The Bruins Playoffs

All season, the Bruins were a team that seemed to shrink away from adversity. They had problems with teams that would take the game to them. They would follow extended winning streaks with losing streaks. Their coach, Claude Julien, looked completely clueless behind the bench, appearing as more of a thinner Alfred Hitchcock clone than an NHL coach. The powerplay was anemic at it's best.

This continued into the playoffs against Montreal. The Bruins lost the first two games in Boston, with Montreal goalie Carey Price looking dominant. The Bruins then won Game 3, but promptly fell behind 3-1 in Game 4. Then Claude Julien did something completely out of character - he did something. He called a timeout, and just told his team to look at the scoreboard. It worked. The Bruins would go on to win the game.

Then came Game 7 of the series. History was against the Bruins here, as they had not won a Game 7 in years. Tim Thomas had never won a game 7. Zdeno Chara had never won a game 7. Julien had won one - against the Bruins while he was the coach of the Canadiens, so that was roughly the equivalent of someone beating up Helen Keller. Montreal seemed ready.

The game would go into overtime, and it felt like the Bruins would be done. Given their past history, it would seem that they would tighten up, and inevitably lose the game. Then something strange happened for the Bruins - they won. Suddenly, all sorts of demons were slain.

This carried over into Game 1 of the Flyers series. Both teams were fresh off Game 7 victories, so they both should have been ready. The Bruins went into Philadelphia, and steamrolled the Flyers with a 7-3 victory. In Game 2, the Flyers jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead, and it became possibly that the Bruins victory was an aberration. The Bruins would fight back, and force overtime due to the unbelievable play of Tim Thomas, who stole that game for them. Then came Game 3, where the seeds of last year were attempted to be placed into the minds of the Bruins players. Their response - a dominating 5-1 victory.

These Bruins are different than they had been. They are playing with confidence and a swagger. They are not backing down, and are actually initiating the play instead of reacting to it. Julien has always been more of a reactive, defensive minded coach, but the reins appear to have been loosened on the offense. Game 4 in Montreal was the turning point, and it may actually go a long way.

While they may not win the Stanley Cup this year, they are definitely playing like a contender, moreso than in years past. A collapse such as what happened in the playoffs last year would be a total shock, given how well the Bruins have performed.

The Bruins Power Play

The Achilles heel for the Boston Bruins this season has been it's power play. Over the regular season, they only converted on 16.2% of power play opportunities, which ranked 20th in the NHL. Of the teams that made the playoffs, the Bruins rank 13th, ahead of the Nashville Predators, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Los Angeles Kings.

At the trade deadline, the Bruins attempted to solve this problem by bringing in Tomas Kaberle. However, while Kaberle helps, he does not solve the problem at hand. The reason why the Bruins have not succeeded on the power play has nothing to do with the defensemen connecting on their passes - it is because they do not play in front of the net.

Teams that tend to be successful on the power play have players that are not afraid to screen the opposing goaltender, look for rebounds, and attempt to tip shots from the point. The bruins have one person that does that with any consistency - 43 year old Mark Recchi. Contrast this with a team like the Montreal Canadiens who thrive on the power play, and you will notice that they swarm the net. They always have bodies down in front of the goalie.

This further illustrates itself in this series. The Bruins have yet to score a power play goal, going 0-18 in the series thus far. Montreal, meanwhile, is 4-23. While this is not a great percentage, the four goal advantage can be huge. Case in point, the Canadiens won game 6 2-1 with two power play goals.

In order for Boston to improve, they need to get bodies in front of the goaltender. However, they have yet to show a desire to do so all season. Do not expect anything to change tonight.

Andrew Ference's $2500 Finger

For what he termed an 'inadvertant bird' after scoring a goal in Game 4 against the Montreal Canadiens, yesterday Boston Bruins defenseman Andrew Ference was fined $2500 by the NHL. Ference claimed that his glove got stuck, and that it was nothing more than an equipment malfunction. And the fact that he was looking right at the Montreal crowd while this happened was a bit of a coincidence, right?

Equipment and wardrobe malfunctions have been blamed for touchy situations since the infamous Janet Jackson Super Bowl halftime show. While her breast was briefly exposed, the only people that either wanted to see it or where excited by it happened to be her plastic surgeons. Whorish tops do not randomly rip on their own. And hockey gloves do not randomly have the middle finger get stuck, especially in situations such as that.

Now, looking at the crowd that received the 'accidental' middle finger, there is a potential reason for it. The Montreal crowd needs to have the team announcer list off the American players on the roster so that they do not boo the American National Anthem. These fans are the ones that called 911 to get Zdeno Chara arrested after putting a solid hit on Max Pacioretty. These fans are causing the Bruins to stay in Lake Placid, NY, and bus to Montreal for the games, because they would otherwise make it impossible for them to do anything outside of the hotel. These fans regard the Bruins as a gang of brutish thugs who have no business playing hockey, yet cheer for a team of diving pansies who react as though they got shot if an opponent so much as looks at them wrong. If any fanbase deserves the middle finger, it is the Canadiens fans.

So, good for you Andrew Ference. That may be the best $2500 ever spent.

What Is Wrong With The Bruins?

The Boston Bruins, once considered a team destined to reach the Eastern Conference Finals at worst, now face the very real possibility of an early playoff exit. Two weeks ago, they were considered to be a lock to win their division, now they are struggling to hold off the surging Montreal Canadiens. Boston finds themselves one point ahead of Montreal for the third seed int he playoffs, and only six points ahead of a New York Rangers team that has played well as of late, winning four in a row.

Watching the Bruins, they are playing without any fire or energy. They are passive on defense, and not playing the physical brand of hockey they need to in order to win. This is a team that thrives on physicality, yet they have moved away from their game. Why is this?

The Bruins have gone 1-3-3 in their last seven games. Since the game against Montreal where Max Pacioretty suffered the severe concussion and fractured vertebra, they have gone 1-2-2. They played particularly uninspired hockey in their most recent game, a 5-2 loss to the lowly Toronto Maple Leafs. Montreal, in the meantime, has gone 4-2-0 to gain four points on Boston.

Since Chara's hit, the Bruins have been lethargic, playing as though they are still in a daze from the severity of what transpired. The only signs of fire were when Tuukka Rask got in the face of a defenseman for being in his way when he allowed Toronto's fifth goal. Even the fight between Dion Phaneuf and Nathan Horton seemed to be an exercise in futility, as Horton needed to leave the game to get stitches from the beating Phaneuf put on him.

Perhaps instead of sending a message to Montreal that the Bruins were back to playing tough hockey, Chara's hit ended up causing the Bruins to go into a shell. Meanwhile, that hit has galvanized the Canadiens, as they are rallying around their fallen teammate and playing inspired hockey.

This is the time where the lack of leadership on Boston is truly evident. They do not have a strong locker room presence, no one that will stand up and demand that they snap out of their doldrums and go back to playing the type of hockey they must play to compete. Claude Julien is not the type of coach that will demand that they play better, and will continue to find silver linings amongst the clouds. Given Julien's inability to get past the second round, and the Bruins utter collapse against the Flyers last postseason, maybe firing him would be the wake up call that this team needs.

The Bruins need to snap out of it, or a season that held so much promise as recently as two weeks ago will end in yet another disappointing playoff performance.

Shut Up Montreal

After the NHL announced that there would not be any forthcoming suspensions or fines in the wake of the hit by Zdeno Chara on Max Pacioretty, Montreal police have opened an investifation into that hit. The police stated that they are acting upon a request by the director of criminal and penal proscutions in Quebec, Louis Dionne.

In related news, Air Canada has threatened to withdraw it's sponsorship of the Montreal Canadiens home unless the league tightens rules to potentially limit severe injuries. NHL Commishioner Gary Bettmen, showing a completely uncharacteristic spine, stated that the NHL may no longer use Air Canada for it's flights as a form of retaliation.

The thing is, this sort of play happens thousands of times over the course of an NHL season. Two players are chasing a puck near the stanchion, and it essentially becomes a game of chicken. They know it's there, it just becomes a matter of which one slows up first. In this case, neither did. Momentum simply carried Pacioretty into the stanchion. Yes, the injuries are severe and unfortunate, but this play happens multiple times per game. The only thing that could possibly prevent these injuries would be to put padding on the turnbuckle, such as the padding on an NFL goalpost.

Yet, the 'outrage' coming from Montreal speaks volumes about that team. The Canadiens play a brand of hockey that is roughly akin to soccer. They dive. They flop. If someone so much as sneezes within three feet of them, they go flying across the ice as if they were shot. In fact, watching that play, it seemed as though Pacioretty was faking the injury to draw more than an interference call on Chara. It was only when he remained down for longer than a few seconds when the thought that an injury may have actually occurred came to mind. It is unfortunate, but that is the way Montreal plays.

However, they can cheap shot the opponent. They can grab. They can agitate. They will run people into goalposts. They trip. Then when someone goes to retaliate against them, they turtle, refuse to fight, and dive across the rink. These actions are why, not only do other teams hate playing them, but other NHL fans hate watching them. It is soccer on ice skates.

So, shut up Montreal. Realize that hockey is a physical game, and things like this do happen. It was an accident, pure and simple.