Tag: Patrice Bergeron

This is a Connor Clifton Appreciation Blog

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Full disclaimer since I do possess a degree in Big J Journalism, I am a bit biased on this because we are both Quinnipiac grads, but it’s time for people to put some respect on Connor Clifton’s name.

With his all around game as an energy guy that’s not afraid to lay the wood and mix it up, not to mention his rocket of a slapshot, Clifton needs to be in the lineup every single night. Since he was inserted into the lineup by Cassidy in Game 3 (plus Halak taking over for Tuukka) the Bruins have looked like a more energetic team that’s playing with an edge.

Just look at last night’s 3rd period 4 goal explosion that all happened in just 6 minutes and 51 seconds; Clifton was making huge plays in every facet of the game.

And that was immediately followed by Clifton getting into position for a rocket to tie the game at 2 and really swing the momentum in the B’s favor.

Marchand followed that up just a minute later with a slick goal of his own, followed by a goal from Jake DeBrusk (2nd of the night) less than 3 minutes after that.

I’m not saying a third pairing defenseman has been the difference in this series, but I am saying Connor Clifton finished with a goal, an assist, was second on the team in hits with 3 (+ 5 in Game 3), and led the team in +/- at +2 last night. Not too shabby for Cliffy Hockey. There’s a reason the Bruins gave the QU grad a 3-year extension last summer with one year still left on his deal.

With their No. 1 goalie done for the season, Pastrnak’s return date a complete unknown, and an old veteran laden team the B’s desperately need some energy and production from the young guys and Clifton has done just that.

The Bruins Drunken Zoom Call With the 2011 Team is the Quarantine Content We All Needed

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The Bruins had the best Quarantine Content of the year last night in the form of a livestream Zoom call with the 2011 Bruins as the team watched Game 7 of the Cup, crushed beers, busted each other’s balls, and crushed some more beers. This is the kind of content we need more of while we’re all locked away in our houses. You always hear that hockey players are the most normal, down to earth guys, but this was like being a fly on the wall in the locker room as they F bombed former players, tip toed around NSFW stories, Gregory Campbell laid into Marchand, all while Lucic polished off a couple bottles of red. As would be expected this got more interesting as the night went along as everyone got more sauced up.

The hardest I’ve laughed in a while was watching Tuukka bemoan the fact that he just had a third daughter. When someone else said they just had their third son Tuukka yelled into the camera “HOW THE FUCK DOES THAT HAPPEN?!”

I am *shocked* that the Bruins haven’t scrubbed this from the internet yet, so definitely check it out before the PR team gets to it.

The Bruins Laid an Egg in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals

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What an absolutely devastating loss in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals. So, so disappointing because it is ridiculously difficult to win the Stanley Cup. Even reaching the Finals in hockey is the hardest of any sport because it is such a grind. The players know it too.

And like the sick fuck that I am, I took a seat at the bar and just watched the Blues players celebrate and parade the Stanley Cup around TD Garden until after midnight.

I should have known this was not going to go well after nearly getting trampled on Canal Street. I legitimately felt like Jon Snow in the Battle of the Bastards when he’s just suffocating under the pile of bodies.

Or maybe I should have known when the bar I finally ended up at for puck drop had a guy in a 2011 Bruins champs shirt drinking a glass of red with the game.

That goddamn enigma Jordan Binnington was on his game last night and completely changed the series with his save on a Marchand shot in the first, which absolutely goes in if Binnington is wearing a jersey thats one size smaller.

There were just so many missed opportunities in this game. The Bruins dominated the first period and had nothing to show for it but an 0-2 hole. They just could not bury their chances.

Tough break for Tuukka Rask who played out of his mind for the past two months, but gives up four goals in the biggest game of his career last night. Its hard to pin the first two on him since the first was a deflection and the second was when Marchand left him out to dry (we’ll get to that in a second). Tuukka did not have a great game, but he did make a save that would’ve been played on the championship DVD highlight reel if the B’s came back.

Tuukka had zero support from his best players yet again as Marchand and Pastrnak were complete no shows in the Stanley Cup Finals. Really disheartening to see as we kept saying for the past two weeks that if the first line could just wake up the Bruins would cruise. Well, that line never did wake up as Marchand finished with two goals, one of which was an empty netter and the other came on a 5-on-3, while Pastrnak had two, and Bergeron had one. Maybe it was injuries catching up to them, I don’t know, but for guys like Pasta, who had 38 g’s in the regular season, and Marchand, who had 100 points in the regular season, to only notch two goals apiece in seven games had the Bruins dead in the water.

It boggles my mind how Boston lost this series. Despite a no show in the Finals, Marchand still finished the season as the league leader in playoff points with 23, the Bruins had a historic power play at 32.4% (nearly double the league average), and led the league with a 2.12 Goals Against Average in the playoffs. And they still lost.

Not to completely bury Marchand, but he also was responsible for the second goal when he picked the absolute worst time to change lines I’ve ever seen. Even worse, this came just a few nights after the B’s lost a game on another poorly timed line change. Tony Amonte ripped Marchand for his lack of awareness on the play.

What a nightmare of a game that was. It would seem like the Red Sox are just about ready to pack it in for the season too.

How many days left until Patriots training camp?

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.

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.

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!

The Bruins Are Everything That is Right With Sports, the Celtics Are Everything That is Wrong

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Watching the Bruins and Celtics these past couple of weeks has been like night and day. The Bruins have been tough, relentless, clutch, and generally fun to watch. The Celtics? Not so much.

After an incredible performance in Game 1, Kyrie has been abysmal in Games 2, 3, and 4 with defense that borders on “bad” and “not giving a shit.” After dropping 26 points in Game 1 when he shot 57% and was a +22, he’s gone 9/22%/-9, 26/36%/-7, and 23/31%/-6. So while he’s had three games with 20+ points, his shooting percentage has fallen off a cliff and he’s finished in the negatives in terms of +/- in 3 of the 4 games. Not great.

The Celtics have routinely packed it in this series too when the Bucks go on a run and the game starts to get away. It’s a pretty shitty attitude to just assume you’ll get it back the next game, especially when playing the No. 1 seed and the potential MVP in Giannis. Thats what this team has been all year long though. Kyrie punted on the regular season months ago legitimately saying talk to me when we get to the playoffs. Welp the playoffs are here bud, time to pick it up.

The C’s had one guy after the next playing hero ball and bricking shot after shot. From Kyrie (7/22, 1/7 from 3) to Terry Rozier (1/5, 0/3 from 3) to Al Horford going 3/8 from 3 to Jayson Tatum lacking awareness in key situations last night.

Not to mention Gordon Hayward scoring all of 2 points on 5 shots.

To top it all off, Kyrie came out to the post game presser and basically gave everyone the double freedom rockets despite another poor performance from him.

MEANWHILE, the Bruins had all the history in the world against them heading into Game 6 with an opportunity to close out the series.

They could have very easily fallen victim to recent history especially after having a huge goal taken off the board in the first period.

But unlike the Celtics, this Bruins team has shown huge balls and mental toughness all season long. They’re looking more and more each day like a team that could be raising a trophy soon.

The B’s have battled back all series while Sergei Bobrovsky has been playing out of his mind, they’ve gotten jobbed by the refs, and they nearly collapsed in Game 5 before scoring in the final 90 seconds to secure the W. Mental toughness like you read about. Speaking of mental toughness, shoutout to Tuukka Rask who closed his excellent series out with a 39 save shutout performance. Buffs wings on me, Tuukka.

Oh and the Bruins even have guys laying their bodies on the line in meaningless plays with the game already in hand.

So while the Celtics continue to be the inconsistent, hot and cold, unreliable team they were all year long, the Bruins just keep getting better and look like a team that could make a legit run at a championship.

Game. Seven. This Bruins Maple Leafs Series Has Taken Years Off My Life and It All Comes Down to Tonight

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Game 7. It all comes down to tonight and my anxiety is peaking because this game is going to be a battle. Before the series started I had Bruins in 7 so I’m sticking to my guns, but it is problematic that the B’s have only played well in even numbered games. Seriously, they looked excellent in Games 2, 4, and 6 and then looked like an old, slow, shell of themselves in Games 1, 3, and 5. So with 7 being an odd number I am a little worried, but all superstitions aside with the Bruins having home ice for the winner take all game I feel like they’ll pull this one out. That or I’ll take a long, angry walk in the rain later tonight.

Lets take a look at some of the keys to the series and in particular tonight’s game.

Auston Matthews Has Risen

Look we all know how good Auston Matthews is with the puck as he’s had 37, 34, and 40 goals in each of the last three seasons. With that being said though, he hasn’t always been a stud in the playoffs, especially last season when he had 1 goal and 1 assist in 7 games against the Bruins before getting bounced. It looked like it was going to be more of the same this series, but the kid has gone from getting dumped on for his ghost presence in Games 1-2 to scoring 5 goals in the last four games. This kid terrifies me.

Is Tuukka Rask Going to Show Up?

Is he stealing games? Should he be DFA’d right now with Halak getting the Game 7 start? Read and listen to sports talk at your own risk because as a rational person you know the answer is somewhere in the middle, but the middle doesn’t drive clicks like a massive overreaction does. He’s been pretty up and down, but I think for the most part he’s giving the Bruins a shot to win each night. He’s 3-3 with a .921 save percentage in the playoffs, which is good for 6th in the NHL Playoffs, one slot behind….you guessed it…Frederick Andersen. He’s also 6th in Goals Against Avg at 2.54 per game. Is that a ringing endorsement of a former Vezina winner? Not exactly, but if he can keep the B’s in the game then thats all they need.

Discussions From the Cheap Seats

If NBC Sports gives us the cheap seats camera angle again I will blow a gasket.

Bergeron-Marchand-Pastrnak

These three need to be THE guys like they were all year long. Frequently referred to as the best line in hockey, Bruce Cassidy has opted to spread the wealth and move Pasta down to the second line. Thats all fine and well, but these guys have not exactly looked like themselves for much of the series.

Marchand has heated up and now has 4 goals and 5 assists in the series, but for too many stretches of time these three have been taken out of the game. I don’t know whats going on with Pasta specifically because in Game 2 he was laying the wood on guys and in Game 4 he scored 2 goals, but other times I forget he’s even on the ice. Those are his only two goals in the entire series actually, and one of them came on a mental breakdown from Toronto.

Torey Krug…

…needs to get his shit together. The guy is a beast on the powerplay and finished the year Top 5 in points for the B’s so they clearly need him, but he’s been a liability on defense at times this series. On two plays late in Game 6 Krug badly misplayed dumped pucks and pucks off the side board before getting easily beat to the play only to barely get bailed out by his teammates. I don’t need Krug to be a 2011-level shutdown defender like Zdeno Chara, but just keep the puck in front of you please.

David Krejci is Looking Like His Old Self

Krejci seems like an old man because he’s been on the Bruins for 13 seasons, but he’s really only 32. The main difference with him is that he’s finally healthy and he’s looking like his old self, especially when paired with young guys like DeBrusk (which we’ll get to in a moment). Krejci is fourth on the Bruins in playoff points, but he is dishing the puck like vintage Krejci lately.

If you remember, any time the Bruins make a run for the Cup it’s been in large part due to David Krejci. In 2010-11 he had 23 points in 25 games and the B’s won the Stanley Cup. In 2012-13 when they lost to Chicago he had 26 points in 22 games. So if Krejci is looking like his old self then the Bruins suddenly have a huge boost to their depth and secondary scoring.

Jake DeBrusk Has Evolved Before Our Eyes

This kid has been lights out for most of the series. He’s been a physical presence and before his suspension was drawing the ire of infamous dirtbag Nazem Kadri.

He’s only got 2 points in the series, but seems to always be buzzing around the puck as his ice time is up a full minute from last year’s playoffs to 15:54 per night.

Betting Line

If you’re feeling frisky and want to bet some hard earned Schrute Bucks on Game 7, as if these games weren’t stress inducing enough, well here are the odds for tonight’s matchup.

Heading into Game 7 with the Leafs, the Bruins’ Stanley Cup odds assessed from sportsbooks here are as long as +1000 (10/1). The Bruins would have to have a roughly 55% chance, on average, to win each of their remaining series, including Game 7 vs Toronto. That’s pretty high for something as unpredictable as the NHL playoffs (just ask Tampa Bay), but Boston would have home-ice against 10 of the 11 teams remaining. With their 29-9-3 home-ice record, theres a pretty strong argument that +1000 is a good price at this point.

Godspeed to everyone heading to the Garden tonight and for everyone watching at home just make sure you have all your adult beverages in plastic cups to avoid any destroyed property.

Bruins Avoid a Late Game Meltdown to Tie Maple Leafs Series at 2-2

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Before this series started I refused to look past the Maple Leafs and play what if matchups with Tampa Bay (who just got swept) because Toronto is no joke. I had Bruins in 7 before the series and I’m sticking to that now. It seems like the Bruins only want to play hard every other game though. In Game 1 they looked lifeless and got run out of the rink by a quicker and younger Maple Leafs team. In Game 2 the Bruins looked like they were shot out of a cannon led by the soon to be 35-year-old enforcer David Backes laying the wood on guys. Hell even David Pastrnak was teeing off on guys.

Then Game 3 came and the Bruins got their dicks stomped once again with fans starting to openly wonder what the hell had happened to the alleged best line in hockey. Bergeron, Marchand, and Pastrnak had barely contributed through 3 games and if that line ain’t carrying the team then the Bruins are dead on arrival. Welp, since the B’s are only playing hard in even number games apparently, they once again looked like the team we saw all year long in Game 4.

Pastrnak even got back to his old ways netting 2 goals while Marchand added 3 points and was all over the puck all night long.

The definition of first world problems last night though was having the Bruins and Celtics playing important playoff games at the same exact time. Since picture in picture is a bullshit idea that is more distracting than helpful and since I’m not about to drag another TV out to my living room, I had to live with switching back and forth all night. It worked out relatively well with the hockey intermissions and the NBA halftime providing solid chunks of time to watch the other with undivided attention. So the Bruins are up 5-2 and I go to watch the last five minutes of the Celtics game, which naturally took about 25 minutes. I flip back to the Bruins and its 5-4.

The Tuukka haters were served some humble pie, at least in the first two periods, when Tuukka saved the B’s bacon with some seriously clutch saves on a barrage of shots from Toronto. He finished the night with 38 saves and was one of the reasons the B’s were so dominant in the first 2 periods. He did give up 3 in the third though so there’s that. So was Tuukka dominant or was Tuukka giving the game away? Depends who you ask.

“So with the Bruins on the verge of returning to Boston down three games to one, the point was hammered home once again: Rask needed to steal the Bruins a game before it was too late.

…Am I crazy for thinking that Rask finally did exactly that in a 38-save, 6-4 victory in Game 4 at Scotiabank Arena?” – Ty Anderson of 98.5 after Game 4.

Either way, the B’s pulled it out despite some serious hand wringing in the final minutes. I know it wasn’t a “must win” game, but you absolutely cannot go back home down 3-1 and expect to rip off 3 in a row. A 2-2 split is much more manageable and it would have been a goddamn shame to waste great games from Pasta and Tuukka.

All this came just minutes after the C’s pulled out a close one in the playoffs too. Victory Dip for all!

See you Friday boys.

The Bruins Just Dropped the Best Team in the NHL and Now Have a 15 Game Points Streak

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I’m in. This team is legit, I am convinced.

Bruins v Lightning is always a heavyweight bout, especially with the Lightning already over 100 points on the year and its not even March. Thats insane! The Bruins were literally 19 points behind the Lightning in the standings heading into Thursday night. It was the first time two teams with point streaks of at least 14 games had faced off in NHL history. And the Bruins took Tampa Bay behind the shed and beat them with a garden hose, 4-1.

Granted, Tampa was coming off of 3 straight OT games and was playing back to backs, but hey a win is a win and that was a statement win.

“If it wasn’t for Louis Domingue I think this game could have been 9 or 10-1,” Jeremy Roenick said on the NBC Sports postgame.

They’ve been rolling lately, but after Wednesday nights W filled with clutch goals, hard hits, and Zdeno Chara ass beatings

and Thursday’s dismantling of the best team in the NHL

I am all in.

The Bruins showed up in a big moment once again and looked excellent all night, yet only lead 1-0 after the first 2 and a half periods. Domingue was standing on his damn head once again, but after a Noel Acciari goal the flood gates opened. The Bruins scored 3 goals in 1:28 seconds to open up a 4-0 lead and Domingue proceeded to lose his shit on national TV.

It’s only one game, but the Bruins showed Thursday night that they absolutely can play with the best of the best.