Category Archives: Stanley Cup Finals 2013

2013 Stanley Cup Finals, Boston Bruins vs. Chicago Blackhawks Game 6 Recap

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Game 6 Recap

Boston Bruins Salute CrowdAll things considered this BruinsBeliever will keep my head held high. There is absolutely nothing to be ashamed of in this team. Did the way it went down suck? Yup, it certainly did. The Bruins went from a 2-1 lead to a 3-2 deficit in 17 seconds. Another defensive collapse from a team that was full of them during the regular season, finally reared its ugly head during the postseason in a collapse eerily similar to that of the Maple Leafs in the first round of the playoffs. The Bruins gave the solid effort that I knew they would give. Right now it is not worth placing any blame or rehashing this game. We all saw how it went down and nothing else needs to be said.

The Chicago Blackhawks were the better team from the start of the season all the way through to the end. They play the game the right way and I have no issues losing to a team like Chicago. Before the playoffs started some fellow BruinsBelievers and myself were discussing our 2nd favorite NHL team and we all agreed that Chicago would be that team. So hats off to you Chicago, you earned it.

Already, some injury news has leaked just minutes after the season finale. We now finally found out what was ailing Patrice Bergeron. Perhaps I should just rephrase to what is healthy for Patrice Bergeron. Bergeron was suffering from a broken rib, torn cartilage, and a separated shoulder. The trip to the hospital in Chicago was prompted by concern over his spleen due to his broken rib. I know many more injury stories will be coming out in the days ahead for both teams and you can count on Zdeno Chara to be on that list. The Boston captain had to be playing with some kind of injury with the effort he was putting forward towards the end of the playoff run. Nathan Horton can now finally get his shoulder fixed, as it was clear it has been hanging by a thread. I am going to let the injury stories play out before I cast judgement on the finals performance of any player.

What’s Next for BruinsBeliever

So I am sure you are wondering, what is next for BruinsBeliever now that the ride has ended? Well, we will have plenty of off season chatter to keep me busy over the course of less than 3 months. One of the few benefits of the lockout was an extended season which means a shorter off-season. The NHL Draft is this weekend and I will have some thoughts on that, even though the Bruins do not have a first round pick thanks to the Bruins advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals in the Jagr deal. I will also be handing out grades to every player on the Bruins, one for the regular season and one for the post-season, as well as an overall positional group grade. I will give my take when there is a big off-season signing. Tuukka Rask is a restricted free agent and big names like Nathan Horton and Andrew Ference are unrestricted free agents. There will be plenty of time to get ready for next season and it will be nice not having a lockout hanging over the off-season.

Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter @BruinsBeliever and I will be tweeting throughout the off-season whenever new blogs are posted. Thanks for reading and keep Believing, I know I will be. Let’s go Bruins!

2013 Stanley Cup Finals, Boston Bruins vs. Chicago Blackhawks Game 5 Recap & Game 6 Preview

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Game 5 Recap

Patrice Bergeron AmbulanceMany are wondering whether the Bruins Stanley Cup hopes went out in an ambulance last night with the mysterious injury to Patrice Bergeron. I believe that the Bruins still have a shot at the Stanley Cup regardless of who is injured, but this is by far one of the biggest blows they could take. Yes, the Chicago Blackhawks were missing Jonathan Toews for the majority of the third period after a crushing hit by Johnny Boychuck, but something tells me the Blackhawks’ captain would have hit the ice had the Bruins tied the score. Today it appears that the injury to Bergeron may not be as bad as first thought, no one can know his status for Game 6. It appears as though Toews will give it a go Monday night for Chicago.

Once again, the Bruins struggled early, although they bounced back nicely towards the end of the first period, they were dominated throughout the 2nd period. Chara was once again a minus 2 after the first 2 periods and it appears as though the Chicago strategy of taking away time and space for him and Dennis Seidenberg is working. Claude Julien responded by splitting up the pair at the start of the third period and kept them apart for the remainder of the game.

Not enough pucks went on net for the Bruins. While Chicago was content with throwing as many pucks as possible on Tuukka Rask, who was tremendous down the stretch, the Bruins were being way to cute with the puck. Too many times they had me shouting in my living room, like a ‘pink hat’ fan during a power play, “Shoot it!”. David Krejci was the worst offender last night as too many times he opted for the extra pass which allowed the Blackhawks defenders to close down the shooting lanes. The Bruins never made Crawford work all night and that is disappointing given the amount of times they lit him up during Game 4.

Game 6 Preview

Well, this is it. The Stanley Cup will be in the building on Monday night and let’s hope that it stays in its case. If ever there was a time when you needed a strong effort from everyone at the jump, you would have to assume Monday night would be the time. As Tuukka Rask said after Game 5, “It’s kind of sad that we’ve got to lose a guy [Bergeron] like that to wake the team up and start battling out there.” I am very happy to hear Tuukka call out his teammates after that last game, because someone has to. Too many times now, this team has come out of the dressing room sleepwalking and that would be an unacceptable way to go out when the Stanley Cup is in the building. I am expecting a much stronger, consistent effort from the Bruins.

As for potential lineup changes,  I am fairly certain that Toews will be in the lineup for the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 6. For the Bruins however, it will be tough to predict what would happen with the Bergeron injury. If Bergeron is out, any one of these scenarios could play out: the most likely would be to move Chris Kelly up to center the second line, Soderberg could keep centering that line, Rich Peverley could be brought up from the 4th line, or, least likely, Tyler Seguin could finally get his shot to play some center on that second line. Look for Daugavins to get some play back in the lineup if Bergeron can’t go. I would also expect Claude Julien to keep Chara and Seidenberg separated as the D pairs return to their regular season pairings.

All in all, this has been one heck of a series. I know that the Garden crowd will be hyped and ready to go. The Bruins need to feed off the energy in the building and come ready to play. Remember what happened in 2011 in this same scenario, anything can happen with this Bruins team. It can be done, and this team is far from done. I believe it can happen. It starts with a win. Lets Go Bs!

2013 Stanley Cup Finals, Boston Bruins vs. Chicago Blackhawks Game 4 Recap & Game 5 Preview

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Game 4 Recap

Chris Kelly Scoring Chance, Game 4One thing has become very clear in this series: the team that dictates their style of play over their opponents will win. The Chicago Blackhawks were able to dictate their up-tempo, up-and-down-the-ice style of play and forced the Bruins to play right along with them. The Bruins, once again, came out very sluggish in the opening minutes as well as throughout most of the second period. I do not know what they can do to fix this other then they must be on their toes and ready to play from the drop. They cannot afford to ease into these games any longer.

The back-checking of the Bruins forwards struggled at times compared to how they have been back-checking during the Pittsburgh series and earlier in this Chicago series. That being said, the Bruins were able to hang with the Blackhawks and make multiple comebacks throughout the game. The shining star for the Bruins was Patrice Bergeron. He scored two goals and helped generate great transition offense.  Both he and Jagr have played important roles in generating scoring opportunities. Brad Marchand has been invisible while his line mates have been tremendous. He needs to step up and finish on the opportunities both Bergeron and Jagr have been providing him.

Game 5 Preview

This series has come down to a best of 3 and the Bruins have lost home ice advantage. Does this mean that series is over? Absolutely not. The Bruins have already shown that they can win in Chicago and I believe that they can do it again, either in Game 5 or potentially a Game 7. The big change that needs to happen from Game 4 to Game 5 is that the Bruins must slow down the tempo and Zdeno Chara cannot have another terrible game. I’m expecting the captain and the rest of the team to rebound nicely and come out with a strong, heavy effort and, of course, the game will probably go to overtime. Let’s go B’s!

2013 Stanley Cup Finals, Boston Bruins vs. Chicago Blackhawks Game 3 Recap & Game 4 Preview

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Game 3 Recap

Zdeno Chara, Bryan BickellThe Boston Bruins have not surrendered a goal in a home game over the last 2 games. Even more impressively, is the squads that they’ve shut out. First, it was the best offense in the NHL in the Pittsburgh Penguins. Now, it is the Chicago Blackhawks, a team that was not shutout once during the entire regular season. This is a huge testament to how well the Bruins have been playing since the third period of the Toronto series. Bottom line is, this Bruins team is playing great defensive hockey and are now starting to get scoring from some unlikely sources in, as Claude Julien has dubbed them, “The Hunch Line”, made up of Seguin, Kelly, and Paille.

I do have one bone to pick about Game 3 and that is with the play of Kaspars Daugavins. From what I have observed, Daugavins has struggled in all aspects of play. He single-handedly ruined a potential 3 on 1 opportunity for the Bruins by putting himself offside and has committed bad penalties. Luckily, the Bruins have killed off every penalty they have faced thus far in the Stanley Cup Finals. I would suggest giving Jay Pandolfo a run in the lineup. At least you know with Pandolfo that he will be solid veteran who will provide more consistency then Daugavins. To me, it would be worth a shot and would make me less nervous watching the Merlot Line on the ice.

Game 4 Preview

The biggest story just prior to Game 3 game time for both teams were pregame skate injuries to Marian Hossa and Zdeno Chara. Hossa supposedly took a puck off the leg and was scratched from the lineup just prior to game time. Chara required stitches over his left eye after falling into Milan Lucic and having Lucic land on him. Now, the big story going into Game 4 is if the skirmishes in the last minute of the Game 3 carry over into Game 4. The Blackhawks need to do something to try and change momentum in this series and perhaps they are going to try and take the strategy of increasing physicality. If there is one saying that even the new Bruins fans know it is “Don’t Poke the Bear”. And that is for good reason too. The Bruins are the best team in the National Hockey League when they play angry. As of now, the Chicago Blackhawks have not given them a reason to play angry and I don’t think they should start now. Doing so would be a big mistake. I know that the Bruins are going to get Chicago’s best game in Game 4, and the question is, will it be enough to grind out a win against the Bruins. Hopefully, the Bruins will be able to weather the storm and grind out another victory. Let’s go B’s!

2013 Stanley Cup Finals, Boston Bruins vs. Chicago Blackhawks, Game 2 Recap & Game 3 Preivew

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Game 2 Recap

Milan Lucic, Niklas Hjalmarsson ScaredThe Bruins earned a split and I couldn’t ask for anything more! I know that the Bruins could have easily had the puck bounce their way and they could’ve stole both games in Chicago, but I will gladly take the split. The biggest takeaway I have from both games in Chicago is that the Boston Bruins physicality is starting to affect the Chicago Blackhawks as this gif demonstrates. Milan Lucic has been a runaway freight train this series and it makes you wonder why we don’t see glimpses of this throughout the season. He is becoming a feared player for the Blackhawks defensemen and as the series shifts to Boston it is only going to intensify.

Thank God the Bruins had a ‘chat’ as Coach Claude Julien called it after the terrible and downright atrocious first period of play. Finally, the third line paid dividends for the Bruins and the Seguin, Kelly, Paille, combination that scored both goals for Boston. Those players looked comfortable as they are all high flyers and play at the similar tempos.  Apparently, all BruinsBeliever has to do is call out players after loses and they respond with Kelly and Seguin playing their best games and Krug was solid as well. I’d like to think that they must be loyal readers.

Game 3 Preview

The Blackhawks have struggled away from the United Center all postseason. Their goals per game are cut by more than half away from home (14 road goals vs. 38 home goals). After witnessing 2011 and how dominant Vancouver was at home, and how terrible they played in Boston, I can say that Boston is absolutely a tough place to play for a visiting team.  Throughout the past few postseasons the Bruins have an outstanding home record. They are already one of the best in the league at getting the match-ups they want on the road, never mind at home where they get the benefit of the last line change. Hopefully, both of those trends continue for tonight’s game and the Bruins take control of this series. As always, follow BruinsBeliever on Twitter for my in-game thoughts. Let’s go Bs!

2013 Stanley Cup Finals, Boston Bruins vs. Chicago Blackhawks Game 1 Recap & Game 2 Preview

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Bruins vs. Blackhawks Game 1 Game 1 Recap

This blog is uncharted territory for the BruinsBeliever because haven’t had to recap a loss. Somehow, even after watching 5 hours of hockey and almost 2 games worth, I can’t wait for Saturday. The Bruins and Blackhawks are two evenly matched teams who have the same strengths (5 on 5 play, shot blocking and goaltending) and have the same weaknesses (power play, and a knack for taking too many men on the ice penalties).  These Stanley Cup Finals games are very entertaining to watch and it showed as NBC and the NHL enjoyed the highest viewership in 16 years.

The Blackhawks had most of the puck bounces go their way throughout the game but they really came to light on the last 2 goals of the game. The game tying goal was scored on a shot that deflected off the skates of Andrew Ference, and the eventual winner was scored off of a double deflection. That being said, the Blackhawks were more deserving of the win than the Bruins because, down the stretch, they out shot the Bruins and were skating circles around them during the third period and into the first overtime.

This was the first game where the absence of Gregory Campbell played a factor. Since his absence, Coach Claude Julien and The Bruins have stopped rolling all 4 lines in the fashion that they had done throughout the season. Usually, longer games tend to favor the Bruins with their approach to rolling 4 lines and as a result, are fresher than the teams that don’t.  The loss of Soupy, coupled with the Horton shoulder injury, left the Bruins shorthanded for the overtime. The play of Shawn Thornton can be somewhat reckless at times, but he should get more overtime minutes then the less than 10 he received for the night.

The goats of the game last night include two of the usual suspects and a new face. The play of Chris Kelly and Rich Peverley has been pretty awful throughout the playoffs and the trend continued last night. Kelly was a -3 last night while Peverley was a -2. When the Bruins won the Cup back in 2011, they received tremendous production from the 3rd line of Kelly, Peverley, and Michael Ryder. That has been distant memory during this postseason especially for Kelly. In the past, at least Kelly was able to win some faceoffs, but last night he was below .500 in that respect. Torey Krug also had a bad night. After the game, Tuukka Rask called out Torey Krug calling his play on the 2nd Blackhawks goal a “Terrible turnover”. As a result ,Krug was benched after the turnover until seeing time in the overtime periods where he was on the ice for the overtime winner.

Game 2 Preview:

As of now, it doesn’t look like Nathan Horton will be in the lineup for Saturday’s night and I have seen some tweets regarding Torey Krug’s status in the lineup. My best guess as to what Claude will do with the lineup is, begrudgingly move Tyler Seguin up to the top line with Krejci and Lucic. In his place, as much as I want Carl Soderberg to be ready, I don’t think that he is quite yet. The two guys bidding for a spot on the third line are the grizzly vet Jay Pandolfo or Jordan Caron. My money is on Caron right now. He has the legs and is a better fit speed-wise than Pandolfo. As for Krug, I don’t think you can take him out just quite yet despite his play slipping. He still has great power play skills and is the only speed coming out of the Bruins back end right now. If Claude decides the Krug experiment has run its course, he will turn to veteran Wade Redden to fill in. If the Bruins should go down by 2 games, I would only be a 6 out of 10 on the panic meter, barring a Chicago blowout of course. But I don’t expect that to happen. I am expecting the Bruins to buckle down and tie up loose ends defensively while keeping their legs moving in the offensive zone. I think we will see a 3-1 Bruins win Saturday and a knotted up series coming home to Boston. Let’s go B’s!

2013 Stanley Cup Finals, Boston Bruins vs. Chicago Blackhawks Preview

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2013 Stanley Cup Finals LogoWell, this is it. These are the last 2 teams standing after an intense short season in which both teams set NHL records. The Blackhawks set an NHL record for going the first through 24 games of a regular season without a loss in regulation and have yet to slow down. The Blackhawks have been in the ‘drivers seat’ for most of the season and the expectations have been to reach the Stanley Cup Finals or bust. The Bruins, on the other hand, were less than 10 minutes away from being eliminated by the Toronto Maple Leafs when the Bruins came back from a 3 goal deficit to win in overtime, which was never before seen in NHL history.

Bruins vs. Blackhawks: Special Teams

These two teams are the best 5 on 5 teams in the NHL Playoffs. The Bruins and Blackhawks are extremely similar in their special team rankings in the playoffs and regular season. Both teams are great penalty killers. The Bruins were ranked 4th in the regular season and 6th in the playoffs; while the Blackhawks were ranked 3rd in the regular season and 1st in the playoffs. Both teams struggle on the power play. The Bruins rank 10th on the power play and the Blackhawks rank 12th in power play efficiency in the 2013 Playoffs. I don’t see special teams playing a huge factor in this series as both teams do not take many penalties. Advantage: Push.

Bruins vs. Blackhawks: Goaltending

After watching the Bruins this postseason one would think that this wouldn’t be much of a contest considering Tuukka Rask shutout the top scoring team in the NHL twice. I was surprised to look at the numbers and see that Corey Crawford can hold his own against Rask. Both have virtually the same goals against average, (1.75 for Rask and 1.74 for Crawford) and have similar save percentages (.943 for Rask and  .935 for Crawford). Rask has one more shutout over Crawford (2 for Rask and 1 for Crawford). That being said, Crawford went up against a Kings team that has trouble scoring goals while Tuukka Rask shutout the top scoring team in the NHL over the past 2 seasons twice. Crawford has a tendency to give up soft goals while Tuukka usually makes a team earn them. Advantage: Boston.

Bruins vs. Blackhawks: Defense

Even though the Blackhawks lack a pair of true “shutdown defensemen”, that doesn’t mean that the Blackhawks lack a great defensive tandem. Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook are one of the best defense pairs in the NHL. Both are steady and provide offensive support. Outside of those two, Johnny Oduya has had a hot hand in these playoffs and is similar to Johnny Boychuck in that respect. The Blackhawks don’t play a tight defensive style that the Bruins do and they will open it up a little when pushing for a goal. The Bruins just came off of a series where they completely shutdown hockey’s best player in Sidney Crosby, and the top two lines of the Pittsburgh Penguins. I would expect much of the same care and effort directed at the Toews line with Kane and Bickell as well as the Sharp line with Hossa. I would look for the Bruins defense to target Kane in an attempt to get into his head much like they did with Crosby. I believe that the Bruins will be successful in doing so and will force goals to come from the back two lines of Chicago, which has been inconsistent for them. Advantage: Boston.

Bruins vs. Blackhawks: Forwards

Even though the top two forwards in the NHL in points are two Bruins, David Krejci with 21 and Nathan Horton with 17, I still see the Blackhawks having an advantage. The Blackhawks throughout the regular season were 2nd in goals per game at 3.1GPG (behind Pittsburgh of course) but have seen that production slip slightly in the playoffs down to 2.76 goals per game. The Bruins were ranked 13th in goals per game in the regular season with a number of 2.65 but have increased their production to become the 2nd ranked playoff team averaging 3.27 goals per game. The top line of the Blackhawks has the capability of lighting up the scoreboard at any time, especially the combination of Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews at the top and Patrick Sharp and Marian Hossa on the second line provide a great 1-2 punch that the Bruins must contend with. Advantage: Chicago.

Bruins vs. Blackhawks: Coaching

This match up is very similar because both coaches have similar coaching philosophies. Joel Quenneville will open up play a little more often than Claude Julien will. Both coaches have won Stanley Cup titles with their respective clubs and are very steady. Neither have any decisions that will need to be made regarding the starting lineups for Game 1. Julien shows no signs of switching things up from the lineup he posted for Game 4 against Pittsburgh. No one can call into question Julien’s defensive strategies, and considering how he coached up the Bruins defense to shut down the top two lines of the Penguins, I am confident to say that he can do it again to Chicago’s top two lines. Advantage: Boston.

Bruins vs. Blackhawks: What to Watch For

If I was going to play a NHL Finals drinking game, the one phrase that must be included is hearing about how both teams are part of the Original Six. This is the first time two Original Six teams will meet in the Stanley Cup Finals since 1979 when the Canadians defeated the Rangers. As a Bruins fan, I am always excited when the Bruins play the Blackhawks due to the Original Six history, as well as the fact that these two teams always play great, entertaining games against each other. Because both of these teams have been separated by conference there is not much past history to go on except for a trade that will live on in Bruins lore. The trade between the Boston Bruins and Chicago Blackhawks is long considered one of the most lopsided trades in history, as the Bruins were gifted Phil Esposito, Ken Hodge and Fred Stanfield. All three players were cornerstones for 2 Stanley Cup winning teams. Coupled with the fact that Boston only gave up 3 players that never added up to anything significant. Boston Bruins fans and Bobby Orr alike will always try and forget that this ever happened.

As for this series, the guy on the Blackhawks that will annoy you and get under your skin the most will be Andrew Shaw who is modeling his game after Brad Marchand. Brian Bickell is a big body on the first line and Milan Lucic and Bickell should have some great battles throughout the series as both teams like matching up top line vs. top line.  Chicago Defenseman Johnny Oduya is a big guy and I expect him to throw his weight around on Bruins forwards and making big hits to get the crowd involved. Chicago defenseman Duncan Keith’s high sticking penalty has already got him suspended this postseason which shows he has a bit of a temper that the Bruins may try and exploit.

Bruins vs. Blackhawks: Prediction

Every advantage I gave each team thus far in this preview is so slight that this series can go either way. Both teams are the best even strength teams in the NHL and the series will come down to which team will be able to grind wins out. This series will not be pretty and it will be nerve racking. That being said, I believe the Bruins are playing the best team hockey at the moment. The have made it this far being a team that can adapt to their opponents style of play and beat them at it. They have rallied around Gregory Campbell and the courage and heart he displayed in Game 3, which I think will come to describe the Bruins and Bruins Hockey in a microcosm. I can’t bet against or doubt this team any more. Hopefully, we will be celebrating with a parade as Chicago native President Obama described: “When the Sox and Celtics and Patriots or Bruins are champions again, to the chagrin of New York and Chicago fans, the crowds will gather and watch a parade go down Boylston Street” Let’s go B’s! Prediction: Bruins in 6.