Tag: Zdeno Chara

Zdeno Chara is Leaving the Bruins, But He’ll Always Be a Boston Legend

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NBCSports Boston – In a stunner on Wednesday afternoon, Zdeno Chara signed a one-year, $795,000 deal with the Washington Capitals. “We are extremely pleased to have Zdeno join the Capitals organization,” said Capitals GM Brian MacLellan. “We feel his experience and leadership will strengthen our blueline and our team.”

Originally reported by Ken Campbell, Chara confirmed the move with a tribute video to Boston fans on his Instagram page.

“My family and I have been so fortunate to call the great city of Boston our home for over 14 years,” his caption reads. “Recently, the Boston Bruins have informed me that they plan to move forward with their many younger and talented players and I respect their decision. Unfortunately, my time as the proud captain of the Bruins has come to an end.”

Zdeno Chara is carved into the Mount Rushmore of Boston Athletes in the 21st Century right alongside Tom Brady, David Ortiz, and Paul Pierce. Chara will be forever beloved by Bruins fans because he chose to come here when he was at the top of his game and the B’s were coming off a last place finish. I still vividly remember sitting in my buddy’s living room that July day in 2006 when Chara (and Marc Savard) signed a massive 5-year contract to come to Boston, which was something the Bruins never did when I was younger. So it was monumental for a guy like Chara to even sign with the team, let alone become a franchise legend, a 14-year-captain, and of course bring the Bruins their first Stanley Cup in 30+ seasons. Not to mention anchoring the defense to two more Stanley Cup Finals appearances.

Chara was an elite defenseman, played the powerplay and the penalty kill, was a captain for over a decade, had the most terrifying slap shot in the league, and he was a physical force. Hell the Canadiens legitimately tried to have him arrested up in Canada for nearly decapitating Max Pacioretty back in 2011. He was also the most intimidating enforcer in the NHL well into his forties with 30 fights in his Bruins career alone.

Chara will be remembered for a lot of things, primarily this iconic photo with the Cup.

He’ll be remembered for his dominance on the ice as one of the best defensemen in the NHL (3x First Team All-Star, 4x Second Team) and then while in Boston becoming the best in the league when he won the Norris Trophy in 2009. Chara will always be the center of some hardcore Boston sports bar trivia too as the owner of the hardest shot in the entire league at 108.8 mph.

Aside from all of the personal accolades and team success though, it was the absolute grit and determination of Big Z that made him a fan favorite. He was always the hardest working guy wearing the spoked B and was routinely setting the bar during the Bruins annual conditioning tests even as he was the oldest player on the team.

The one sight I’ll never forget and one that will be played in his Hall of Fame reel is the ovation Zdeno Chara, with his jaw wired shut, received before Game 5 of the 2019 Stanley Cup Finals, less than two days after breaking his jaw. Chara took a puck to the face in Game 4 and needed surgery to insert metal plates into his jaw and he didn’t even miss a game.

It seemed like the writing was on the wall for Chara this offseason unfortunately, as the Bruins appeared ready to move on after his playing time had started to dwindle. With a bunch of young defensemen the Bruins want to develop or at least evaluate at the NHL level, the team was likely less concerned about the money they’d have to pay Chara and more concerned with kickstarting a youth movement. The Bruins may have also wanted to avoid the optics of having their captain playing 3rd or 4th line minutes assuming Don Sweeney and Cam Neeley didn’t want to stick Chara out there as a Top-4 defenseman at this point in his career.

This is the worst part of getting older as a sports fan; watching your idols get older with you. They get older, sometimes they break down physically, sometimes they move on to other teams, and eventually they all retire. I’m over 30 so Chara has been a pillar of the Bruins for nearly half of my life, which is insane to type. He may not have won as many championships as Tom Brady or Big Papi, but he was just as monumental in changing the culture of an entire franchise and putting yet another Boston team on the map after years of mediocrity.

For that Big Z will always be remembered as a Bruins legend.

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.

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!

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.