Don't want no mediocre, won't hit no mediocre

[TheRealness]

 
Right. But that's not what BigMike said. He said he struggled up on the big club. I don't recall that being the case.

 
I agree with you, TSC. I don't think he struggled while being up, but he was physically overmatched. Still, he has a head for the game that none of the other prospects the Bruins have possess, and he's fearless and has a lot of skill and smarts. I felt he got pushed around a bit, but he created a decent amount of offense while up and didn't kill himself in his own zone. 
 
FWIW, he was also fantastic in the WJC. Even in the game against Slovakia, he created a half dozen chances that easily could have led to goals in the game, but the Slovak goalie was great and his Czech teammates couldn't finish their chances. Coming away from the WJC, I was shocked he fell as far as he did in the draft. He has some serious potential. 

 

[Toe Nash]

I don't find Claude's issues to be with devoping young talent once it's in the lineup - it's getting that talent into the lineup. It isn't a new phenomenon and stretches back to when Vlad Sobotka was battling Steve Bégin and Trent Whitfield for ice time.

I've said it elsewhere, but look at the Habs and what Marc Bergevin did when Therrien was giving Moen and Bourque too much ice time, leaving players like Sekač and Andrighetto (younger, cheaper, and with more upside - sound familiar?) in the press box.

Bergevin trades them in the first third of the season and forces Therrien to play the kids in the bottom six. On top of that, Bergevin managed to clear their salaries and add players in Allen and Gonchar in return who provided depth and had one less year of salary commitment each than the guys Montréal traded for them.

I don't really blame Claude on the whole for playing 'his guys' - we've seen that with every coach in every sport pretty much. I just wish Chiarelli had the stones to take that decision out of Claude's hands.

This makes a lot of sense, except I'm wondering how much say CJ has with the FO. Do Campbell and Gagne stay up because Chiarelli/Nelly wants them or CJ does, or both?

 

[lexrageorge]

This makes a lot of sense, except I'm wondering how much say CJ has with the FO. Do Campbell and Gagne stay up because Chiarelli/Nelly wants them or CJ does, or both?

I'm sure Julien has input, but that input wouldn't stop Chiarelli from trading or cutting Campbell or Gagne if he and Neely felt it was in the best interest of the team.  My guess is that Chia and Neely agree that Spooner has looked awful when he's played this year and therefore isn't necessarily the answer.  
 
Julien hasn't been afraid to play Pastrnak or Griffith this season (and noone should disagree with the premise that Pastrnak is not ready for full time NHL duty this season).  
 
I also think we need to consider why the vets are getting the playing time.  Campbell and Paille are key cogs in the penalty kill, and with all the other problems the team is having, especially the injuries to the defense, I can understand Julien's desire to keep this unit intact.  Gagne was picked up on a flyer and was easy to fit into the team's cap.  It didn't work out, but he hasn't impacted anyone's playing time since December 6th.  He has no trade value, and the team is not going to cut him while he's on leave.  I would say the odds are probably close to 50/50 that he may have already played his last game as a Bruin. 

 

[cshea]

 
I also think we need to consider why the vets are getting the playing time.  Campbell and Paille are key cogs in the penalty kill, and with all the other problems the team is having, especially the injuries to the defense, I can understand Julien's desire to keep this unit intact.  Gagne was picked up on a flyer and was easy to fit into the team's cap.  It didn't work out, but he hasn't impacted anyone's playing time since December 6th.  He has no trade value, and the team is not going to cut him while he's on leave.  I would say the odds are probably close to 50/50 that he may have already played his last game as a Bruin. 

The Bruins PK has been a bottom-third, sub-80% unit all year. It's not like Campbell and Paille are headlining an elite unit here. I think it's reasonable to suggest shaking up the 4th line up and giving a kid a look in Campbell's place.

As for Gagne, I have no idea why he is still on the roster. Waive him and send the contract to Providence to clear it off the cap. He won't get claimed on waivers and it frees up a tiny bit more cap space.

 

[lexrageorge]

The Bruins PK has been a bottom-third, sub-80% unit all year. It's not like Campbell and Paille are headlining an elite unit here. I think it's reasonable to suggest shaking up the 4th line up and giving a kid a look in Campbell's place.

As for Gagne, I have no idea why he is still on the roster. Waive him and send the contract to Providence to clear it off the cap. He won't get claimed on waivers and it frees up a tiny bit more cap space.

To the first point, most of the problems with the Bruins penalty kill have been on the defense and on Rask to some extent.  And they're 18th, which is not bottom third (a nit I had to pick).  Probably worth seeing how things look now that they're key players are healthy. 
 
To the second point, my guess is that the team feels they can wait a bit longer; waiving a guy while he's dealing with a family illness during the Christmas holidays is something that could leave a bitter aftertaste among players.  The extra week or two of cap hit is not going to kill them.  

 

[cshea]

Waiving Gagne doesn't really affect him too much, unless he were to get claimed. I can't see anyone claiming Gagne, who was out of the league for a year, hasn't exactly dazzled on his return, and has been on leave for around a month. From the Bruins standpoint it would just move the contract from Boston to Providence and open up a roster spot and some cap spaces. Gagne would still get paid his NHL salary, and if/when he returns they simply call him up.

 

[cshea]

4-0 since Charlie threatened to fire people. It's hasn't been perfect but they've got this thing back on track. 

 

[Dummy Hoy]

4-0 since Charlie threatened to fire people. It's hasn't been perfect but they've got this thing back on track. 

 
With all seriousness, it is nice to see them string a few wins together, including stretches of very promising play. It shows that they weren't that far off the pace, but there's still a long ways to go.

 

[FL4WL3SS]

The offense is coming around, which is huge.

 

[FL4WL3SS]

 

[Reardon's Beard]

 

Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand will have a hearing Friday with the NHL Department of Player Safety for a slew-footing incident against New York Rangers forward Derick Brassard during a game Thursday at TD Garden. Marchand and Brassard were chasing a puck in the Boston zone with 5:29 left in the second period when Brassard fell hard into the boards after being tangled with Marchand. No penalty was assessed on the play. Brassard remained in the game. Boston won the game 3-0. The following grounds are being considered for supplemental discipline: slew-footing. However, the Department of Player Safety retains the right to make adjustments to the infraction upon review.

 
 

Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand will have a phone hearing Friday with the NHL's Department of Player Safety, the league's disciplinary arm announced Friday morning. The league is reviewing Marchand's slew-foot on New York Rangers forward Derick Brassardduring the Bruins' 3-0 shutout win over the Rangers on Thursday night. There was no penalty on the play. After the game, Brassard made it known he was not happy with Marchand's actions.
 
"You go to the corner with him and you go shoulder to shoulder, but he brings his leg in the back, and I felt like I had a slew-foot there," Brassard said. "I don't want to find any excuses about it, I don't want to be a crybaby or anything, but it could've been dangerous, and it could be a game-changer. It could've been a 5-on-3 and probably could be back in the game, but the referees said it was a clean hit. "The way I fell on the ice, I maybe could've missed the rest of the season if I hurt my knee there, but luckily enough there. Marchand's a pretty good player, he's feisty, competes hard, but those kind of things, we don't want that in our game."
 
Marchand was suspended for five games back in 2012 for a dangerous hit on Sami Salo. Because he will have a phone hearing, rather than an in-person hearing, his suspension cannot exceed five games, per the terms of the current collective bargaining agreement.

 

[Dummy Hoy]

I hate that Marchand does this shit...I can deal with his pesty stuff- I actually think it's hilarious, but the slew footing is brutal. He doesn't have to do that.

 

[Red Right Ankle]

Yeah, totally unnecessary and it detracts from how good a player he is otherwise.

 

[cshea]

The playoff push starts tomorrow on Long Island. B's begin the stretch in the final wild card spot, 7 points ahead of Florida, with Florida having 3 games in hand. We're about 5 weeks away from the trade deadline too.

It was a little bumpy at first, but since Krejci returned, they've gone 10-3-4 which would be a 115 point pace over a full season. 2 of the regualtion losses were to the Blue Jackets of all teams, but anyways, they're headed in the right direction. It is hard to put a target or goal to aim for as we near the end of the season. I would say just get a ticket to the dance and see where the chips fall. They have a tough stretch to start the 2nd half (NYI, LA, NYR, NYI, MTL) so we should have a better idea of how the Bruins stack up against other East playoff teams after this stretch.

 

[TFP]

The B's are equally as close to Tampa Bay in 2nd place as they are to being out of the playoffs (7 points). Not sure what the means to be honest, but there is still a lot of room for this season to go up or down.
 
I agree that there shouldn't be much focus on where the seeding falls. Just get into the playoffs relatively healthy and rested and anything can happen.
 
The regular season really doesn't matter as long as you make the playoffs. 

 

[TSC]

The B's are equally as close to Tampa Bay in 2nd place as they are to being out of the playoffs (7 points). Not sure what the means to be honest, but there is still a lot of room for this season to go up or down.
 
I agree that there shouldn't be much focus on where the seeding falls. Just get into the playoffs relatively healthy and rested and anything can happen.
 
The regular season really doesn't matter as long as you make the playoffs. 

 
And here's the crux of the issue.
 
Yes, the Bruins have put themselves in position to make the playoffs.
 
Is there any confidence in the team, as currently constructed, to beat Montreal in a 7 game series?
 
That's why despite the relative turn around over the last month or so, I'm not that optimistic about this team making any noise in the playoffs. This team isn't built to beat Montreal - and Montreal stands in the Bruins way of doing anything in the playoffs.

 

[cshea]

Montreal isn't that great, they should be beatable. Montreal is a terrible possession team. 25th in Corsi for %, and their PDO is 102.2, 2nd highest in the league, and an indicator that suggests they've been lucky and are due for a regression. It is hard to apply analytics to 7 games series (see last year) but there are signs that Montreal has been playing over their heads.The Bruins have crapped themselves for 5 straight games against the Habs, but they shouldn't be some sort of insurmountable obstacle. Maybe if they go in this year as the underdog with little pressure, they can play with their heads screwed on straight. The key as always would be to keep the game at 5-on-5. Easier said than done, but the Montreal series is a bridge we'll cross when we get there.

 

[NYCSox]

OT, but as I recall this is the second consecutive season of Montreal pulling the pixie dust shit when all of their possession stats say otherwise. And I believe this year they are also near the bottom in shots allowed. You'd think the Colorado regression would have gotten to them this season.

 

[Dummy Hoy]

The Habs aren't that great- they have great goaltending which can counteract the poor possession and they have some offensively gifted players that help them to be 5-1 in shootouts. They play a collapsing D and block shots, looking to use their speed to counter attack. They represent a horrible match-up for the Bs because their speed on the forecheck kills the Bruins' methodical breakout, they get in the Bruins' heads with their chippiness/embellishment and refusal to engage, and Tuukka's mystifying struggles against them.
 
There's 30+ games left, Rask is playing much better, they're getting healthy, and they'll supplement their depth before the deadline. I don't think they have the horses to win the Cup, but when the playoffs begin, I feel pretty certain there will be 7 EC teams that don't want to face Boston in a 7 game series.