Let’s Go Bruins!

Posted on June 19, 2013 by christoph131

In honor of game 4 of the Stanley Cup tonight, let’s take a look back in time. Let’s look back at just over 2 years ago when we beat the Canucks 4-0 in game 4. We tied the series at 2 each after this game. Timmy Thomas turned away all 37 shots that he faced. Luongo only had 16 saves in this game. Talk about efficiency on the B’s part. Rich Peverly scored 2 goals. This was probably the last time that he did something good for us.. Marchand and Ryder also scored a goal each.

This was also our first game after Aaron Rome’s cheap ass hit on Horton (see below). They definitely won that game for him, and the series got a lot more physical after that. We absolutely hated the Canucks. Especially after that hit. This is something that was lacking in this year’s finals. Until Monday where there were multiple fights near the end. Hopefully we can play with that same intensity and bring us one more game closer to closing this thing out and bringing the Cup home! Go B’s!

Who’s Ready?

Posted on June 17, 2013 by christoph131

Mondays suck a lot less when you have the Bruins on at night. It’s going to be a big game for sure, and the Bruins must be pumped to play at the Garden again. The last time we came home for game 3 of the finals, we beat the Canucks 8 to 1. That would be amazing to do again, obviously.

Adam McQuaid told espn that “You run on adrenaline this time of year”, and it’s true. After playing as many games as these guys have, they need every little bit of help they can get. So if you’re going to the game and don’t plan on screaming your heart out, then give the tickets to someone else (preferably me). Let’s just hope the series doesn’t flip flop like the NBA is, and go back and forth. We need to take these two at home! Go Bruins!

I don’t want to jinx anything, but here are a few things that could be in our favor (from ESPN):

The Blackhawks have not won a game 3 this postseason
About 75% of game 2 winners have won the cup

How They Match Up

Posted on June 10, 2013 by christoph131

It’s no secret that the Blackhawks were the best team in the NHL during the regular season. I mean, they didn’t lose for the first 24 games of the season. They didn’t fall off much after that, losing only 7 games the rest of the season. The playoffs are a lot closer, though. The last time we played the Hawks was almost two years ago when we beat them in a shootout during the regular season. That is hardly an indication of what’s to come. Many writers and analysts have already said that this could be one of the best Cup Finals in a long, long time. Both teams have won the Cup in the past 3 seasons. Here is how the match up:

REGULAR Season	Bruins	Blackhawks
Wins	28	36
Losses	14	7
Points	62	77
Goals Scored	131	155
Goals Against	109	102

And now for the playoffs:

Postseason	Bruins	Blackhawks
Wins	12	12
Losses	4	5
Points For per Game	3.1	2.8
Points Allowed per Game	1.9	1.9
Home Record	7-2	9-1
Road Record	5-2	3-4

What do you think will happen in the series?

Looking to the Elder

Posted on June 10, 2013 by christoph131

I’d love to let you know that the Bruins won last Friday and are going to the Stanley Cup Finals, but if you don’t already know that somehow, you probably shouldn’t be reading this blog in the first place. This article is about Jaromir Jagr. For someone who has scored 681 goals in his career, he has really decided to buy into his role with the Bruins. At age 41, the guy has become a solid set-up man and a great defensive forward. Not to mention we got him because Iginla chose the Penguins over us… But now he’s golfing.

Jagr has only had two goals since signing with the B’s, but has 7 assists in the playoffs. He has been playing with Bergeron and Marchand too, so he has been a critical line throughout the postseason. Jagr’s tenacity was one of the main reasons why we won game 3 in double overtime. He dug out the puck and stole it from Malkin before giving it to Marchy who slid it across to Bergy for the winner. All of the Bruins can’t say enough about the veteran. They love his work ethic and how much better he tries to get each and every day.

Former Bruins player and champion Mark Recchi and Jagr raised their first Stanley Cup in Pittsburg in the 1990-91 season. Recchi still praises his old friend. This is the first time that Jagr has reached the finals since the 1992 Stanley Cup.

A Hero Honored

Posted on June 6, 2013 by christoph131

Great game last night! Even their best game couldn’t stop us.

Anyway, I was listening to WAAF’s Hillman Morning Show today and they spoke to MBTA Officer Dick Donahue who was the officer shot during the Watertown Shootout with the terrorists responsible for the Boston Marathon Bombings. Popular Host Greg Hill asked Officer Donahue to tell a story about when Hill and Rob Gronkowski went to visit him in the hospital. Apparently, Gronk said something to the nature of (and I’m paraphrasing) “you know what would help you: if we got you some strippers that dressed up as nurses to could come in here.” According to Greg Hill, Donahue’s wife then walked in and was not too pleased. But this is just classic Gronk and we can add one more reason to the list of reasons why we love the guy.

For those of you who missed it, Office Donahue was the hero that was brought out in a wheel chair to wave the flag before the start of the Bruins game last night. Hill said that Donahue should take full credit for the win, and the Officer laughed it off. He was a very modest hero and defines Boston Strong. Have a good day everybody!

Goaltenders Equal?

Posted on June 3, 2013 by christoph131

I read an interesting article on ESPN earlier about the difference between the way Tuuka Rask is playing during the playoffs this season and the way that Tim Thomas did two years ago when we won the cup. Thomas won the Vezina Trophy and Conn Smythe that season and was clearly the leading factor in why we brought the cup back to Boston. He was phenomenal. But now he left us and we needed to fill those shoes. Tuuka is a lot younger and doing just that.

Through the first 13 games of each year’s playoffs (2011 and 2013), their records are identical, 9 wins, 4 losses. However, and much to my surprise, Tuuka’s numbers are better. Maybe it’s just because Thomas did it first, and now we just expect it from everyone, but I would have thought it would be the other way around. Rask has allowed 2.10 Goals per game and sported a .933 save percentage. Thomas allowed 2.39 Goals and had a .927 save percentage.

Granted, Thomas was a lot more interesting to watch because he would fly out of nowhere and make the save, whereas Rask is typically in the right place. Except when he leaves his net and goes out 10 feet. But either way, we are going to need him to keep playing this well if we want to bring home another cup. Go Bruins!

B’s lose tough one to rivals

Posted on March 3, 2013 by christoph131

The Bruins took on the Montreal Canadiens tonight for the 889^th time. That is the most games between two teams ever. It was definitely an exciting one. The Canadiens drew first blood when they scored about 2 seconds into a power play in the first period. However, Tyler Seguin scored the equalizer less than two minutes later (Marchand and Bergeron assisted). But Montreal didn’t let that tie last as they scored almost immediately after that to regain the lead, which they held for the rest of the first period.

The B’s were able to tie it up again 4 minutes into the 2^nd period on a goal from Bergeron. That was Patrice’s 5^th goal of the season. Seguin and Marchand were credited with the assists. The Canadiens almost scored right away again but the Bruins got a lucky bounce, thankfully.

Rookie big-man Dougie Hamilton got the go ahead goal later in the 2^nd period. It looked like Marchand might have gotten his 3^rd assist of the game on this one, but they did not credit him with it. That is the 2^nd career goal for Dougie.

It turned into a normal Habs-B’s matchup after that with lots of hitting and fighting. Lucic drew a fighting major, and Mcquaid would have too if it wasn’t for the refs stepping in. Chara got in a fight shortly after that against Emelin. He took a shot at Seguin and Tyler went down, so Chara came to his aid. Emelin got one shot on Chara before Chara just completely unloaded on him.

The Candiens tied it up 5:30 into the 3^rd as Tuuka was screened from seeing the puck. 5 minutes later Montreal struck again when the puck slipped through during a cluster in front of the net.

The Candiens ended up winning 4-3 after stopping many of our chances late in the game. Chara served 17 minutes of penalty time during the game after a 10 minute misconduct. Tuuka Rask finished with 22 saves.

Bruins Top Panthers

Posted on February 24, 2013 by christoph131

The Bruins traveled to Sunrise, Florida yesterday, where hockey should be illegal just because of it’s name. They took on the Panthers and got out to yet another quick lead. Milan Lucic scored his 4^th goal of the season 8 minutes in to put the B’s ahead. David Krejci recorded his team high 9^th assist. Krejci has been playing spectacular and is the team leader with 12 points. A little while later, Chara made an unbelievable spin move and backhanded one into the back of the net. He looked like a figure skater on the play, which is hard to believe from someone who is 6”9 without skates. Marchand and Seguin got the assists on that one. The Panthers were able to put in one of their own before the end of the first period.

The Bruins finally scored on the Power Play a few minutes into the 2^nd period when Daniel Paille assisted Chris Kelly for his first goal of the season. Other than that, the game was pretty back and forth. There was no more scoring until Paille scored on an open net with 1 minute left, but it was definitely fun to watch. The Bruins were on a penalty in that last goal and the Panthers pulled their goalie so they scored even though they were playing 4 against 6. That marked the first time this season that Boston has had a 3 goal lead. Milan Lucic made things exciting when he went after a guy who clearly cross-checked him and didn’t get the call, so he was pinned with a 10 minute misconduct penalty for retaliating. Tuuka Rask played well for the Black & Gold with .34 saves. The Bruins improve to 11-2-2 and will take on the Islanders Tuesday night.

B’s top Lightning

Posted on February 21, 2013 by christoph131

The Bruins opened up strong with two quick goals in the first 4 minutes tonight against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Nathan Horton scored his 5^th of the season just over a minute in on a dish from Dougie Hamilton. Less than 3 minutes later, Patrice Bergeron recorded his 3^rd of the year with an assist from Brad Marchand. About halfway through the 1^st, Steven Stamkos scored his 11^th of the season on an absolute snipe over the top of Tuuka Rask.

After the first two goals by the Bruins, the game really evened out. Actually, Tampa Bay probably took the upper hand and had many scoring opportunities late in the first and early in the second. The B’s still got their chances though, especially between Seguin and Lucic. Corey Conacher scored for the Bolt with 11 minutes left in the second period to tie the game at 2. Marchand didn’t take a long time after that to score his 9^th goal of the season to re-gain the lead.

Nathan Horton scored 3 minutes into the 3^rd period with his 6^th of the season (2^nd on the night). That’s how the game would end. The third period was slightly less exciting but still had it’s moments. The Black and Gold missed a few empty netters at the end. Tuuka Rask finished the game with 23 saves. The Bruins improve to 10-2-2 and will take on the Panthers on Sunday afternoon.

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