Bruins Weekly Recap 3/30 - 4/5
Praise the hockey gods and celebrate everybody, your Boston sports rejects, the Bruins, are in the dance... with a rather unfortunate partner... but they are in nonetheless. The final eight games of the season were a real testament to this team's character and ability to grind through adversity (4-1-3)... and trust me they will face all the French-speaking adversity they can handle come April 9th.
Let's recap the final push:
3/30 at Buffalo Sabres (2-1 OTL)
David Krejci continued on his torrid pace (goal), but alas it was not enough to spell the Sabres, as they kept themselves in the race. The Bruins had their chances to eliminate the Sabres altogether this evening, but fell short in a funk of poor shooting and lackadaisical skating. Either way, we earned a point, which in a loss is pretty much all you can ask for. The Brew Crew was outshot 30-18... 'nuff said, sports fans.
4/2 at New Jersey Devils (3-2 SOL)
Turns out SOL mean more than just shootout loss... nyuk nyuk nyuk... but this was a game the Bruins really could have used going down the stretch. The B's were resilient all night, taking the fight to the Devils; they hardly let them penetrate, cut off passing lanes in the attacking zone and the goaltending was phenomenal by TT tonight. The B's only allowed 25 shots this evening, a testament to Claude Julien's suffocating defense. Granted, this is not your half-brother's New Jersey Devils, they can't score at will and don't move the puck as well, but they are nothing if not disciplined. That, and they have the 2nd best goalie of all time (Patrick Roy being the best) in Martin Brodeur, who won this game for the Bad Guys this evening. Goals tonight were scored by the usual suspects... Wideman and Lucic... of course!
4/4 at Ottawa Senators (2-1 W)
Now THIS is more like it. Probably the best end to end game of the season from the Bruins; they skated, they hit hard, they took shots, worked the power play, and outshot the Sens 29-18... BOOYAH, in the words of Stuart Scott. The Bruins' only blemish of the night came on a late third period tally by Antoine Vermette, but the boys picked up the intensity to finish it off. In watching this game from start to finish, you could tell the Bruins were all business from the drop of the puck until the final horn sounded. They played on a mission (maybe because they planned to lay an egg the next night, WHO KNOWS!) to get into the playoffs. They knew what they wanted and went out there to take it... much like Herb Brooks' locker room speech from Miracle. Goals tonight came from the golden boys: Zdeno Chara and Phil "The Thrill" Kessel. Also, I just want to point out a play that was noted in today's Boston Globe: Vladimir Sobotka made a critical play by tying up the puck for 15 seconds in the Senators' end to kill the clock at the end of the game to preserve the victory... a VERY veteran move. I'm likin' the Baby B's more and more. folks...
4/5 vs Buffalo Sabres (3-0 L)
This was the Thomas Vanek show, and Boston just happened to play the host. Simply put, this may have been the WORST game I've seen the team play... yes, WORSE than the 10-2 schellacking in Washington; yes, worse than the 8-2 beatdown in Montreal... this was pathetic. Neither team really felt like being there; the Sabres because they were out of the mix, and the Bruins because they wanted to rest up. I respect the "Playing the Rest" card... but fellas - playing positional defense on the penalty kill isn't exactly a daunting task... Well, anyways, the Bruins mailed it in to rest up for the playoffs against Montreal, who finished their season with a win against Toronto and 104 points to lead the Eastern Conference.
So, your Boston Bruins will play the daunting Canadiens in a reversal of the 2004 playoffs when the Bruins were the class of the league. Oh how things have changed for the worse in Beantown (haha). There is reason to be optimistic though! This is a new season, a clean slate and stranger things have happened (look at the Edmonton Oilers run to the Stanley Cup finals two years back as a reference). Those Oilers were an 8 seed facing the best team on the planet (Detroit Red Wings) and beat them in their building to win the series... who's to say the Bruins (with a healthy Marc Savard and Andy Ference) can't do it on their end? These young guys are hungry, they want to change the cloud of hockey doubt that hangs over this town, and I don't blame them. Let's hope for the best come elimination time, folks... GO, B's, GO!!
PitchMaster is a senior writer for Boston Sports Buzz.
Let's recap the final push:
3/30 at Buffalo Sabres (2-1 OTL)
David Krejci continued on his torrid pace (goal), but alas it was not enough to spell the Sabres, as they kept themselves in the race. The Bruins had their chances to eliminate the Sabres altogether this evening, but fell short in a funk of poor shooting and lackadaisical skating. Either way, we earned a point, which in a loss is pretty much all you can ask for. The Brew Crew was outshot 30-18... 'nuff said, sports fans.
4/2 at New Jersey Devils (3-2 SOL)
Turns out SOL mean more than just shootout loss... nyuk nyuk nyuk... but this was a game the Bruins really could have used going down the stretch. The B's were resilient all night, taking the fight to the Devils; they hardly let them penetrate, cut off passing lanes in the attacking zone and the goaltending was phenomenal by TT tonight. The B's only allowed 25 shots this evening, a testament to Claude Julien's suffocating defense. Granted, this is not your half-brother's New Jersey Devils, they can't score at will and don't move the puck as well, but they are nothing if not disciplined. That, and they have the 2nd best goalie of all time (Patrick Roy being the best) in Martin Brodeur, who won this game for the Bad Guys this evening. Goals tonight were scored by the usual suspects... Wideman and Lucic... of course!
4/4 at Ottawa Senators (2-1 W)
Now THIS is more like it. Probably the best end to end game of the season from the Bruins; they skated, they hit hard, they took shots, worked the power play, and outshot the Sens 29-18... BOOYAH, in the words of Stuart Scott. The Bruins' only blemish of the night came on a late third period tally by Antoine Vermette, but the boys picked up the intensity to finish it off. In watching this game from start to finish, you could tell the Bruins were all business from the drop of the puck until the final horn sounded. They played on a mission (maybe because they planned to lay an egg the next night, WHO KNOWS!) to get into the playoffs. They knew what they wanted and went out there to take it... much like Herb Brooks' locker room speech from Miracle. Goals tonight came from the golden boys: Zdeno Chara and Phil "The Thrill" Kessel. Also, I just want to point out a play that was noted in today's Boston Globe: Vladimir Sobotka made a critical play by tying up the puck for 15 seconds in the Senators' end to kill the clock at the end of the game to preserve the victory... a VERY veteran move. I'm likin' the Baby B's more and more. folks...
4/5 vs Buffalo Sabres (3-0 L)
This was the Thomas Vanek show, and Boston just happened to play the host. Simply put, this may have been the WORST game I've seen the team play... yes, WORSE than the 10-2 schellacking in Washington; yes, worse than the 8-2 beatdown in Montreal... this was pathetic. Neither team really felt like being there; the Sabres because they were out of the mix, and the Bruins because they wanted to rest up. I respect the "Playing the Rest" card... but fellas - playing positional defense on the penalty kill isn't exactly a daunting task... Well, anyways, the Bruins mailed it in to rest up for the playoffs against Montreal, who finished their season with a win against Toronto and 104 points to lead the Eastern Conference.
So, your Boston Bruins will play the daunting Canadiens in a reversal of the 2004 playoffs when the Bruins were the class of the league. Oh how things have changed for the worse in Beantown (haha). There is reason to be optimistic though! This is a new season, a clean slate and stranger things have happened (look at the Edmonton Oilers run to the Stanley Cup finals two years back as a reference). Those Oilers were an 8 seed facing the best team on the planet (Detroit Red Wings) and beat them in their building to win the series... who's to say the Bruins (with a healthy Marc Savard and Andy Ference) can't do it on their end? These young guys are hungry, they want to change the cloud of hockey doubt that hangs over this town, and I don't blame them. Let's hope for the best come elimination time, folks... GO, B's, GO!!
PitchMaster is a senior writer for Boston Sports Buzz.
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