Bruins Round 2 Thread- New York Islanders

Salem's Lot

Andy Moog! Andy God Damn Moog!
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
14,461
Gallows Hill
Their ability to win game 6 pretty much depends on if Carlo & Miller can play, and what condition they are in. They’re lucky Marchand scored in OT of game 3 because they were about to lose that one after Carlo went out. Bottom line is you’re not winning 2nd round playoff series with stiffs like Tinordi or jags like Lauzon or Clifton playing big roles on the PK. Especially given the disparity in the officiating.

The series changed when they lost Carlo. The fact that Marchand hit a prayer shot in OT, and now there’s a shot they can get him back in game 6 is a miracle. Hopefully they can shoot up Rask’s back with a bunch of painkillers and he’ll be good to go, if not, gotta hope the kid can play.
 

Salem's Lot

Andy Moog! Andy God Damn Moog!
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
14,461
Gallows Hill
I figure the Marchand OT goal is payback for the Lauzon gift OT turnover. They're even there.

The disparity in the officiating is a disgrace. Last night was a fucking farce.
We’re in total agreement there, it was a total farce. However, I don’t think that officiating is suddenly going to change in game 6, or ever, for the Bruins. It’s been the same way for a few years now. They have to be able to kill penalties, and the Carlo injury greatly affected their ability to do so.
 

tonyandpals

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Mar 18, 2004
7,856
Burlington
We’re in total agreement there, it was a total farce. However, I don’t think that officiating is suddenly going to change in game 6, or ever, for the Bruins. It’s been the same way for a few years now. They have to be able to kill penalties, and the Carlo injury greatly affected their ability to do so.
Seemed to change pretty quick in the '19 SCF. Can't hurt to try.
 

DJnVa

Dorito Dawg
SoSH Member
Dec 16, 2010
53,837
I wasn't able to watch the first 2 periods last night, but when I checked my phone and saw 3 PPG for the Isles I was happy for that.
 

Silverdude2167

Member
SoSH Member
Oct 9, 2006
4,681
Amstredam
They are the better team and have been for every game except game 4, just need a few bounces in game 6 to go their way.

The Isles model of play is not sustainable, the question is in which game/round will it fizzle...hopefully tomorrow.
 

cornwalls@6

Less observant than others
SoSH Member
Apr 23, 2010
6,247
from the wilds of western ma
Their ability to win game 6 pretty much depends on if Carlo & Miller can play, and what condition they are in. They’re lucky Marchand scored in OT of game 3 because they were about to lose that one after Carlo went out. Bottom line is you’re not winning 2nd round playoff series with stiffs like Tinordi or jags like Lauzon or Clifton playing big roles on the PK. Especially given the disparity in the officiating.

The series changed when they lost Carlo. The fact that Marchand hit a prayer shot in OT, and now there’s a shot they can get him back in game 6 is a miracle. Hopefully they can shoot up Rask’s back with a bunch of painkillers and he’ll be good to go, if not, gotta hope the kid can play.
100%. Their inability to both clear the puck on the kill, and play sound positionally around, and in front of the net, has killed them. They somehow need both of them to be ready to go and be effective in game 6, or there very likely isn't a game 7. And this would make three playoff losses in a row where Miller's absence has really hurt them. I've underrated that guy in the past. No more.
 

cshea

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 15, 2006
36,047
306, row 14
Cassidy has been too busy making strange comments about Rask's health to call out the refs before last night.
He hadn't gone scorched earth until last night, but he's actually been consistently calling the officials out this postseason. After game 3 against Washington, he ripped the officials for the Orlov hit on Miller they reduced from a major to a minor. Next game, he called them out again for the ridiculous interference call they made on Marchand that led to a Caps PPG. He wondered what the standard was and why the Bruins don't seem to be the beneficiary of calls like that. Those were in wins though so his comments got brushed aside and were more of a footnote. It finally caught up and they lost last night so now it's a main story line.

That said, it's not going to do anything. If anything, the league will lean in on not calling more penalties on the Islanders because they won't want the perception of reacting to Cassidy's comments.
 

RedOctober3829

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 19, 2005
55,298
deep inside Guido territory
They haven't held more than a 1 goal lead since Game 1 despite carrying the play for most of the 5 games. They've got to be able to convert their chances and get some breathing room or they're always going to be a bad bounce or a bad call away from giving up the lead. No margin for error with the blue line the way it is is not the way to be right now.
 

ColdSoxPack

Well-Known Member
Silver Supporter
Jul 14, 2005
2,351
Simi Valley, CA
Outshot NYI 43-19 but lose 5-4. 1-2 at home in this playoff series, continuing a long trend of playing poorly at home in the postseason. (EDIT: this may not actually be true, but after going 1-3 at home in the SC FInal against STL and 1-2 this year I'm running with it.)

Officiating was horribly biased against Boston as Trotz has played the Berube card and once again the league has fallen for it. I'm incredibly disappointed in everything. I'm glad Butch went off last night but it may be too late, he's got to start playing that card earlier because it burns us every single year.

They are better than NYI but are getting hosed on calls and are not converting their scoring chances. And their slot coverage last night was brutal. Rask appears injured as well.

I'm extremely frustrated.
Well said. I second this.
 

ColdSoxPack

Well-Known Member
Silver Supporter
Jul 14, 2005
2,351
Simi Valley, CA
The narrative of Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz parachuting into Long Island and turning the NYI into a contender is getting on my nerves. As is the last hurrah for their shithole of a rink.
 

TSC

SoSH's Doug Neidermeyer
SoSH Member
Oct 25, 2007
12,280
Between here and everywhere.
He caught a little heat last name in the game thread - but what's going on with Hall this series?

He looked like a world beater vs. WSH, and even game 1 of this series looked super dangerous. He's sort of disappeared a bit (as has most of his line) since Smiths goal to start game 3 (?).

Fortunately, the Bergeron line is still generating and capitalizing on their chances - which is certainly a result of the Islanders not being able to solely focus on them and having to account for line 2 as well, but man I was hoping for more out of him this series.
 

Myt1

educated, civility-loving ass
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Mar 13, 2006
41,573
South Boston
How likely is it that the Bruins actually committed the first three penalties in a game that they were absolutely dominating 5 on 5?

How likely is it that the Islanders committed none until a 18:50 in the second, while getting absolutely dominated 5 on 5?

It’s just math at that point. We don’t even have to look at the first Islanders’s penalty, which was such an obvious “even things off” call that Tim Peel smiled while drinking a Schlitz and watching from home with his full pension.

This season, they’re third in Corsi, second in Fenwick, yet 16th in PP opportunities and fourth in number of times shorthanded. -18 PP differential. And I’d be really surprised if that pattern didnt play out surprisingly often over the past decade or so.
 

cshea

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 15, 2006
36,047
306, row 14
Overall, the Islanders are outscoring the Bruins 16-15. By expected goals, the Bruins lead 16.74-13..3. So the Bruins ~ 2 goals under expected and the Islanders are ~3 above. 5 goal difference. Taking a look into the numbers, the discrepancy in goals is the Bruins losing goals at even strength to Varlamov and the Islanders puck luck on the power play,

For the Bruins, it's basically happening at even strength. We have 10 goals at even strength, against 12.21 xGF. They are basically losing 2 goals on the high danger percentages. In this series, the Bruins are shooting 9.30% on high danger chances, with Varlamov/Sorokin posting a .907 high danger save percentage. In the regular season, the Bruins shot 16.56% on high danger chances, while Islanders goalies had a .830 high danger save percentage. Those percentages are right around league average for high danger chances. On the flip side, the Islanders have 8 5x5 goals against 8.58 xGF. Their performance and production are in line with one an other.

On the Islanders power play, the Islanders have 6 PPG against 2.99 xGF. They are shooting a ridiculous 26% on the power play. The leader in 5x4 PP shooting percentage in the regular season was Carolina at 18.78%. The Islanders shot 13.13% at 5x4 this season and have managed to double it in this series. They scored in game 2 when the a cross ice pass went in of our D man. They scored last night when the puck bounced off Clifton's stick right to Palmieri. They caught a break when Tinordi's stick broke on a clearing attempt. There's your 3 goals.

Over time, the regression to the mean would occur and the Bruins would take over. Of course, it's a one game series and the regression may never come. The Bruins just have to keep doing what they're doing and fight through it.
 

Cotillion

New Member
Jun 11, 2019
4,926
Overall, the Islanders are outscoring the Bruins 16-15. By expected goals, the Bruins lead 16.74-13..3. So the Bruins ~ 2 goals under expected and the Islanders are ~3 above. 5 goal difference. Taking a look into the numbers, the discrepancy in goals is the Bruins losing goals at even strength to Varlamov and the Islanders puck luck on the power play,

For the Bruins, it's basically happening at even strength. We have 10 goals at even strength, against 12.21 xGF. They are basically losing 2 goals on the high danger percentages. In this series, the Bruins are shooting 9.30% on high danger chances, with Varlamov/Sorokin posting a .907 high danger save percentage. In the regular season, the Bruins shot 16.56% on high danger chances, while Islanders goalies had a .830 high danger save percentage. Those percentages are right around league average for high danger chances. On the flip side, the Islanders have 8 5x5 goals against 8.58 xGF. Their performance and production are in line with one an other.

On the Islanders power play, the Islanders have 6 PPG against 2.99 xGF. They are shooting a ridiculous 26% on the power play. The leader in 5x4 PP shooting percentage in the regular season was Carolina at 18.78%. The Islanders shot 13.13% at 5x4 this season and have managed to double it in this series. They scored in game 2 when the a cross ice pass went in of our D man. They scored last night when the puck bounced off Clifton's stick right to Palmieri. They caught a break when Tinordi's stick broke on a clearing attempt. There's your 3 goals.

Over time, the regression to the mean would occur and the Bruins would take over. Of course, it's a one game series and the regression may never come. The Bruins just have to keep doing what they're doing and fight through it.
wasn't that goal also the one where it bounced off both of the Bruin's players skates and right to the guy or was that a different goal from that night...
 

Smiling Joe Hesketh

Throw Momma From the Train
Moderator
SoSH Member
May 20, 2003
35,719
Deep inside Muppet Labs
How likely is it that the Bruins actually committed the first three penalties in a game that they were absolutely dominating 5 on 5?

How likely is it that the Islanders committed none until a 18:50 in the second, while getting absolutely dominated 5 on 5?

It’s just math at that point. We don’t even have to look at the first Islanders’s penalty, which was such an obvious “even things off” call that Tim Peel smiled while drinking a Schlitz and watching from home with his full pension.

This season, they’re third in Corsi, second in Fenwick, yet 16th in PP opportunities and fourth in number of times shorthanded. -18 PP differential. And I’d be really surprised if that pattern didnt play out surprisingly often over the past decade or so.
It's been happening for 15 years at least and it never changes. For whatever reason in the playoffs the league decides the Bruins are the Sacramento Kings vs the Lakers and thus will never, ever, ever get the calls. Last night was egregious but we can point to the Acciari slew foot which may have cost the Bruins a Stanley Cup.

War. War never changes. And neither does the disparity in penalty calls. It's maddening, and Cam needs to call up the league office and throw a nutty. This is fucking bullshit.
 

cshea

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 15, 2006
36,047
306, row 14
How likely is it that the Bruins actually committed the first three penalties in a game that they were absolutely dominating 5 on 5?

How likely is it that the Islanders committed none until a 18:50 in the second, while getting absolutely dominated 5 on 5?

It’s just math at that point. We don’t even have to look at the first Islanders’s penalty, which was such an obvious “even things off” call that Tim Peel smiled while drinking a Schlitz and watching from home with his full pension.

This season, they’re third in Corsi, second in Fenwick, yet 16th in PP opportunities and fourth in number of times shorthanded. -18 PP differential. And I’d be really surprised if that pattern didnt play out surprisingly often over the past decade or so.
It's been a thing for a while, going back to Julien.

From 07/08 to 16/17 regular season (Julien's tenure plus a hand full of Butch at the end) the Bruins were 27th in penalties drawn, 15th in penalties taken. Worked out to a -202 penalty differential which was 4th lowest in the league.

From 17/18 to 20/21 regular season (Cassidy) they are 5th in penalties drawn, 6th in penalties taken. Works out to +12 which is 14th in the league.

Under Julien the Bruins were -13 in penalty differential in the playoffs. Under Butch they are -3.

The Julien years baffled me. That's when the Bruins started becoming a puck possession monster and puck possession monsters usually end up on the PP a lot. When you have the puck, the other team is going to try to get it back and will commit penalties to do so. When you have the puck more than the other team, they're going to commit more penalties. It is pretty easy logic to follow. That said, despite a huge sample size, it was never the case under Julien. This despite cries from other cities about preferential treatment because Jeremy Jacobs was the chairman of the Board of Governors and Colin Campbell's son played for us.

The differential has gotten better under Butch. We draw more penalties now, but we still get called as if we're the Big Bad Bruins of old.

If anything, the playoff data just confirms the "even them up" approach NHL officials take. They get one, you get one. And so on we go. On the playoffs, the Bruins are -6 in penalty differential. It's -4 if you exclude the "automatic" calls like delay of game (LOL), and too many men on the ice. The NHL will look at that and tell the officials job well done, despite having fired an official this year for doing just that in a regular season game.There's a ridiculous notion that each team should have equal opportunities on the power play. I have no idea what this is rooted in. Just call the fucking rule book. Using last night as an example, the first 3 penalties of the game went against the Bruins. Of the 3, the Kuraly one was soft but the Grzelyck and Wagner penalties were penalties. I've got nothing wrong with those 2 calls. It's just they weren't called the other way. It's unfathomable to me that the Bruins had the puck 66% of the time up to the point of the Islanders first penalty and the Islanders had not committed a single penalty. 66% possession should not equal 25% power play opportunities.
 

Cotillion

New Member
Jun 11, 2019
4,926
It's been a thing for a while, going back to Julien.

From 07/08 to 16/17 regular season (Julien's tenure plus a hand full of Butch at the end) the Bruins were 27th in penalties drawn, 15th in penalties taken. Worked out to a -202 penalty differential which was 4th lowest in the league.

From 17/18 to 20/21 regular season (Cassidy) they are 5th in penalties drawn, 6th in penalties taken. Works out to +12 which is 14th in the league.

Under Julien the Bruins were -13 in penalty differential in the playoffs. Under Butch they are -3.

The Julien years baffled me. That's when the Bruins started becoming a puck possession monster and puck possession monsters usually end up on the PP a lot. When you have the puck, the other team is going to try to get it back and will commit penalties to do so. When you have the puck more than the other team, they're going to commit more penalties. It is pretty easy logic to follow. That said, despite a huge sample size, it was never the case under Julien. This despite cries from other cities about preferential treatment because Jeremy Jacobs was the chairman of the Board of Governors and Colin Campbell's son played for us.

The differential has gotten better under Butch. We draw more penalties now, but we still get called as if we're the Big Bad Bruins of old.

If anything, the playoff data just confirms the "even them up" approach NHL officials take. They get one, you get one. And so on we go. On the playoffs, the Bruins are -6 in penalty differential. It's -4 if you exclude the "automatic" calls like delay of game (LOL), and too many men on the ice. The NHL will look at that and tell the officials job well done, despite having fired an official this year for doing just that in a regular season game.There's a ridiculous notion that each team should have equal opportunities on the power play. I have no idea what this is rooted in. Just call the fucking rule book. Using last night as an example, the first 3 penalties of the game went against the Bruins. Of the 3, the Kuraly one was soft but the Grzelyck and Wagner penalties were penalties. I've got nothing wrong with those 2 calls. It's just they weren't called the other way. It's unfathomable to me that the Bruins had the puck 66% of the time up to the point of the Islanders first penalty and the Islanders had not committed a single penalty. 66% possession should not equal 25% power play opportunities.
except they had committed one definitively with Pierre even calling it out as "the standard has been established for the night" (Narrator: It was established what the Islanders wouldn't be called for)... it was when (damnit I forget who) got cross checked (partially boarded) against the near wall super early in the first...
 

Smiling Joe Hesketh

Throw Momma From the Train
Moderator
SoSH Member
May 20, 2003
35,719
Deep inside Muppet Labs
It's been a thing for a while, going back to Julien.

From 07/08 to 16/17 regular season (Julien's tenure plus a hand full of Butch at the end) the Bruins were 27th in penalties drawn, 15th in penalties taken. Worked out to a -202 penalty differential which was 4th lowest in the league.

From 17/18 to 20/21 regular season (Cassidy) they are 5th in penalties drawn, 6th in penalties taken. Works out to +12 which is 14th in the league.

Under Julien the Bruins were -13 in penalty differential in the playoffs. Under Butch they are -3.

The Julien years baffled me. That's when the Bruins started becoming a puck possession monster and puck possession monsters usually end up on the PP a lot. When you have the puck, the other team is going to try to get it back and will commit penalties to do so. When you have the puck more than the other team, they're going to commit more penalties. It is pretty easy logic to follow. That said, despite a huge sample size, it was never the case under Julien. This despite cries from other cities about preferential treatment because Jeremy Jacobs was the chairman of the Board of Governors and Colin Campbell's son played for us.

The differential has gotten better under Butch. We draw more penalties now, but we still get called as if we're the Big Bad Bruins of old.

If anything, the playoff data just confirms the "even them up" approach NHL officials take. They get one, you get one. And so on we go. On the playoffs, the Bruins are -6 in penalty differential. It's -4 if you exclude the "automatic" calls like delay of game (LOL), and too many men on the ice. The NHL will look at that and tell the officials job well done, despite having fired an official this year for doing just that in a regular season game.There's a ridiculous notion that each team should have equal opportunities on the power play. I have no idea what this is rooted in. Just call the fucking rule book. Using last night as an example, the first 3 penalties of the game went against the Bruins. Of the 3, the Kuraly one was soft but the Grzelyck and Wagner penalties were penalties. I've got nothing wrong with those 2 calls. It's just they weren't called the other way. It's unfathomable to me that the Bruins had the puck 66% of the time up to the point of the Islanders first penalty and the Islanders had not committed a single penalty. 66% possession should not equal 25% power play opportunities.
I want to bronze this post for posterity. Great explanation.
 

Steve Dillard

wishes drew noticed him instead of sweet & sour
SoSH Member
Oct 7, 2003
5,932
The idea that the refs are biased vs. just inept is wrong. The clearest evidence was the Krejci spear that they called, then went to the video and saw why he did it (what they missed on the Islanders) and so changed it to a non-major/slash. In any non-makeup world, he would have been out five minutes (and the NHL essentially admitted this when it then fined him the max for the "slash"). We can be as pissed as we want that the delay of game call was not made, but it wasn't Bergeron flipping the puck with noone around him. It was two guys batting at it, and the Refs just missed it. The Pasternak hook against him was light, too, but they called it. The only reason the disparity seems larger is that they have capitalized on the PP, making penalties hurt more.

Even the obvious candidates for committing penalties, guys like Martin and Clutterbuck, are not running around over the line.

The series will turn on whether Hall and Smith show up, and if Reilly plays better than he did yesterday. Because of injuries, Reilly has become the key defenseman.
 

j44thor

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 1, 2006
10,961
Isn't the simple answer that outside of Pasta no one on the team flops and Pasta does it very infrequently. Unfortunately the league really does reward soccer like play where the worst outcome is you end up 4V4 roughly 5% of the time. Butch even alluded to the fact maybe his guys need to start flopping.
The NHL clearly doesn't care about embellishment anymore, if they ever did, and one of the best at it will be waiting in the next round in TB. You think the officiating is bad now, it will be 2X as bad if they some how advance as CAR has already found out.
 

RoDaddy

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Jun 19, 2002
3,245
Albany area, NY
The series will turn on whether Hall and Smith show up, and if Reilly plays better than he did yesterday. Because of injuries, Reilly has become the key defenseman.
No doubt important but the whole team will need to up their game to razor sharp focus and play. I still have hope. Lot of teams throughout history have won championships in all sports after having their backs against the walls. It's that BIG SCARE that forces them to grow on the spot and carries them the rest of the way
 

BaseballJones

ivanvamp
SoSH Member
Oct 1, 2015
24,374
The reffing has been atrocious. But... the Bruins are legally allowed to kill penalties. The Isles were 3 for their first 3 on the PP. Boston can’t do anything about the refs but they damned sure can do a better job on the PK.
 

cshea

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 15, 2006
36,047
306, row 14
The reffing has been atrocious. But... the Bruins are legally allowed to kill penalties. The Isles were 3 for their first 3 on the PP. Boston can’t do anything about the refs but they damned sure can do a better job on the PK.
The penalty kill has been fine. They are getting killed by puck luck. Of the 7 teams remaining, the Bruins have the 3rd best PK by xGA/60. The are killing better against the Islanders than they did the Capitals.

The PK is getting killed by puck luck.
 

Cotillion

New Member
Jun 11, 2019
4,926
The reffing has been atrocious. But... the Bruins are legally allowed to kill penalties. The Isles were 3 for their first 3 on the PP. Boston can’t do anything about the refs but they damned sure can do a better job on the PK.
But this neglects due to the nature of the penatlies called, and how snake bitten they feel about getting called when other guys aren't called. They aren't as aggressive as they can be. So it has a trickle down on the PK too...
 

Jordu

Member
SoSH Member
Apr 30, 2003
8,961
Brookline
Thank you, @cshea. That is a thoughtful and clear-eyed analysis.

Cassidy this afternoon, after the fine:

“Usually, when you get fined you say something to the effect of ‘embarrassing’ or ‘a joke.’ I didn’t say that. I think those two officials are excellent officials. They missed a couple high sticks along the way in the series. I pointed that out. We’re told we have to keep our comments civil. I thought it was. They didn’t see it that way. I have a lot of respect for Coley (Vice President Colin Campbell) and for the NHL front office. That’s the way he saw it. We’ll move on from that.”

“Will it have an effect going forward? I’ve said any comment shouldn’t. The refs should call what they see. It was about being asked a question after the game. I answered it as honestly as I could. That’s it. That’s what I have to say about that.”

What I like so much about Cassidy’s comments is how honest and specific and respectful they are. He‘s right that NHL refs don’t “call what they see“ and he’s right that coaches don’t get fined for making comments as civil as Cassidy made.

Cassidy spoke truth to power. Power can’t have that.

Fuck it. There’s a game to win. The Bruins won Game 3 in that shit rink. They can do it again with Swayman and Clifton and Tinordi and Kuklman.
 

Myt1

educated, civility-loving ass
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Mar 13, 2006
41,573
South Boston
So, they have to start Swayman.

Rask is plainly injured. Not only is he plainly injured, he’s known to be injured and the effects are easily exploitable with even a little bit of tape study. He’s staying too deep and going down too early, likely to try to hedge against getting caught out of position by being appropriately aggressive and unable—athletically—to recover. Both tendencies are all but eliminating his ability to cut down angles, and he’s giving the top 1/4 to 1/3 of the net away. I think Rask was able to bluff his way into some positional saves in Game 4, but I think that is far less likely now that the secret is out—hell, it might have been out after Game 4. The Islanders will continue to try to make him move laterally (he’s having particular trouble pushing to his right) and shoot high.

The Bruins are down two of their defensemen who play PK minutes. Rask’s hedge is particularly exploitable while on the PK, because the Islanders have more room to walk the puck in and also to work down low/behind the net.

Swayman hasn’t started a game since the regular season finale. He needs a full warm up, a clean sheet of ice, and a hope that he’ll catch lightning in a bottle. Down 3-2, the Bruins don’t have the luxury of seeing whether Rask can give it the old college try and then bringing in their rookie, cold, if he can’t.

Honestly, I don’t know that I even dress Rask as the backup. Say Swayman gets run or pulls a groin. Replacing him with an injured player does not seem to be the best use of scarce resources.
 

TSC

SoSH's Doug Neidermeyer
SoSH Member
Oct 25, 2007
12,280
Between here and everywhere.
I’m not saying you’re wrong, in fact - I think you’re probably right.

If Rask sits though, I imagine it will be the end of his career in Boston. Right or wrong - he has developed a reputation for bailing/not being there when the team needs him the most. This would likely be the last nail in that coffin.

If Swayman gets the start and the win - I think Cassidy rides him till the end, however it comes.
 

scottyno

late Bloomer
SoSH Member
Dec 7, 2008
11,304
I’m not saying you’re wrong, in fact - I think you’re probably right.

If Rask sits though, I imagine it will be the end of his career in Boston. Right or wrong - he has developed a reputation for bailing/not being there when the team needs him the most. This would likely be the last nail in that coffin.

If Swayman gets the start and the win - I think Cassidy rides him till the end, however it comes.
If they sit rask because they know he's injured I'd hope that they don't give a fuck what fans might think about him when it comes to deciding if they should bring him back going forward or not
 

RedOctober3829

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 19, 2005
55,298
deep inside Guido territory
I’m not saying you’re wrong, in fact - I think you’re probably right.

If Rask sits though, I imagine it will be the end of his career in Boston. Right or wrong - he has developed a reputation for bailing/not being there when the team needs him the most. This would likely be the last nail in that coffin.

If Swayman gets the start and the win - I think Cassidy rides him till the end, however it comes.
I agree with both you and Scotty. If he can’t go it’s a disservice to the rest of the team, but the people who irrationally dislike Rask will never let this go. That won’t stop Sweeney from re-signing him if the price is right.
 

RedOctober3829

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 19, 2005
55,298
deep inside Guido territory
So, they have to start Swayman.

Rask is plainly injured. Not only is he plainly injured, he’s known to be injured and the effects are easily exploitable with even a little bit of tape study. He’s staying too deep and going down too early, likely to try to hedge against getting caught out of position by being appropriately aggressive and unable—athletically—to recover. Both tendencies are all but eliminating his ability to cut down angles, and he’s giving the top 1/4 to 1/3 of the net away. I think Rask was able to bluff his way into some positional saves in Game 4, but I think that is far less likely now that the secret is out—hell, it might have been out after Game 4. The Islanders will continue to try to make him move laterally (he’s having particular trouble pushing to his right) and shoot high.

The Bruins are down two of their defensemen who play PK minutes. Rask’s hedge is particularly exploitable while on the PK, because the Islanders have more room to walk the puck in and also to work down low/behind the net.

Swayman hasn’t started a game since the regular season finale. He needs a full warm up, a clean sheet of ice, and a hope that he’ll catch lightning in a bottle. Down 3-2, the Bruins don’t have the luxury of seeing whether Rask can give it the old college try and then bringing in their rookie, cold, if he can’t.

Honestly, I don’t know that I even dress Rask as the backup. Say Swayman gets run or pulls a groin. Replacing him with an injured player does not seem to be the best use of scarce resources.
I think the decision has been made behind closed doors and they are playing a little gamesmenship with the Isles. I think they go with Swayman too.
 

Myt1

educated, civility-loving ass
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Mar 13, 2006
41,573
South Boston
I’m not saying you’re wrong, in fact - I think you’re probably right.

If Rask sits though, I imagine it will be the end of his career in Boston. Right or wrong - he has developed a reputation for bailing/not being there when the team needs him the most. This would likely be the last nail in that coffin.
I’m fine with him coming back at a reasonable price for one season, with the caveat that he’ll be in a true timeshare as the team brings Swayman along. 1a, 1b sort of thing. He was about league average this year, and seems to be declining physically. Well-rested, however, he is still quite capable of going on runs of very strong play, especially when fronted by defense that are excellent at keeping shots to the outside, as the Bruins often have been when healthy during his tenure.
I think the decision has been made behind closed doors and they are playing a little gamesmenship with the Isles. I think they go with Swayman too.
I think this is right. Honest Bruce couldn’t even lie about it last night. He had to weasel-word it.
 

TFP

Moderator
Moderator
SoSH Member
Dec 10, 2007
20,380
Yeah I generally agree with everyone’s analysis here. I think Tuukka is hurt way more than he’s let on, and if he was a position player he’d be lionized for his effort. He’s been borderline elite these playoffs while barely being able to move, and yet gets no credit for powering though that. However if he’s really that hurt, then play Swayman, even though it’s a brutal spot to put a rookie goalie into. I’m good with whatever Bruce decides here.

What really hurts is that I think an injured Rask saves that goal in the 3rd period last night. I can’t blame Swayman for it after coming cold to his first playoff game, but Tuukka honestly gobbles that up routinely and we likely have a tie game when it’s all said and done.

We’re going to really miss Tuukka when he’s gone.
 

Smiling Joe Hesketh

Throw Momma From the Train
Moderator
SoSH Member
May 20, 2003
35,719
Deep inside Muppet Labs
I’m not saying you’re wrong, in fact - I think you’re probably right.

If Rask sits though, I imagine it will be the end of his career in Boston. Right or wrong - he has developed a reputation for bailing/not being there when the team needs him the most. This would likely be the last nail in that coffin.

If Swayman gets the start and the win - I think Cassidy rides him till the end, however it comes.
Nah, if Rask is injured and Swayman starts and wins, Rask gets game 7 if he's healthy enough. We've heard stuff before about "this is it for Rask in Boston" and it's never come true. They said it when he got sick for Game 82 and they had to start Gusstafson, we heard it last year when his kid got sick and he left, and we're hearing it now. It's not true. Rask has been pulled in playoff games before too (once for Dobby, once for Swayman) and he's always started the next game.

The Bruins are not idiots, they know he's elite. They are balancing if a healthy Swayman is better than an 75-80% effective Rask right now.
 
Last edited:

joe dokes

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 18, 2005
30,233
If Rask sits though, I imagine it will be the end of his career in Boston. Right or wrong - he has developed a reputation for bailing/not being there when the team needs him the most. This would likely be the last nail in that coffin.
I think it's important to know with whom he has developed that reputation?