Increasing the Lead; Game 4 Preview

 

Can Tim Thomas shutout the Caps? (Credit;Slidingsideways/Flickr)

Tonight the Bruins have a chance to get a 2 game lead over the Washington Capitals before returning to Boston for game 5. At the end of game 3, star center Nicklas Backstrom was assessed a one game suspension for a cross check to Rich Peverleys face. This means that the Caps will be without Backstrom for one game and the Bruins should definitely take advantage of that without getting too over confident.

“Obviously the league suspended Backstrom with what they felt was the appropriate amount of games and it’s over and done with,” said Milan Lucic. “With him out of the lineup and with him being a big part of their team, our mindset is that we can’t take them lightly at all.(Via CSNNE)

What the Bruins need to do in order to get the dub is to stay focused for a full 60 minutes. The biggest positive that I noticed from Monday night’s game was the level of physicality. The Bruins  had 58 hits on the Caps in that game and the intensity was definitely noticed. When the Bruins laid down the hits, the Caps responded and their were penalties on both ends.

Though the Caps are missing one of their stars, there are still a few players to target. Obviously Alex Ovechkin is someone to keep an eye out for. And as much as I would rather not praise him, their rookie goaltender Braden Holtby has been more than impressive and basically the Capitals biggest asset right now.

I am more than confident and the B’s and fingers crossed they can carry Monday’s win over and make it a 3-1 series lead. BELIEVE IN BOSTON

 

B’s Capitalize Against Caps; Game 3 Recap

Zdeno Chara scored the game winner for game 3 (Credit:Dinur Blum/ Flickr)

The Capitals may have scored the first goal of the game but it was the Bruins who would get the last and the win. In a series that is turning into WHEN WILL SOMEONE SCORE as opposed to who will win, it was nice to see the B’s get the dub. Tim Thomas made his epic return to DC after the fiasco that was the Bruins white house visit and he was definitely reminded of it thanks to a few clever Caps fans and our presidents face. But like the amazingly talented goalie that he is, Thomas didn’t budge.

Washington didn’t make this game easy. In fact it was so back and fourth that I would literally throw my phone and then have to pick up to tweet my excitement two minutes later. Like I said before, the Caps got the first goal thanks to a power play opportunity towards the end of the first. It was Alexander Semin who got credit for the goal. The B’s wouldn’t score in the first but Rich Peverley would score 38 seconds into the second to tie the game. No sooner did us fans start cheering then Alex Ovechkin would get past Thomas to give the Caps the edge once again.

But that wouldn’t be the end of the scoring. With half the game remaining, Daniel Paille  evened up the game thanks to some smart puck handling and a great rebound off a Greg Zanon shot. To start off the third, Brian Rolston got a BEAUTIFUL rebound past Braden Holtby to give the B’s the lead for the first time in the game. With six minutes remaining, Brooks Laich decided hey I love playing in overtime, let me tie the game again. And so he did. Fortunately for us, we have Zdeno Chara or oh captain my captain on the team and sir steps up when necessary so with less than two minutes to go, he sealed the win with a goal.

The Bruins have off tomorrow and return for game four on Thursday.

Maintaining the Momentum; Game 2 Preview

Will Chris Kelly have another big game? (Credit:Slidingsideways/Flickr)

The Bruins are looking to carry over Game 1’s win on Thursday with another win today at home while the Washington Capitals are trying to split the series and build up some momentum of their own. Despite having 30 shots on net, the Bruins only managed to get one overtime goal past Braden Holtby, the rookie goalie making his NHL playoff debut. Not going to lie, I was VERY impressed with Holtby. On the other end, I was just as impressed with Tim Thomas. Thomas looked like the same goalie as he was during last year’s cup run and that’s a very good sign.

In game 1, Washington had a very strong defensive game which is in part why the Bruins weren’t able to make any of their shots on net count up until overtime. What they need to work on is their offense. The Capitals only managed 17 shots on net in the entire game. The Bruins capitalized on puck possession for 50 minutes of the game. In fact the only time I was really worried was the final ten minutes, when the Caps managed a random spurt of energy.

The lack of offense from the Caps was due to the B’s bringing the defense. Zdeno Chara and Dennis Seidenberg  were on Alex Ovechkin the entire game. I was impressed by how well they held Ovechkin through out the game.

I think both teams have their share of things to work on . Obviously scoring goals is one of those things. I think the team that scores the first goal today will be very important.

Puck drops at 3pm and you can catch the game on NBC. BELIEVE IN BOSTON!!

Know Thy Enemy

Braden Holtby poses as the number one problem for the Bruins (Photo Credit:L kkthemook/Flickr)

Last night marked the first playoff game of the season for the Boston Bruins and Washington Capitals. Prior to the match up, there was speculation against the Bruins based on their heavy hitters and the like for Alex Ovechkin. After watching the first game, here are some conclusions that can be drawn up as well as what needs to improve for Boston.

The top priority last night for the Bruins was to shut down Alex Ovechkin and deny him any time or space with the puck, because it is a well known fact that when Ovechkin has the puck, he is dangerous. Through sixty one minutes and eighteen seconds of play Ovechkin only managed to post one shot on net in just under eighteen minutes of ice time. Dennis Seidenberg and Zdeno Chara did a phenomenal job contending the Caps leading goal scorer and if they bring that same effort to every game, there is no reason why the Bruins can’t take this series.

While they executed Operation: Shutdown Ovechkin, to a tee, their defense was slacking. They provided the Capitals with too many chances in the offensive zone throughout the third period, having issues clearing the puck. Thank the Lord Stanley that Tim Thomas was on his game last night.

Once the Bruins maintained possession of the puck, they did a fairly decent job of putting it where it belonged, outshooting the Capitals by a large margin and having seemingly high scoring opportunities. However, their downfall came from rebounding, or lack there of. I can only recall a handful of times where the surrounding forwards crashed the net. For a team like Boston, that has a lot of blue line or top of the key shooters, they need to remember to crash the net and bang in the rebounds. The majority of their goals come from deflections or rebounded shots. Perhaps the best opportunity of the night came from an opportunity between Chris Kelly and Benoit Pouliot, with Pouliot charging to the net as Kelly threw it in front.

If the Bruins are able to maintain control of the puck through the neutral zone and set up plays, their execution will be flawless. They need to get forwards like Milan Lucic set up in front and Shawn Thornton, bigger guys that can block the goaltenders view, in order to create more traffic.

As for the Capitals, I have to note that their first-game goaltender Holtby was spectacular. He ultimately kept the Capitals in the game last night, proving he deserved to be between the pipes. In my opinion, I say keep the youngster in net, he posed more threat to Boston and rattled them that he was so confident. However, this is the only props that I will give to the enemy. Well, that and their ability to kill a six minute penalty kill, because for a team that was ranked 25th in the League for their PK abilities, that’s pretty impressive. For more insight on this match-up you can head on over to VC Chillin‘, for a Washington Capitals perspective. You can applaud her efforts in trying to make the Capitals out to be a better team.

Boston’s MVP vs. Washington’s Rookie; Game 1 Preview

TIm Thomas will get the start tonight! (Credit:Slidingsideways/Flickr)

Tonight in the Bruins net will be last year’s playoff MVP and Venzina winner Tim Thomas. In the Washington Capitals end will be Braden Holtby making his NHL playoff debut. You would think this alone should indicate the odds being in Boston but I wouldn’t count out the Caps.

“Timmy’s a great goalie,” Boston forward Chris Kelly said Wednesday, “but the minute you start thinking you have advantages over teams, I think you’re setting yourself up for trouble. … We need to be at our best in order to have success, regardless of who they have.”(Via Bruins Official Site)

The Bruins hold the number 2 seed in the Eastern Conference while the Capitals are number 7 but regular season wise it was the Caps that got the 3-1 game edge over the B’s. 21 year old Holtby played in none of those games. He’s up against a goaltender with 17 years on him in the form of Timmy the tank. The Bruins will do what they can to test the rookie and if our offense is up to par we should be good because defensewise the Caps are lacking. In regular season they were in the bottom three of penalty killing, defense, and goals allowed.

Washington however has an explosive offense that needs to be stopped. I’ve already pointed out operation shut down Alex Ovechkin and though he is the leading scorer on the team, he is not the only one that the B’s need to watch out for. Alex Semin, Jason Chimera, and Nicklas Backstrom are just a few more names the Bruins should be weary of. But we’re not called the “Big Bad Bruins” for nothing so if the Capitals want to have a chance of making it to the net they’re going to have to make it past Zdeno Chara, Milan Lucic, and Shawn Thornton just to name a few.

Lets not forget that the Bruins have home ice advantage during the series and us Bruins fans are some of the most passionate fans in the world. So whether you’re going to the game tonight, or watching it from home be loud and proud and represent your black and gold like there’s no game two!

“All our focus is focused on Game 1 and Game 1 only.”said Milan Lucic (Via Bruins Official Site)

The puck drops tonight @ 7:30 on NBCSN. For live twitter action during the game check out @Aerys_NHL. LETS GO BRUINS!!!!

And just to get everyone in the mood….