2016-17 Boston Bruins Thread

[BDL]

It's here... It's here...

The 1st day of Bruins hockey, is finally here. With the way that the Bruins went out last year, this season couldn't have come fast enough. Seriously?!?! With 10 games left, they played themselves out of the playoffs. It's not that they had to win every game... Hell, theoretically, they didn't have to win any games. If they had lost in OT in each of those games, they would've been made the 2nd season. And then; when it actually came to a 'must win' game in the season finale', NOTHING.

But that was then, and this is now. And, who knows. Without that collapse, the B's might not have gone out and brought David Backes to THE Garden. Also, without that collapse, we may not have seen the youth movement that we saw in the pre-season and that have made the roster going into tonight.

Speaking about the roster tonight, the roster looks like a list of extras for an episode of MASH. Bergeron is out with a lower body issue. McQuaid, Vatrano, Czarnik and K. Miller are on the shelf, as well. And that's just before the 1st game. Who knows what kind of toll the World Cup will take going down the stretch. Especially for Big Z. Also, we have to hope that Tuuk can stay on the ice (and out of the bathroom stall) for the duration of the season. But with the return of Khudobin, the Bruins now have a consistent 1-2 punch at goalie and can pluck any of the goalies down at Providence, in an emergency situation.

New season, new faces, (hopefully a) new attitude. Same goal... 35 lbs of silver.

Let's Go Bruins!!!

 

[stevea20]

Here's hoping this season goes better. We can't endure a third straight no post-season. Looking forward to see what these kids can do, particularly Carlo and Heinen.

Go B's!

 

[BDL]

Phew... Thank God the Bruins pulled that 1 out. If not, Claude would've had a tough time explaining why he didn't throw the red flag on the offsides goal by Columbus.

 

[stevea20]

While I hope we will see more balanced scoring, what a night for Marchand, Backes and Pasternak !

 

[Marchand63]

Can you guess my favorite Bruin?

Tuuka really needs to step it up. There is no reason a couple of those goals should have got through. He needs to defend the corners better.

I am thrilled Marchie came out with 5 points!!!! We are already planning a couple of road game trips - can't wait

 

[Diane♥Disney]

Marchand had a great game. I missed Bergeron.

 

[BDL]

Before I begin, congratulations to the Leafs legends that had their numbers retired in a pre-game ceremony.

Now, I think we can all agree, Saturday's game was HORRIBLE! The game wasn't as close as the 4-1 score dictates. Actually, you know what, that's not fair. The 1st period was an abomination. The next 2 periods, the new, young D-corps stepped up. O'Gara was was putting the body on anyone that went into the corner and Carlo had a pretty good all-around game. BUT, even with all that being said, even if we threw out the 1st period, the Bruins still would've lost. The B's just couldn't mount much in the way of offense. I think they were playing their "way too cute" style of offense. Passing 15 times trying to create the perfect shot rather than pepper the goalie and go for the ugly poke in.

Hopefully tonight will be different. The Bruins will be in Winnipeg to play the Jets. And there are rumors coming out that Bergy might be in the lineup. I hope these are just rumors. If Bergeron is hurt, I'd rather him take as much time as he needs to get better now than to sacrifice games down the stretch. Face-off is at 8pm.

Let's go Bruins!!!!

 

[BDL]

Here we are. It's home opener night. We get to greet the team as a whole (except for Czarnik who was sent to Providence today). And then to put the cherry on the sundae, Bobby Orr and Milt Schmidt will be dropping the puck on a ceremonial face-off. After a 2-1 start I hope that the B's will be able to build upon that record. Bergy should be in the line-up tonight. So this should be the 1st time that we see what the lines will be looking like going forward. With K. Miller and Quaider still on the shelf, we'll have to wait a little longer to see what the D-pairs.

I can't wait.

Let's go Bruins!

 

[BDL]

It's here! It's HERE! Santa Cherry has dropped the gift we wait for all offseason for. It's the 1st Bruins/Habs game of the year. YAY!!!

But 1st, let's talk about Thursday's game. Would it kill the Bruins to start out with a lead and keep it throughout the game. Don't get me wrong, I love the fact that the Bruins have demonstrated that they can come from behind to win the game in the 3rd period. But the stress is starting to get to me. And would it kill the 2nd or 3rd line to light the lamp once in a while. You can't just leave it to Marchand, Pastrnak, Backes and now Bergeron. Need some help from the other shifts. All that being said, the Bruins are still 3-1-0=6pts.

Now on to tonight. Out is Subban, in is Weber. He of the harder slap shot than Chara. It's like Fulton Reed all grown up, but accurate. And in semi-breaking news, don't expect Tuuk to suit up tonight. McIntyre has been called up from Providence. But Spooner will be back in the line-up (Heinen is out).

Face-off is at 7pm. Not sure if this is the HNIC game of the week or not.

Let's go Bruins!

 

[stevea20]

Big early test tonight. Can they beat Price? Let's have a fun tough game and please B's, score first!

7 days to our Disney trip.

 

[stevea20]

Tuukka out. Khudobin out. Backes out. Subban in.

This doesn't look very promising.

 

[BDL]

Its been a rough couple of games and I'll write more about that tomorrow. For now, I'm going out on a limb and predicting a 5-3 win by the Bruins. Moore and the lower 6 will do most of the scoring.

 

[BDL]

I'm sorry I've been away for a while. When you are putting the finishing touches on your upcoming Disney trip, and your 1st anniversary & your wife's 40th birthday are days apart, sometimes you gotta re-prioritize. But, that's in the past now. I can put priorities where they belong now. Namely, watching the B's. First, I'll address where I left off...

Its been a rough couple of games and I'll write more about that tomorrow. For now, I'm going out on a limb and predicting a 5-3 win by the Bruins. Moore and the lower 6 will do most of the scoring.

Now, I wasn't that far off, on the score. It was 5-2. Where I screwed up, was the Bruins were the 2. And then to squeeze some lemon juice into the paper cut, the league hit Pastrnak with a 2 game suspension, for an open ice, exposed chest hit on Dan Girardi. What's ironic, is that the Bruins are 2 and 0 during the suspension. I'm not saying that it's because Pasta wasn't in the line-up, that's the reason. But more of forcing Claude and the whole coaching staff working their butts off. Especially on the PK, which has been much better in the past 2 games. Including a Moore shortie.

Tonight the B's face the Bolts in Tampa. And I expect all the heat, power and hate that we've com to expect from BOS/TB games in recent years. Another 7:30pm face-off tonight.

Let's Go Bruins!!!!!!!!

 

[stevea20]

Just got back from Disney today. Went right to the highlights of the road trip and it was sweet. Hope they stay on the right track.

 

[stevea20]

Been awhile since we've posted. Thought last night was just another embarrassment against the Caps. Was shocked to see they got a point from that comeback.

 

[BDL]

Ok. I'm back and ready to laugh, cry, cheer and yell. Sorry for my long absence, but as anyone on DISboards would know, a WDW trip trumps all.

But let's get to the Bruins.

Last night's game against the Isles was supposed to be a walk-thru. That all changed when Tuuk let in a couple of bunnies, on just 13 shots. And I don't blame him. The B's have been riding him for a while and he was bound to break down sooner or later. The good news is that Khudobin looked strong in net after Tuuk got pulled. Only giving up 1 goal in 31 min of ice time.

The skaters on the other hand do not get a pass. Barring a few "clangs", the Bruins didn't have much in the way of offense. The B's didn't get on the board until the 3rd. And that was because Leddy practically kicked the puck into his own net. The Bruins scored again 4 min later when Moore had the ever so slightest redirection on a Z slap shot. This filled me full of hope. Which was dashed when a bull-poop tripping call led to a PP an Isles goal, and a 4-2 lead. The B's fought hard at the end of the game, bombarding Greiss for the last 2+ minutes of the game.

Now I want to talk about a player that has caught my interest, lately. And that was the scorer of the 1st goal, Anton Blidh (don't ask me how to pronounce his last name). He's a 6' 200 lbs, 21 year old forward that has been making the most of his time with the Bruins. He's been up for 7 games, and, I'd taken notice of him earlier. But when I saw him live playing against the Kings and got to see all the things he does when not on camera, he reminds me of Marchand when he 1st came up. Now, I'm not saying the Blidh has the same scoring touch as Marshy. But the way that he would throw his body around and never back down, despite a size difference, reminds me of 63's debut season.

That's it for now. I'll be back. I promise.

The B's have the Cats tomorrow in FLA. Let's go Bruins!!!!!

 

[stevea20]

Have you ever seen a more Jekyll and Hyde team as this. They lose badly to the bottom feeders, particularly at home, and play strong against the better teams, though not always to a win.
Give us some consistency please!

As for Blidh (pronounced "bleed"), he shows promise but I'm not ready to put him in the HOF yet as I'm sure you're not.

Hope your Disney trip was great Ours from Halloween certainly was.

Merry Christmas.

 

[BDL]

Happy New Year to... Not the Bruins.

1st game after Mariah's meltdown, and they didn't even show up. They had a chance to build off an impressive win against the Sabres. It seemed the game plan was "Skate to center ice, flip the puck, chase, repeat." There was some iron clanged and there was the not-quite-across-the-line non-goal by Marchand, and that was it. A total yawn fest.

The only bright spot for me was that the B's were finally able to flip off the league and engage in a mutually agreeable fight without the refs sticking their nose in, and causing injury due to their actions. Seriously, if you look at the past couple of weeks, the jumping in by the officials has been ridiculous. You have 2 guys willing to go, then a zebra jumps in. Many reporters and insiders have stated that, as far as they knew, there was no "official" league mandate to cut down on the fights. But my eyes say differently. And as a result, cheap shots and chippy stick work is rising. It won't be long before the top on the kettle pops off and there will be a jumping that will be BAD, when, all along, you let the players police themselves, it's business as usual.

 

[BDL]

Boston lost a sports legend today. Hall of Famer, Milt Schmidt has passed away. Milt had served the Bruins in every capacity. Player, coach and GM. Besides serving the Bruins, he also served his country. Milt and his Kraut Line-mates all enlisted with the Canadian Armed Services during World War II.

Milt has been a fixture with the Bruins for as long as I can remember. Any time you saw him on TV or in person, all Bruins fans would erupt in praise.

R.I.P. Milt. And God Bless. (3/5/18-1/4/17)

 

[stevea20]

A very nice tribute to Milt before the game and then they fall behind 1:08 in. Not the legacy he would have expected.

Please B's. I'm begging. Start playing like a hockey team!