Bruins Scrimmage Bruins and Bruins Win

Dougie Hamilton (53) attempts defensive zone coverage on the penalty kill with Jamie Tardif parked in front of the net, where he has scored the most goals and power play goals for Providence in the AHL this season before getting called up to Boston training camp (Photo Credit: Steph Vail/Flickr)

Boston, Providence, who cares? We are all Bruins.

Some people were upset that the “real” Bruins lost, but I don’t know where you’ve been the past 5 months because I’ve been in Providence watching the only “real” Bruins available to see play and they’re pretty awesome. And I am glad they won tonight, because they worked hard and it was adorable.

And also, because they are all Bruins! With the exception of 2 players on Providence that do not have contracts with the Boston Bruins (Bobby Robins and Kyle MacKinnon), every single player who played in the Black and Gold Scrimmage tonight is either on the Boston Bruins current team, in their training camp, or will be a part of their future.

Allow me to provide a quick recap for those who did not have the pleasure of experiencing the scrimmage in person at the TD Garden or watching it online live.

Santa Claude and the Night Before Christmas

Santa Claude (Credit:Bruins Twitter)

Happy Holidays from all of us at A Cup Of Bruin. In the midst of the NHL lockout, we were trying to figure out a way to bring the holiday cheer to Boston Bruins fans and it’s safe to say we found it with this video.

Coach Claude Julien as we all know can be quite the “grinch” on the bench yelling at the referee’s when they’re not exactly making calls in favor of our beloved B’s. But this past Tuesday he traded in his coach persona for “Santa Claude” at Four Seasons Boston’s Teddy Bear Tea.

The four seasons hotel delivers hundreds of teddy bears to children in need through nonprofit organizations and hospitals every December. And since the Bruins mascot is a bear, it seems only appropriate for the Bruins organization to get involved.

So ladies and gentleman on this Christmas Eve, I give you the gift of Santa Claude reading “The Night Before Christmas”.

The Reign of Claude Continues in Boston

Claude is sticking around in Boston! (Credit:Flickr/Slidingsideways)

This summer has been filled with signings, contract extensions, and trades all with the players. Now this is important and all but a team would be nothing without a strong coach. The B’s won the Stanley Cup last year under the reign of Claude Julien and it looks as though Julien will have a few more years to try and relive the magic in Boston.

Tomorrow Peter Chiarelli and Julien will speak to the media but so far all we know is that the extension is multi year and if you ask me that’s good news.

Julien has spent five seasons in Boston and has led the club to an overall record of 228-132-50 (.617 win percentage). During this time Julien and co. have not missed a postseason with a career playoff record of 36-27 (.571 win percentage) to rank first all-time among B’s coaches in post-season victories.

This season Julien notched a few coach milestones including coaching his 600th NHL (December 28th at Phoenix) and 400th Bruins (March 19th vs. Toronto) games while notching his 300th NHL win in a 3-2 shootout victory at Chicago on October 15th and his 200th victory behind the Boston bench by a 6-0 score in Philadelphia on December 17th.

A multi-year contract means that Chiarelli and Co. are not only pleased with Claude’s coaching but that they are confident in another trip to the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Stay tuned for updates on this extension as we get them here!

(Stats provided by Bruins official site)

Daily Countdown: 143 Days

Check out Claude flexing his acting chops below (Credit:Flickr/ Dan4th Nicholas)

So because today is day 143 I decided to share what I currently love regarding the B’s and that is their digital video channel, The Den. My option two was to fangirl out over B’s players but I thought I’d spare you all. The Den channel has been a great distraction from an otherwise depressing Bruinless Stanley Cup playoffs.

Friends here is episode 2 from the “Bear and the Gang” series entitled “Date Night”. Watch the Bear try and make the moves on Bruins ice girl Holly. Trust me it’s as entertaining as you would imagine.

Look out for the special appearance from Coach Claude Julien.

As another day goes by, we are that much closer to the 2012-2013 Boston Bruins season.

Because I can, I’m giving a special shout out and good luck to the Boston Celtics. Bring another title back to Beantown boys!

B’s Back in Playoff Mode

The TD Garden is back in playoff mode! (Credit: NHL Bruins Twitter)

Today the Bruins had practice to start preparing for Round One playoffs against the Washington Capitals. Besides Adam McQuaid, the rest of the lineup was on the ice practicing including Johnny Boychuk and Tuukka Rask. Rask was the first on the ice this am working with strength and conditioning coaches and goaltending coaches. Though not yet ready to suit up for a game, it’s great to see that Rask is in good spirits. Boychuk also worked with the strength and conditioning coaches and is looking like he will be making a return very soon. **Crosses fingers for Thursday!

Lines at practice were the following:
Lucic- Krejci- Peverley
Marchand- Bergeron- Seguin
Pouliot- Rolston- Kelly
Paille/Caron-Campbell-Thornton

The Bruins are eager and excited to get playing and they know that they have a tough opponent ahead.

“The excitement of being in the playoffs is a little different…[but] you can’t let the pressure crush you.” Adds: “Thrive on it.”^BISH”(Via NHLBruins)

Besides the boys getting playoff ready, the city of Boston and the fans are getting ready. Today the playoff banner went up and the picture is above.

As the playoffs get under way, stay with A Cup A Bruin for all your up to date updates on the team! BELIEVE IN BOSTON!!!

Bruins Sign Torey Krug

Welcome to Boston Torey Krug (Credit: Michigan Hockey FB)

So the question is who is Torey Krug? Krug is defenseman who just finished his junior season at Michigan State University, where he was captain for the second straight year. The 20 year old signed an entry level contract with the B’s and will be available for the rest of the season but not for playoffs. As part of the deal, he will remain in Boston and won’t get any time in Providence.

Krug played in 38 games this season and set a career best 12 goals, 22 assists, and 34 points and was named CCHA Player of the Year and 2012 Hobey Baker Award Finalist. Personally I think it’s a great move for the Bruins to get some young players to start to build up for NHL success.

Today Krug joined the team for his first practice in Black and Gold and was eager to get started. Though only 5’9″ and 181 pounds, Krug doesn’t see his size as a disadvantage.

Every time somebody even mentions [my size] I put it in the back of my mind and it serves as motivation to me,” Krug said. “The fact that I finally did sign an NHL contract makes it seem a little bit better, but the minute I become content and satisfied with the fact that I am here, that’s the minute that I’m going to stop getting better and that’s the minute all the naysayers become correct.” (Via NHLBruins)

As for whether Krug will play in any of the remaining games well that’s up to the big man Coach Claude Julien.

“We may give him an opportunity (before the end of the season), depends on how everything goes.”(Via Bruins Twitter).

Tonight’s game against Tampa Krug will be watching from upstairs but there’s still 6 games left to change that.

 

 

 

Holding on by a Point

The Bruins need to find their focus ASAP (Credit: Slidingsideways/Flickr)

Last night was the fourth loss in a row for the Boston Bruins who are now 1 point ahead of the Ottawa Senators in the Northeast division. The team they lost too in a 6-2 game, the Florida Panthers, are now 2 points below them in the Eastern conference. The Bruins are frustrated,  injured, and tired but those are excuses. Teams have slumps sure, but this slump has been going on since January. Last night was no exception. It was once again a game that started with the other team scoring the first two goals of the game. In the past two games, the other team has scored 12 goals to the Bruins scoring 3. It seems to be a repeating trend of the opposing team turning up the energy while the B’s sit back and let it happen.

“It was basically a whole team collapse tonight,” said Julien in a sentence that could sum up the last two months. “We do have some guys that are tired, and we have some guys that aren’t playing up to par. We’ve got lots of games and we have to fight our way through it. You can’t throw your arms up in the air. You’ve got to fight through it.”(Via CSNNE)

So what needs to change in order for the team to get back on track? Well for starters WHERE IS OUR DEFENSE? There is only so much of the blame that can be put on the lack luster goal tending but if our D was doing it’s job the other team shouldn’t have as many shots on net. The energy on this team is just not there. The physicality on the team is just not there. Everyone should be getting shots on net, not just one line of players. At this point, watching the games feels like I’m watching a completely different team.

I do have one positive and that is that the lone two goals last night came from Joe Corvo and Brian Rolston, yeah you read that right. Those names are usually ones that are referenced with goal scoring but it’s good to see some people attempting to pick up the slack.

Tomorrow the Bruins face off against the Philadelphia Flyers in a game that I am hoping will not be a fifth straight loss. The day off today I hope is serving the team well. B’s fans I guess all we can do right now is pray that Ottawa and Florida find themselves in slumps…

More Injuries = More Providence Call Ups

Trent Whitfield is the latest P-Bruin to be called up (Credit: Dinur Blum/ Flickr)

As the Bruins prepare for tomorrow’s match up against the Tampa Bay Lightning, there are many uncertainties as to who will be playing. Aside from 4 players being out of the lineup for a while, there are 4 players currently listed as day to day.

“We’re banged up, we got a lot of questions going into tomorrow,” said Coach Claude Julien after practice in Tampa (Via NHLBruins).

If needed the Bruins have recalled Providence Bruins player Trent Whitfield on an emergency basis. Whitfield, who is captain of the P-Bruins, joined the team for practice in Tampa today.

The 14-year veteran is ready to play if Julien needs him but knows that it will be a game time decision based on the day to day injured players.

The last time Whitfield played for the Bruins was the 2009-2010 season where he played 16 games including the playoffs in Philadelphia.

“He’s been with us before, I thought he was a really good player for us a few years ago when we had a lot of injuries in the playoffs,” Julien said. “He’s got a real good work ethic, he’s got some experience in this league and right now I think that’s what we need.”(Via NHLBruins)

With Providence this season, Whitfield has registered five goals and six assists in 41 games. This is his first trip up to play with the Bruins but he is surrounded by familiar faces in the form of Jordan Caron and Lane MacDermid, his team mates in Providence. Regardless of if he makes the lineup tomorrow, Whitfield is prepared.

“I’ve done it periodically over my 14 years – I’ve been up and down quite a bit,” Whitfield said. “I’ve been there before; I just prepare like I always do, like I’m going to play and if I do great, and if not we’ll see what happens from there.”(Via NHLBruins)