Tag: Stanley Cup

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.

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.

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.

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!

Bruins Go for a 3-1 Lead and Inch Closer to Declaring Prima Nocta On Gloria

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Chirping Blues fans about their new victory song “Gloria” has become a new favorite hobby of mine. Something that has been built up as the end all be all song of celebration for the city of St. Louis. And I would love nothing more than for Boston to stomp out this city yet again and declare prima nocta to claim “Gloria” for ourselves. Get it done boys.

Is Tuukka Rask Actually Outplaying Bruins Legend Tim Thomas?

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Tuukka Rask is playing out of his skull and the Boston Bruins are heading to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 2013. The last time the Bruins played a Stanley Cup Finals game I walked out of Jerry Remys by Fenway (RIP to that bar btw) and angrily walked the 2 miles home to my Allston apartment after Tuukka gave up a last minute goal in Game 6. Now, Tuukka is playing like an absolute stud. I don’t know if he’s sworn off Buff’s wings or what, but the guy has been on a tear. I noticed in the last Bruins game, which feels like a month ago at this point, just how intensely focused Rask looked in pre-game warmups. Take it for what its worth, but he looked like a guy that had just taken 6 scoops of pre-workout and was seeing through space.

I think to properly put this Tuukka run into perspective, we should put it up against the 2010-11 Tim Thomas run, which elevated Thomas to god status (rightfully so). It might surprise you, but Tuukka has actually been better.

Tim Thomas 2010-11 Playoffs: 

  • 25 games
  • .940 save percentage
  • 1.98 GAA

Tuukka Rask 2018-19 Playoffs:

  • 17 games (and counting)
  • .942 save percentage
  • 1.84 GAA

Thats astonishing, even with how well Rask is playing these numbers still surprised me. Thomas was playing in rarified air during that 2010-11 Stanley Cup run with one of the greatest postseason performances I’ve ever seen. This isn’t baseball where David Price had 3 good starts. No, Thomas was on fire for a month. And now Tuukka is playing at an even higher level statistically. Now all of this will be forgotten by the 4th of July if the Bruins and/or Tuukka lay an egg in the Stanley Cup Finals.

I’m really pulling for the Bruins here because the last time they won I had literally just moved to New York after college. I watched the Bruins win Game 7 and raise the Stanley Cup from a bar in upstate NY by myself. Actually a pretty bizarre scene thinking back.

Would be nice to celebrate with my hockey brethren this time around. Four. More. Wins. LETS GOO

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.