Category Archives: Bruins

Bruins Mean Business

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With the NBA starting back up in a few weeks and the huge shadow it’s cast over the NHL, the Bruins are doing everything they can to make sure people do not forget they are the world champions. Last night the Bruins put the Senators away late in the game, coming out on top 5-2 to begin a new 3 game winning streak. Timmy Thomas was spectacular in net, making 47 saves and only allowing 2 behind him. Since November 1, the B’s are 17-3 and sit comfortably atop the Northeast Division. Little bit of a turnaround from the 3-7 campaign throughout October. The Bruins have a two day break until they’re put to the test against a strong Flyers squad in Philly. The season is still young, but we’ve seen the kind of team we have though both ups and down. The Stanley Cup hangover has been well pushed aside and the boys mean nothing but business from now til June, when the bottles start popping again and Lord Stanley gets another joyride down Boylston Street.

B’s, Marchand Back on Track

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20111214-104037.jpgThe Bruin’s expanded their lead in the Northeast Division with a win last night over the Kings. Leading the charge was Brad Marchand, netting two just a day after being fined $2,500 for his “slew-footing” incident in Pittsburgh last week. In hindsight, not that much of a fine at all, especially for a professional athlete. I think the league just wanted to show some muscle. I’ve seen much worse hits come out without any league repercussions. Regardless, it didn’t faze Marchand as he bounced back in style, scoring for the first time in 5 games, dating back to November 30. Marchand stated, “I’ve been benched plenty of times throughout my career, it’s nothing new, but the big thing is you have to respond and make sure you learn from it.” And he did just that. On the defensive side, Tukka Rask was a rock in net, recording his first shutout on the season, making 41 saves throughout the game. Remember, the Bruins didn’t have the big man on the ice tonight (Chara) so the defensive end was up for question last night. Anyways, Rask was there to hinder Chara’s absence and give the B’s a much needed victory, as they get back on pace to continue their dominance as of late.

 

It’s Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas

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With Christmas right around the corner, the NBA is definitely back. You can’t change the channel or put on the news without hearing something about basketball. It’s great. Unfortunately, as we wait for training camps to open, most of the news has been just rumors. Regardless, it keeps everyone on their toes so here’s some more.

20111209-134749.jpgLet’s start off close to home. It looks like the C’s have sent Big Baby to Orlando for Brandon Bass in a sign-and-trade. I liked Baby because of the vibes he brought, but let’s be honest. The guy is not a great player. He’s far too inconsistent. I hate to say it but I remember times where I’d find myself yelling “NOOO” when he went to shoot. On the other hand, Bass is young, up and coming threat that can shoot the ball better, rebound, and is all around more athletic than Baby. The Celts definitely came out on top of this deal.

With all the hype of the Lakers wanting Howard once the Paul deal was finished, this one kind of slipped through the cracks. Last night, Dwight Howard met with the Nets without the Magic knowing. Because his current team did not know, the meeting was in violation of the NBA’s tampering rules. Results of the meeting were to have Howard ask Orlando to trade him to the Nets Friday morning. We’ll see how that works out for Superman. The Magic, instead, may be filing tampering charges against the Nets and Rockets. Whoops.

B’s Unable to Tame Panthers

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The Panthers aggravate me. I mean is there even ice in Florida? Anyways, I guess all good things come to an end. The Bruin’s went into last night’s game hoping to brush off their first loss (with no points) in over a month by snagging a W against the Panthers. Unfortunately things didn’t fall their way. The Panthers broke a scoreless tie with 2:32 left in the game and put in an empty netter just to add insult to injury. Thomas and Jose Theodore were both solid in net, as Thomas stopped 28 of 29 shots, and Theodore let none of the 40 put against him. Not too much you can do. The opportunities were there, but the offense just couldn’t find the back of the net. I mean they hit the post like 3 or 4 times in the first period alone. Rough. But not to worry. I hear people saying the B’s are on a 2 game losing streak, blah blah blah. Already being counted out. Remember, they’re still sitting atop the Northeast Division and aren’t going to give up that easily. After such an incredible winning streak, the past two games means a lot to the team. They haven’t been used to losing so even such a small skid will be an eye opener. Expect the boys to come out ready to play Saturday, returning home from Columbus with another tally in the win column.

B’s Jet Lagged

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Well it was a good run. After getting points in 15 straight games throughout the month of November and into early December, the Bruins finally met their match. The Jets. Aggravating when you think about it, but look at it this way. The pressure’s off now. We all knew the streak couldn’t last forever. We only lost 2-1, a close game and we didn’t have Seguin. Earlier in the day he had missed a team breakfast, presumably unintentionally, but still had to suffer the consequences. “Honest mistake,” Chiarelli said. “But we have team rules. He has to abide by them.” Regardless, the B’s can now feel a bit more relaxed without the bright spotlight of keeping the point streak alive. I expect them to have another strong month to cap off the year.

New NHL Layout (worth reading)

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The NHL is changing their ways completely over the next few years, turning two conferences into 4.  There will be two conferences with 7 teams and two with 8 teams.  The Bruins consist of themselves, Canadiens, Panthers, Lightning, Leafs, Sabres, and Senators.  Each of these teams we will play 3 times at home, and 3 times away.  For every other team, we will play them once at home, and once away.  This can be both good and bad:

Good:

  • Every team gets to play everyone at least once with home ice advantage.
  • There will be less traveling for west coast teams (which doesn’t really matter for us at all)
  • Games played in different time zones will be earlier so we won’t have to be up till 1 AM watching us smoke the Canucks and the Sedin sisters again this season
  • Only have to play the Caps and Penguins twice

Bad:

  • We will only see the Flyers twice, and that is usually one of the best games to watch during the regular season
  • It will be confusing as hell once playoff time comes..

Playoffs will consist of 4 teams from each conference going to the tourney (yes math geniuses, that’s 16 teams)  Each conference will play within itself to find a winner.  After that winner is found, the final 4 teams will be determined by total points.  So there is no rhyme or reason telling us which conference we will play until right before it happens.  We could play Vancouver in the semi’s now and play a team right in our back yard like the Islanders or Devils (if they both didn’t suck) in the finals.

It’s all still being voted on but it passed through the league and looks to be the final layout so get used to it.  But until then, Go B’s!

Seguin, B’s Hit No. 1

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20111205-123218.jpgThe NHL Power Rankings came out this morning on CBS, and to no surprise, the Bruins are posted up at the top of the ladder. With their incredibly successful month of November rolling over into the early days of December, the B’s moved from the No. 2 spot last week to No. 1 in Week 10 at 16-7-1, for 33 pts. The Bruins are currently ranked 1st in goals against, allowing a mere 2.1 goals against per game and 2nd in goals per game with an average of 3.4 pucks netted each time they hit the ice. Much of this success can be attributed to the depth of their team. I mean each line poses a threat. Going into tonight’s game vs. the Penguins, the B’s have four players in the top four spots for Plus/Minus Ratings. Yes, I said four in the top four, meaning the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th slots are occupied by Bruins. Atop the slate is the young stud Tyler Seguin. Following a competitive year where he struggled for playing time, the youngster spent the off season planning his coming out party. The early 2011-12 season is showing every sign of being his breakout year, as Seguin continues to establish a name for himself among the NHL’s best. Chara, Marchand, and Kelly polish off the other Plus/Minus spots, in that order as the B’s look to brush off Crosby and the Penguins tonight in Pitt in hopes of replicating November’s success.

Weekend Recap

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No complaints this weekend. Although a semi quiet stretch, Boston fans can start the week off on a good note. Both the Pats and Bruins continued to show dominance in their leagues, pushing themselves further ahead of the pack at the top of their division standings. After what seemed to be a complete blowout through 3 quarters, covering the 21 pt spread was denied as the Pats seemed to let up a bit entering the 4th quarter. Whatever though, a win is a win. And besides, it was the Colts. We felt bad. The Bruins on the other hand had no remorse for Toronto, as they swept the Leafs in their back to back games this past week and all four on the season. An AFC East leader and a Northeast Division leader. These weekend recaps are starting to seem repetitive, but who’s going to complain? Happy Monday folks.

A Fall for the Ages

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Since when is it already December? I could of sworn we had a beach day a little over a week ago. Regardless, it’s been one wild fall season so far in sports, especially in Boston.

We should probably get the most drawn out news out of the way, so let’s start with the NBA. One of the biggest factors in this notion of a unique fall has to be the fact that we just began the month of December and there hasn’t been any basketball (professional) yet. Not to mention we still have to wait til the end of the month to see the Celts hit the parquet. Better late than never.

The Red Sox put us through a world of shame back in September. Since the fallout, constant bad news followed. A poor club house, unhappy players, losing Theo, Tito, and Heidi (most importantly Heidi). We could blame the Red Sox for possibly one of the most incredibly depressing starts to fall season in Boston. At least the team’s recent headlines have them moving in the right direction.

With all this chatter, it was an unusually difficult transition into Pats season. We watched as a weary Patriots team showed signs of slipping, despite Brady having, once again, a career season at the helm. It’s crazy that we’ve already reached Week 13, but it’s great to see the team entering the home stretch with continuous improvement and constant dominance from the QB spot.

Finally we get to our reigning Stanley Cup Champs. After a slow start, the Bruins managed to shake off the hangover and get back to work. The month of November was good to hockey fans in Boston. The B’s finished off the month 12-1, gaining points in each of their 13 games, an incredible feat.

With the way things started off, it looked like we were in for a lengthy autumn in Boston. Everything seemed to be working against us. But of course, title town prevailed. With the closing of a memorable fall on the horizon and winter quickly approaching, Boston fans can’t help but smile. The ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future gave Stern a visit, leaving us with an NBA season for our Celtics. The Red Sox have pushed their demons aside and began to focus on greener pastures circa April 2012. And finally the two teams currently in season are representing Boston with pride as they sit atop their respective divisions. Smile sports fans. It’s a good time to be from Boston.

Boston is a Hockey Town

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It’s been four days since a CBA agreement has “tentatively” been reached, less than a month from a possible opening day (nearly 2 months behind schedule), and already the NHL has been put on the back burner. Don’t get me wrong, I grew up playing basketball but come from a hockey family, so I try to be as impartial as possible. A few days off and it feels like everyone has forgotten about the Bruins. Maybe it’s just the excitement of the NBA’s sudden rise from the grave, but we can’t forget where the Bruin’s stand. The B’s look to cap off an incredible month of November (11-1) tonight against the Leafs. A win will help them secure first place in the Northeast Division, pushing ahead of Toronto. The B’s have already won twice against the Leafs in the early season, so you can expect them to come out swinging. I’m confident this will be a game the Bruins won’t allow themselves to lose. Not only is first place on the line, but the B’s want to continue to prove that Boston is still a hockey town.