Reply With QuoteDoesn't look like Bergy will play tonight, Thursday is a more likely return date.
http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/bruin...to-miss-game-2
Thanks for the input MCT. Julien really does not give him a very long leash. If Bergeron does return tonight, they will probably bench Seguin, which is a shame. I would much rather see Paille riding the pine than Seguin.
Seguin has been getting time in practice with the PP drills, so if Bergy is out, maybe he will see a little extra ice time.
Without me, it's only "aweso".
Doesn't look like Bergy will play tonight, Thursday is a more likely return date.
http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/bruin...to-miss-game-2
Without me, it's only "aweso".
ECFs Game 2 vs Tampa Bay Lightning - Game Notes
The two hottest goalies in the NHL faced off last night and the result was far from what you would expect. Neither goalie looked great in what turned out to be a 6-5 nail biting win for the Bruins.
It was a very exciting game to watch and spectacular breakout performance by Tyler Seguin. Lost in the shuffle was the fact that Ryder and Horton each had 3 points for the Bruins as well. While Lecavalier notched 4 points and Stamkos had 3 for the Lightning.
All in all, the Bruins out-played the Lightning and truly deserved the victory.
A few thoughts:
Tyler Seguin
Much hoopla is being made about the rookie having 6 points in his first two playoff games, and rightly so. He only took 18 shifts for a total of 13:31 minutes of ice time.
However, as the game wore on, he began to make more and more mistakes, some which ended up allowing Tampa Bay to make a game of it. There is no doubting his offensive talent, but he has to be better defensively. He turned the puck over twice in about 20 seconds on a PP in the third. Once, Boston was able to keep it in, the second time TB managed to clear it. He was caught behind the play a bit too as the game wore on.
The kid has talent and as long as he continues to put up the points, the Bruins can live with his defensive gaffs. Thomas will need to return to form though as teams adjust to cover Seguin.
Fantasy owners, it may be a taste of what's to come, but don't go pegging him as the next Gretzky just yet. It's only a couple of games.
Tim Thomas
He made some spectacular saves, but he let in some very very weak goals as well. He can't expect the Bruins to score 6 goals a night. However, after Roloson was pulled, Thomas is now the only goalie left in the playoffs to not have been replaced at all.
I think he is still shaking the rust off from the long break. He likes to work hard and plays his best when not given extended time off. Thankfully, there are no more 2 day breaks in this series, so expect Timmy to get his game back going into Game 3.
Tomas Kaberle
I've been leading the Bench Kaberle Charge. I would much rather see Kampfer on the ice. After a few bobbles last night. I (unsuccessfully) tried to get #BenchKaberle trending on twitter.
But I will give credit where it's due. He played a lot better last night, taking a couple of shots on goal and picking up 2 assists. Even though he made a few bad plays, he made some great (albeit mostly unnoticed) defensive plays as well.
I still don't want to see him back next year, but it is nice to be able to write something good about him for a change.
Michael Ryder
I spent a few years living and working in Newfoundland. It is my home away from home and I still try to get back for a visit every couple of years. I love watching Newfie players like Ryder and Cleary do well.
I give Ryder a pretty hard time as he doesn't really earn the $4m/year he makes. But again, I will give credit where it's due. He scored 2 goals and had an assist last night. He is crashing the net and playing hard. That is all you can ask of him.
He had some big goals in the Montreal series as well. If he can keep contributing and key times, and if he can keep up the chemistry with Seguin; I would gladly welcome him back to the team next year (hopefully at a more reasonable salary).
Defense
Where the hell did our defense go? Chara made some horrible plays early in the game. Boychuk finished minus-3. McQuaid/Ference looked invisible other than when they were trying to injure our star-goalie.
I know Tampa is a high-scoring team and we need to get as many goals as possible. But playing a "pond hockey" style game like that is unacceptable.
I hope Julien gives the D a good hard workout today and lets them know to shape up.
Who to scratch for Game 3?
It won't be Seguin. No way they can scratch him when he carried the team offensively last night. Here are the options if Bergy is ready to play:
Thornton - 8 shifts, 4:46 ice-time, 1 SOG, Even +/-. You can argue that he is the easy choice given his ice time. But do you really want to scratch our tough guy with a thug like Downie playing on the other side? Sure, we have Lucic, Chara or many others who could put him in his place. But those guys are more valuable on the ice than off it.
Paille - 13 shifts, 8:06 ice-time, 0 SOG, Even +/-. Before last nights game, he would have been my choice. But he really impressed me when killing penalties and playing an overall strong defensive game.
Recchi - 24 shifts, 13:31 ice-time, 3SOG, Minus-2. You just can't scratch the veteran. Even being minus-2, he brings so much energy and leadership to the bench that he is a must dress. That hit he delivered on Ohlund last night was a thing of beauty.
Campbell - 14 shifts, 9:53 ice-time, 0 SOG, Minus-2. Campbell didn't have a great game. In fact, he's been invisible in the first two games of this series. Krejci, Bergy, Kelly and Peverly are a pretty solid force down the middle. Only downside would be if Bergeron isn't 100% and has to leave the game. Well that and I'm sure Colin Campbell would find a way to suspend Julien for scratching his baby boy.
Anyways, I'm pumped, this should be one helluva series. I'd love to know what everyone else thought of the Bruins play last night. Post up your thoughts.
Without me, it's only "aweso".
If any of you have been following the Cowhead story, Puck Daddy just updated it:
http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puc...medium=twitter
Unfortunately the bitter Lightning fans (all 4 of them) have succeeded in getting the Bruins to remove the signs.
But here are a couple of the "offensive" ones which I will spread around as much as possible.
And my personal favorite:
Without me, it's only "aweso".
Theiving Giraffe posted this in the Conference Final Match-up thread, but for those who missed it:
http://www.boston.com/sports/hockey/...ht_for_bruins/
Bergeron likely to return tonight. Taking bets on who gets scratched, +rep for whoever guesses correctly. My bet is on Paille but my hope is Campbell.
Without me, it's only "aweso".
Hey 4T2, too bad they pulled those signs, I think they're great. I agree with the notion that I would have rather seen the marketing guys in Tampa come up with something similar to fight back with some gamesmanship. Thanks for posting them.
No problem, yeah it's a shame they pulled the signs. Idiots like this Cowhead guy take the fun out of this time of year. I wish that Tampa could have come up with a better campaign. At least some Philly fans gave it a shot with their Teddy Ruxpin "Never date a Bruins fan" pics. It was a little more clever than calling the Bruins marketing and complaining.Originally Posted by MoreCanadianTeams
Without me, it's only "aweso".
LOVE that marketing campaign, hilarious! 4T2, why did the Bruins marketing fols acquiesce? Did the NHL put pressure on them?
"I don't know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve."
Twitter: @ross10019
CBS Sportsline 14 team H2H keeper (21-man roster, 14 keepers)
Weekly lineup changes (start 9F (3/4C and 6/5W) 5D 2G)
G, A, PPP, SOG, BS, +/-, GAA, W, SV%
Angry Little Elves (formerly Montreal Maulers)
2012, 2013, 2014 & 2015 League Champions
C: Tavares Hintz Larkin Jenner Seguin Schenn Backlund
W: Panarin Marchand Hyman Keller Forsberg Batherson Rust Moore Smith
D: Josi Hamilton Weegar Montour Ekholm Myers Parayko Pettersson Seeler
G: Vasilevskiy Swayman Kuemper
ECF Game 3 vs Tampa Bay Lightning - Game Notes
5-2 against and falling... 6-5 against and falling, 2-0... We have normality... I repeat, we have normality. Anything you still can't cope with is therefore your own problem.
If you don't get that joke, go buy yourself a copy of the Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy and come back when you've read it. I'm feeling particularly dorky today and may work in other references.
Tim Thomas led the Bruins to 2-0 victory last night with his second career playoff shutout. After allowing 11 goals in the first 2 games, the Bruins tightened up defensively and managed to completely shut down the Bolts superstars.
The game was yet another in a long line of games with horrible officiating. Penalties on clean plays, missed calls on everything from penalties to icing. The zebras must have had their Joo Janta 200 Super-Chromatic Peril Sensitive Sunglasses on last night.
Tim Thomas
I was asked yesterday by one of my site guys, "What's the score going to be?". My response, "2-0 Boston". He laughed. He thought Tampa had too much firepower. He predicted a 4-1 victory for Tampa.
My fellow Bruins-fan boss was going on and on that they should put Rask in. The mere thought hadn't even begun to speculate about the merest possibility of crossing my mind. I explained to him that Thomas needs a steady workload. Even two days rest seems to throw him off his game.
Thank you Timmy for proving me right. He proved once again that he is one of the elite goalies in the NHL and the man who deserves the Vezina trophy this year.
Thomas stopped all 31 shots he faced including 15 in the third period.
Patrice Bergeron
Bergy had a successful return after suffering a concussion in Game 4 of the Philly series. While he was held off the score sheet, he was arguably the Bruins best player not named Tim Thomas.
Bergy won 18 of the 28 faceoffs he took and also had 2 shots on goal.
He played a great two-way game as we've come to expect. He didn't shy away from the battles in the corners. He said after the game that he felt like himself out there. Great news from one of the nicest guys in hockey. The Bruins just aren't the same when he's not around.
I have to admit though, I cringed anytime he made contact with another player.
David Krejci
I don't give this guy enough credit. Krejci will never be a superstar in this league, but that's okay with me. Boston doesn't need superstars on offense. Our superstars are patrolling the blue-line or guarding the crease. Krejci fits into the mould of a true Beantown player. He is hard-working, doesn't take a shift off and contributes to the team in every way possible.
He had a beauty of a goal just 69 seconds into the game. He won 13 of 18 faceoffs including a perfect 6-0 in the first period. He got rocked by a clean Marc-Andre Bergeron hit (that was mistakenly penalized as an elbow) in the second, but he returned to play the third period.
When the Bruins signed Krejci instead of Kessel, many thought they had made a mistake. The Bruins are a far better team with David Krejci than they would be with Kessel and I don't think there is any disputing that anymore.
Tyler Seguin
Scratch him... where the hell was the offense? Those first 2 games were a complete fluke. Forget the 6 points. I want to see this kid riding the pine.
/sarcasm
Just trying to poke a little fun at all the overreactions to his superb play in the first two games of the series. Seguin looked good last night. Once again, he only played 13 minutes. He didn't make too many mistakes defensively and he was still making things happen offensively. He had three shots but couldn't get one into the net.
Tampa Bay spent a lot more time covering him last night. For the better part of the first two games, he was on against Tampa's bottom-pair defense. They didn't make that mistake in Game 3.
While I hate to see Thornton scratched, he was really their only option.
Steve Downie/Zdeno Chara
I don't know if Downie should be applauded or committed for trying to get under the skin of the Big Z. He's spent the last two games trying to goad Chara into a fight after the play.
On one hand, if he gets Chara off the ice for 5 minutes, that is great news for Tampa. He won't be able to use that long stick anymore to break up the great 2-on-1 chances.
On the other hand, is it really worth losing all your (remaining) teeth over?
On the other hand (if you're Zaphod Beeblebrox), Downie never struck me as being all that bright anyway.
On a separate note, I happened to look Chara up in the guide recently and it had this to say:
So Long And Thanks For All The Fish"Chara," it says, "is big. Really big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mindbogglingly big he is. I mean, you may think that Tyler Myers or Hal Gill are tall, but that's just peanuts to Chara.
So with that, the Bruins take a 2-1 series lead. Game 4 goes in Tampa Saturday afternoon. I may not even get to watch it, but I'm going to damn well try. Probably won't be back to posting a recap though til after Game 5.
I must be off though, there's an infinite number of monkeys outside who want to talk to me about this script for Hamlet they've worked out.
Last edited by 4T2; May 20, 2011 at 8:46 AM.
Without me, it's only "aweso".
I didn't hear anything as to why they gave in to the demands of a morbidly obese shock-jock and the other 6 (I'm being generous) Tampa Bay Lightning fans out there.
It's a sad day in sports when that happens.
I will even give Montreal fans credit for not pulling this "I'm telling Mommy" crap when the Bruins Bear made fun of the diving.
Oh well, Boston can just continue to laugh at Tampa since there were just as many Bruins fans in attendance last night as there were Lightning fans.
Without me, it's only "aweso".
Oh, here's a nice sign from game 2 that I just caught on Masshole Sports. Pretty crass but pretty clever at the same time. The name may be juvenile, but the rest of it was really clever.
Last edited by 4T2; May 20, 2011 at 8:55 AM.
Without me, it's only "aweso".
Ridiculous, I just love those Bruins bear marketing ads and videos, and could care less if I'm a Habs fan. Anything that injects humor into our rivalry is a good thing!
"I don't know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve."
Twitter: @ross10019
CBS Sportsline 14 team H2H keeper (21-man roster, 14 keepers)
Weekly lineup changes (start 9F (3/4C and 6/5W) 5D 2G)
G, A, PPP, SOG, BS, +/-, GAA, W, SV%
Angry Little Elves (formerly Montreal Maulers)
2012, 2013, 2014 & 2015 League Champions
C: Tavares Hintz Larkin Jenner Seguin Schenn Backlund
W: Panarin Marchand Hyman Keller Forsberg Batherson Rust Moore Smith
D: Josi Hamilton Weegar Montour Ekholm Myers Parayko Pettersson Seeler
G: Vasilevskiy Swayman Kuemper
Hey 4T2, nice write up. You're right, you did lay on the HGTTG references a bit thick but I enjoyed them because I've read the series and I like your sense of humour, which gives your writing some personal style.
IMHO, what makes your posts worth following is that you are good at providing info useful to a person who didn't watch the game as well as insight that may have been missed by someone who did watch. I think the hook that keeps people coming back though is the humour. Additionally, you are willing to call out players and try to be objective, as a true fan of the game should.
As a Canadiens fan, I started reading your posts with some scrutiny, though in the time BC (Before Coverage) I recall you were very informative and helpful with your player advice, which I'm sure is why you were solicited to cover the Bruins. Due the reasons stated above, I found myself coming back and will continue to do so.
In regards to advice, if it were me preparing for a writing gig here, I would probably review the format of some of the other writers providing coverage, not to copy them but rather to learn & glean some ideas to improve upon and round out my own style. This is of course just a suggestion as you've asked for feedback and I don't mean to infer that you need to write like someone else, only that I think if you're looking for ways to improve/polish your writing, I would read others. I recall reading an article by Stephen King once where he scoffed at the question when asked if he avoided reading other writers in order to maintain his own style. He responded with the notion that the only way to really develop your own style was to become familiar with a lot of others and try out alternate ideas in order to realize your own potential. I personally think this can apply to a lot of skills, not just writing.
I hope this didn't come across as condescending or preachy and perhaps you have already done as I've suggested. I look forward to your posts and wish you luck in pursuit of a Black Aces gig. Thanks again for your frequent & excellent coverage.
Thanks a lot MCT, I appreciate the honest and insightful feedback. When I first started doing the coverage, I was looking at the other writers styles. I should check in more often than I do to see how they are evolving as it will help me evolve as well.
As far as the Guide references go, I know they're not for everyone. Anyone who has read the series may enjoy them, but everyone else will be left in the dark. Not something I plan on doing regularly, but once I put one in, the rest just kind of fell into place. I didn't want to shoehorn any in, just tried to use ones that fit the circumstances.
I'm glad I come off as objective, as I know I often have my Black and Gold blinders on. When you have an allegiance to a team for so long, it's tough to see them in anything but a good light. I think covering them for these forums has helped me become more objective though.
I'm also happy to hear that the humor comes across well. I know occasionally I make a joke that crosses the line of good taste or is just plain unfunny. As long as the good outweighs the bad, I guess I'm doing okay though.
Thanks for the insight man, I really appreciate it. It wasn't preachy or condescending at all. Just good honest feedback.
Without me, it's only "aweso".
Glad you feel that way, but I guess this is as good a time as any to place all the cards on the table.
If, by some awesome chance, the Canucks and Bruins meet in the Stanley Cup Final, all support from me will heretofore cease and you will be among my sworn enemies and I shall scrutinize your writing and heap vast amounts of scorn and venom upon it. I will print off your posts just so I can piss on them and burn them and then piss upon the ashes.
But hey, I'm getting ahead of myself, let's get thru this round first, as there's lots of hockey still to be played.
Enjoy the game tonight
