Yeah but Toronto has nothing close to Hedman or even McDonagh.Absolutely. I think Toronto was the absolute worst matchup for the Bruins. That team is stacked with skill up and down the lineup.
Tampa isn't as deep up front as Toronto. They'll have a hard time keeping up with our third and fourth lines.Yeah but Toronto has nothing close to Hedman or even McDonagh.
Agreed but they don’t have much behind those 2.Yeah but Toronto has nothing close to Hedman or even McDonagh.
may want to add Point, Stamkos, Kucherov. ...Lighting roster is superior to Toronto's. Doesn't mean they will beat the Bruins, but they have a nice squad top to bottom and they are healthy.Yeah but Toronto has nothing close to Hedman or even McDonagh.
They have a deeper roster than Toronto, but not a more explosive offensive game. Toronto's speed gave Boston fits. Tampa doesn't have that kind of team speed. Some are fast, but not all.may want to add Point, Stamkos, Kucherov. ...Lighting roster is superior to Toronto's. Doesn't mean they will beat the Bruins, but they have a nice squad top to bottom and they are healthy.
Seriously. Speed was our Achilles heel. Toronto was the fastest team.Absolutely. I think Toronto was the absolute worst matchup for the Bruins. That team is stacked with skill up and down the lineup.
Once again, the defense can suck and the goaltending can also suck. They aren't mutually exclusive. There was much more discussion in this thread about the shitty clearing of the zone on the first couple goals than there was about Rask. But, just because the defense isn't perfect doesn't mean a goalie should be absolved when they let in a goal. You're an NHL goalie, you should be expected to make some tough saves once in a while. Rask didn't do that tonight. He made the saves he should have made, the same ones that most division 1 college goalies make, but he wasn't doing much more than that. They had 4 goals on their first 15 shots or so. He gave up 4 goals on 13 shots the other night. I don't give a shit how bad your defense is, that's pathetic, for any goalie.I can't quite grasp what I am reading and hearing from people on TV, fans, etc. People want to boil down defensive hockey to simply goaltending. Most are quick to blame every single goal on Rask and "oh Rask sucks, he's terrible, pull him, trade him, he's a choker". While Rask was shaky tonight, nobody mentions that the players around him made mistakes to set up certain situations. It happened all series long. Pucks weren't properly cleared, Marchand overskated a puck that led to a breakaway, and McAvoy gave it up right in front of the net. Rask is a complete enigma in this town, never gets any credit for good games, and gets completely destroyed in every loss. Some even say that nothing is good enough until he wins a Cup. It's crazy.
Rask had his fair share of big saves on odd-man rushes and breakaways outside of Game 4 as well. It's just people choose not to remember them but they certainly remember every mistake he makes. He was good in Games 1 and 2 and was not bad in Game 3 and 6 in losses. Tonight, he was not good and I don't think you'll find anyone that says he was. He should be getting criticism tonight. Most just believe lazily that Rask is to blame for all of the team's problems. Most do not criticize players that make defensive breakdowns but are very quick to throw up their hands solely at Rask any time the puck goes in the net.Once again, the defense can suck and the goaltending can also suck. They aren't mutually exclusive. There was much more discussion in this thread about the shitty clearing of the zone on the first couple goals than there was about Rask. But, just because the defense isn't perfect doesn't mean a goalie should be absolved when they let in a goal. You're an NHL goalie, you should be expected to make some tough saves once in a while. Rask didn't do that tonight. He made the saves he should have made, the same ones that most division 1 college goalies make, but he wasn't doing much more than that. They had 4 goals on their first 15 shots or so. He gave up 4 goals on 13 shots the other night. I don't give a shit how bad your defense is, that's pathetic, for any goalie.
Rask had one brilliant game in this series in Game 4. Besides that, he was average at best, and downright putrid at times. The defense was as well, but you know what, sometimes the other team's offense makes plays and the only one who can keep the puck from going in the net when that happens is the goalie. The Bruins shouldn't have to hope every shot hits Rask in the chest or it's going to be a goal, and that's pretty much what it was through 2 periods tonight. Fortunately, the B's put 7 on the board.
I must have blacked that out completely because I have absolutely no recollection of Tuukka being the starter in the 2010 playoffs. None. Had to check multiple sources to confirm.I don't think Rask has really gotten rid of the stink of the 2010 Flyers series and maybe to a lesser extent the 2014 Montreal series. It's unfair but I think people hold those against him.
They overcame mediocre goaltending and won. You can do that in hockey. It's the ultimate team sport. Rask has a chance to redeem himself against Tampa.I don't think Rask has really gotten rid of the stink of the 2010 Flyers series and maybe to a lesser extent the 2014 Montreal series. It's unfair but I think people hold those against him.
I honestly have a very different recollection of Rask in this series outside of Game 4, and maybe Game 1. I don't remember him making more than a couple "good to great" saves outside of those games. In fact, it almost felt like the complete opposite. It felt like the Bruins would dominate play, and pepper Anderson with mixed results, and then Toronto would go into our end and score almost every time they challenged Rask with any sort of difficult save.Rask had his fair share of big saves on odd-man rushes and breakaways outside of Game 4 as well. It's just people choose not to remember them but they certainly remember every mistake he makes. He was good in Games 1 and 2 and was not bad in Game 3 and 6 in losses. Tonight, he was not good and I don't think you'll find anyone that says he was. He should be getting criticism tonight. Most just believe lazily that Rask is to blame for all of the team's problems. Most do not criticize players that make defensive breakdowns but are very quick to throw up their hands solely at Rask any time the puck goes in the net.
And I would like to thank my bartender Steve at Big Dog here in Maine. I was so wound up for this game, I got to the bar, got through 2 (maybe 3) Buck Brown Ales and a nice steak-and-cheese, went to check the thickness of my wallet, and realized it was still home on the desk...I'd like to thank everyone at Slumbrew Brewing for getting me through that game. And thank you to PSK and El Gatissimo for hanging out with my drunk ass during game 5.
I'd like to thank everyone at Slumbrew Brewing for getting me through that game. And thank you to PSK and El Gatissimo for hanging out with my drunk ass during game 5.
"At least one goal"? Are there deficits smaller than that?Wasntba 3-goal defecit this time, but hey!
That really is an under rated and amazing play. He gets the stick on the puck and still manages to pull back the the stick and not slide into him to avoid the penalty. I think half of his healthy scratches this year were strictly because Cassidy wanted to preserve him for the playoffs given his willingness to sacrifice his body continuously.I'd like to take a minute and talk about Adam McQuaid.
(also, would have been really interesting to see if a call would have been made had the Leaf gone down there instead of staying on his skates)
He’s a pretty known quantity at this point in his career. He’ll give you around a .916 save percentage, which generally fares worse in relative league rankings than his GAA. His GSAA and Expected Save Percentage differentials and any other numbers you can slice tell the story of a pretty average goalie. And he’s generally got shittier stats in elimination games, which sticks in people’s minds.I can't quite grasp what I am reading and hearing from people on TV, fans, etc. People want to boil down defensive hockey to simply goaltending. Most are quick to blame every single goal on Rask and "oh Rask sucks, he's terrible, pull him, trade him, he's a choker". While Rask was shaky tonight, nobody mentions that the players around him made mistakes to set up certain situations. It happened all series long. Pucks weren't properly cleared, Marchand overskated a puck that led to a breakaway, and McAvoy gave it up right in front of the net. Rask is a complete enigma in this town, never gets any credit for good games, and gets completely destroyed in every loss. Some even say that nothing is good enough until he wins a Cup. It's crazy.
He also has a 41 year old and bunch of kids in front of him. I don't think it's entirely on him.He’s a pretty known quantity at this point in his career. He’ll give you around a .916 save percentage, which generally fares worse in relative league rankings than his GAA. His GSAA and Expected Save Percentage differentials and any other numbers you can slice tell the story of a pretty average goalie. And he’s generally got shittier stats in elimination games, which sticks in people’s minds.
He’s fine. Sometimes he’s great. Sometimes he’s shitty.
He made multiple great saves in the third period of game 6 alone. One was a shoulder save on Nylander on the doorstep after a cross ice pass with 8:40 left. Starting at 1:50 of this video:I honestly have a very different recollection of Rask in this series outside of Game 4, and maybe Game 1. I don't remember him making more than a couple "good to great" saves outside of those games. In fact, it almost felt like the complete opposite. It felt like the Bruins would dominate play, and pepper Anderson with mixed results, and then Toronto would go into our end and score almost every time they challenged Rask with any sort of difficult save.
I also think you're very much mistaken about the tone of this thread, and the threads in this series. I don't disagree that there are Rask haters out there, particularly on talk radio, but the vast majority of the posts in this thread were calling out the defense, particularly on the first two goals. I know Chara was the one that got most of the blame for his shitty clear on the 1st goal, and it was the same with the 2nd goal. But again, the defense is never going to be perfect. Once in a while, a goalie needs to make a play to pick up his defense, especially a goalie making $7m a year. I don't think asking Rask to be better than average is asking a lot, and I think that's what most fans are looking for, and didn't get in this series.
I just find it interesting that anytime the Bruins scored, fans credited the player(s) who created or scored the goal, or they blamed Anderson for being a shitty goalie. We never heard about the defensive breakdowns that led to the goal when the shoe was on the other foot. And Toronto had many, many more defensive breakdowns than the Bruins had in this series. The shots on goal numbers bear that out pretty vividly.
All I know is that Tampa is a better defensive team than this Toronto team, so relying on our offense to put up 28 goals over 7 games might be asking too much, and if so, Tuuka is going to need to be better than he was in this series.
Which aspect of it? Expected Save Percentage differential takes that into account (not perfectly, but it is what it is). Do you think the Bruins defense is worse than league average? Which way do you think the fact that his GAA has been better vs. the league average than his Save Percentage cuts?He also has a 41 year old and bunch of kids in front of him. I don't think it's entirely on him.