NHL Playoffs Round 3: Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Boston Bruins

[PatsGirl]

GO BRUINS​

 

[BDL]

After waiting for a week (dispite all common sense SCREAMING for this round to start last night), Game 1 is one day away. Having to endure the NBA and MLB ( ) on the nights when CHI/DET weren't playing. But, we finally have Game 1. Having only re-runs to watch ( ) because all of the shows had their season finale's the week before. FINALLY... We have Game 1.

As I did in the previous round, here are a few comparisons between the Eastern Conference finalists... Pittsburgh Penguins and Boston Bruins.

Team (Ranks Season/Playoffs):

Pittsburgh offense (Seas. 1st/PO 1st) vs. Boston defense (Seas. 3rd/PO 6th)

What's there to say? According to many experts, this is where the games will be decided. That the Bruins may as well not even show up and start calling in their tee times. Crosby, Malkin, Neal, Iginla, Letang, et al... Who is Tuukka Rask to stand before this might. But Tuukka does not stand alone. Shut down D-men like Chara, Seidenberg and Boychuk. Along with Bergeron, Kelly and Campbell who are strong defensively. But, the All-World offense cannot be stopped. Only contained. I would be shocked if Tuuk could pitch a shutout.

Edge: Penguins

Boston offense (Seas 14th/PO 2nd) vs. Pittsburgh defense (Seas 12th/PO 8th)

Talk about "wild card." This is the area where you're not going to talk about those that have been making noise, but those that haven't yet. Namely, Seguin, Jagr, Kelly and Peverley (who combine for 9 pts total and Marc-Andre Fleury has 1 more point than Kelly). Kelly and Peverley have been maintaining their usual skill when they don't have the puck, but haven't had the success they had in 2011. And relied upon offensive power has been few and far between for Seguin and "The Jagr" (those that listen to T&R will get that reference). I'm among those that thought Lundqvist had robbed these 2 at will. So I am hoping that they will have better success vs. Vokoun/Fleury. But they will still have to get past a team that only has 3 players on the wrong side of a +/- (1 of them being Crosby ).

Edge: Bruins

Special Teams (Ranks):

Pittsburgh PP (Seas 2nd/PO 1st) vs. Boston PK (Seas 4th/PO 8th)

What happens when you put an All-Star team together and split them between 2 shifts? You call them the Penguins power play. When they are a man up, they are give even MORE room to show off their skating and speed. Now they are playing against a PK team that epiotizes what Claude means when he says "Jekyll and Hyde". A source of pride for the B's during the season, they were porous during the Toronto series and slowly started to come around in the NY series, only to give up PP goals at the worst times.

Edge: Penguins

Boston PP (Seas 26th/PO 5th) vs. Pittsburgh PK (Seas 25th/PO 3rd)

I don't know if the resurgence of the Pens' PK is due to trade deadline moves, switching Fleury out for Vokoun, or a combination of both. But I never though that they would have a better PK than the B's. But lucky for the B's, they have had an equal reversal of fortune regarding their PP. With the emergence of Krug on the point (though I am not putting all my eggs in that basket for this round) and the fact that the B's are finally crowding the net to bang in rebounds, the PP has been more of a positive than just taking a break for 2 minutes.

Edge: Bruins

Intangibles:

This game is wrought with intangibles, sub-plots and grudges. The Iginla trade. Lemieux preaching to the press about bullies in hockey. The "10ft Marchand" radius (if there is an iffy call within 10ft of Marshmont, the arm goes up). It will come down to "Can the B's slow down the Pens", and if they can, "Can the Pens force the B's to the outside". If these 2 scenarios cancel each other out, it will all come down to the Goalies and 3rd & 4th liners.

Edge: It's a wash

Though my mind says the Penguins will win... Though (if I were betting) my wallet would tell me the Penguins will win (Pens 2/3 B's 3/1). My heart says The B's can pull this out. But it will take a lot of "fly on the windshield" hitting.

LET'S GO B's!!!!!

 

[BDL]

This is it. Just 1 hr til face-off. May the best Bruins win.

Just kidding. (A little)

But the local pregame show took a shot outside of the Consol Arena and I noticed 2 things.

1) There were ZERO B's shirts to be seen. Come on people... We know you're out there. Wear that spoked B

And

2) EVERY Pens shirt either had a 71 or 87. There are 18 other guys on the team folks

 

[BDL]

A little motivation for the locker room.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eftKwZzT15U

Let's Go B's!!!

 

[mom4463]

Let's Go Bruins!!!

In our house we cheer for #63!!!...not #87.

Lots of Bruins fans in Nova Scotia!!!

 

[stevea20]

What a heart attack moment to end that period.

Will the Bruins ever learn? Stop looking for the perfect shot on the power play. Just shoot it and go after it. That's what the Pens do - everything goes towards the net.

I have to work in the morning so I can't watch too much more. Hopefully the Bruins get stronger.

 

[BDL]

So... What was all that bull poop about Cook being a changed man?

 

[PatsGirl]

So... What was all that bull poop about Cook being a changed man?

The Bruins are playing like a team possessed, hope they can keep up this momentum

 

[haley's mom]

So... What was all that bull poop about Cook being a changed man?

Cooke's hit on McQuaid was the same as Marchand's hit in James Neal. Only one was a major penalty with a game misconduct, while the second penalty was a 2 min minor. Such a double standard. I guess McQuaid just did a good job of "playing" hurt and Neal took it like a true hockey player!!!

No need to fear, Rask will not be able to stop the Penguins from winning their 4 games needed to advance.

 

[BDL]

It was a scary game. In the back of my mind I kept flashing back to the game where the B's blowing a 2 goal lead late in the game, to the Pens, earlier in the season. And if not for a couple of posts and close calls, it could've easily been a repeat performance. And I don't think the Bruins can count on that kind of fortune going forward. Especially when the Pens' coaching staff looks at the game film and rethinks their strategy.

It was plain to see, that in the 1st two periods, the Pens' game plan was to out-hit the Bruins. Whether it was to establish a forceful presence, try to bait the B's into retaliatory penalties or just to really get the crowd into it; or some combination of them. In any case, it worked towards their detriment. Though Neal, Orpik and Kunitz made HNIC highlight hits, it led to a lot of odd man rushes in the Bruins' favor. Another thing that worked in the Bruins favor was the way that Crosby was CONSTANTLY try to work the refs. And in return, I have to ask, does Crosby usually get away with the hooks and slashes before and after the whistle? But last night he was overtly flexing his invincibility. After the scrapping at the end of the 2nd, when the refer were meeting with the captains, he decided to push, prod and (pardon the reference) poke at Chara... WITH the ref standing right between them.

But 1 person definitely increased his skyrocketing stock. Immediately after Cook's hit on McQuaid, Torey "5ft nothin, 100 and nothin" Krug responded by mooshing Cook backwards into the goal. Though it might not show up in the stat sheet, everyone on the ice knows what happened.

Game 2 tomorrow night.

LET's GO B's!!!

 

[MickeySP]

DING DING DING!! 12 hours & counting!!!!

I gotta say I am happy to have taken the first but would be ecstatic to see us beat up Vokoun again.

All I know is games 3 & 4 are gonna be rocking the Garden

 

[BDL]

But, the All-World offense cannot be stopped. Only contained. I would be shocked if Tuuk could pitch a shutout.

Edge: Penguins

LET'S GO B's!!!!!

There are few times when I have been happier to be proven wrong. I know a lot of it was luck. But I'll take it.

Also, if any of the Pens followers, that listen to their local sports radion, can answer this, I'd like to know. Is there a person that calls into the shows that goes by "TC from Pittsburgh"? He's been calling the Gresh and Zo show up here, lately. And though I admire his dedication to his team, he does make some outlandish claims. Also, if there is someone from up here, that calls your stations, let us know who they are. We can tell you if they are a honk (Angelo from Everett) or one of our "pride and joys (Ron from Vegas)."

Game 2 tonight.

LET's GO B's!!!!

 

[Kies99]

I think the 1st game was fixed. Bruins always had an extra man on the ice. His name was "Goal Post" and he was blocking shots left and right!

Seriously, how many more times could the Pens have a great shot bounce off the post????

 

[MickeySP]

Hopefully their aim will not improve.

 

[BDL]

I think the 1st game was fixed. Bruins always had an extra man on the ice. His name was "Goal Post" and he was blocking shots left and right!

Seriously, how many more times could the Pens have a great shot bounce off the post????

That's not entirely true. Some shots hit the side of the skirt. And some shots didn't make any contact at all. Like the ones that...

Trickled...

Ever...

So...

Slooooooooooooooowly...

... Across the crease and come out the other side.

 

[stevea20]

Here we go again. I expect the Pens will come out storming to make sure they get that first goal and quickly. B's must continue to check fiercely and be aware of the Pens forwards cheating when in the defensive zone to get those clean breakaways.

Hopefully, our 7th man, the unbeatable "Goal Post" will be on duty again.

I have a sneaky feeling that this is the game Jagr gets the monkey off his back, don't know why, maybe just the law of averages. NBC showed the other night that he has over 40 shots during the playoffs without finding the back of the net.

Make us proud Bruins and remember; forecheck, backcheck, check-Check-CHECK!

 

[MickeySP]

UMMM!!!! That's it just ummm

 

[stevea20]

WOW!! What a period to start. The only bad thing was letting them get their first goal in the last minute. But the LBH(little ball of hate) took it right back!

Now lets see if they can keep the Pens frustrated.

 

[BDL]

Great 1st period. But you can't rest on a 3 goal lead against the Pens. We all saw how quick the Pens scored multi goals against Ottawa. I changed the channel for 5 min and Pitt had tacked on 3 goals. But I did love to see Marshmont turn to Cook and go "What? What?" in response to how he broke free of Cook's check to score the goal.

But now Pittsburgh has a bona tide goalie contraversy. Though I will say Fleury has a cool mask. That is a great pic of Grimlock.

PS: Roenick didn't know what he was talking about. Letang COULD NOT ice the Puck for a clear because both teams were at full strength at the time. Did Letang make a bad choice? Probably. But he did have limited options.

 

[stevea20]

I'll take a scoreless period but the Bruins have got to attack a little more.
Defence is playing great but we need more time in the offensive zone,

That was a DUMB penalty by Marchand. Can't be giving them chances like that.