Game 7 - Bruins v. Blues

monty10

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Nov 16, 2006
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. What a ride! Awesome season! Did not end the way we all wished. I guess congrats to the Blues. To all you who post here thank you. It is a blast checking RMPS.

Sleep well. We shall get thru this. Slainte
 

Jack Sox

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Oct 27, 2005
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The ice quality at the garden for at least Game 5 and 7 was a problem. The puck could just never settle and it showed. Not trying to excuse the loss as the Blues imposed their will throughout the playoffs but losing 3 games at home in a series that goes 7 is an outlier as it is. And there’s no mistaking that the ice was trash in those two games. Constant skipping and bouncing pucks, played right into the hands of the Blues’ style.

The Bruins simply moved the puck a lot better in the Blues barn.
 

scottyno

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Dec 7, 2008
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So why couldn’t the Bruins overcome it when they only lost their #5 defenseman? The previous games have nothing to do with how they played in the SCF. I also have no idea what the other 4 concussions were but not every hit that leads to a concussion is inherently dirty. I don’t think the one on Gryz was a dirty hit. Happy it got a game but if it didn’t I wouldn’t have been ripshit.
might have had something to do with having to play the majority of games 2 and 4 down a d-man, and then getting screwed over hard in g5
 

Myt1

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Sure. Whatever. Dirty plays isn’t why they lost. Physical play is. Sometimes that went into dirty and the Blues paid the price by getting guys suspended and getting roasted on the PP. But if the Bruins couldn’t overcome the loss of their #5 defenseman, there were greater issues at hand. Which there were. Like the first two lines not showing up.
I didn’t say that dirty play was the reason they lost.

I took issue with your silly counterfactual that was both silly and counterfactual.

If you felt better about the point you were making, you wouldn’t have to make up bullshit to support it. And you wouldn’t have to conflate it with a squirrel of the first two lines not showing up.

You do this a lot. It’s super weird.
 

IdiotKicker

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This was a rough one, but couldn’t quite get over the hump. Had their chances tonight and couldn’t finish, and the Blues could. Came out flying but just couldn’t get past Binnington on their good looks. It hurts, but it’s been a fun run, and most of my disappointment is because this group is older and might not get another shot.
 

OneRedDred

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Apr 28, 2008
112
And all those people are Bruins fans! Self included. Your turn.
You complained about the refs and ice multiple times after game 5. What’s changed your opinion? Did the bruins deserve to win tonight? Maybe not. But calling for the ‘wambulance’ and and calling posters whiners is disingenuous. People have their opinions. You shared a lot of them no less than 6 days ago.
 

Salem's Lot

Andy Moog! Andy God Damn Moog!
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Man I wish they could figure out a way to dump Backes and sign Mojo...
They could buy out Backes and sign Johansson on 7/1 if they wanted too. The problem is they have to pay McAvoy and Carlo. And based on their post season performances, their cap numbers are going way up.
 

kenneycb

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You complained about the refs and ice multiple times after game 5. What’s changed your opinion? Did the bruins deserve to win tonight? Maybe not. But calling for the ‘wambulance’ and and calling posters whiners is disingenuous. People have their opinions. You shared a lot of them no less than 6 days ago.
The ice has nothing to do with this. Ice sucked for both teams. So what.

Most of my anger was based on penalties not being called. Dirty has a sense of intentionality to it IMO. I didn’t think anything outside the Barbashev hit was explicitly bad. And he got suspended so I’m fine with that given he wasn’t getting thrown out of the game.
 

Myt1

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Dirty play had nothing to do with Chara getting hit in the face with a puck. JFC.
You asked why they couldn’t overcome only losing their 5th defenseman.

He answered.

You’re not exactly covering yourself in reading comprehension glory. You’re making LeVar Burton sad.
 

scottyno

late Bloomer
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Dec 7, 2008
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Dirty play had nothing to do with Chara getting hit in the face with a puck. JFC.
didn't say it did, you asked why they couldn't overcome it in the series, dirty play was only part of it, Chara's injury was just bad luck, but it also killed them in game 4
 

RedOctober3829

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The talk about the refs, physical play, dirty play is tiring. I was mad after G5 too. But they had 1 game to win the Cup and they just didn't play well enough. Series-wise, they did not play well enough 5v5. They had plenty of chances to score in G5 and G7 and did not get it done. Simple as that.
 

kenneycb

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Dec 2, 2006
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I didn’t say that dirty play was the reason they lost.

I took issue with your silly counterfactual that was both silly and counterfactual.

If you felt better about the point you were making, you wouldn’t have to make up bullshit to support it. And you wouldn’t have to conflate it with a squirrel of the first two lines not showing up.

You do this a lot. It’s super weird.
I think the Blues has a couple of dirty plays. I don’t think they played an inherently dirty game. You disagree. I used that as a jumping off point of people who seem to be blaming dirty play on the Bruins losing. Which is stupid. Sorry if I mixed up a couple of responses. We can’t all be you.
 

bigq

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Jul 15, 2005
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Truthfully, if you go into the other team's barn and win 3, you deserve it.

That's what I told the Toronto folks before game 7 of that series, and its's true here, too. .250 at home doesn't cut it in any sport, at any time of year
This sucked but at least they showed up. The Habsburg Game 7 a few years ago fucking killed me.


Felger & Maz will shape it as you will assume because fans are dumb.
Not just the fans. As always, don’t listen to those idiots.

Tough way to end a great season.
 

Myt1

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I think the Blues has a couple of dirty plays. I don’t think they played an inherently dirty game. You disagree. I used that as a jumping off point of people who seem to be blaming dirty play on the Bruins losing. Which is stupid. Sorry if I mixed up a couple of responses. We can’t all be you.
More’s the pity.
 

Marciano490

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Game 5 this and Gryz that. We had Game 7 at home and couldn’t score. That’s the story of the series.
 

scottyno

late Bloomer
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Reread what you wrote then.
You asked why they couldn't overcome dirty play that only cost them their 5th d man, they didn't lose 4 games because of dirty play, it's a 7 game series and they other team are professionals too, but considering dirty play cost them at least 1, arguably 2 games in a 7 game series, I'd say it was a pretty big factor
 

MiracleOfO2704

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Jul 12, 2005
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This one hurts as much as 2011 felt good. Not sure if this core can get back to this position again.
Probably not. Chara’s 43 next year, and there has to be a frank talk about what happens beyond 2020. Bergeron is part of the Class of ‘03, which includes more than a few guys in their mid-30s whose game fell off a cliff the last year or two (prime example being Corey Perry). Krejčí was ‘04 and Marchand ‘06, so they’re likely not far from decline. Rask is an ‘05 draftee, but goalies can age weird often.

They could easily make another run soon, but the odometers on this guys are really starting to get high, and at minimum, others have to make up the eventual difference needed.
 

Salem's Lot

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Probably not. Chara’s 43 next year, and there has to be a frank talk about what happens beyond 2020. Bergeron is part of the Class of ‘03, which includes more than a few guys in their mid-30s whose game fell off a cliff the last year or two (prime example being Corey Perry). Krejčí was ‘04 and Marchand ‘06, so they’re likely not far from decline. Rask is an ‘05 draftee, but goalies can age weird often.

They could easily make another run soon, but the odometers on this guys are really starting to get high, and at minimum, others have to make up the eventual difference needed.
On the other hand though, look at the young defense core that they’re building. McAvoy, Carlo, and Grzcelyk are already top 4 guys. Vaakanainen and Lauzon are going to be contributing next season. When those guys are all between 25-28 that could be a great position group. The future isn’t bleak in the least.
 

catomatic

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Jul 16, 2005
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Badly blown opportunity tonight. That's what hurts; the B's had the talent, but couldn't put it together and lost 3 of 4. The Blues were physical, sometimes dirty, but that wasn't the cause. The B's looked awful all of Game 5 up until the trip on Acciari. And too many mistakes tonight.

I don't see this core being able to do it again. Tampa has a much deeper roster and will be back and will be looking to atone for this year's fiasco. I think this loss will be too difficult for them to recover from that easily.
You and I watched different Game 5s. Go look at SOG and Scoring Chances and reevaluate your diagnosis. Bs carried play all night.
 

prizminferno

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Jul 12, 2005
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The analytics say the Bruins were better g5-g7. This isn't a debate, "eye test" isn't a real thing. They got jobbed in one game and had no luck tonight.
 

CaptainLaddie

dj paul pfieffer
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Sep 6, 2004
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The talk about the refs, physical play, dirty play is tiring. I was mad after G5 too. But they had 1 game to win the Cup and they just didn't play well enough. Series-wise, they did not play well enough 5v5. They had plenty of chances to score in G5 and G7 and did not get it done. Simple as that.
This is exactly it. The Bruins are a better team but were outplayed most of the series -- and in the game they absolutely had to have they were outclassed.
 

54thMA

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That was the most frustrating playoff series I’ve ever witnessed.
Agreed, the past two weeks or so was like a root canal followed by a colonoscopy.

No doubt in my mind all three members of the first line were fighting injuries, I lost count of how many times Pasta fanned on a shot. The two weeks off didn't help, fucked with their mojo after they demolished Carolina in the conference finals.

The whole series changed when their assbag coach whined about the penalties in a game where they had 4 penalties called on them vs 5 for the Bruins, the referees changed the way they called the series after that.

I have zero respect for the Blues, they're going to set hockey back 40 years after winning the cup; in a copy cat league, teams will goon it up now vs more skilled opponents, maybe the Hanson Brothers and Olgie Ogelthorpe can be talked out of retirement.

Game 7's are a wild card, good Bennington showed up tonight and that second goal was a back breaker.

1-3 at home in the finals is terrible needless to say, just their shit luck to play a team in the finals that played better on the road than at home, shit luck describes this series perfectly.

What a monumentally frustrating series this was.......oh and thanks Buffalo for trading O'Reilly for a bag of pucks.
 

Marciano490

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Well, at least the country doesn’t care about hockey so it’ll be pretty easy to avoid reminders of this.
 

LogansDad

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This is not the way I wanted this season to end. I can't even bring myself to watch post game interviews and stuff. I really hope this core gets back here again, as there's never been a group of players I've cared about as much as I do these guys, from Bergy, to Z, Tuukka, and Marchand, and Krejci.... they deserve another one. It might be too late for Z, I really think next year is going to be tough, especially with the Cup Hangover, but man, this sucked.

This season was incredible, though. I hate the feeling of it being wiped out by one enthusiastically bad line change. It's dumb how much sports can hurt.
 
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Bellhorn

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Aug 22, 2006
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Offensively, throughout the series they were inconsistent in how they attacked Binnington. At home, they seemed very tight and passed the puck too much when they could have shot it too much. In STL, they seemed to be much more aggressive shooting the puck and pounced on the rebounds which turned into goals.

As far as the physical play by STL, they toed the line and went over it a little bit. But tonight, it was not a factor. They just got outplayed.
Apart from Carlo's shorty in G4, which of the road goals came on a rebound? I don't think they did any less passing in the road games, it just worked out better for whatever reason.
 

MiracleOfO2704

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On the other hand though, look at the young defense core that they’re building. McAvoy, Carlo, and Grzcelyk are already top 4 guys. Vaakanainen and Lauzon are going to be contributing next season. When those guys are all between 25-28 that could be a great position group. The future isn’t bleak in the least.
Oh, I’m not down on the team, just the quarter of it that would be considered the “senior” core. Those five guys are long in the tooth, one of them is already in steep decline, and the other three skaters are likely to enter decline going forward.

The pointing to Natural Stat Trick as some kind of proof the Bruins played well is a double-edged sword. Boston led 5-on-5 in CF% and raw Corsi/Fenwick, but we’re outchanced 18-17, and the Blues had more HDSCs 10-7. That tells me the Bruins’ shots were largely from the outside and of the variety that your average goalie could be expected to save. Last night’s story was that the Bruins were wasteful in possession, while St. Louis wasn’t.
 

BaseballJones

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Oct 1, 2015
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Last night's game was like a baseball game where you put 15 runners on base but can't get the big hit to drive them in. Meanwhile, your pitcher has allowed nothing - no hits, no walks, nothing, other than a blooper off the Pesky Pole, an inside-the-park homer where your CF slipped and fell, a ball that glances off Mookie's glove and lands in the bullpen, and a moonshot. You finally scrape a run home in the bottom of the 9th to cut it to 4-1, having really outplayed the other team all night but failing again and again to plate RISP, while the other team just makes the most of its chances. Sucks.
 

bigq

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Crap. Now all that is left is the Red Sox and they are not looking so good.
 

wiffleballhero

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In the simulacrum
Last night's game was like a baseball game where you put 15 runners on base but can't get the big hit to drive them in. Meanwhile, your pitcher has allowed nothing - no hits, no walks, nothing, other than a blooper off the Pesky Pole, an inside-the-park homer where your CF slipped and fell, a ball that glances off Mookie's glove and lands in the bullpen, and a moonshot. You finally scrape a run home in the bottom of the 9th to cut it to 4-1, having really outplayed the other team all night but failing again and again to plate RISP, while the other team just makes the most of its chances. Sucks.

This is about right, except that hockey has this improbable set of circumstances come up quite often. In baseball, it almost never does. Yes, you can run into a great pitcher on a shitty team, but they often lose unless their team generates some offense.

I love hockey, but it is the least rational, least predictable, most variance and luck prone sport. And that part of it sucks. There is no other sport where you can dominate as thoroughly as the Bruins did last night and still lose. Yes, I would have loved it if Rask had similarly stolen the game, but it would still be theft -- and not really indicative of the hockey.
 

nayrbrey

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After thinking about the series one thing that I kept coming back to was that in these last few games neither team did a good job of adjusting in game to what their opponent was doing. I’m not sure if it’s just my lack of understanding of the tactics and coaching hockey, but watching the Bruins keep on skating into 3 Blues standing at the blue line or passing into the same areas in games 5/7 is what I’ll remember.
 

Smiling Joe Hesketh

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In the cold light of morning, I'm just so bitterly fucking disappointed.

You can't lose 3 out of 4 games at home in a SC Final. It can't and should never happen. They need to change the game day routine up or something. That's a huge fail.

1st line never showed up in the series and that was the biggest reason for the end. No idea what the hell was going on with them, but they deserve the largest part of the blame.

The shithead Rask Sucks Brigade is out in full force and I can even deal. That fucking meathead Dafoomie was crapping all over him last night. Part of me thinks the Bruins should trade him, not because it would help on the ice but because I'd never have to deal with these shitheads again.

I'm depressed and won't be getting over this for a long, long time.