Category: Boston

It All Comes Down to Tonight. Bruins. Blues. Game 7. Here’s Your Keys to the Game

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Game. Seven. It all comes down to tonight. Its time for the Bruins to put the Blues out of their misery on home ice. I also fully expect the Blues and their meathead coach to try and decapitate someone tonight if things don’t go their way, so head on a swivel boys. Theres a lot to get to so here are your keys to the game from betting lines, to stats, to storylines and more.

Betting Lines

Bruins are -175 favorites to win Game 7 with an over/under of 5.5 goals. That sounds like a lot of goals for a Game 7 with two hard hitting teams playing in front of 2 pretty solid goaltenders. I’m taking the Bruins and the under.

Ticket Prices Have Come Down

…to a completely reasonable $1,400 to get in the door! So if you’re poor like me, come find us down by the Garden drinking a few Bud Lattes.

Matt Grzelcyk is Back Babyy

Bruins defenseman Matt Grzelcyk has been medically cleared from a concussion and is likely to play in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final on Wednesday, coach Bruce Cassidy said.

“He’ll be a game-time decision,” Cassidy said. “But looks like he’ll go in.”

While this means that my Quinnipiac brethren Connor Clifton is likely getting the short straw here, Grzelcyk has been a real difference maker for the B’s in the playoffs this year.

The Numbers Are in the Bruins Favor

The Bruins are 6-1 all time with an opportunity to clinch the Stanley Cup. That’s the best record of any team in NHL history with a minimum of five chances to do so.

Historically Rask is downright awful in Game 7’s, but this postseason he has been downright dominant in elimination games.

In Game 7s, Rask is 3-2 all time, and the numbers aren’t pretty: a 3.18 goals-against average and an .877 save percentage. But his numbers in elimination games this postseason are a different story: In wins over Toronto (twice), Columbus, Carolina and St. Louis (in Game 6), Rask is 5-0 with a .973 save percentage, including a shutout against the Blue Jackets.

Experience Matters

The Bruins have a core built around guys that have won (and lost Stanley Cups) like Brad Marchand, Zdeno Chara, Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, and Tuukka Rask. The Blues only have one player on their team thats won a Cup in Oskar Sundqvist.

“It’s the best thing in the world for the team that wins, and it sucks for the team that loses. Being on both sides of it, you realize how hard it is, and just how shitty it is to lose. It sticks with you forever,” said Marchand. “Winning and losing sticks with you forever.

Bruins Fans Want the Power Play

I’m not saying to go out there and start diving like the Canadiens, but listen to me guys, we want the power play. Sure its always great to have an extra man on the ice, but the Bruins have been historically good on the PP during these playoffs.

The Bruins’ power play (32.9 percent) remains the best in the NHL postseason since the New York Islanders in 1981. They’re 7-for-21 in this series, and the power play has been a difference-maker in all three of their wins.

Bruce Cassidy Has No Time for Your Candy Ass Questions

Don’t Forget About the Ice Crew

The St. Louis Blues GM, Doug Armstrong, apparently f-bombed one of the ice workers at the Garden yesterday for not doing his job up to Armstrong’s standards. The ice worker’s response was the most Boston thing ever.

Do It for Chara

Zdeno Chara’s career is on the 17th or 18th hole at this point and the guy is literally putting his body on the line playing with a broken jaw. Nobody wants this more than Big Z and it would amazing to see the captain go out with 2 Stanley Cups on his resume with a win tonight.

Red Would Really, Really Like to Experience Winning a Stanley Cup With Actual Bruins Fans Around

Last time the B’s won the Cup I was on the other side of the world (upstate NY) and was forced to watch Game 7 in an empty bar. Tonight I’ll be down by the Garden with thousands of other Bruins fans, so lets get it done.

Even the Ice Guy in Boston Doesn’t Take Any Shit from the St. Louis Blues

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The most Boston response of all time. Oh you’re the GM of the St. Louis Blues who are about to play in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals? Go piss up a rope, I’m working here. This is exactly why I’d either get murdered or become King if I ever moved to a new city. There’s just a certain blunt, straight to the point, sarcastic charm around here that we all lovingly refer to as being a Masshole. Never change, Boston.

Listening to Pedro Martinez and Jason Varitek Talk About David Ortiz Will Break Your Heart

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From all the latest reports out now it seems like David Ortiz will make a full recovery, but that doesn’t change how scary the entire situation has been. I still can’t believe someone tried to assassinate Big Papi. It all sounds like a fake story, but thankfully he’s back in Boston and seems to be in a good spot. His former teammates have begun reacting to the news and its just heartbreaking. Pedro played with Ortiz on the Sox for 2 seasons, but they’re both DR guys and thats a pretty tight knit community in baseball.

Jason Varitek is one of the most stoic guys you’ll ever see and was always pretty reserved in how he addressed the media. So to see this coming from Tek was really emotional.

To hear him nearly break down in tears while discussing David Ortiz being shot is heartbreaking. These guys were more than just teammates, they were like family. They played together for 9 years and both are still involved with the Red Sox organization to this day. It says a lot about how much people genuinely care for David Ortiz.

 

Prayers up to No. 34.

Bruins Force Game 7 for Winner Take All Stanley Cup Finale

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The two sweetest words in sports; Game. Seven. It all comes down to Wednesday night as this series flipped on its head for like the fourth time last night. I know its obvious that when a team wins they normally look different than when they lose, but the Bruins have looked like a completely different team in Games 1, 3, and 6. Last night the B’s were aggressive, but they weren’t chasing hits, they cleared the puck effectively, and they were able to consistently enter the Blues zone with the puck, which is something they’ve struggled with mightily in their losses.

Great moments are born from great opportunity

Apparently Patrice Bergeron delivered a Herb Brooks type speech before the game and I NEED to know what he said.

Bergeron has always been the quiet, classy, lead by example type of guy, but every Bruins fan knows that you don’t become the player Patrice Bergeron is without some fire. Bergeron has been on the Bruins since 2003, he played for a last place team in the disaster that was the 1-year long Dave Lewis era, he won a Stanley Cup in 2011 and he lost a Cup in 2013, so he has seen it all and he realizes this could be the last shot for this group.

Tuukka is on the verge of rewriting his legacy

For the past week people have been saying Tuukka needs to steal a game if the Bruins are going to win this series and he was A+ in net last night with 28 saves. Hell the one goal he allowed he technically made the save. So while its hard to say a goalie stole a game in a 5-1 win, Tuukka carried the B’s on his back early last night. If the Bruins win Wednesday night, Tuukka’s legacy is going to shift from a pretty good goalie who couldn’t win the big one to an absolute gamer who shined in the 2019 playoffs to lead the B’s to a Cup when their top 2 forward lines were non-existent.

Marchand and Pasta FINALLY get it going

Heading into Game 6 Marchand (100 pts in the regular season) had 1 goal in the series, which was an empty netter so it doesn’t really count, and Pastrnak (38 goals in the regular season) had ZERO. So for both of those guys to score last night was huuuge because the Bruins have got this far with next to no production from their two best offensive players. Its crazy they’re even alive at this point, which speaks to the excellent depth this team has. So you gotta feel good heading into Game 7 with Marchand, Pasta, and Tuukka all having their best game of the series last night.

The Blues have to be one of the dirtiest teams in the league

Throwing cross check cheapshots in Acciari’s face in the final seconds of the game just trying to incite a riot. I’m all for tough physical play, but these guys are dirtbags. Robert Bortuzzo got tossed with a 10 minute major for that, but that doesn’t carry over obviously so whats he care? And that goddamn wink…

I have to admit I did not know a ton about the Blues heading into this series, but I have very quickly developed a strong hatred of everyone on this team and their coach. I want blood, but I’ll settle for the Stanley Cup.

Bruce Cassidy does it again by pulling rookie Karson Kuhlman off the discount rack

I am a humble man and I will admit when I was wrong. I thought it was crazy to leave David Backes up on level 9 last night for an untested rookie who hasn’t played in a month. Sure Backes is older and slower, but the guy is playing against his former team (who seem to hate him now) in what is likely his last shot at a Cup. I’m pretty sure that guy would die for the Bruins in Game 6. But that doesn’t necessarily means he’d be effective, so Bruce went with Kuhlman and he rewarded the coach with an absolute SNIPE of a goal. Well played.

Jon Hamm spit in the hockey gods faces last night

I love me some Jon Hamm so don’t take this the wrong way, Don. Its one thing to wear wacky scarves, its an entirely different thing to shave your playoff beard before Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals. That is an absolute crazy person move. Remember when Tom Brady got a freaking haircut before the 2007 Super Bowl and we all groaned? Yea, you don’t worry about your hair or your beard during a playoff run. Insanity.

The officiating remains infuriatingly inconsistent.

Look I get why some of these calls are made. In a vacuum and because of his reputation, this Marchand sweep is almost always going to be a penalty, but why is this any different from the Acciari non-call in Game 5?

This is how these series get out of hand. I guarantee Marchand’s thinking well if they’re not going to call it I might as well do it. Same thing with every Blues player head hunting and boarding every Bruins player any chance they get. Granted they did actually call that dirty and dangerous boarding call early in the first period, but theres so much not getting called its hard as a player to know what the hell is going to be a penalty.

Good job good effort

Even though the Bruins mopped the floor with the Blues, the St. Louis fans were still chanting like they’d won the damn game. If you guys want to be Seattle and hang your hat on being “the loudest fans” then you do that. I’m going to worry about adding another championship to my resume.

A Dominican News Network is Reporting David Ortiz Has Been Shot

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I really hope this isn’t true, but CDN 37, a blue check marked news network in the Dominican Republic, is reporting that David Ortiz has been hospitalized with a gunshot wound in Santo Domingo. I’ve seen some other rumors on Twitter saying that it happened during a robbery at gunpoint, but I don’t know if thats true or not. A couple of websites are reporting that he was shot in the leg after an altercation and that the suspect has been arrested.

This is exactly why a lot of players make it big and never go home when they come from less than well off countries. It must be an insanely scary feeling to be the richest guy in one of the poorest parts of the world while everyone knows you’re the richest guy in the country. Even if you’re the humblest, most modest dude, just having Big Papi’s face would be like me walking through the Bronx with hundred dollar bills hanging out of my pockets. I can’t imagine why anyone would want to do David Ortiz harm. He’s Big Papi for christs sake. Street justice will probably be swift on the dude thats responsible if its true. We’ll keep you updated with any info we see come through, but for now prayers up to No. 34.

The Bruins Got Hosed Last Night and Are Now On the Brink of Elimination

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I hate to blame the refs for a loss, but here we are.

Even if you’re not a big time hockey fan you can watch that play and immediately realize something illegal probably just happened. To make matters worse, Acciari was hurt on the play and was slow to get up as play continued and the Blues were able to score the pivotal, game deciding goal.

Even the Bruins official Twitter account couldn’t believe the non-call.

I’ve had Blues fans chirping me on Twitter all night long saying plenty of calls were missed the other way, Bruins fans need to stop complaining, all the way up to the insanity of saying Acciari embellished getting slewfooted and smacking his head on the ice. These people are outside of their minds like any serious sports fan is so I don’t fault them, but I for sure will dust them on Twitter all the same.

St. Louis:

Me:

Well now the disinformation campaign begins as the NHL released a statement last night saying: “We don’t make comments on judgment calls within games.” Then the league actually  tweeted out a video of the neato goal, yet clipped the start of the sequence (the trip) which is kind of an important part of the play.

To make matters worse, the officiating seems to have a clear line of demarcation from when it started shifting in the Blues’ favor; Craig Berube’s bitching to the media. Well even Bruce Cassidy has had enough as he went scorched earth policy on the refs and the league  last night.

Berube was predictably a lot more calm and deferential considering the refs have embarrassingly played into his comments.

Alright well now that I got that off my chest I can move on, but it had to be said; the Bruins got screwed. Now we move onto a do or die Game 6 that I did not see coming after the way the B’s handled St. Louis in Games 1 and 3. The Blues have played hard (bordering on dirty at times), they’ve dominated 5-on-5, and have seemed like the team willing to fight and die for that inch, which is what you need to win the Stanley Cup.

Granted the Bruins have guys like Zdeno Chara playing with broken fucking jaws so they’re not exactly slacking either, but we need more. We need more from the top 2 lines. Brad Marchand scored 100 points this season and he’s been a ghost in this series. Marchand has just 3 points and 1 goal, which came on an empty netter in Game 1. What makes that even more infuriating is how good he had been before the Finals; he is the leading scored in these playoffs with 21 points. Some people have speculated he injured his hand during that goddamn scrimmage the B’s had during their 11 day layoff. God help me if thats true. The guy we absolutely hands down need more from though is David Pastrnak, who has been a complete no show in the Finals. He has 2 points in this series and 0 goals. That is unacceptable for a guy who had 38 goals in the regular season.

So luckily for the Bruins they’ve been losing these games without the “best line in hockey” doing a damn thing. If those guys can wake up and pop a couple goals then the B’s are right back in this thing, but with Game 6 on Sunday night we’re running out of time for that to happen.

Zdeno Chara is On the Ice Right Now. I Repeat Zdeno Chara is Skating at Bruins Practice

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What an absolute savage. I pull a hammy while running or I tweak my knee at mens league softball and I bitch about it for a week. Zdeno Chara breaks his freaking jaw and he’s back at work 3 days later. Its still not entirely clear if he’s a go for Game 5, but if Big Z plays tonight we are all unable to complain about a minor injury ever again.

It Would Seem Kevin Garnett Was the Most Generous Athlete of All Time, According to Perk

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NBC Sports – It seems like there is no shortage of Kevin Garnett stories, especially from his time with the Celtics. I mean, it’s been six years since the Celtics traded him and Paul Pierce to the Nets and every once and a while we hear a new story about how great a teammate or how crazy a competitor he was.

In a preview for Kristine Leahy’s show “Fair Game” on FS1, Perkins told a few tales about the future Hall of Famer’s legendary unselfishness, calling him the most unselfish guy he’s ever been around.

I could listen to stories about the 2007-2012 Celtics all day because that is one of my favorite Boston sports eras of all time. As usual, this is a story coming from Kendrick Perkins who has become my new favorite NBA Insider. Perk in particular brought us the stories of Garnett guarding the buffet line like a Faneuil Hall bouncer and who could forget the “real hood shit” arm wrestling story:

So Perk brings us another story about KG, but this one might just bring a tear to your eye. Despite being a clear psychopath, you could always tell KG had a heart of gold. He was just an absolute psychotic competitor who wanted to win at all costs…

…but after the game was a genuinely good dude. Seems like he was a generous guy too:

Perkins, who played with Garnett in Boston for three-and-a-half seasons, recalled how he did not save his unselfishness just for his play on the court, but for interns, assistants, ball-boys and video coordinators too.

“He would have his tailor come in and he’d buy each one of them five custom suits,” Perkins said.

Of course, Garnett wasn’t perfect. In the interview, Perkins mentioned how players had to wait for him on the team plane because he was getting a long massage, and there are the popular stories of Garnett yelling at anyone who took food from the postgame buffet before the players did. But he seemed to always make up for it and then some.

“The biggest thing was when he bought everybody in the organization Rolex watches. That was over the top,” Perkins said. “I tell him all the time, sometimes it’s okay to be a selfish a little bit because he always put himself last.”

That is absolutely bananas. Granted, Garnett made like $326 Million over the course of his career, but suits and rolexes ain’t cheap man. Say its a moderately priced suit for $300, well 5 of those bad boys is $1,500 and a Rolex starts at like $7,000 so thats nearly $10K he’s dropping PER PERSON. Who knows how many staffers he hooked up with that deluxe baller package.

Kevin Garnett, what a guy.

Bruins Miss Opportunity to Go Up 3-1 and Land a Decisive Blow on Jon Hamm and the Blues

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The Bruins missed a huge opportunity to put the Blues on the mat last night so I guess the gentleman’s sweep is off the table. The difference between a 3-1 series and a 2-2 series is night and day so I don’t love going back to Boston tied. Although I’ll take the Bruins playing best of 3 with home ice advantage.

I was definitely a bit rattled last night though when I saw the St. Louis hype video they played right before the game. Every sport does this when they pull a local celebrity out to do a voiceover for their team, but St. Louis has a goddamn hammer in their back pocket.

An encouraging sight last night was Tuukka in his post game presser with the media because he looked unfazed. As he should, its hard to pin any of those goals on Tuukka really. He was a confident, defiant, snarky asshole and thats exactly what I want to see from my goalie.

“They were desperate…they were the more desperate team.”

Listening to the NBCSports Boston postgame last night they said it was reported that Chara was “advised not to play” but didn’t specify whether that meant if he was cleared or not. Either way it was odd to see the captain sitting on the bench, never getting a single shift in the third period. Granted that puck to the face looked gruesome, I’m not sure why he wouldn’t be given a second of ice time? Concerning to say the least.

I’m really starting to despise this Blues team though. Coming in they were known for hard hitting, but a lot of what we’ve seen over the last 4 games has crossed the line. The Matt Grzelcyk hit, the cross check to David Backes’ face, and not to mention all the flopping. Tarasenko could have won an Oscar for selling that elbowing penalty in the third period, and Binnington looked like the Life Alert lady last night.

Holy shit do the Blues seem to hate David Backes. Did he burn a Missouri flag on his way out of town or something? It seems odd for this Blues team to be taking shots at their former captain every single chance they get and not just clean hard checks either. Can you imagine the Bruins taking liberties on Chara if he were to finish out his career somewhere else?

Charlie Coyle remains King of the South (Shore) with another goal last night, giving him NINE goals in this playoff run. Insane.

Heading back to Boston its great to see Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron starting to get hot over the last 2 games. They started off non-existent in the first 2 games of the series, but you’re starting to see more of the playmaking in the last 2 games that made them the most dangerous line in hockey.

The Blues responded in Game 4 as they looked like a team playing with their hair on fire. The Bruins tried to respond and keep pace, but they couldn’t do it for 60 minutes, they lost their captain and anchor defenseman for the third period, and St. Louis caught some lucky rebounds.

All in all a frustrating game to watch, but I still have faith the Bruins pull this one out. Originally I had them in 6, but I could easily see this series going 7 now. See ya at the Garden boys.

PS – Grab your Bear Force One shirts for the stretch run!

Welcome to Flavortown, Boston

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Eater – Celebrity chef, custodian of Flavortown, and bleached hair maven Guy Fieri will at long last have a restaurant of his very own in Boston. Teaming up with Boston’s Big Night Entertainment Group (BNEG), the vibrant culinary personality will open Guy Fieri’s Tequila Cocina in the Hub on Causeway, a new development chock full of retail, office, hotel, and residential space adjoining TD Garden.

Here. We. Go.

I don’t know when Guy Fieri became the Nickelback of celebrity chefs but at some point it became popular to dump on him and I just don’t get it. Sure he has obnoxiously bleach blonde hair and talks like a dude on his 3rd can of Monster Energy before lunch, but Guy Fieri gives zero fucks what anyone thinks about him. Gotta respect that.

Plus he seems like a genuinely good dude who is always getting love from major professional athletes, which always makes me laugh just because of how random it seems.

The No. 1 show on my hungover binge on the couch after a night of boozing power rankings will always be Bar Rescue, but Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives is a close second. It’s like the Phantom Gourmet, but with ATTITUDE. Seriously though, I love watching Guy stuff his face at random hole in the wall restaurants and introduce his pallet to Flavor Town.

PS – I was up at the Smuttynose brewery in New Hampshire a couple of weeks ago and saw an absolute hall of fame shirt on a couple of nerdy looking gentlemen. Their shirts simply read:

DUNGEONS &
DINERS &
DRAGONS &
DRIVE-INS &
DIVES

Need it.