Deadline Buzz: Who's coming, who's going?

As March 4th approaches, the Bruins find themselves in a unique position: comfortably settled into a playoff spot, and, for the first time seemingly in years, being buyers at the trade deadline. Barring a collapse of epic proportions (think Yankees 2004, and multiply it by 10), the B's will find themselves in one of the top three spots in the Eastern Conference come April, and according to some recent comments by GM Peter Chiarelli, are gearing up for a serious run at Lord Stanley.

Also, today on WEEI's Dale & Holley, which is probably the best show on WEEI, as listening to the Big Show try to talk about hockey is about as helpful as me trying to teach Calculus, Chiarelli said there is a 60-75% chance that he WILL make a trade at the deadline.

This means a couple of things: management believes this team has a serious shot at the Cup, and appears to be ready to put the pedal to the metal and go for it. Also, it means that some current Bruins property is on his way out of town, which, with a team as tight-knit as this year's group, could have some bad side-effects. If a player sent away in a trade is from Providence, it may not impact this year's NHL team much. However, if it's a regular (or even a bit-role) player from the big club, it could disrupt what until this point has been a locker room that by all accounts has the atmosphere (attitude-wise, anyways) of a frat house.

Some names that I've heard bandied about that may disrupt the B's squad include Chuck Kobasew, Vladimir Sobotka, Matt Lashoff, and even the injured Marco Sturm. Chiarelli has shown that he's not shy about making trades, as referenced by sending the popular Brad Boyes packing in two years ago, a trade that, as made clear by Patrice Bergeron's comments in the link, wasn't popular in the room either. To put it plainly, there's no way player egos should be put before a real chance for the Cup, and I don't see any way he lets feelings or camaraderie get in the way. That's not to say he'll bring in a locker-room cancer, but if he feels a player is available that can help the team, he won't hesitate to pull the trigger.

In the "afore-linked" Hubhockey.com piece on Chiarelli's interview on WEEI today, it lists a couple of things that he mentioned on the show today, basically clues as to what he may be looking for at the deadline. His remarks included:

• He wants to get the team bigger up front, and add size in general.
  
• He would add a forward and a defenseman in a "perfect world", but is confident in the depth in Providence.

With those couple of things, especially the first one, let's try to narrow down the Bruins' possible trade targets.

• Nik Antropov, F, Toronto Maple Leafs- The writing is on the wall for the big Russian winger, as Leafs' GM Brian Burke has all but promised to trade the winger before the deadline. Antropov certainly fits the big-body mold (6'6", 230 lbs.), and is also a left-handed shot, playing on the right wing. With Burke's assertions that he will be moved, he may have lowered the market for the winger. The Bruins could probably have Antropov for a lower-level prospect (possibly Matt Lashoff, to solidify the Leafs defensive corps) and a first or second round pick. Antropov has 42 points on the year so far, but my concern is that he may not fit in the dressing room. I'm not sure there are any players on the team who have played with him before, and he seems like he may be out of place character-wise compared to the current group. However, he's a big-body who may thrive from a change of scenery, and would fill the need for a left-handed shot. Antropov is in the last year of his contract, and will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year. LIKELIHOOD: 6.5/10.
• Keith Tkachuk, F, St. Louis Blues-Here's a story for you: local kid comes back to his hometown team and helps them win their first Stanley Cup in over 30 years. That's the scenario that could follow if Tkachuk comes to the Bruins. The Melrose, MA, native is in the last year of his contract in St. Louis, and is another big-bodied winger who shoots from the left. The problem here is that the Blues are currently still in the hunt for a playoff spot, sitting seven points out of 8th place at the time of this post, and may not be sellers at the deadline. In all likelihood, the next two weeks will settle it for the Blues. If they don't make a significant move towards a playoff berth, they'll be forced to make some trades. If this is the case, Tkachuk is, in my opinion, the most likely player out there who will pull on the black and gold for the first time after March 4th. He'd likely cost the B's though, probably a player like Martins Karsums or Vladimir Sobotka as well as a first or second round pick. LIKELIHOOD: 7.5/10
• Jordan Leopold, D, Colorado Avalanche- Leopold's name has been tossed about by Bruins fans for weeks now, with some sources saying a deal for Leopold is already in the works and nearing completion. The 28-year old Leopold, who is an unrestricted free agent at season's end, would certainly solidifiy the Bruins' blue line. He wouldn't add much in size (6'1", 200 lbs.), but he is definitely a solid player. The former Hobey Baker Award winner would probably come with a decent price tag, but one deal that could materialize (and would be a blockbuster for sure) would be to send Manny Fernandez to the Avs. I feel like this isn't likely, since the B's seem comfortable playing the two-goalie system, but the Avalanche are in the market for a more solid goalie, and the free-agent-to-be Fernandez COULD fit the mold. If not, expect to see a winger (Kobasew, Sobotka, Karsums, Bitz or Nokelainen possibly) and maybe a couple of picks heading to Colorado. LIKELIHOOD: 7/10
• Erik Cole, F, Edmonton Oilers- Another big guy (6'2", 205 lbs.) who shoots from the left and plays on the wing. Seems like a good fit, and there were even reports that Cole was telling friends he thought he was Boston-bound. This is one trade I'd rather not see. In a player's bio on TSN.ca (the link on each player I've listed's name), there is a section called "Honors and Awards", and Cole's last one listed is winning the Stanley Cup...three years ago. No honors in three years, and slumping point production? Doesn't sound like a solid pick-up to me. The hope here is the Cole would wake up with a change of scenery, and could, upon reconnecting with Cup teammate Aaron Ward, find his game again. I'd rather stay away from this one, especially when the asking price seems to include Sobotka, and I think Chiarelli will think the same way. LIKELIHOOD: 5/10.
• Jay Bouwmeester, D, Florida Panthers- The "creme de la creme" in this year's trade pool, Bouwmeester is on every contender's wishlist, and the Bruins are no exception. However, as was the case with St. Louis, the Panthers are in a very real chase for a playoff spot, and may be hesitant to deal the big defenseman. GM Jacques Martin will likely decide soon, and may be forced to deal him. It's unlikely that Bouwmeester, who is an unrestricted free agent at season's end, would return to South Florida, so Martin needs to decide which is worth more: a foray into the playoffs, or getting something in return for Bouwmeester. In my opinion, trading Bouwmeester would sink the Panthers' season (and it's been a good one so far), and completely demoralize the team. However, if he does get dealt, expect the Bruins to at least make a call. The package for him would be huge, something to the effects of Zach Hamill, one of David Krecji, Phil Kessel or Milan Lucic, possibly Tuukka Rask, and a couple of picks as well. I think the bidding war and subsequent asking price will scare the B's away. LIKELIHOOD: 3/10.

There are other names that are being tossed about as possibilities for the B's, and here they are, in no particular order:

• Dominic Moore, F, Toronto Maple Leafs
• Ryan Smyth, F, Colorado Avalanche
• Chris Pronger, D, Anaheim Ducks
• Bill Guerin, F, New York Islanders
• Doug Weight, F, New York Islanders
• Mikael Samuesson, F, Detroit Red Wings

Anything's possible at the deadline, but in my opinion, the guys most likely to come to the Bruins are the ones I talked about more in depth at the top of this post. For the fun of it, here is my prediction for what the Bruins will do at the deadline:

TO BOSTON: F, Keith Tkachuk, 2010 4th-round draft pick
TO ST. LOUIS: D, Matt Lashoff, F, Vladimir Sobotka

I think that'll be it for the Bruins, and this is based purely on opinion, so don't hold me to this. If it came to fruition, it'd have the B's line-up looking something like this, when completely healthy:

Lucic-Savard-Kessel
Ryder-Krecji-Wheeler
Tkachuk-Bergeron-Kobasew
Bitz-Yelle-Thornton

Chara-Ward
Wideman-Ference
Hnidy-Stuart

Thomas
Fernandez

I do think that once Ryder returns, the lines will go back to how they were before, especially the top two. The third line, with the edition of Tkachuk, gets a lot bigger, and with a rough-and-tumbe guy like Kobasew, could be a line that could wear opponents down and grind out goals.

Other trade deadline predictions:

• Montreal, desperate to save their Centennial Season, will make any payment necessary to acquire Vincent Lecavalier from Tampa Bay.
  
• Pronger won't be dealt.
• Washington, Pittsburgh and Vancouver will make significant deals.
• Teams like New Jersey, San Jose and Philadelphia may make minor deals to tweak their rosters in preparation for the playoffs.
  

Even if the Bruins make no moves, the trade deadline is always a great day: HFBoards and TSN routinely crash with all of the server traffic, and the NHL Network will likely have trade specials on all day. It's going to be an interesting couple of months, and the stretch drive to Lord Stanley will begin in earnest on March 5th.

December Wrap-Up

Well, it seems like everyone in the hockey world is waiting for the Bruins to cool down. Waiting...and waiting...aaaaaaaand still waiting. In my November Wrap-Up post, I predicted a respectable 8-2-3 mark for the Bruins in the year's final month. And like my previous guess, I was a little bit off. The Black and Gold continued on their tear in December, going 12-1-0, the lone bump in the road coming in a 3-1 loss to the surging Capitals in Washington.


All twelve of the Bruins' December victories were by two or more goals. They scored four or more goals in nine of the twelve, posted two shutouts (at Florida, at New Jersey) and allowed only one goal on two other occasions.

Here's a glance at some of the B's numbers this month:

Avg. Goals Scored: 4.23
Avg. Goals Allowed: 2.07
Goal Differential: +2.16
Points Taken: 24
Points Possible: 26
Point Percentage: 92%

And here are some league-wide stats and where the B's rank, as of the night of January 1st (post-Pittsburgh win):

Points: 62 (29-5-4, 1st)
Wins: 29 (1st)
Goals per game: 3.66 (1st)
Goals allowed per game: 2.10 (1st)
Power play: 24.7% (3rd)
Penalty kill: 83.3% (8th)
Shots/game: 29.9 (13th)
Shots allowed/game: 30.7 (22nd)

As mathematicians often say, the numbers don't lie. The Bruins are first in the two most telling characters: goals per game and goals allowed per game, with an average goal differential of 1.56. An interesting note is the Bruins' shots allowed. This number is higher than I had imagined it would be, but it speaks to the play of Tim Thomas and Manny Fernandez.

THOMAS:
Save percentage: .935 (3rd in league)
GAA: 2.04 (3rd)
Wins: 16 (5th)

FERNANDEZ:
Save percentage: .930 (4th)
GAA: 2.02 (2nd)

Needless to say, when BOTH of your goalies rank in the top five in all major goaltending categories, your team should be looking good. However, it's not just the goalies that are contributing. I've wavered on how telling the +/- stat is, as it can be fairly arbitrary at times. For example, if defenseman A makes a boneheaded pass that leads to a goal allowed on a breakaway, forward A, who was below the attacking goal line, has his +/- lowered, even though he wasn't even a factor in the play. Regardless, +/- is a telling team stat, and a look at the league leaders in the category over on NHL.com reads:

1. Dennis Wideman, BOS: +26
2. Marc Savard, BOS: +25
3. Blake Wheeler, BOS: +23
4. David Krecji, BOS: +22
5. Alexander Semin, WSH: +20

Yes, that's LEAGUE leaders, not Northeast Division leaders, or even Eastern Conference leaders. The Bruins are dominating statistically, and it's showing in the standings. The B's are nine points ahead of the red-hot second place Caps, and 13 points ahead of the third place New York Rangers. To really illustrate the distance between the B's and other teams in the conference, there is a 21 point gap between the Bruins and the 8th place Buffalo Sabres/Carolina Hurricanes.

Offensively, the Bruins are making their presence felt at the top of the league ranks as well. Marc Savard is 4th in points (48) and tied for second in assists (35), while Phil Kessel is 4th in the league in goals with 23.

So what does all of this mean? Basically, it means that everything is rosy in Bruin-land. Despite injuries to Aaron Ward, Andrew Ference, Marco Sturm and Patrice Bergeron, the Bruins have rolled on. Martin St. Pierre has filled in nicely, and Vladimir Sobotka continues to earn his playing time.

Bergeron is out for the foreseeable future, and, in my opinion, that is for the best. His injury came as he was playing his best hockey of the season, and will probably carry as many emotional effects as physical. Bergeron was being physical, and reinjured himself simply trying to make a check. I don't think it's reached this point yet, but sooner or later Bergeron and his family may start looking at whether or not this is all "worth it", if playing is worth the detrimental effects these concussions may have on him later in life. In all likelihood, Bergeron isn't going to walk away from the game he undoubtedly loves, and in fairness, the hit he took from the shoulder of Dennis Seidenberg of the Hurricanes would have knocked any player for a loop. Hopefully Bergeron gets a chance to fully recover, and can be back with the team by the end of January.

JANUARY AT A GLANCE (excluding today's Pittsburgh win):

Games: 13 (10 home, 3 away)
Key games: 1/13 vs. Montreal, 1/17 at Washington, 1/31 vs. New York Rangers
Average opponents' points: 40.25

For me, the most important game of the month is going to be the Montreal one. Last time the B's played the Habs, they won in Montreal. The time before that, they pounded them at the Garden. Another win over the Habs would solidify the B's confidence, and further suppress the Habs. The games against the Caps will be big too, as Ovechkin's bunch are one of two teams to beat the Bruins in regulation since October 30th. Hopefully, the Bruins won't forget that, and will be eager for revenge.

I've been off on the pessimistic end on my last couple of predictions, but am going more optimistic here. With the return of Aaron Ward, the possible return of Andrew Ference, and a favorable home slate, this month should be kind to the B's. Look for the Black and Gold to post an 10-2-1 mark in the first month of 2009, continuing on their tear and tightening their grip on the top spot in the Eastern Conference. The above mark would put the Bruins at 81 points. 81 points with over two full months of games left? Yikes. With the Patriots out of the picture and the Celtics seemingly on cruise control towards a playoff return, the B's may be the only act in town for a while. That's not to say the Celtics aren't or won't be good. I'm saying that there's really no chance that the team doesn't make the playoffs as a high seed, meaning there's little drama to unfold over the course of the year. I'll still be watching, as I'm sure plenty of others will as well, but the Bruins remain at the top of my chart.

Over the next 30 days, Boston may find out what area hockey diehards have known for months: the Bruins are back.

Third Jerseys "Officially" Unveiled

The B's "officially" unveiled their new RBK Edge third jerseys today, ending what had to be one of the worst-kept secrets in recent Bruins memory. Though the team never confirmed it before, there were photos surfacing months ago, one from the season ticket holders' "State of the Bruins" meeting that showed Milan Lucic wearing the jersey, and another a screenshot from NESN that showed Patrice Bergeron wearing the jersey at practice during his rehab. Some speculated that it may have only been a prototype, but the one Bergeron wore here is in fact the new jersey.

Here's a picture of the Bruins official third jersey, the one they will wear this coming Friday against the Islanders, the only difference being that the official jersey doesn't have the gold stripe along the bottom of the jersey:
Straight from the Bruins' official website, here's a PDF showing the entire uniform, jersey, socks, helmet, etc.

The B's are releasing this jersey as a part of their "Black Friday Blackout". On Friday, the B's will wear these new jerseys, and the first 10,000 fans will receive free black t-shirts. The idea here is to create a "blackout", a means of intimidation and really just a way to create a cool atmosphere at the Garden. I think it'll be great if it's done well, as things like the Calgary Flames' sea of red really look incredible when everyone participates.

My take on these new alternates? I think the jersey is awesome, pretty simple but different. The new shoulder patch looks great as the crest, and I like the all black look. Something tells me these will be a pretty good seller for the B's as the holiday approaches, as fans will be relieved to see a new jersey that isn't the much maligned mustard-yellow Pooh jerseys (which I actually didn't mind...).

In any case, it'll be great to see these new sweaters on the ice on Friday, as hopefully the B's continue on their hot streak and roll over the Isles.

Young Season Marred by Inconsistent Play

Thus far in what is still a very young NHL season, the Bruins play has been mediocre, stunning exciting when at its best and nauseatingly disappointing when at its worst. After 9 games, and with 2 more to go to close out October, the B's have a 4-2-3 record, good for 11 points and a tie with
Montreal (5-1-1) for second place in the Northeast Division. The 11 points puts the Black and Gold in a tie three way tie for fifth place in the Eastern Conference with Montreal and the New Jersey Devils (5-2-1). Granted it's a little early in the season to start watching the standings, but it never hurts to check in.

Last night was one of the Bruins' best games of the season so far, an immensely satisfying 1-0 win over the Edmonton Oilers in overtime. The B's played hard in this game, and deserved the two points. Tim Thomas was excellent in goal, stopping all 27 shots the Oilers fired his way, including some sparkling saves down the stretch. When Dennis Wideman fired a wrister past Dwayne Roloson (who was equally dazzling in goal for the Oilers), it gave the B's the win and started off what is really a crucial western Canada road swing on the right foot. This road trip gives Claude Julien and the rest of the Bruins' staff to see what this team is made of. All three teams on this trip are expected to contend for playoff spots come spring, and all three are decent if not above average squads. The Bruins have played inconsistently all season, and need to start getting things together before they fall too far behind.

Early indications from today's Boston Globe's game story show that Thomas may get another start tonight, which I would be in favor of. Julien has given each goalie a chance to show his stuff so far, neither has had the type of performance that would indicate he has the upper hand. With last night's showing, Thomas may have solidified his grip on the number one spot, something that he has undoubtedly earned. Also, perhaps giving Thomas two straight starts will light a fire in Fernandez, in that he may see he's falling behind and get his competitive juices flowing again. A competitive goalie tandem is rarely an issue for a team; more often than not, it's a benefit.

Since my last post, the Bruins results are as follows: 4-2 win at Ottawa, 2-1 SO loss vs. Pittsburgh, 3-2 SO loss at Buffalo, 4-2 loss vs. Toronto, 5-4 win vs. Atlanta, and 1-0 win at Edmonton. Let's take a look at the good, bad and ugly from two weeks' worth of Bruins hockey.

THE GOOD

• Patrice Bergeron appears to show no signs of post-concussion problems. He has been, for the majority of the time, the best player on the ice for the Bruins. He hasn't been skittish going into the corners, and appears more than willing to take the body. His passes have been crisp, and he has been making plays all over the ice. He appeared to be struck with bad luck earlier in the year, missing on a couple of breakaways, so it figures he finally got a goal on a somewhat fluky tip-in that found its way between the Leafs' Vesa Toskala's arm and body. Bergeron seems like he is in fine form, and seeing his play this season really makes one wonder "what could have been last season?" even more than before. Imagine last year's scrappy bunch with a healthy Bergeron...something tells me a second-round playoff appearance wouldn't have been out of the question. But that's the past, and the present looks good for Bergeron and the B's. Hopefully he can stay healthy (knock on wood), and continue to produce.
• Phil Kessel is turning into a dynamic all around player. Kessel, who responded strongly after being benched early in the playoffs last season, has continued on his upward trend. He is tied for second on the team in scoring with 7 points (6 goals and 1 assist). Though he has slowed in the last two or three games, he has shown a great willingness to shoot the puck this season, whereas last year he relied more on his stickhandling and often just lost the puck to a defender. Kessel should only become more dangerous as the year progresses.
• Marc Savard has continued to make plays. He is still a wizard with the puck, and has been laying tape to tape passes on the sticks of his teammates all year already. Look for Savard to continue to improve, and emerge as a bonafide scorer (or, more specifically, assist-man) in the NHL.
• Milan Lucic's performance this past week. Any time your week consists of this: AND this: it's safe to say that you've had yourself a decent couple of games.

THE BAD

• The Bruins' for the home hockey season have been "interesting" to say the least. First, on opening night, the Bruins introduced each player on the roster one by one. Each got a nice cheer, followed by a rousing ovation at the end. One problem: they forgot to announce Mark Stuart's name, leaving him to come out of the tunnel by himself as the PA announcer said "Ladies and gentleman, your 2008-2009 Boston Bruins!". Stuart appeared to take it in stride, hamming it up for the crowd by raising his stick as he came out. Later that week, the Bruins were forced to change the game format against the Thrashers, with the teams switching ends at the 10 minute mark of the third period because one zone's faceoff dots had been incorrectly painted. Yikes.
• The Bruins' defense has given up 24 goals in 9 games (27 if the shootout winners are included, which they aren't in official stats as no player gets credit for the goal). That puts them at 16th in the league, with a 2.67 goals per game average. Surprisingly enough, they are on pace to allow 216, which is only one less than last year. However, this year's defense has shown little sign of being the same-lock down unit last year's was, as made clear by the team's first regulation loss after holding a two goal lead under Julien against the Leafs last week. Last year's group would have simply locked down defensively, clogging the neutral zone and playing strong in their own zone. This year's unit took silly penalties and allowed the Leafs way too much time in the attacking zone en route to allowing four straight goals against a team that simply outworked them. This is not the type of team Julien likes to put on the ice, and judging from his reactions to the Toronto game, he'll take steps to make sure his team never plays like that again.

THE UGLY:

• I really don't have all that much to complain about here, but there is one thing that has been atrocious: the penalty kill. This has been an Achilles Heel for the team for two years. Last year's group ranked 28th in the NHL, with a measly 78.6% kill-rate (for the sake of comparison, the number one team, the San Jose Sharks, killed 85.8% of their penalties). So far this season, the B's sit at 29th in the league, killing a putrid 71% of their penalties, a mere 0.4% more than last-place Edmonton. This is something that the Bruins HAVE to improve on. A team can't go far allowing a power-play goal every game of the season. The B's have one of the best defensemen in the league in Zdeno Chara, and one of the best defensive forwards in the game in PJ Axelsson. One can only hope that the B's penalty killing woes are from trying to work out the kinks, and that they will be a penalty killing machine come December. If not, the B's are going to find themselves in more and more offensive shootouts, a style of game that doesn't really fit this team.

That's about it for now. I'll probably make another post after the Calgary game on Thursday, kind of a look back at the opening month of the season. Until then, go B's.

Different Season, Same Result

The Bruins rolled into the Bell Centre last night for the first time since their season ended there last year, looking to start off the season series against the Canadiens on a positive note. The B's had a lot going against them last night: Montreal had yet to lose in regulation, it was their home opener so the "Ole!" chants were going to be extra loud, and it marked the beginning of the Habs "Centennial Season" celebration, complete with old Canadiens legends coming back out onto the ice.

As I said in the previous post, if the Bruins could weather the storm early, they'd be in good shape. Well, they did that, and were actually able to control the flow of the game for a bit in the first period, giving the Montreal crowd little to cheer about.

Shawn Thornton welcomed Georges Laraque to the Northeast Division in this early-first period bout:



Tough to say who won this one. Thornton scored an early takedown when he caught BGL off balance, but allowed him to get up and continue the fight. BGL got some good "clubs" off of the back of Thornton's head, but neither really landed any good shots. I'd have to say that this one goes in the books as a draw, or maybe the tiniest of edges to Laraque, simply because he landed more punches.

After the usual hijinks were out of the way, it was back to the regular game. The Bruins had done a good job staying out of trouble and away from the penalty box, a place one never wants to find himself against Montreal. However, Dennis Wideman finally lost his cool, getting called for cross-checking one of the Kostitsyn sisters after a mild dust-up. Sister Kostitsyn actually leglocked Wideman and tripped him before Wideman hit him back, but the ref, as is usually the case, only saw the retaliation.

16 seconds after Wideman went into the box, Alex Kovalev scored a power-play goal to give the Habs the lead, bring the building to life, and put the Bruins behind the eight ball early. However, that wasn't big enough of a hole for the B's who gave up another goal to Saku Koivu a little over a minute later, then decided "What the hell, we're already down two, may as well get lazy on the power play", and gave up a shorthanded goal to Maxim Lapierre. Ouch. 3 goals in a little over 3 minutes. Lights out, right?

Well, seemingly, yes. But this Bruins group showed no signs of fear or intimidation at the hands of Montreal, despite the playoff exit and last season's numerous embarassments. Instead, the Bruins came out charging in the second, again controlling the play, and finally got one on the board when David Krecji beat Carey Price with a slap shot moments after a Bruins power play expired.

The B's would keep up the pressure into the third, when Marc Savard fired one past Price to bring the Bruins within a goal. After that, the B's pressed on, desperate to tie the game. With just under a minute left, Tim Thomas began to head to the bench for an extra attacker. The puck was fired into the Montreal zone, intended as a dump-in to try and get possession of the puck, and Price went around behind his net to try to stop the puck. However, the puck took a funny bounce off of the boards and ended up squirting right out into the crease of an empty net. A streaking Savard seized the opportunity and banged the puck into the net, tying the game with 48 seconds left.

The Bruins trailed gave up three goals in three minutes, on the road against the Canadiens, and then came back to tie the game with seconds to go. This is the kind of performance that builds teams, and shows that this team will not be a pushover, no matter what obstacle it's facing. It wouldn't have been surprising, or even hard to fault the B's had they disappeared after those horrendous three minutes in the first period, but they fought back and tied the game, standing up to Montreal and giving hope to fans as well.

As overtime came to a close without any real scoring chances from either team, save for a breakaway with moments left by Kovalev that may not have even counted even if Thomas didn't save it, it was time for a shootout. Phil Kessel shot first for the B's, and had Price beat but the puck didn't lay flat for him and he lost the handle, the puck sliding harmlessly into Price's pads. Thomas then stopped Andrei Markov, and Patrice Bergeron, who did the same "5-hole" move he does everytime he's in a shootout, was stopped by Price. Alex Tanguay, an offseason acquisition by the Habs, beat Thomas with a wicked wrister, leaving the game on the stick of the third Boston shooter, none other than...Michael Ryder.

The former Hab was jeered all night by his former fans, and could have really shut them up by tying the shootout. However, it was not meant to be last night, as Price slammed the door on Ryder and gave the Habs the win.

Despite ultimately coming up short, the fact that the B's got a point out of a game they trailed 3-0 before the game was 10 minutes old is encouraging. The Canadiens are, by all "expert" accounts, the class of the Eastern Conference, and the Bruins showed that not only can they play with them, but they can control the play as well. Sure, the B's didn't get the win, and still haven't beaten the Habs in a regular season game in over a season. But a point is a point, and the B's can take note of the fact that if not for those three wretched minutes in the first, they may have left Montreal with a 3-0 victory.

Early Thoughts on a Young Season

This is my first post since the regular season started, and unfortunately it's going to start off on a sad note. Yesterday, 19 year-old Alexei Cherepanov, a highly-touted New York Rangers prospect playing in Russia's KHL, died unexpectedly after collapsing on the bench near the end of a game. There were media reports swirling about shortly after this happened, some saying he collided with the elbow of teammate Jaromir Jagr, others saying that he simply collapsed. However, the official word seems to be that he collapsed on the bench due to apparent heart failure or a heart attack, seemingly the same ailment that felled fellow young hockey player Mickey Renaud back in February. It appears that a criminal investigation is underway, as some officials are saying negligence on the part of paramedics and the lack of a defibrilator may have led to the young player's death. Either way, a young kid is gone, and may he rest in peace.

Despite this tragedy, hockey goes on, and the Bruins are 1-1-0 on the young season, beating Colorado 5-4 in a wild season opener, before falling to the Minnesota Wild, 4-3, in game two of the season.

Here are some observations on the team so far:

• The offense already looks much more dangerous than last season. Last year's edition of the Bruins had a very hard time putting pucks in the net, while this year's group has scored 8 goals in two games. Granted this pace will be hard to sustain throughout the course of a season, but the offensive prowess of this team has looked very promising thus far. Patrice Bergeron is still showing a little rust, as he missed on two breakaways in the season opener, but that is to be expected. He looks very strong overall, and has been creating great scoring chances for his teammates. It won't be long before he buries one. Marc Savard is picking up where he left off, setting up golden scoring chances and even potting a couple himself. Blake Wheeler continues to impress, and David Krecji looks like he is continuing on his upward trajectory.
  
• It was good to see Michael Ryder get one out of the way against Colorado. He scored a goal to put the B's up 4-3 over Colorado on a beautiful no look pass from Marc Savard from behind the net. After doing little scoring last season, it must be a load off of Ryder's mind to get the first one out of the way. He's shown great offensive instincts so far, and a willingness to shoot and take the puck to the net. If Ryder and Savard can get some chemistry going, he will be a 30+ goal scorer this season.
• Defensively, the B's have work to do. The blueliners looked overwhelmed against Colorado early, and, despite holding on to win, nearly gave the game up down the stretch. Against Minnesota, the team was beaten end to end too many times, as Wild players were allowed the carry the puck from their own goal all the way to that of the Bruins without encountering much resistance. The defense needs to step it up. This team isn't going to go far getting into offensive shootouts with teams this season.
• The goalies have each had a start, and so far I'd say Tim Thomas has the upper hand. Each netminder allowed the same amount of goals (4), but it's safe to say that Thomas had the far better performance. He faced a barrage of shots against the Avalanche (20 in the first period alone), but held the fort, making some of his trademark spectacular(though some call it "flopping") saves, including stopping one on the doorstep as the final seconds ticked away. Thomas' performance left room for improvement, but he certainly didn't play poorly. Manny Fernandez, on the other hand, needs some serious work. I imagine there were some jitters for Manny, seeing his first real in game action in a while, and playing in front of his old fans against his old team. Despite all of that, Manny needed to have a strong showing to boost the team's confidence in him, and, perhaps more importanty, to boost his own self-confidence. He's made some statements this year that sound like he isn't all that high on himself, something that's never a good quality in a goalie. He let in two very soft goals, goals that he himself said he should have stopped. He didn't play all that poorly, but definitely wasn't good. Manny needs to step it up in his next start, or he may be seeing the bench for a while.
• The Andrew Alberts trade marks a disappointing end to the ex-BC star's tenure in Boston. Unfortunately, Alberts never seemed to reach his full potential, his play marred by inconsistancies. He never seemed to fully recover last year after the hit to the head by Scott "I'm A Clean Player!" Hartnell of the Flyers, something that he can't be blamed for. It's interesting that Alberts is now going to play on the same team as the man who nearly derailed his career. It seemed a given that Alberts was on his way out when he was a healthy scratch against the Wild, as he is from nearby Eden Prairie, Minnesota, and probably was chomping at the bit to play in front of fans in his home-state. Best of luck to Alberts in Philly. Maybe he'll crush Hartnell in practice a couple of times.
• Tomorrow's game is going to be a tough one for the B's. Playing against the Canadiens, who according to some are already appearing to be a better team than last year, in Montreal is never a picnic. However, tomorrow is the Habs' home-opener and the home beginning of the season-long Centennial Celebration, one that is guaranteed to feature old Habs legends being brought back and plenty of pregame ceremonies. After that, the Habs are sure to come out flying, and the B's need to avoid a Game 1 of the ECQF-esque start, and try to not allow a goal within the first four minutes. If the B's can weather the storm early and slow down the pace of the game, they've got a great chance to win. Hopefully the team shows a desire to exact some revenge of the team that ended their season last year. Also, expect Michael Ryder to be loudly booed everytime he touches the puck, if not everytime he's on the ice. Hopefully he'll shut the crowd up with a goal or two.
• The Bruins really do have a pretty tough schedule to open the season. Not only do they begin with four straight on the road, but their first five opponents were all playoff teams last year. The Avalance, Wild, Canadiens, Senators and Penguins averaged over 98 points last year, with two (Pens and Habs) teams breaching the 100-point mark. It's good that the B's got a win in their first game, becuase it wouldn't be inconceivable to have them come home with a 1-3-0 or 1-2-1 record. I feel like this won't happen though, and that the B's will continue to build on the positives and trend upward this year.

That's all for now, I'll probably write something else after the Habs game tomorrow. Go B's.

Final Roster Set

After announcing their final cuts today, the Bruins now have their 2008-2009 opening night roster.

Ladies and gentlemen, your 2008-2009 Boston Bruins:

FORWARDS
Marc Savard
Patrice Bergeron
Michael Ryder
Marco Sturm
Phil Kessel
PJ Axelsson
Petteri Nokelainen
David Krecji
Milan Lucic
Chuck Kobasew
Vladimir Sobotka
Shawn Thornton
Blake Wheeler
Stephane Yelle

DEFENSEMEN
Zdeno Chara
Aaron Ward
Mark Stuart
Andrew Ference
Andrew Alberts
Shane Hnidy
Dennis Wideman

GOALIES
Tim Thomas
Manny Fernandez


The last three cuts were: Nate Thompson, Jeremy Reich, Matt Hunwick, and Peter Schaefer.

Hunwick is being sent directly to Providence, as he doesn't have to clear waivers. Thompson and Reich both do, and speculation is that Thompson will be claimed by some team before tomorrow's noon deadline, meaning he would no longer be Bruins property. Reich could be claimed by a team looking to add some grit to its lineup. Schaefer is the more notable one, as the Bruins essentially dropped him to make space for Wheeler. They are still on the hook for his salary, even if he gets claimed by another team, but it doesn't count against the all-important salary cap.

Schaefer turned it on in the playoffs last year, and may get a few looks by some teams looking to add a viable second or third scoring option. However, he didn't really show much life at times here with the B's, so it remains to be seen if any team wants to take a flyer on him. Even though he was basically "dropped", it seems like this was something he expected, according to Fluto Shinzawa's Bruins Blog on Boston.com. Best of luck to Schaefer, wherever he ends up.

Here are my proposed opening night lines:

Ryder-Savard-Lucic
Kessel-Bergeron-Sturm
Wheeler-Krecji-Kobasew
Axelsson-Nokelainen/Sobotka-Yelle

Chara-Wideman
Ward-Stuart
Ference-Hnidy/Alberts

Thomas
Fernandez

Basically, there will be 3 healthy scratches a night it seems. Above, it would be 3 out of Hnidy, Alberts, Thornton, Yelle, Nokelainen and Sobotka.

This is all barring some more moves before the season starts, which, though unlikely, are entirely possible as well. If not, this line-up looks pretty solid, and looks like it should have more scoring punch than last year's group. We'll find out on Thursday night.

4. Ward Winner in OT

On January 12, 2008, the Bruins beat the Flyers in OT. This wouldn't have gotten much play in the newspapers anyways, since the B's received little media love last year, but got even less due to the fact that the Patriots were playing the Chargers in the AFC playoffs later that night.

This game saw an already banged-up Bruins team suffer a couple of more blows, this time to two of their tougher players. Jeremy Reich was forced out of the game after taking a shot off of the foot, and Milan Lucic crashed nose-first into the dasher after checking a Philly player.

Despite being without these two for some time, the Bruins were able to take a 3-1 lead over the Flyers in this game. However, the Flyers stormed back in front of their hometown fans, and tied the game at 3-3 with 7:15 to go in the game.

The game ended up remaining scoreless through the end of regulation, but the B's wasted little time sending the Flyers packing in OT. After Marco Sturm streaked in on goalie Antero Nittymaki in a breakaway attempt, Nittymaki skated out and knocked the puck to the blue line, appearing to be out of harm's way. However, the puck landed on the stick of Aaron Ward, who fired it back on net and beat a stunned Nittymaki, who wasn't expecting the puck to arrive back so quickly.

After the goal, Ward immediately dropped his stick, saying after the game that he thought his stick may have been broken when he shot it. Had the referees known this, he would have been penalized and the goal would have been waved off.

Regardless, and maybe with a little bit of luck, the Bruins left Philly with two points, and a satisfying win against a team that became public enemy #1A (with Montreal of course being #1) last season.

Game highlights below.

Pre-season: Islanders at Bruins

The Bruins played their second game of the pre-season at the TD Banknorth Garden yesterday, and result (a loss) was the same as the first.

The Bruins' line-up for yesterday's tilt was essentially what it should be this coming Thursday. Tim Thomas was in net, and all of the major players (Chara, Bergeron, Savard, Wideman, Kessel, Ward, Lucic, etc.) were dressed, and played the entire game.

The opposing Islanders are a team slated to do little this season, in the middle of a rebuilding of sorts. Their line-up was essentially intact yesterday, the only exception being Joey MacDonald (yes, that's former Bruins Big Mac in net) starting as goalie instead of Rick Dipietro.

The game was pretty disappointing overall, especially considering that this was the second last game before the regular season starts. The power play looked decent, and scored the only goal. The passing was crisp and chances plentiful. However, offense can't be based only on power plays, and the B's even strength game was mediocre at best. There were really very few good scoring chances generated even by the top lines.

In goal, Thomas looked pretty strong. He gave up two goals, both of which came on Islander power plays. The first goal was scored on a great bit of passing, and there was nothing Thomas could have done. The second was a tricky deflection, one that, again, Thomas really can't be blamed for. He didn't do anything spectacular, but was definitely steady in net.

One player I was focused on yesterday was Blake Wheeler, who still has a pretty good chance of making the team. He played pretty well, though he did take two penalties. He was strong along the boards in battles for the puck, and showed great hockey instincts as well, threading passes and setting up some good breakouts and chances.

I was also keeping an eye on Michael Ryder, waiting for him to show flashes of bein reinvigorated. I didn't see many, but he didn't really play poorly either. He showed some pretty nice offensive moves at times, at one point stickhandling his way into the slot only to misfire on the shot. I'm still confident that he's going to turn it on, but he's done little to silence the doubters.

No one really played poorly yesterday, but the whole team definitely needs improvement. The group still looked a bit out of sync, and with only days until the real games start, they don't have much time to get it together. Today's game (starting right now, actually) will be a telling one, as it's the final tune-up of the pre-season, making it likely that everyone will play regular season-esque shifts.

Hopefully they show some life tonight that was lacking yesterday.

Sums/story of the game from Bruins.com

Back at the Bell Centre: New Season, Same Result

Wednesday night, the Boston Bruins returned to the scene of their last loss of the 2007-2008 season, a 5-0 loss in game 7 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. Granted, this was a preseason game, with a level of importance not even close to that of postseason hockey, but it was at the Bell Centre nonetheless.

This game, like all but one of the B's preseason games thus far, wasn't available on television, and the only radio feed available was that of CJAD out of Montreal. Uh oh, homer alert! But listening to play-by-play through bleu, blanc et rouge glasses is better than not listening to hockey at all.

The Bruins ended up losing this one 3-1, with Manny Fernandez giving up three power play markers in the defeat. Fernandez made 25 saves in the losing effort, but according to coach Claude Julien, played very well. A solid game seems like a must at this point for Manny. After reading this article by ESPN.com's Scott Burnside, it was hard to imagine Manny has all that much confidence in himself. One of the many things the NHL has proven over the years is that a solid 1-2 punch in net is never a bad thing, and the B's need Fernandez to play like the number one they acquired him to be.

It was a pretty decent game for the Bruins (from what I could hear, anyways, as it's always hard to judge without video, but...), who seemed to turn up the heat big time in the third period. There were a couple of occasions where they seemed to be knocking on the door, sometimes literally, with scrums for the puck in front of Jaroslav Halak, but they just couldn't put it away. Their one goal came on the powerplay, on a goal that the Habs' broadcasters seemed to describe almost as a "tic-tac-toe" goal, a perfectly executed power play strike, one that I believe they termed "inevitable", given the pressure the B's were putting on.

Here are some other pro's and con's from the game:


Pro's:

• Milan Lucic seemed to have a pretty good game. He's had a less than stellar camp so far, and probably needs to play better in these last few tune-ups to secure himself a spot on the roster. Yes, he's a fan favorite, but in no way is he an incumbent for a roster spot. Lucic has a ton of potential, and needs to turn it up a bit to solidify his standing.
• Blake Wheeler, a bit of a dark horse to make the team at the start of camp, seems to have almost assuredly gotten himself a place on the roster. GM Peter Chiarelli would have to do some juggling to get Wheeler on the team, as he has a pretty big (over $1 mil.) bonus that would need to be absorbed into the salary cap, but by all media accounts Wheeler seems to have been a standout throughout the entire camp. His name was mentioned quite frequently on the broadcast tonight, and always in a good manner. It's early, but Wheeler seems like he's been a great pick up by Chiarelli so far.
• Zdeno Chara, in his first game-action in the preseason, was unloading from the point on the power play. Some of the shots could be heard booming off of the pads of Halak even on the radio feed, so hopefully Chara's surgically repaired shoulder is at 100%.
• Patrice Bergeron and Mark Savard both seemed to be making plays as well, with Bergeron's name appearing all over the dial throughout the game.

Con's:

• This one could probably be split into two con's, but it'll instead go under one: special teams. The Bruins PK remained suspect, allowing all three goals (though one was on a 5-3, which is a situation where a team really can't be blamed for allowing a goal). To compound matters, the Montreal power play seemed as strong as ever, showing no signs of coming down from their #1 power play ranking from last season. This is bad for the Bruins, as the Montreal power play burned them almost too many times to count last season. The Bruins PK needs to improve from their bottom-half of the league ranking last year, and should do that with the acquisition of Stephane Yelle, a strong defensive player.
• Michael Ryder probably shouldn't be named as a complete "con", but he didn't do much in this game to shake his reputation of no longer being able to finish that followed him from Montreal. One of the reasons Bruins fans grew tired of Glen Murray was due to his inability to put home goals, despite constantly seeming to be in prime position. Ryder seemed to have plenty of shots, but missed the net fairly often. If Ryder is going to be the scorer the Bruins need him to be, he's got to start hitting the net.
  
• The physical play seemed lacking tonight. It almost seemed like the Bruins were shying away from their physical game, something that almost always led to trouble last season. When the Bruins impose their physical will on their opponents, their defensive style of play is far more effective. Plus, what real Bruins fan doesn't like to see a member of the Black and Gold lay out, as Shawn Thornton put it the other day, one of those "little French guys"?

Overall, a loss is a loss, but in the same vein, a preseason loss is just a preseason loss. No big deal, take the positives and negatives from it and move on. The B's next game is on Saturday, at home at the TD Banknorth Garden versus the New York Islanders. The game is on NESN too, for readers in the Boston area. I'm planning on going to this game, and should have more to report on after seeing the team in person.

Until then, go B's.