zdeno Chara-Johnny Boychuk
Dennis Seidenberg-Joe Corvo
Andrew Ference-Adam McQuaid

Tuukka Rask
Tim Thomas

Bruins-Habs Recap

Posted on February 16, 2012 by amazze

Not the prettiest of wins, but I’ll take it. The Bruins pulled out a 4-3 shootout win over the Montreal Canadiens last night with Tyler Seguin netting the only goal of the shootout. This game was almost another mid-2000s vintage Bruins collapse after they squandered a 3-1 lead in the 3rd period thanks to some less than stellar goaltending. Ference, Pouliot and Bergeron had the tallies for the B’s. Both Pouliot’s and Berg’s goals were impressive. Take a look at Pouliot’s goal below, a definite undressing of Habs defenseman Chris Campoli, followed by Doc Emrick going nuts.There are 5 games left on this current road trip, starting in Winnipeg tomorrow night.

Bruins Stopped by King Henrik

Posted on February 15, 2012 by amazze

After a big shootout win vs. the Predators, the Bruins could not follow-up with a similar performance against the conference-leading Rangers, but it wasn’t for a lack of trying. The B’s sent 42 shots on net and Lundqvist turned aside every last one of them. The Rangers however were able to get three past Tim Thomas. Claude Julien said his team needs to get back to their game, “checking and scoring” and right now they are doing neither of those things. The Rangers beat the Bruins at their own game, taking advantage of mistakes and winning the individual battles. Right now scoring has been hit or miss for this squad, they need more consistency. Maybe that comes in the form of a trade or hopefully someone steps up and fills the void.

In other news Brad Marchand was asked by SI why he wasn’t featured in the Bruins championship DVD. His response: “[After the Cup, linemate Tyler Seguin] and I went on a bit of a tear, partying pretty much every night for a while.” Essentially, he was too drunk to be interviewed. Vintage Marchand.

Bruins Heading Into the Weekend

Posted on February 11, 2012 by amazze

Things around the Bruins have been terrible as of late. The beating received from the Sabres was a bad start and on top that Tim Thomas is creating unnecessary turmoil and distractions. On his official Facebook page, Thomas posted the message, “I Stand with the Catholics in the fight for Religious Freedom.”

He doesn’t explain or give any context, but that makes two occasions in the last couple weeks where Tim Thomas is playing politics. Get back to playing hockey Tim. Claude says Thomas’ comments are not a distraction and won’t be moving forward. I guess we will see. And the worst news to report is that Nathan Horton has stopped skating due to post-concussion syndrome. It sucks that he is regressing, but maybe that will spur Chiarelli to make a move for a big-time scorer like Semin to replace that production if Horton’s symptoms continue to linger.

Game vs. the Predators on today at 1:00. They are a great team this year and if the Bruins overlook them in favor of their Eastern conference showdown with the Rangers on Tuesday, it’s going to be tough to win.

Tiger’s 2012 U.S. debut

Posted on February 10, 2012 by amazze

There’s not much to talk about concerning the Bruins today. They got smoked the other night. Ryan Miller played great, Tuukka Rask did not, simple enough.

Switching gears, Tiger makes his 2012 U.S. debut this weekend at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in California. This is a great event on the Tour because you get to see Chris Berman and other celebrities make fools of themselves on the course, making us feel better about ourselves. Tiger played well last week at the Abu Dhabi tourney in the United Arab Emirates and he looks to have regained some of his old form. As of this post, he is -4 through 12 holes, 4 shots behind the leader. I personally think Tiger is going to come back strong this year (his swing mechanics are 100% better) and I am going to predict that he will win the green jacket at the Masters in April. You know he will be confident, but now he will have to compete with young guns like Martin Kaymer and Rory McIlroy who have emerged (among others) as legitimate competitors in major tournaments.

Bruins vs. Sabres Tonight @ 7:30

Posted on February 8, 2012 by amazze

The Bruins look to keep the momentum going tonight vs the lowly 22-24-6 Sabres in Buffalo tonight. Tuukka Rask is getting the start tonight as Timmy has been in net for the past two games. As we move closer to the postseason I would expect to become a familiar pattern with the hope of keeping Thomas healthy and well-rested.

Projected lineup:

Milan Lucic-Chris Kelly-Rich Peverley
Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Tyler Seguin
Benoit Pouliot-David Krejcik-Jordan Caron
Daniel Paille-Gregory Campbell-Shawn Thornton
Zdeno Chara-Johnny Boychuk
Dennis Seidenberg-Joe Corvo
Andrew Ference-Adam McQuaid

Tuukka Rask
Tim Thomas

Trading Deadline Nears – Make a Move Pete!!

Posted on February 7, 2012 by amazze

Well after this weekends games (including Thursday night’s game vs. the Canes) the B’s came away with 2 points. Not quite the 4 points I was hoping for. The team played poorly vs the Hurricanes and got swept in the season series which is an embarrassment, but we at least we don’t have to worry about seeing them in the playoffs. Before the big game on Sunday the Bruins earned a strong win over a skilled Caps team, hopefully giving Chiarelli a chance to take a look at a potential trade target, Alexander Semin.

Based on their play so far, I think this team has a legitimate shot to repeat with the expectation to at the very least be back in the Conference finals. Last season Kelly and Pevs added a lot to the team in terms of depth, experience, toughness, and in Pev’s case, speed. The Bruins have a ton of cap room so they can afford to take a rental with an expiring contract. This team already has a lot of young talent so adding a strong veteran (similar to a Recchi) should benefit the team, but also adding a guy like Semin with some sniping ability is going to help the powerplay.

The golden rule for Chiarelli: DONT F UP the chemistry!!! It’s a big part of this team’s success.

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