2013-14 Boston Bruins Thread (the offseason)

[BDL]

so far an undefeated season!!!!!!

it also felt kinda wrong cheering Iginla

You're not alone in that. I don't know if this came through on TV or not. But there were more than a few boos for him during the team intro's. But those boos were short lived. Once Iggy landed his first overhand right, the crowd erupted.

I'll admit I'm ranting for ranting sake, but did you read your own comment? 2-4-1, is that a winning record? My math says no. And, as you pointed out correctly, they haven't played each other in the playoffs in decades, so how does results from the 40's and 50's show any relevance?

Let's see how this season goes. I'll gladly take the comment back if they can beat the Wings with regularity and not have any embarrassments like that pre-season game.

You should never apologized for "ranting for ranting's sake". That's what the internet was invented for. Public bathroom walls were running out of space in which to write and people still needed a public forum. So... For a good time call...... WHOOOOOOPS!!!!!!!

I mean, Detroit... I was always against them coming to the east. Not just so much for the impact on the Bruins. But I felt that they needed to stay in the west so they would have 2 Original-6 teams and because they were key rivals for the Av's, Blues and 'Hawks. That's not to say that I don't fear them in the Bruins' division, for 2 very good reasons. 1) Detroit is a perennial playoff (if not Stanley Cup) contender; 2) They now have former Senator, constant Bruins headache Daniel Alfredsson. It will be a tough road.

Back to last night, it was a great game to watch. There were some real exciting moments. The penalty shot to start the scoring for the season (TOTALLY faked out Lindback). Iggy getting the crowd on his side with his fight. Loui constantly taking the body and picking pockets throughout the game. The bullet that Looch fired to take a 2-1 lead. And the short-handed goal that Bergy had. No just because he got the goal, but also because Krug kept pace, in case he didn't.

I did have a few problems with it though. First... That was a QUICK WHISTLE. Caron was robbed. And I'm sorry. But Helen Keller could see that the puck was still in play. And it's too bad too. The way he played last night, it was like he never wanted to see Rte. 95 ever again. And speaking of the refs, 2 seperate 5 on 3's for over 1:50 each. Come on. Another problem I had wasn't with the players on the ice, but the ice itself. That ice was wet. Early on, I was saying to BDLsgal "The puck doesn't seem to be reacting how the players want." Then I noticed how shiny the ice was staying even 7-10 min into the periods. I don't know if they had an issue with the cooling system, or if they turned it down so the ice stayed shiny for the NHL Network, but it definitely affected play. My final issue, is with the crowd. It's not that they were too rowdy or not rowdy enough. But it seemed like they weren't really invested, except for the 300's. This was evidenced by the streams of people that were leaving with 3+ minutes left in the game. At least 15% of the crowd left at that point. When seats started emptying, BDLsgal said "What's wrong with these people? Did they not see that Toronto game last year?" This sentiment was repeated after we left (after the 3 stars), and were on the ride home. A guy called into Adam Jones on 98.5 and brought it up. The caller was worried that the "pink hats" may have returned like in the 09-10 season. But Pac-Man made a good point. Odds are, that a lot of people that left early, were there just because they wanted to be there for opening night. Not for the game itself. I can buy that theory.

To get back to Detroit for a minute. I'm excited to be going to the game tomorrow night. Not just because 2 great teams are going to be playing. Not just because it me be the birth of a new rivalry. But also because I want to see how Detroit's fan base travels, especially for a weekend game. And I wonder how many will be coming from the Det/Car game tonight. Should be fun.

In closing, GREAT NEWS that Peter inked Seidenberg for 4 more years. The length of the deal may be up for debate. But there is no debating that if Ference got what he did in Edmonton, what would another young, offensive based team pay for a shut down D-man with Stanley Cup experience? Especially if Ference can help the Oilers to get into the 2nd rd. The fantasy players may have no idea who Seidenberg is, but you can bet there were more than a few NHL GM's crying themselves to sleep last night.

Can't wait for tomorrow.

 

[BDL]

It was a great day on Saturday. BDLsgal and I started the day by just walking around Faneuil Hall and picking up a few things. Then I got to catch up with an old friend from the corner of bars where I used to bounce. After we dropped off our wares, at the car, we began to walk to the Garden, to see the Bruins take on their newest in-division rival, the Detroit Red Wings. Along the way, we came across a father and son trying to find their way to the game (the dad's GPS app on his phone, had them walking on Rte. 93N). They had asked if they could follow us, and we said sure. They had try to follow a group of black sweaters in hopes of getting toe the Garden, but after a short while, that group had turned into a bar. That ended that. As we were walking, we found out that they were from Maine and the kid was playing in a tournament down here. And it turned out that someone, knew somebody, who knew someone that had a sky box. So the whole team got to see the game.

Speaking of the game itself, IT WAS AWESOME!!!!

It's been a while since the Bruins had such a one sided offensive showing. Not just an offensive showing, but a dominant offensive showing. The B's outshot the Wings 16 to 4 in the 1st period and 37 to 26 overall. And the power play unit made the score sheet. Converting 2 of 4 pp's. A slap shot from Krug accounted for 1, and Chara showing his agility and stick handling skills dancing in front of the net, the other. Marchand rifled 1 for his 1st of the year and Caron got his 1st (should be 2nd) goal. And I loved his "I'm not going to Providence yet" double-pump goal celebration. Another indication of the offense was the 7 helpers from 6 different players (Lucic with 2).

Now I'm not going to get too excited just yet. This could have been just a case of Howard having a bad game. The Wings had played the night before, and the Krug and Marchand goals were the type that he can usually snag. Especially when unscreened. But I'll take the win. The Bruins are now 2nd in the division behind (can't believe I'm saying this) the 1st place, undefeated Toronto Maple Leafs.

The only negative I could take away Saturday, is that after 2 games, Dougie has reverted to his powder puff checking again. Even though he shook loose of it towards the end of last yr, and bulked up in the off season, he's still not going all-in when trying to throw his body around. I think if he can't get it back, we're going to see more of Bartkowski in the rotation.

In regards to the Garden itself, 2 of the problems that I mentioned before have been rectified. Unfortunately, a new 1 has emerged. Possibly more sinister than the other 2. First, the problems with the ice and the "pink hats" were not present during the Detroit game. The ice was solid and no puddles. The only fans that left early, were wearing red and white sweaters. And kudos to you Wings fans. You had a fairly sizable, and definitely vocal, representation at the Garden. The new problem I have, is that twice, not once, but TWICE, Katy Perry's "Roar" was played. Once as the single, and once by the organist (did no one pay attention when the Bengals tried this?). I can only hope that Cam Neely will have a Reggie Dunlop moment like THIS .

The B's have a long lull before they face the Av's, in what I think will be a preview of the Stanley Cup Finals. I hate long lulls at the beginning of the season. Just means more games grouped together at the end of the season. The Avalanche have the same record as the B's right now. But will play the Leafs tomorrow night. Should be a good barometer for both teams. Can't wait for Thursday.

In closing, I have a philosophical question for you all. Is it still considered a "selfy" if you take a picture of yourself on the jumbo-tron? It was just a question I asked BDLsgal at the game on Saturday. Neither of us were sure.

 

[BDL]

The B's have a long lull before they face the Av's, in what I think will be a preview of the Stanley Cup Finals. I hate long lulls at the beginning of the season. Just means more games grouped together at the end of the season. The Avalanche have the same record as the B's right now. But will play the Leafs tomorrow night. Should be a good barometer for both teams. Can't wait for Thursday.

It's been a while since the last B's game. But the Leafs Av's game was last night. And, as I thought, it was a pretty evenly matched contest. But in the end, RD 1 went to the Av's (Btw, if Parenteau is available in your fantasy league, SNAG HIM!). And the Av's have done nothing yet to disuade me from thinking they will be the Western Conf's representative to Stanley Cup Finals. 3 versatile lines with a hard-nosed penalty killing 4th line; selfless D-men that stick to their roles; and consistent goaltending. Let me know if any of that sounds familiar or scares you. I know it does me. Especially when Landeskog gets his stride back.

And this is where we are at tomorrow night. The Av's come into the Garden. Which will mean exactly 2 things. 1) We will see the guy that has the 1/2 Av's, 1/2 B's Bourque sweater on TV at least a dozen times. More if the game is broadcast on NBCSports. And 2) this will be the first time the B's will face a rested Cup contender. I'm not totally discounting the Red Wings game. But that was the 2nd of back-to-back road games. Allowances can be made.

In other news, Soderberg still hasn't skated with the team, since hurting his ankle. This will allow Caron at least 1 more game to cement his place with the big team or possibly up his trade value. In either case, he will continue the hard charge every minute he's on the ice.

 

[stevea20]

Hope nobody minds if I get off topic for a moment but I gotta say that last night's Red Sox game was enough to give me an ulcer. I really thought they had blown it in the second inning when they got nothing with the bases loaded and no outs, in particular when Salty could have bunted a run in with the shift on. But it turned out OK.

Now, back to the Bruins. It's killing me that I haven't seen a game yet. Yeah I did DVR the Tampa game but it's not the same when you know what going to happen. Still, they've looked good in the first two games.

 

[BDL]

No one said that the Bruins would have a perfect season. And last Thursday, the Av's outright said "No." Though I had mentioned other positive attributes about Colorado... HOLY GOD!!! That team was fast. They turned a rebound, into transition, into a break-away/2-on-1 in less than 2 sec. Also, J.S. Giguere had a game that we hadn't seen out of him in years. He went 39 for 39 in net. It is almost impossible to ask him to play at that level every game. But it certainly makes Roy's job easier. Now, he won't have to feel like he'll have to ride Varlamov into the ground throughout the season. He has seen that his backup goalie can rise to the occassion and can go into to the playoffs with an un-taxed #1 and a very capable #2. As for the Bruins, I have no idea why everyone was hanging out at the perimeters in the offensive zone. They were set up like they were the carts at the 3-point contest. There was never a pressence in front of the net. And the physicallity was definitely down. Granted, when a player has 2 strides on you, it can be tough to get a body on someone. But if you are getting your body on them in the 1st place, they might not get those strides. Tuukka had very little in the way of help, but still put in his usual stellar effort. End of the day, Av's beat the Bruins 1-0.

Before I get to Saturday's game, let's talk about something that will make listening to Felger and Mazz today, TOTALLY insufferable. That is Seguin's 4 point night against the Jets. When I heard that on Saturday morning, I could already hear Felger's smug, "I told you so" tone. Nevermind the fact that he was completely wrong about Thornton, Chara, Bergeron, Claude and Marshmont. But I digress...

Saturday's game pretty much picked up where Thursday's left off. Columbus scored the 1st goal of the game. A PP goal with barely more than 1 minute to go in the 1st period. From this point, I didn't get to see the rest of the game live, because I had to drop off some food at my sister's, who just and surgery, and then I had 4pm mass. But when I saw the Bruins In 2 (thank you NESN), I was impressed by what I saw. Kelly blasting 1 from a mile away. And then Ericksson netting his 1st goal as a Bruin, by lifting a back-hand past Bobrovsky (at least this will make Felger slightly less smug). The B's got a 3rd goal thanks to an empty netter by Lucic. Besides the win, something else to take away from this game, was how much tighter the defense was with Bartkowski in there versus Hamilton. Bart did have 1 huge mistake, but he locked it up after that and kept everyone in front of him or to the boards. I'm not bashing on Hamilton. I would just rather see him get seasoned 1st in Providence.

Today is the Red Wings at 1pm. With all the events that happened yesterday, is there anyone that will leave tha Garden or turn their TV off, even if the B's are losing 4-1 with 2:00 remaining in the 3rd? Brady to Thompkins with 5 sec left... "Senor October", Big Papi stepping up again... For those who missed Zo's touchdown call (or just want to hear it again and again), HERE is the audio. How do you think a Bruins game being called by Zo and Jack would go? And would either of them survive?

Face-off is at 1pm. "Unicorns!!!! Show ponies!!!! Where's the BEEF?!?!"

 

[stevea20]

Face-off is at 1pm. "Unicorns!!!! Show ponies!!!! Where's the BEEF?!?!"

I know I'm being unfair but those phrases are why I can't stand listening to Zo. Gino did the job with enthusiasm, but also a quiet dignity. Zo has none.

Have you seen the thread about the Tigers? It's very quiet this morning.

GO B's!

 

[BDL]

Where else but Disboards is a Cinderella analogy more appropriate, but the clock did strike 12 on the streak of Boston sports teams coming back to win in dramatic fashion. Too bad, too. I would've loved to have my prediction go right (I'd have quit my job and gone to Foxwoods and try my luck there). Though the game was a 3-2 win for Detroit, the game was no where near that close on the ice. Th B's were 0 for 5 on PP and were out blocked 22 to 4. To me, that spells that they are still hanging out by the perimeter too much. it's tougher to bang in rebounds when you are 25' away from the net. But dispite the Bruins' deficiencies, there was still hope when Looch got the B's within 1, with 80 seconds left. But even with desperation looming, the Bruins still gave "Monster" a clear line of sight at the shots that were coming his way.

They are going to have to learn to collapse on the net. Especially tonight. Because tonight, they are saying hi to an old friend. It has already been announced that Tim Thomas will be starting in net for the Quebec Panth... Wait... That's next year. Tim Thomas will be starting in net for the FLORIDA Panthers. Besides Timmy, the Panthers also have Brad Boyes, Kris Versteeg and old friend Scott Gomez. The Panthers also have Calder hopeful Aleksander Barkov, who at 2-3-5, would be tied with Looch for the team lead in points on the Bruins.

Face-off tonight at 7:30.

 

[BDL]

Ummmm.... Not sure if anyone else had read about this yet, but, apperently Miley Cyrus is now the unofficial mascot of the Leafs. You cane read the Puck Daddy article HERE . It must've been a condition that Lucifer threw in for the deal they made to have the season that they've been having so far.

 

[BDL]

After a lack luster game against Detroit, the Bruins decided to show up enough to sweep both Florida teams. First the got reaquainted with Timmy in white pads. I understand why Subban had white pads in the pre-season. He wasn't 100% sure where he'd be playing. But Timmy in the all white pads reminded me of John Blue, way back when. He had been on so many teams that he just bought all black pads so he wouldn't have to keep updating/breaking in pads. But, this is probably just another case of Timmy being Timmy. And he was just that. He did not have a great 1st period. But, except for a lapse in judgement, with a minute to go in the game, Timmy shut the door in the 2nd & 3rd. And the youth movement that they have on the team is legit. Depending on when Timmy gets his legs back and if they can get some solid D-men, FLA could compete for the 7th or 8th slot, in the East.

Then in the Saturday game, the B's rediscovered what can happen if you put people around the net. You can create screens. You can get the puck back to the point to start the cycle again. And, surprisingly enough, you can bang in rebounds. All cases came to pass in Saturday's game. Not only that, but the Shawn-father got his 1st goal of the year. Also, Tuuk got his 1st shutout of the year. But even that is not the biggest story from the game. The biggest story of the game was that after every goal was annonced by the PA announcer, immediately after he summarized the goal with the time of the goal, a very noticable Ric Flair "WOOOOOOOO" could be heard from the crowd. It's great having to home arenas.

Next game isn't until Wednesday. It is part of NBCSports' Rivalry Wednesday. I'm not a fan of these big gaps between games so early in the season. It's going to catch up to the team. Some will get breaks during the Olympics. But others like Bergy, Chara, Seids, etc... (the players that will need the break), will be going all out for their countries' pride.

 

[BDL]

Tonight is the Bruins' debut of NBCSports' Rivalry night, against their long time blood-feud rivals, the Buffalo Sabres. Huh!?!?! Yes they are in the same division. And yes they have had some notable games in their mutual histories. But there are probably more historic rivalries out there for the B's. Just off the top of my head, the Habs, Leafs, Canes/Whalers or the Flyers. Even when the Stars come to town, there's always blood on the ice. As seen HERE , HERE , HERE , and HERE . I missed the NBCSports preview/review of the rivalry game tonight (I have it DVR'd but haven't seen it yet), so I don't know the content. Maybe there is something that I am missing. Also, I'm sure that Buffalo has some teams that they would consider more relevant rivals than the Bruins (if there are any Sabres fans that follow, feel free to let us know, maybe PHI or NYI). But I imagine that we will see the Lucic running over of Miller replay so many times tonight that by the end of the game, I'll be hearing, in the back of my mind, "Miller's head goes back, and to the left... Back, and to the left... Back, and to the left... Back, and to the left..." In any case, both teams need the win tonight. The Bruins need the points to keep in striking distance of the lead, while they have games in hand. The Sabres need it to try to turn their season around.

We'll see how this game unfolds.

Who am I kidding... Most of us will be watching Game 1 tonight. I'll be bouncing between the channels, when I can.

Let's go Bruins!!!

Let's go Red Sox!!!

 

[skier_pete]

Tonight is the Bruins' debut of NBCSports' Rivalry night, against their long time blood-feud rivals, the Buffalo Sabres. Huh!?!?! Yes they are in the same division. And yes they have had some notable games in their mutual histories. But there are probably more historic rivalries out there for the B's. Just off the top of my head, the Habs, Leafs, Canes/Whalers or the Flyers. Even when the Stars come to town, there's always blood on the ice.

I missed the NBCSports preview/review of the rivalry game tonight (I have it DVR'd but haven't seen it yet), so I don't know the content. Maybe there is something that I am missing. Also, I'm sure that Buffalo has some teams that they would consider more relevant rivals than the Bruins (if there are any Sabres fans that follow, feel free to let us know, maybe PHI or NYI).

I think I'm the only Sabres fan on the thread - and I was going to pose the question about the rivalry from your prospective.

Here's my take on it:
The Sabres/Bruins rivalry stems from a lot of bad blood between the teams in the seventies and eighties, when both teams were good and they were in the same division. (If you look at late seventies standings, Boston and Buffalo were 1-2 in the division almost every year.) So, I think if you asked a Sabres fan in 1985 (and maybe even a Bruins fan) they would probably say it was a top rivalry.

Over the last thirty years though that died down a lot as neither team was particularly good at the same time. However, here in Buffalo the hatred still simmered. I moved in 1994, and so didn't feel that old rivalry, but if you asked the typical Sabres fan what their most hated team was even at that time, it would probably still be the Bruins and the Flyers. (I came in with Bruins hatred of my own being raised a Hartford Whalers fan. I do root for the Sox though!)

So, I would say over the last 10-15 years, I would put the rivalries from our perspective as being
#1: Toronto (because we're 50 miles apart and we hate the Leafs fans that invade our building)
#2: Ottawa (because of the 05-08 timeframe after the lock-out)
#3: Philly (because they are Philly, and we've met them in the playoffs a disproportionate # of times)
#4: Boston (old hatreds dies hard)

However, in the last few years since the Bruins got good again, a lot of the old hatred/rivalry has simmered up in Sabres fans minds. You may not remember, but in 2010 we won the division, got the Bruins in the first round. One of the Bruins players knocked out Thomas Vanek in I think the second game, and that was all she wrote. That as well as the Miller/Lucic incident (which again you may not be aware led the Sabres into a tailspin they never recovered from) has woken up the old hatreds, and with the short-term thing with Ottawa fading in the memory, I would say it bumps the Bruins up to #2 or #3 from our rivalry perspective. (I would personally keep the Bruins in 4th on my list.)

(I would say watch the NHL Rivalries show, I watched the first 5 minutes this morning and it was pretty interesting!)

That said, my hatred for the Bruins now is more academic than personal. It's the type of team I wish my team was. My team is so bad I can't really get much anger over any opponent. (Except the Leafs - the way you guys punked 'em last year gave me great pleasure.)

And let me tell you, if a team that's 1-8-1 can be worse than their record shows, it's the Sabres. This team is BAAAAAD. They have only held the lead for a total of 8 minutes all SEASON. That's out of 600+ minutes! Their main problem - they can't score. Averaging just over 1 goal per game. Terrible.

So, you're probably better off watching the Sox game. The Bruins game should either be an easy/boring win or an embarassing loss, and you don't need to watch either of those!

But, to answer your question: I think most Sabres fans would consider the Bruins one of their top 3 rivals, it's just probably not the other way around.

GO SOX! GO SABRES!

 

[DenMig]

The B's have a long lull before they face the Av's, in what I think will be a preview of the Stanley Cup Finals. I hate long lulls at the beginning of the season. Just means more games grouped together at the end of the season. The Avalanche have the same record as the B's right now. But will play the Leafs tomorrow night. Should be a good barometer for both teams. Can't wait for Thursday.

As a die hard Blackhawks fan I have to admit I laugh at that. I think we see a repeat champion this year but most likely not a repeat of the finals. However I'd love to play the Bruins again.

 

[Nancy]

I think I'm the only Sabres fan on the thread - and I was going to pose the question about the rivalry from your prospective.

Here's my take on it:
The Sabres/Bruins rivalry stems from a lot of bad blood between the teams in the seventies and eighties, when both teams were good and they were in the same division. (If you look at late seventies standings, Boston and Buffalo were 1-2 in the division almost every year.) So, I think if you asked a Sabres fan in 1985 (and maybe even a Bruins fan) they would probably say it was a top rivalry.

Over the last thirty years though that died down a lot as neither team was particularly good at the same time. However, here in Buffalo the hatred still simmered. I moved in 1994, and so didn't feel that old rivalry, but if you asked the typical Sabres fan what their most hated team was even at that time, it would probably still be the Bruins and the Flyers. (I came in with Bruins hatred of my own being raised a Hartford Whalers fan. I do root for the Sox though!)

So, I would say over the last 10-15 years, I would put the rivalries from our perspective as being
#1: Toronto (because we're 50 miles apart and we hate the Leafs fans that invade our building)
#2: Ottawa (because of the 05-08 timeframe after the lock-out)
#3: Philly (because they are Philly, and we've met them in the playoffs a disproportionate # of times)
#4: Boston (old hatreds dies hard)

However, in the last few years since the Bruins got good again, a lot of the old hatred/rivalry has simmered up in Sabres fans minds. You may not remember, but in 2010 we won the division, got the Bruins in the first round. One of the Bruins players knocked out Thomas Vanek in I think the second game, and that was all she wrote. That as well as the Miller/Lucic incident (which again you may not be aware led the Sabres into a tailspin they never recovered from) has woken up the old hatreds, and with the short-term thing with Ottawa fading in the memory, I would say it bumps the Bruins up to #2 or #3 from our rivalry perspective. (I would personally keep the Bruins in 4th on my list.)

(I would say watch the NHL Rivalries show, I watched the first 5 minutes this morning and it was pretty interesting!)

That said, my hatred for the Bruins now is more academic than personal. It's the type of team I wish my team was. My team is so bad I can't really get much anger over any opponent. (Except the Leafs - the way you guys punked 'em last year gave me great pleasure.)

And let me tell you, if a team that's 1-8-1 can be worse than their record shows, it's the Sabres. This team is BAAAAAD. They have only held the lead for a total of 8 minutes all SEASON. That's out of 600+ minutes! Their main problem - they can't score. Averaging just over 1 goal per game. Terrible.

So, you're probably better off watching the Sox game. The Bruins game should either be an easy/boring win or an embarassing loss, and you don't need to watch either of those!

But, to answer your question: I think most Sabres fans would consider the Bruins one of their top 3 rivals, it's just probably not the other way around.

GO SOX! GO SABRES!

I'm a Sabres fan and was at last nights game. A lot of Bruins fans there!

I like your list of rivalry standings with the only exception being I would move Ottawa down to last place and move the others up. When the Sabres scored their second goal last night my husband said "well, they hit their quota for scoring in a game, we can go home now".

I thought the team looked bad watching them on TV...watching in person is even worse, you really get to see how lacking they are, and yes they are really really bad.

ETA: All the Bruins fans sitting around us were very nice and I heard no trash talking...there was a lot of talk about the Series game going though.

 

[skier_pete]

I'm a Sabres fan and was at last nights game. A lot of Bruins fans there!

I like your list of rivalry standings with the only exception being I would move Ottawa down to last place and move the others up. When the Sabres scored their second goal last night my husband said "well, they hit their quota for scoring in a game, we can go home now".

I thought the team looked bad watching them on TV...watching in person is even worse, you really get to see how lacking they are, and yes they are really really bad.

ETA: All the Bruins fans sitting around us were very nice and I heard no trash talking...there was a lot of talk about the Series game going though.

I agree right now Ottawa is probably below the Bruins, but more because the history is longer than anything else. And your completely right - they ARE worse in person. They don't even look like an NHL team, and for how bad they've been the last few years, its never been to THAT point.

I agree, I have never had a problem with a Bruins fan at the arena. The ONLY fans I've ever had issues with at games were Leafs fans. (And not 100%, I've met some nice Leafs fans as well.)

One of my favorite Disney/hockey memories was back in 2010 we were at Disney World when the Sabres were playing the Bruins. At the time Pittsburgh was playing Ottawa. I was on a bus with someone in a Pittsburgh jersey and we got to talking playoffs...found another guy that was from Ottawa, but was a Habs fan...we bonded over hatred of the Sens. The last time our team was any good...Good times!

 

[BDL]

One of my favorite Disney/hockey memories was back in 2010 we were at Disney World when the Sabres were playing the Bruins. At the time Pittsburgh was playing Ottawa. I was on a bus with someone in a Pittsburgh jersey and we got to talking playoffs...found another guy that was from Ottawa, but was a Habs fan...we bonded over hatred of the Sens. The last time our team was any good...Good times!

I had a similar experience. While in line for the Candlelight Processional in Dec 2010, we started talking with the people behind us that were New England transplants now living in Charlotte. They had become Canes fans. So we talked about our teams until the ushers started letting people in.

Back to the here and now. The Bruins got the W last night. But the cost of the game is still uncertain. Loui Ericksson stayed behind in a Buffalo hospital, while the rest of the team had to travel back to Boston, for tonight's game against the Sharks. I won't get into the hit itself too much (what can I say that Milbury hadn't SAID already). It was cheap. It was a head shot. And it was pre-meditated. Maybe not the victim, but the action. Should Ericksson have kept his head up? Yes. Does it excuse what happened? Not in the least. Early predictions are that Scott will get a minimum of 5 games, may be more. His 1 saving grace is that he's never been suspended, yet.

As for the game itself... First, I want to thank the pioneer inventor, that first manufactured the remote control with the "Prev CH" button. Mine got a workout last night. I think some all of the paint is off of it. It now says "rrcv C I". And I think NBCSports was screwing with me. I felt like every time, it was in between innings, I'd turn back to the B's/Sabres game, and something eventful happened. Like NBCSports had tapped my cable box, and when I hit the rrcv C I button, they'd play a highlight (or low light when it comes to the head shot), just for me. The only goal I really missed was Beaker's tip in. It started with the 1st time I hit the button and I thought I saw Iginla score his 1st goal as a Bruin. But it turns out, he was actually denied. Not by Miller. Not by a D-man laying out to block the shot. Not even by the post. Nope. He was denied his 1st goal by a microscopic fleck of equipment on Lucic's leg. But Iggy got the assist. All told, 8 Bruins had points last night. 5 of them had multi-point nights. There were 2 things that I had a problem with the way the B's played last night. 1, was that the 3 d-men goals took place deep in the offensive zone. I don't want them to get to comfy there and risk being GROSSLY out of position. 2, Johnson let up a couple of softies on only 16 shots. I hope that is just due to rust.

Tonight the 1st place Sharks are in the Garden, and they've brought their newest super hero, the teenage mutant ninja Hertl (someone else came up with that nickname, I swear it). Tomas Hertl has 7-3-10, including that "contraversial" 4 goal game. And Niemi is playing back to all-star form. Lucky for us, Tuuk is as well.

Bruins/Sharks - Face-off at 7pm
Sox/Cards - First pitch at 8pm

That means I get a period and a half of Bruins before I have to start abusing my remote.

 

[BDL]

Sorry I've been away for a while. Stupid work wants me to actually work while I'm there. Can you imagine the nerve? Anyhoo... We got 2 games to catch up on.

If there was anyone left who though that Tuukka was not a Vezina candidate, they were left with no choice but to change their minds after the performance he had against the Sharks. 39 shots and only allowed 1 goal. What is probably lost in the stat sheet, was that McQuaid had about 3 saves himself, at different points in the game when Tuuk was sprawled out and out of position. Also, Iggy got his first goal as a Bruin (about time ). But the highlight of the night (and it kills me to say it) was the Krejci game winning goal at the 19:59.2 mark in the 3rd period . Let's just say, some expletives were used, by yours truly. And with that, the B's handed the Sharks their 1st regulation loss of the season. And this Sharks team is impressive. They may be a little top heavy, but they mix and match that 1st line with 4 or 5 players and then run the equivalent of a 3rd and 4th line. But those 4 or 5 players can pepper a goalie into giving up softies.

But these good feelings were short lived. The Jagr returned to the Garden on Saturday with the NJ Devils. He pulled up to the entrance in his IROC, got out sporting his acid wash jeans, Z. Cavaricci shirt and Ray Bans, and came to play. I didn't get to watch much of the game. BDLsgal and I were at a friend's surprise 40th birthday party. Most of my info comes from me sneaking away to peak at a TV and checking my phone. The B's got on the board first. A PP goal by Torey "Freddy" Krug. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank those in the Disboards fantasy hockey league for not trying to trump my FA acquisition of Krug, after the draft. For the 1st 20min it was all Bruins. After that, all Devils. Scoring a total of 4 goals, all on the power play, with 2 coming in the last 70 sec of the game. And The Jagr ended the night with 2 helpers (including 1 on the game winner with 45 sec left). This same night, the Sox lost on a technicallity. A tough night in sports to swallow.

But here's a funny story from the party for all of you. At 1 point, MJ's Thriller was being played and the birthday boy's son, who is 6yrs old, was at our table. BDLsgal asked him "Do you know this song? It's Thriller." The little boy answered, with all sincerity, "No. I wish they'd play Wrecking Ball by Miley Cyrus. That's the bestest song ever." I had to contain my laughter. I think I was turning purple at some point.

On Wednesday, the Bruins try to go for 5 in a row vs. the Penguins.

 

[stevea20]

Actually got to see a few scant minutes of tonight's game. I am, of course, focused on the Red Sox and Game 6 and as I write this there are 3 outs to go.

 

[BDL]

Congrats to the 2013 World Champion Red Sox. I have to admit, I didn't get to see much of the Bruins game last night BECAUSE I was watching the Sox. On top of a lot of my other duties at work, I am also the site A/V tech. I've had to work back to back 16hr shifts the past 2 days, but I wasn't going to miss last night's game. So I rigged the main auditorium's projectors to show the game in wall sized HD. As the game progressed, the crowd in the auditorium grew. Needless to say, I was their hero.

I was able to see some of the B's game in between innings. The Pens went up 2-1 in the span of that 2 min. I took it as a sign to go back to the Sox game. 1 good thing from the box score though. Iggy is continually lighting the lamp since breaking the dam last week.

I will be in attendance for tonight's game. Look for the big guy wearing a Hawaiian shirt that hasn't gotten any sleep in 3 days. Hunh...... Maybe that should be my costume? Hawaiian zombie.

 

[BDL]

It was a tense game last night. From Tuukka giving up a goal in the 1st 2 minutes of the game. To the Bruins getting out-muscled all night. To the team getting only 1 shot on net in the whole 1st period. O-N-E! Because of this the crowd was kind of taken out of the game for about a period and a half. The only exceptions being, when they showed on the jumbo-tron fans that dressed like Rene or Chooch (the dancing guy with the mustache) for Halloween. But the crowd got back into it for real when "the angry 1 eyed Swede" got his 1st goal. Besides the goal, Soderberg impressed me with his puck handling ability. There were a couple of times when he was dangling the puck out there, daring a Duck to take it away from him, and they couldn't. But it didn't last too long. With 20 sec left, Perrault scored on a no look shot. That is why, when Perrault tried to give Krug an after the whistle shove in the 3rd and ended up on his back, the crowd erupted. It remained 2-1 until 3 minutes left in the game. 7 sec into a PP, Krejci took the rebound from a Krug slap shot and fed it to Chara in front of the net. The nimble giant tied the game. In OT, the B's limited the Ducks' shots to (as Dean Wormer would say) "zero POINT zero." In the shootout, it was the new Bruin, Jerome Iginla who netted the only goal in the extra frame. I'm starting to think that the fans have begun forgiving him for choosing the Pens.

Next up for the B's, they go to NY to play, the now Vanek re-enforced Islanders. After that, on Tuesday, the B's welcome back Seguin and Peverley.

 

[stevea20]

Well tonight is going to be an epic game, for two reasons.

One, the obvious, is the return of Seguin and Peverley and it will interesting to see if Tyler has the same problems against the Bruins that Kessel had all these years or will he break right out.

Second, and most important, I finally get to watch a game. I have had such bad withdrawal with these new work hours, and while listening to the radio is OK it just doesn't match up with seeing the team play. So this is almost like Opening Night for me.

Side note: It must be great BDL, to have those skills allowing you to bring up the WS for your co-workers. Reminds me of the year of the Bruins cup run. I missed most of the first two rounds because I was on a Hawaiian cruise. But there was a guy who, working with the ships IT officer, was able to tap into a satellite feed and project it onto a large screen in one of the lounges to show playoff games. The place was packed with screaming fans everytime. The only problem was most of the people on the ship were Canucks fans and those were the games being shown. Later the irony in that made me laugh particularly when I kept hearing people talking that they didn't think the Bruins would go too far.

Well, break out the pizza. Time for hockey.