I think it’s safe to say this was one of the better weekends Boston has seen in a long while. We’ll start out with the obvious. Patriots are in the Super Bowl once again!! Now, there’s a sentence that never gets old. Although I figured it’d be in a more decisive manner, the Pats came out victorious yesterday, edging the Ravens 23-20 in the AFC Championship. With 27 seconds left I think everyone in the world thought this game was heading for overtime and who knows what could have happened. But the stars were aligned in Foxboro last night as Raven’s kicker Billy Cundiff botched a 32 yard routine field goal to tie the game at 23. Shanks for coming! Has a suicide watch been put on Cundiff yet? I sure hope so. In case anyone was wondering, the Bruins and Celtics both played yesterday too. With the Pats game overshadowing pretty much every other sports game in Boston, the two other teams were victorious on Sunday as well. The Bruins pulled past the Flyers 6-5 with Seguin netting the decisive goal in the shootout. Pierce stepped up his game and showed Boston why he is a Celtic as the team got a much needed win against Wizards 100-94. Both the Bruins and the Celts lost a game as well over the weekend, with the Celts falling to the Suns 79-71 in an ugly showing Friday night while the B’s suffered a very disappointing loss to the Rangers Saturday with just seconds left in overtime. Overall I’d say it was a great weekend in the City of Champions, with the Patriots continuing to prove their domination as they head to their 5th Super Bowl in 12 years. This is going to be a long two weeks…Happy Monday!
Tag Archives: nhl
Canucks are a JOKE
I know the Canucks won, but honestly, you have to feel bad for them. Vancouver is just so pathetic. Looking back to last year, I don’t think there was one team in the NHL that wanted the Canucks to win the Stanley Cup. The only city that did, Vancouver, showed how well they could hold it together after losing as they tore their own city to shreds.
You would think after that the team would want to show they’ve grown as they come back into Boston to face the team that stole the Cup from them, but nope. First, Luongo “handed over” the game to Schneider for sentimental reasons. Yeah right, because when it comes to intense and bitter rivalries, hockey players are always sentimental. I’m calling the bluff, along with everyone else. Robby was scared and wimped out of playing in Boston. Moving along to the game, how did the fact that Thornton got jumped by six Canucks not get discussed more? Granted he egged one of them on, all six proceeded to clobber him. Then after jumping to his defense, we end up on the bad end of a 5 on 3 power play. Ridiculous, but expected out of a team like Vancouver. Then to top it off, Thornton called out Weise after the two exchanged words in the box, and Weise completely backed down like a coward, without hesitation. Speaking to a Canadian reporter he stated, “But at the end of the day, that’s not really the type of guy I want to fight.” That’s the only thing I’ll give Weise credit for, knowing Thornton would have pounded his face in, deservingly so. But to sum it all up, the Canucks just proved how much of a joke they are and how clearly the better, more deserving team won the game that mattered in June, not in January.
Weekend Recap
Not the kind of weekend we’d hope for in Boston, but exciting nonetheless. And by exciting, I mean just the Bruins. Let’s just say the Celtics game was slightly less than exhilarating Friday night. It’s kind of hard to win when you only score 25 points in the first half. You just can’t put up those kinds of numbers expect to win, even when it’s the Pacers, regardless of their decent start to the season. This time we can’t even put the blame on the defense. The Pacers put up 87 points and still managed to win by 15 points. Pretty pathetic on the Celts part. Hopefully they can get back on their feet against a struggling Dallas team before they head into a pretty tough run to close out January. As far as the Bruins are concerned, what a game. I mean if you’re looking for intensity, Saturday’s Stanly Cup rematch against the Canucks was just about as intense as it gets. It felt like playoff hockey came 5 months early. Again, I’m not concerned about the loss at all. It sucks we couldn’t beat them, but in the end the game was not all that important in the long run. We’re the ones with the Cup. Not to mention we played pretty much the whole game without Lucic and ended up losing Marchand down the stretch, both to game misconducts. What concerns me is the pending suspensions both, especially Marchand, may be facing. I have a feeling Lucic’s won’t be terrible, if anything, but Marchand’s may be a while. Canuck’s head coach Alain Vigneault said, “Marchand — this is just my feeling on this — some day he’s going to get it.” At the time it turned the garden electric, but looking back it was a foolish move and arguably cost the B’s the game. The Canucks scored twice in the 5 minute major that followed Marchand’s hit. Either way, what do you guys think? With the intensity of the game was the hit just or did Marchand let emotions get the best of him?
B’s Continue New Streak
Thank God for the Bruin’s huh? Don’t get me wrong, I’m a basketball guy, but after so much anticipation built up for the NBA to start back up, the past week has been nothing short of a major buzz kill to Celtics fans all over. Luckily for us, we’re from Boston and can rely on more than one team to keep us happy. Last night the Bruin’s improved their win streak to seven games, beating the Coyotes 2-1 in overtime. After scoring 17 seconds into the game, the Bruins didn’t find the net again until 58 seconds into overtime, off a deflection from a Seidenberg shot. Tuukka Rask may have only seen 22 pucks fly his way, but 21 saves was all he needed for his team to pull off the victory. This was their first overtime win that didn’t end in a shootout. Talk about playing great. The Bruins have won 21 of their last 24 since the start of November and have just moved past the Rangers for first place in the Eastern Conference. It’s just incredible to watch. There’s still plenty of regular season hockey to be played, but if the B’s keep up this momentum, I don’t see any reason Lord Stanley wouldn’t be back in Boston for the second straight year.
Weekend Recap
Contrary to popular belief, Christmas weekend was good in the Boston sports world. Sure it was tough seeing the C’s lose yesterday but you have to look at the bigger picture. We’ll start out Friday with the Bruins absolutely annihilating the Panthers at home 8-0. Brad Marchand capped the day off with his first career hat trick en route to stretching the B’s win streak to 6 games. At this point I think it’s safe to say the best team in Boston resides on the ice. How can you argue with a team that has won 20 of its last 23 games and gone from zero to hero in a span of two months? Then we can look at our AFC East champion Patriots. People forget that they’re one win away from clinching top seed in the AFC and home field advantage throughout the playoffs. It’s a bit sketchy watching them go down 17-0 to Miami at halftime, but they always find a way to win down the stretch. One more win against a struggling Buffalo team and the road to the Superbowl for the AFC goes through Foxboro. Christmas Day was a bit unsettling as we watched the Celts fall to the Knicks 106-104, as it always hurts to lose to New York in any sport. But not all was lost in this game. The C’s proved they could play ball. With Pierce out and Pietrus awaiting a physical, it was good to see a few Celtics step up. The loss was tough to handle, but more can be taken away from the game. I still feel good, if not better, about the C’s as they continue their season this week. Ideally it could have been better, but again it’s hard for Boston sports fans to complain today. Happy Monday!
Bruins Take Care of Business
Yesterday the NHL Power Rankings came out for the week, putting the B’s at 2nd place behind the Blackhawks. Not too bad, considering we did move up three spots since losing our 1st place ranking two weeks ago. What gets me is the fact that the Flyers are still ranked third after the Bruins destroyed them Saturday. Correction…Absolutely EMBARRASSED them on their home ice. Without Pronger and Giroux there is no way this team keeps pace with top teams, and the B’s game was just the
beginning of that slide. But who cares, we’ll just take care of our business and let Philly’s misfortune pan out.
Taking care of business is exactly what the Bruin’s did last night at the garden. Despite struggling so far this season, Montreal always poses a threat when they come into Boston. It doesn’t matter how well either team is doing, the rivalry brings out the best in both squads. Last night the B’s held their ground with a 3-2 victory, and sent the Canadiens back across the border with their heads down. Krejci, Pouliot, and Marchard netted the goals for Boston, as Timmy stood solid once again between the pipes. The B’s scored a late goal off a turnover in the Montreal zone, which would prove crucial as the Habs pulled their goalie and netted one with under 2 minutes to play. With a few days’ rest, the Bruins are looking for revenge at home when the Florida Panthers come into town Friday.
All Is Well In Boston
It’s been great writing these weekend recaps lately. Of course it helps being a Boston sports fan, but Monday always seems a little brighter when there isn’t much to complain about in the sports realm.
The Bruins absolutely embarrassed the Flyers on Saturday, capping off a two game road trip with a 6-0 stomping in Philly. They now sit tied with the Flyers in points atop the Eastern Conference. Tim Thomas was once again a rock in net, recording his 30th career shutout. The B’s take the ice at home tonight against the struggling Canadiens team as they look to expand their new winning streak to 5 games and pull ahead to sole possession of the conference lead.
Order was restored in Denver this Sunday, and “Tebow Time” was put on standby. As expected, the Pats took down Tebow and the Broncos, putting an end to all the miracle boy chat (at least for the next week). Oh how about Timmy boy running for his life towards the end of the 4th quarter? I mean how do you let yourself get sacked for a 29 yard loss? Brady would never allow that. Speaking of the legend, Tom threw for 2 TDs and rushed one in himself, capping off the score with a “Gronk-esque” type spike. With the win, the Pats claimed the AFC East title for the 9th time in 11 seasons with Brady at the helm.
For the first time in 7 months we got to watch the Celtics squad take the court. First things first…it was an ugly game, but basketball is back so I’ll take it! Doc played everyone, giving the starters some late game rest and the newcomers a chance to show what they got. After giving up a commanding lead in the 4th quarter, the C’s were able to hold off a late game push by the Raptors to seal off a 76-75 win in Toronto. The Raptors come to Boston Wednesday night for both teams’ final preseason game before the regular season tips off Christmas Day.
With another passing weekend, again Boston sports fans cannot complain. Our two division leaders have continued to advance, one moving ahead in their conference and the other clinching a division title. Our lost boys in green are back in action, looking to make one more run at the Larry O’Brien trophy. Once again, all is well in Beantown. Happy Monday!
Must Watch: Kane’s Shootout Goal
A few Thursdays ago we had two hockey goals go head to head in the Video Match-Up. I’ll blame finals week for not having a match-up last week, but regardless this goal takes the cake. Danglesauce everywhere with a side order of cream cheese. Shout out to DeCandia for the clip!
Bruins Mean Business
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
The 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.
