Round 2: Bruins vs. That Team Up North

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MentalDisabldLst

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Our Captain being "Hazard Cone" seems oddly appropriate.
 
I may have to use some of these in game threads.
 

RSN Diaspora

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Oy vey, per Haggerty:
Johnny Boychuk on Game 6 in Montreal: "It's basically a must win game. I don't want to sugarcoat it. We have to be prepared for everything"

I get that everyone overdoes the "must win" thing, but right after a win in which the other team literally must win to stay alive?
 

TFP

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NortheasternPJ said:
I love that PK has 7 points and is still a -1 for the series.
It's because almost all his points are on the PP, not because he's been on the ice for a lot of goals against.

Another example of what a terrible stat +/- is.
 

Ferm Sheller

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Anyone tell Vanek that he's been traded to Montreal?  Man, has he largely been absent in this series.  Last night, I didn't hear his name called until his leg whip at the blueline near the end of the game. 
 

RedOctober3829

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RSN Diaspora said:
Oy vey, per Haggerty:
Johnny Boychuk on Game 6 in Montreal: "It's basically a must win game. I don't want to sugarcoat it. We have to be prepared for everything"

I get that everyone overdoes the "must win" thing, but right after a win in which the other team literally must win to stay alive?
I would not want to be playing a Game 7.  Close them out in Montreal and you don't have to deal with a game in which a bad bounce or 2 ends your season.  This is why I love the Bruins' mentality in regards to most teams in the rest of the league.  You hear postgame quotes after elimination game losses by the team that is ahead where they are content with not closing out and "we'll get 'em next game".  Screw that.  Finish an opponent off as quickly as possible.  Game 7's aren't something you want even though the Bruins would be home.
 

IdiotKicker

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RedOctober3829 said:
I would not want to be playing a Game 7.  Close them out in Montreal and you don't have to deal with a game in which a bad bounce or 2 ends your season.  This is why I love the Bruins' mentality in regards to most teams in the rest of the league.  You hear postgame quotes after elimination game losses by the team that is ahead where they are content with not closing out and "we'll get 'em next game".  Screw that.  Finish an opponent off as quickly as possible.  Game 7's aren't something you want even though the Bruins would be home.
Agreed. I thought whoever won last night was going to take the series in 6 because there would be that urgency to not go to game 7. Hope I'm right on this one tomorrow.
 

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Beyond sportsmanship, I think there's pretty clear player safety reasons that players on the bench physically interfering with a player during play shouldn't be tolerated. Spraying a little water probably had very little effect last night but it's easy to see how it could have. I think a fine is fair.
 
I also just don't see a reason for it. You just outplayed them (and finally got the puck in the net instead of off the post), are one game away from moving on, and a guy who played less than two minutes in the 3rd gives the media something else to talk about and gives the Canadiens even more reason to be fired up next game. They had already gotten Subban "off his game" by making him spend time in his own end and clogging shooting lanes when he had the puck. Just unnecessary. [/rant]
 

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Subban threw an elbow at the back of Lucic's head when Lucic was on his knees. He also went low on Thornton earlier in the series. Bad sportsmanship from Thornton, but I'm over it.

Do you really think the "water incident" is going to fire up a team playing at home in an elimination game?
 

mwonow

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Lose Remerswaal said:
 
Replaced by . . . Caron?  No way.  He's playing fine in the games, this is the penalty he deserves for that trick.
Don't get me wrong, I really like Thornton. There are coaches/teams that would extend the punishment unilaterally, others who figure that this kind of thing is a league issue, I was just wondering where you thought Claude stood.
 

The Mort Report

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Toe Nash said:
Beyond sportsmanship, I think there's pretty clear player safety reasons that players on the bench physically interfering with a player during play shouldn't be tolerated. Spraying a little water probably had very little effect last night but it's easy to see how it could have. I think a fine is fair.
 
I also just don't see a reason for it. You just outplayed them (and finally got the puck in the net instead of off the post), are one game away from moving on, and a guy who played less than two minutes in the 3rd gives the media something else to talk about and gives the Canadiens even more reason to be fired up next game. They had already gotten Subban "off his game" by making him spend time in his own end and clogging shooting lanes when he had the puck. Just unnecessary. [/rant]
 
If you think about it, this is far less likely to hurt a player compared to what happens on the ice.  Should it happen? of course not.  But neither should high sticking, roughing, boarding, etc.  A lot of that stuff happens in the heat of the moment, and not always by accident.  As a goalie, many times I have seen my D give a player "a little something extra" who is playing well to knock them off their game.  I know they are professionals, but if for $2800, this incident pisses off Subban enough into a dumb penalty on Thornton tomorrow in retaliation, would anyone say it wasn't worth it?
 

DJnVa

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It had to go 7 didn't it?
 
http://www.csnne.com/blog/bruins-talk/subban-game-7-i-hope-it-gets-nasty
 
"I love it," PK Subban told NBC's Pierre McGuire after the game. "That's what playoffs is all about. I hope the crowd is louder than in here. I hope it gets nasty. I hope it gets dirty. At the end of the game, when you're shaking hands, whoever wins, that's what the feeling is all about. Knowing that you battled, knowing that you went through a war. You know what? We're gonna be there at the end standing tall."
 
 

SoxFan58

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It didn't have to but it helps when the team a win away from closing it out decides to not show up.

Shifting to Game 7, it seems obvious but I think the biggest story going in is how Rask performs. He's had a pedestrian series (outside of game 4 which was really impressive, the one game in this series he has stolen); and I think it's fair to say he hasn't put together that one great "back against the wall" type performance. He was the goalie in the Philly series, he had a bad game 7 against Toronto, and obviously Game 6 last year. Small samples aside, this is the game an $8 million goaltender needs to show up for.
 

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DrewDawg said:
 
 
"I love it," PK Subban told NBC's Pierre McGuire after the game. "That's what playoffs is all about. I hope the crowd is louder than in here. I hope it gets nasty. I hope it gets dirty. At the end of the game, when you're shaking hands, whoever wins, that's what the feeling is all about. Knowing that you battled, knowing that you went through a war. You know what? We're gonna be there at the end standing tall."
I have to say for as much as I hate seeing Subban wearing the RWB (en Francais, le RBB), this is the sort of bad-ass quote that we would expect out of someone like Pedroia.  If/when Subban hits free agency, I'd love to see Chia back up the Brinks truck for him.
 

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Saints Rest said:
I have to say for as much as I hate seeing Subban wearing the RWB (en Francais, le RBB), this is the sort of bad-ass quote that we would expect out of someone like Pedroia.  If/when Subban hits free agency, I'd love to see Chia back up the Brinks truck for him.
 
I said it in the game thread, but my respect for Subban has really skyrocketed in this series. He's been a force on the ice and he's said all the right things off of it. If he was a Bruin we'd love him, even with the histrionics we currently hate so much.
 

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SoxFan58 said:
It didn't have to but it helps when the team a win away from closing it out decides to not show up.

Shifting to Game 7, it seems obvious but I think the biggest story going in is how Rask performs. He's had a pedestrian series (outside of game 4 which was really impressive, the one game in this series he has stolen); and I think it's fair to say he hasn't put together that one great "back against the wall" type performance. He was the goalie in the Philly series, he had a bad game 7 against Toronto, and obviously Game 6 last year. Small samples aside, this is the game an $8 million goaltender needs to show up for.
 
That's like saying he wasn't good in the games he struggled in, while ignoring the games where he's played well.
 
I was killing the guy in the game thread too, because he played like absolute shit last night. That being said, noting the Philly series 4 years ago has really nothing to do with what will happen tomorrow. He played great against Detroit this year, he played great against the Rangers (save for one screwup) and the Pens last year, and played great against Chicago in the Final which was an extremely tight series.
 
He hasn't played well in this series and it's fair to note that. But he's certainly played great in the playoffs in the past. Maybe he can remember how to do that again tomorrow night.
 

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SoxFan58 said:
It didn't have to but it helps when the team a win away from closing it out decides to not show up.

Shifting to Game 7, it seems obvious but I think the biggest story going in is how Rask performs. He's had a pedestrian series (outside of game 4 which was really impressive, the one game in this series he has stolen); and I think it's fair to say he hasn't put together that one great "back against the wall" type performance. He was the goalie in the Philly series, he had a bad game 7 against Toronto, and obviously Game 6 last year. Small samples aside, this is the game an $8 million goaltender needs to show up for.
 
Why do you keep calling him the "8 million dollar" goalie? 
 

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Both EC semi finals going 7. So whoever does make it out of the EC is going to be tired, unless by some miracle there is a short series next series, which doesn't look to be the case.
 
Pretty incredible, and a lot of fun. Game 7's all over the place in these playoffs. I cannot believe how bad an egg the Bruins laid last night.
 

DJnVa

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Smiling Joe Hesketh said:
 
 
 
He hasn't played well in this series and it's fair to note that. But he's certainly played great in the playoffs in the past. Maybe he can remember how to do that again tomorrow night.
 
Yeah...and it's magnified by the seemingly insane number of posts the Bruins have hit, and open nets they've missed. Christ, Price was beaten 7 or 8 times in Game 1 and the Habs got a win out of it. When the Bruins keep clanging them off the posts, and the Habs seem to catch a few breaks (the first goal last night), we wonder why our goalie isn't making those saves and saving their bacon.
 
While we can lose this series while waiting for those shots to find the back of the net, it just seems like if the Bruins get a lucky one early they could just run away with it. We keep saying Marchand and Krejci should break out any minute now, the reality is that shit needs to turn around tomorrow, or it's over.
 
I expect the Bruins to come out flying tomorrow. That's what the evidence this year points to.
 

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A bounce ot two would be nice to go along with real effort.  Not just pointing out the Miller f*ck-up, but the zone clear by Beauliea (pronounced Bow-lee-oh, NBCSN) hits off Eriksson's glove and then backspins to a stop perfectly for Pacioretty to catch up to it, rather than flying all the way down to Rask.
 
Win or lose, the B's should investigate a Squirt-level summer stickhandling camp.  They have been stone hands outside Soderberg.
 

TFP

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How much of the stickhandling is the ice though? It's been extremely noticeable this series (moreso than the Detroit series) and it seems like the puck is impossible to control for both teams. I hope the Garden is at about 55 degrees tomorrow night.
 

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The Four Peters said:
How much of the stickhandling is the ice though? It's been extremely noticeable this series (moreso than the Detroit series) and it seems like the puck is impossible to control for both teams. I hope the Garden is at about 55 degrees tomorrow night.
 
It was really hot and humid yesterday.

Tomorrow looks to be about 67* and cloudy all day. Hopefully the ice will be in pristine condition.
 

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Are there any changes the Bruins can make that would benefit them for Game 7?  Meszaros probably wouldn't be an upgrade right now over Bart.  Fraser is playing well so you don't want to take him out for Caron. 
 
I say just roll with it.  Come out right away playing physical and get people in front of Price.  They need to stop trying to make the perfect play and just shoot it on net with people in front.  It's so frustrating watching them play tentatively. 
 
It sound cliche, but we need to score first.  Obviously the Bruins are tremendous closers with a lead, so that would be advantageous to not have to play from behind.  Plus, every team that has scored first has won the game this series.
 
 

SoxFan58

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Smiling Joe Hesketh said:
 
That's like saying he wasn't good in the games he struggled in, while ignoring the games where he's played well.
 
I was killing the guy in the game thread too, because he played like absolute shit last night. That being said, noting the Philly series 4 years ago has really nothing to do with what will happen tomorrow. He played great against Detroit this year, he played great against the Rangers (save for one screwup) and the Pens last year, and played great against Chicago in the Final which was an extremely tight series.
 
He hasn't played well in this series and it's fair to note that. But he's certainly played great in the playoffs in the past. Maybe he can remember how to do that again tomorrow night.
I agree with you. All i was saying is right or wrong three years ago, the talk was how the core of this team had never won a game 7. The core of this team never showed up in a big spot in the playoffs. 2011 changed that but I think it's important to note that Rask wasn't in net for that.

He's played very well this season and he's played very well in the playoffs in the past. He is the key tomorrow and I think it's important that he shows up in one of these games. The point of my post was that it hasn't happened yet.
 

RedOctober3829

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SoxFan58 said:
I agree with you. All i was saying is right or wrong three years ago, the talk was how the core of this team had never won a game 7. The core of this team never showed up in a big spot in the playoffs. 2011 changed that but I think it's important to note that Rask wasn't in net for that.

He's played very well this season and he's played very well in the playoffs in the past. He is the key tomorrow and I think it's important that he shows up in one of these games. The point of my post was that it hasn't happened yet.
Rask is obviously important tomorrow.  A goalie's performance is always key to a victory in any game.  He's shown up a lot this series (Games 1, 4, and 5 he was spot on).  But, that being said, you have to expect more from the rest of the guys too.  It didn't matter what Rask did last night because they didn't put the puck in the net.  The overwhelming theme in this series is the Bruins not finishing their open chances.  If they buried even a few of them, this series would already be over independent of what Rask has done.  Spot Rask a couple of goals tomorrow night, please.
 

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SoxFan58 said:
I agree with you. All i was saying is right or wrong three years ago, the talk was how the core of this team had never won a game 7. The core of this team never showed up in a big spot in the playoffs. 2011 changed that but I think it's important to note that Rask wasn't in net for that.

He's played very well this season and he's played very well in the playoffs in the past. He is the key tomorrow and I think it's important that he shows up in one of these games. The point of my post was that it hasn't happened yet.
 
He played great against Detroit and stole game 4 in this very series. If your point is that something hasn't happened yet until it does....well yeah.
 
He was dogshit last night and deserves criticism for that. But to say he hasn't shown up in the series yet....no, I disagree. He hasn't played as well as he's capable of, but he has played well at times.
 
As others have pointed out he's not the only one who has to show up. The first line has been awful, I'm just about done with Lucic after last night's miss. My god. Put the puck on net and into the wide open net FOR ONCE.
 

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To be fair, he's at least been hitting and in position to shank shots. His linemates have been invisible.

This is the worst playoff series I've ever seen out of Krecji. By far. The aggression on the top of the Montreal penalty kill has been giving him fits and he seems to be thinking about every play when he's usually so effortless and instinctive.

Some of his stick handling in the 3rd last night echoed old playoff Krecji. Wouldn't be surprised to see that line explode tomorrow. But more than anything, I think the breakout needs work. They're completely unable to get any speed through the neutral zone and that kills the offense, whether it's carrying the puck in or dumping and chasing for a cycle.
 

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Montreal is playing like the Torts Rangers used to.  They are blocking so many shots and it's got to be frustrating for guys like Krejci.  They are sliding in front of a lot of odd-man rushes and breaking those up.  Like I've said in previous posts, they've been as tentative as I've ever seen them.  It's like they are overthinking things instead of just going out and playing the game like they have all season.  Keep things simple.
 

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Myt1 said:
To be fair, he's at least been hitting and in position to shank shots. His linemates have been invisible.

This is the worst playoff series I've ever seen out of Krecji. By far. The aggression on the top of the Montreal penalty kill has been giving him fits and he seems to be thinking about every play when he's usually so effortless and instinctive.

Some of his stick handling in the 3rd last night echoed old playoff Krecji. Wouldn't be surprised to see that line explode tomorrow. But more than anything, I think the breakout needs work. They're completely unable to get any speed through the neutral zone and that kills the offense, whether it's carrying the puck in or dumping and chasing for a cycle.
 
Every decision Krejci has made with the puck in this series has been wrong. He's making drop passes when he has a path to the net, he's not carrying the puck in with speed, he's continually trying to make cross ice passes and pretty plays. It's infuriating. I agree with you, Montreal has gotten in his head and it's screwed him and his linemates all up.
 

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Smiling Joe Hesketh said:
 
Every decision Krejci has made with the puck in this series has been wrong. He's making drop passes when he has a path to the net, he's not carrying the puck in with speed, he's continually trying to make cross ice passes and pretty plays. It's infuriating. I agree with you, Montreal has gotten in his head and it's screwed him and his linemates all up.
He wasn't very good at the faceoff dot either, losing 3 in a row cleanly in the second period including one which directly led to the third goal. Usually when a player of his caliber struggles with putting the puck in the net they often can help make up for it in other aspects of the game. Krejci seems to be struggling with everything lately (it obviously doesn't help that he isn't overly physical), which would lead me to believe he could still be hiding some injury.
 

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Lupe Whalewatch said:
He wasn't very good at the faceoff dot either, losing 3 in a row cleanly in the second period including one which directly led to the third goal. Usually when a player of his caliber struggles with putting the puck in the net they often can help make up for it in other aspects of the game. Krejci seems to be struggling with everything lately (it obviously doesn't help that he isn't overly physical), which would lead me to believe he could still be hiding some injury.
 
 
Maybe. I suspect his real injury is the 6 inches between his ears right now.
 

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Of course, last night's impotence came on the heels of possibly their best game in the series (although I thought they were dominant for much of game 1). I know the desire to have reasons and identifiable causes in life is a powerful one, but sometimes you just gotta retreat to, "I have no idea what's going on right now."
 

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The ship has likely sailed on it, but earlier in the series I would've experimented with shaking up the Krejci line. I would've done this:

Lucic - Soderberg - Eriksson
Marchand - Bergeron - Smith
Paille - Krejci - Iginla
Caron/Fraser - Campbell - Thornton

I still might consider something like that if Krejci line starts slow tomorrow. Their game 6 play was encouraging, but they haven't had any sort of consisteny from game-to-game so I'm not sure what to expect. The combo's above probably are the least upsetting to the entire roster. It might be worth a shot if that line is shaky at the start.
 

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cshea said:
The ship has likely sailed on it, but earlier in the series I would've experimented with shaking up the Krejci line. I would've done this:

Lucic - Soderberg - Eriksson
Marchand - Bergeron - Smith
Paille - Krejci - Iginla
Caron/Fraser - Campbell - Thornton

I still might consider something like that if Krejci line starts slow tomorrow. Their game 6 play was encouraging, but they haven't had any sort of consisteny from game-to-game so I'm not sure what to expect. The combo's above probably are the least upsetting to the entire roster. It might be worth a shot if that line is shaky at the start.
I could get on board with that.  Soderberg has been the best offensive center on the roster this series and might be able to get Looch going. 
 

cshea

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I also wish they had some options together for the 4th line. They've been out of sync. Unfortunately, the options are either scratching Thornton in favor of Caron (negligible difference; rather have Thornton's leadership/intangibles) or dressing Meszaros as a 7th defenseman (Julien has never done such a thing in a big game).

In short, they really miss Chris Kelly. He's thrown a lot of things out of whack. Krejci has had to assume Kelly's PK duties, they've had to shuttle guys through Soderberg and Eriksson's wing, and as a result the 4th line hasn't had any continuity throughout the playoffs.

Edit: Just to expand on Krejci assuming a heavier PK burden in Kelly's absence, I was curious so I looked up the numbers. This year Krejci is averaging 1:40 SHTOI/G in the post season, after averaging just 29 seconds during the regular season. In the two years he's led the team (and league) in post-season scoring, Julien was been able to keep him off the PK. 0:29 again in last years post-season and it was even less than that in 2011 with 0:16 seconds per game. He's spending more effort shorthanded so he's not as fresh at even strength. Also, Julien typically likes to roll that line immediately following a successful kill under the theory that the opposing teams skill players come off to rest after a PP, so he can get a matchup advantage for his top line. Food for thought, I guess. It may help explain some of Krejci's inconsistency.
 

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Referees for #Bruins #Canadiens tomorrow are Dave Jackson & Dan O'Rourke. Stats on the way... #BOS #MTL
 
In these playoffs through 5/6:
Both Jackson and O'Rourke call more penalties on the road team than the home team (Both 58% PP to home team). But home win % for both is only 43%
 
regular season:
Jackson is +7.9% penalties on road team and O'Rourke is +18.4% on the road team.
 

Dummy Hoy

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Both seem to call a lot of penalties though, which i don't like. No one goes to game seven to watch the refs.