Do or Die: Game 7 Preview

Will Thomas get another Game 7 Shutout? (Credit:Slidingsideways/Flickr)

Tonight it is a do or die situation for the Boston Bruins as they embark on the last meeting with the Washington Capitals tonight at the TD Garden.  Currently the series is tied at three games a piece, exchanging wins back and forth. At the end of tonight’s game one team will advance to the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals while the other will hit the golf course.

For the Bruins, being in a game 7 series is not exactly unfamiliar territory. For Bruins fans, that anxiety that comes from game 7’s isn’t unfamiliar either. Last year’s Stanley Cup run made the B’s the first team to win 3 game 7 series on the route to the top.

“It means you’ve been there and know that you can win, especially as a group – it’s largely the same group with a couple new additions and that’s helpful,” Tim Thomas said of the experience of playing in Game 7s. “But at the same time, you have to go out and put in the work. You want to be the one that comes out on top in Game 7 — you have to be the one that’s willing to pay the price and is prepared to give everything you have that’s left inside of you.”(Via Bruins Official Site)

Unfortunately for the Caps they aren’t as Game 7 lucky, with a 1-3 record in the past four years. But I wouldn’t count them out. They have a ridiculously talented rookie goalie Braden Holtby and a lineup full of shooters. Nicklas Backstrom has 4 points in four games so he’s someone I’d put a target on if I was coach Claude Julien.

Every game so far in this series has been decided by one goal, and I expect tonight’s game to be just as close. B’s fans that are going to the game make sure to keep the energy alive in the T.D Garden. I’ve said it before and I’ll keep saying it BELIEVE IN BOSTON!

Puck drops at 7:30 and for those watching at home you can check it out on NBCSN & NESN!

 

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

 

Keep Your Hopes Up B’s

Pouliot kept the B's in the game with a goal scored part way in the third (Photo Credit: Steph Phillips)

Yesterday afternoon the Bruins took on the Washington Capitals for Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Quarter Final. It was Tim Thomas against the newcomer Braden Holtby in between the pipes for the two teams.  In the first period the issue was decision making and puck possession.  On Ovechkin’s first shift there was a noticeably different approach from him, as he initiated contact with both Chara and Seidenberg, drawing a holding call in the opening minutes.  Thomas was littered with shots from the Caps, but stood tall as the penalty expired and the B’s number one penalty killer escaped the box.  The Bruins did a great job on the penalty kill, but their handling through the neutral zone and five on five situations through the first twenty minutes was horrid, the Capitals shot the puck more at the net in the first twenty minutes of the game (9) than they had through the first forty minutes of game 1.  The best chance of the period came from David Krejci with a side-to-sode attempt in the slot that Holtby was able to get a blocker save on.  The score remained at zero after one with the Bruins holding a 10-9 edge in shots. The key going into the second period:

“Get more bodies toward the net, especially off the neutral zone plays…Making plays we wouldn’t usually make and force plays.”-Tyler Seguin (Intermission Report with 98.5 the Sports Hub)

To begin the second period there wasn’t much change in the tempo as there was extremely slow puck possession from the B’s. Luckily Brad Marchand was being a good little brat and drew a penalty from Hamrlik for a cross-check after some chirping. You’ve got to love the little ball of hate some days for getting the ball rolling with his yapper. Bergeron presented the Bruins with a nice one-timer that trickled JUST wide of the net THROUGH Holtby’s pads. The Bruins were able to maintain possession for the next minute or so before Seguin let Alzner beat him to the loose puck in the offensive zone for a change in direction. As the period drew on, the tempers began to flare as Ovechkin threw his glove/stick in the German Hammer’s face. Shortly after Carlson elbowed Patrice Bergeron in the head and in retaliation, on the next shift Brad Marchand gave Carlson a stick to the face in displeasure, receiving a two-minute minor. With just over two minutes remaining in the period Troy Bouwer twould tuck the puck past Thomas and give the Capitals their first lead in the series with the assists going to Alzner and Ovechkin. The positive side, (if I have to find one) Tim Thomas created a new scoreless record of 161 minutes and 41 seconds.

“We’ve got to make plays and get it deep and not lose it at the blue line..They’re waiting for us to get fancy, we’ve got to put pressure on them, get it deep because they’re opportunistic and their [defense] don’t want to play deep.”-Joe Corvo (Intermission Report with 98.5 the Sports Hub)

As the third period began the Bruins came out looking stronger than ever, creating chance after chance against Holtby who is some sort of God-like beast in between those pipes, robbing Marchand for his 54th save in two games.  However with a little persistence and pressure, Bruins forward Benoit Pouliot would become the hero of the game as he chipped the puck past Holtby to tie the game at 12:13 off of a Brian Rolston shot. The goal would be Pouliot’s first ever playoff goal in 24 contests. Congratulations Pou-Bear! Just think, fourteen months ago Pouliot, Kelly and Rolston weren’t even Bruins and currently they are the only line that has scored. (Pouliot 1G, 1A : Kelly 1G, 1A : Rolston 2A) Though there would be much back and forth action in the third period, this game needed extra time as they headed into sudden death overtime.

“We need more pressure on Holtby.. We have to do what we’re supposed to do..Got to follow the game plan and we’ll be fine” –Brad Marchand (Intermission Report with 98.5 the Sports Hub)

Heading into Overtime this would be the first time the Bruins opened a series with consecutive overtimes since April 16-17, 1980 in the Quarter Finals against the New York Islanders.  In the opening minutes of the extra minutes the Bruins had a great pace and threw insane amounts of shots at Holtby, but there was no breaking him or Tim Thomas for the entire twenty minutes, forcing a double overtime. The issue for the Bruins being, they weren’t crashing the net for the rebounds. Sadly it wouldn’t be much into the double OT that Nicklas Backstrom would slap one past Thomas to give the Capitals the win and tie the series as the Series travels to the Nation’s Capitol.

The Bruins put forth a great effort against the Capitals today and it really comes down to scoring. The Bruins need to keep constant pressure on Holtby and crash the net for rebounds.  Their long shots and fancy plays aren’t going to cut it against this team. The next game is Monday night at 7:30pm EST on CBC,NBCSN,NESN or you can listen to the game on 98.5 the Sports Hub.

 

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….

Tough Times for the B’s

David Krejci is one positive the Bruins have right now! (Credit:Slidingsideways/Flickr)

And I thought today was supposed to be HAPPY  hockey day in America. Steph gave a live blog of the game so I’m going to give you my thoughts on what needs to change for the Boston Bruins. Today was the fourth shutout for the Bruins since the beginning of February and at this point it’s getting very difficult to sit through a game and not want to throw everything around me. The more this teams falls in a slump, the more I want Chiarelli to start really looking into making some deals. Don’t get me wrong, I love the roster we have right now and I would love to see all of our free agents re-signed this season, but I think we need something fresh on the team.

The Bad (starting with this because I know we’re all thinking it):
–Shutout loss. To me there’s losing, then there’s being shut out. Nicklas Backstrom got a career  high 48 saves and this is the third time this month that the Bruins have had over 40 shots on net with NONE of them actually being goals.
–Where’s our Power Play? Before today, in the 11 games that the B’s have played against the Minnesota Wild we are 0-35 on the power play (via @nhlbruins). I really wish that was a joke. Though they only had one power play opportunity, it basically just came and went.
–Inconsistent, inconsistent, inconsistent. Right now when I think of our the Bruins, I think of this word. In every interview, day after day, some player or coach mentions that they need to work on being consistent. I think they need to stop talking about it and just do it. We have the talent and sure, we’re hurting without Horty or Pevs, but to have the consistency we clearly need, EVERY player needs to step up. There are many games to go, the B’s just need to find their niche and soon.

The Good:
–Tough Players. Looch, Chara, and Thornton were all voted three of the toughest players in the NHL and today they played like it. Thorty had a fight in the third against Kassian and took some hard shots to the head. This fight to me showed our frustrations. Lucic had possibly the best chance to score all night, but Backstrom denied him. You could tell he thought it was going in because when it was stopped, all he could do was slam his stick down. Yep, more frustrations. I’m keeping this section positive though because they worked hard for the full sixty minutes and it’s a shame they couldn’t get at least one goal in.
–David Krejci. I know he’s been in a slump lately, but today I saw him making some great shots on net and it’s really unfortunate none of them went in. That slump he had went away the second he scored against Winnipeg on Friday and it’s great to have Krejci back. I see some big games coming up for him.

I wish I had more positive things to say, but right now I’m too frustrated. I think that this team really needs to snap out of this funk and pull it together soon. The B’s are off until Wednesday and hopefully they use this break to figure out what they’ve been lacking.