Bruins Weekly Recap 3/16 - 3/22
Welcome to our new recap format ladies and gentlemen!
Boston Sports Buzz is going through a series of changes to make the internet reading experience a little more interesting, original and fan friendly. So, with that out of the way, let's discuss the semi-trainwreck that was the Bruins this week:
The Bruins played three games this week and went 0-1-2... not exactly championship caliber, that's for sure. In the period of 2 weeks the Bruins have slipped from #6 to #8 in the Eastern Conference... and they are currently only two points up on the team in 9th, the Washington Capitals.
This leaves the Bruins with seven contests to earn points and attempt to secure/protect a playoff berth. But let's forget that for the time being and concentrate on what went so ostensibly wrong...
3/16 at Washington Capitals (2-1 SOL)
All things considered, this game was not played poorly by any means... the B's worked hard to earn a point against a scrappy, young and hard-working Caps team in the Nation's Capital. The regulation goal scorers were Federov for Washington and Kobasew for Boston. The ultimate failing in this game: an offensive blackout... nobody tickled the twine when we really needed to put the game away... there were certainly chances to bury this team and kill their momentum... but the score never came. And when you let Ovie, Backstorm, Semin and company hang around... they WILL burn you.
3/20 vs. Montreal Canadiens (4-2 L)
This game was a PERFECT microcosm of the season for the Bruins: oh so close, but not quite enough. The Bruins DOMINATED the first 28 minutes of this game... offensively, defensively, very physical and intimidating play... but the French Boogiemen appeared AGAIN at the Garden when Alexei Kovalev slipped one through Thomas' pads. After that, the game was essentially over (yes, optimistic fans would argue that what I just described is utterly insane, but I'll tell you what is even more insane: TWENTY FOUR Stanley Cups... that enough proof for ya?) . Sure enough Kovalev scored again after a little "Ole" defense by the Bruins... for those playing the home game "Ole" defense is when the D allows a forward with momentum to go right by and score like a bullfighter bating a bull, "OLE!". Mark Stuart cut the lead in half, but it mattered little as the Habs got the next two goals in the third (Ryder and Kostitsyn) and then they let us have a pity goal, scored by Dennis Wideman (who deserves a HUGE raise btw). "Game.... Blouses..." (Chappelle Show Reference, folks).
3/22 at Montreal Canadiens (3-2 SOL)
The second half of the home and home was very encouraging, in that the B's were able to get off the mat and force OT and a SO... but the Canadiens yet again found a way to win. Montreal scored first in the first (Markov) and the B's knotted it up with a score from Marc Savard... only to have the momentum stolen away a minute later by Kostitsyn. But the Bruins refused to die, and Petteri Nokelainen scored in the second to tie it again... unfortunately Saku Koivu iced the game for the Bleu, Blanc et Rouge in the SO by scoring the only goal on either tender in the extra frame.
So, let's establish that the Bruins are in a state of emergency at this point. They have a handful of games to prove their worth... as well as the worth of Peter Chiarelli (he will be rode out of town on a rail if we fail to make it). C'MON FELLAS... do it for PETEY!!
PitchMaster is a senior writer for Boston Sports Buzz.
Boston Sports Buzz is going through a series of changes to make the internet reading experience a little more interesting, original and fan friendly. So, with that out of the way, let's discuss the semi-trainwreck that was the Bruins this week:
The Bruins played three games this week and went 0-1-2... not exactly championship caliber, that's for sure. In the period of 2 weeks the Bruins have slipped from #6 to #8 in the Eastern Conference... and they are currently only two points up on the team in 9th, the Washington Capitals.
This leaves the Bruins with seven contests to earn points and attempt to secure/protect a playoff berth. But let's forget that for the time being and concentrate on what went so ostensibly wrong...
3/16 at Washington Capitals (2-1 SOL)
All things considered, this game was not played poorly by any means... the B's worked hard to earn a point against a scrappy, young and hard-working Caps team in the Nation's Capital. The regulation goal scorers were Federov for Washington and Kobasew for Boston. The ultimate failing in this game: an offensive blackout... nobody tickled the twine when we really needed to put the game away... there were certainly chances to bury this team and kill their momentum... but the score never came. And when you let Ovie, Backstorm, Semin and company hang around... they WILL burn you.
3/20 vs. Montreal Canadiens (4-2 L)
This game was a PERFECT microcosm of the season for the Bruins: oh so close, but not quite enough. The Bruins DOMINATED the first 28 minutes of this game... offensively, defensively, very physical and intimidating play... but the French Boogiemen appeared AGAIN at the Garden when Alexei Kovalev slipped one through Thomas' pads. After that, the game was essentially over (yes, optimistic fans would argue that what I just described is utterly insane, but I'll tell you what is even more insane: TWENTY FOUR Stanley Cups... that enough proof for ya?) . Sure enough Kovalev scored again after a little "Ole" defense by the Bruins... for those playing the home game "Ole" defense is when the D allows a forward with momentum to go right by and score like a bullfighter bating a bull, "OLE!". Mark Stuart cut the lead in half, but it mattered little as the Habs got the next two goals in the third (Ryder and Kostitsyn) and then they let us have a pity goal, scored by Dennis Wideman (who deserves a HUGE raise btw). "Game.... Blouses..." (Chappelle Show Reference, folks).
3/22 at Montreal Canadiens (3-2 SOL)
The second half of the home and home was very encouraging, in that the B's were able to get off the mat and force OT and a SO... but the Canadiens yet again found a way to win. Montreal scored first in the first (Markov) and the B's knotted it up with a score from Marc Savard... only to have the momentum stolen away a minute later by Kostitsyn. But the Bruins refused to die, and Petteri Nokelainen scored in the second to tie it again... unfortunately Saku Koivu iced the game for the Bleu, Blanc et Rouge in the SO by scoring the only goal on either tender in the extra frame.
So, let's establish that the Bruins are in a state of emergency at this point. They have a handful of games to prove their worth... as well as the worth of Peter Chiarelli (he will be rode out of town on a rail if we fail to make it). C'MON FELLAS... do it for PETEY!!
PitchMaster is a senior writer for Boston Sports Buzz.
Comments