Tag Archives: 2013-14 NHL Season

Boston Bruins vs. Pittsburgh Penguins: The Shawn Thornton Incident

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After the events of last night I feel it is my duty to weigh in on everything that went down. I completely understand why Shawn Thornton snapped on Brooks Orpik last night. Keep in mind that I am not advocating for anyone to be punching anyone else while they are down on the ice, but I can understand his mindset that brought him to that dark place. I truly Believe when Shawn Thornton apologized last night he was being sincere and was not trying to send Brooks Orpik out on a stretcher. That being said, Shawn Thornton had any number of reason to flip out last night and the officials and Orpik himself had many chances to stop it.

  1. The Orpik hit on Eriksson was dirty and should have been called a penalty. The puck was behind Eriksson and it was clear that neither one of them were playing the puck. It has to be an interference penalty at minimum. If the officals make the call there, the rest of the events would not have taken place.
  2. Orpik avoiding Shawn Thornton is a cowardly move. If Orpik stands up for his actions and fights Thornton earlier in the first period, the story stops there. Now, I don’t blame Orpik for not necessarily wanting to go with Thornton, but he needs to dance with someone. Luckily for him, the Bruins have a half dozen or more guys for him to go with and instead he decides avoid all confrontations.
  3. The final straw is James Neal with by far the dirtiest play of the entire game.  Brad Marchand was completely defenseless after being tripped by Sidney Crosby (of course there was no call) and was on hands and knees on the ice. Of course Neal knew where he was and was looking for revenge for last season after Marchand boarded him in the playoffs. So he kneed him in the head, in front of the Bruins bench mind you, and skated off the ice for a line change. At that point the Bruins were already pushed to the brink and Thornton fufilled his agenda and went after Orpik after 2 Penguins were going after Campbell. By the way, Orpik could have fought the smaller Campbell there as well to settle the score for the earlier hit but neglected to do that too.

At the end of the day, should Shawn Thornton be punching a player in the head, with his gloves on while he is laying on the ice? Absolutely not. But should Orpik and Neal be targeting the heads of Bruins players? Absolutely not. I firmly Believe that Thornton was not trying to hurt Orpik, but he was trying to settle a score and it got a little out of hand. I hope Neal and Orpik (upon his return) both get suspended along with Thornton for their roles in last night’s game. As a Bruins fan, we know all too well about head injuries and if the league trying to do away with dirty plays they need to do what is right and suspend those players too.

You can follow my in-game thoughts on twitter @BruinsBeliever and as always Let’s go Bs!

Boston Bruins News – Loui Eriksson & The Next 5 Games

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John Scott hits Loui ErikssonBefore we get to this cheap shot, the worst I have seen since the Matt Cooke hit on Marc Savard, let’s talk about this nice run the Boston Bruins have been on. In this most recent 5 game stretch the Bruins played well enough to win in most of the games, rounding out with a 4-1 record, including three division road wins. The goal tending for the Bruins has been terrific and the Bruins have slowly started to score goals, including Jerome Iginla, finally. I think that Jerome Iginla’s lack of scoring touch this season has been overblown. He has done a great job of setting up his teammates and working hard all season. It is great to see him finally get rewarded with some goals recently.

The two most concerning games the Bruins played were against Tim Thomas and the Florida Panthers, a 3-2 win and the one game they dropped to the Devils 4-3. You could even throw in the game they won against the San Jose Sharks 2-1. The Boston Bruins came out of the gates flying, especially against Florida and New Jersey, jumping out to 2-0 and 3-1 leads after the first period. Sometime during the first intermission, Bruins decided that a two goal lead was enough to shut it down for the night and put it in cruise control. They then went on to blow the leads, a tie in the case of Florida, and blow the lead completely against an inept New Jersey team. Now, I realize that these are games in October and in the grand scheme of things that doesn’t mean a lot. That being said, it is hard to believe that it is acceptable for Coach Claude Julian or for the fans to watch a team float around for 2 periods. You won’t hear me say a peep about floating late in the 3rd period up by 2 goals but to do so in the 2nd is unacceptable and needs to get cleaned up.

At the end of the day, the Bruins went 4-1 over a 5 game span and picked up great road division wins. We were even lucky enough to get a crazy game winning goal by David Krejci allowing the Boston Bruins to win a game they had no business winning against the San Jose Sharks.

However, all of that effort feels like it was diminished by what John Scott did to Loui Eriksson up in Buffalo. In one of the most despicable, cowardly acts I have seen, John Scott targeted Loui Eriksson for reasons unknown and has put him out of commission for the foreseeable future. The fact that Scott targeted one of the games nice guys only makes him and the Buffalo Sabres coaching staff look horrible. John Scott Attacks Phil KesselMy question is, why was Scott on the ice during the last half of the 3rd period? This is a man who has 1 career goal and 5 career points. He certainly was not on the ice to try and help Buffalo chip away at a two goal Boston lead halfway through the third period. He even said himself that he is not a goal scorer and that is not his role on the team. Well, what is is role? To attack and intimidate skill players like when John Scott attacked Phil Kessel in the preseason (see above .gif)? This guy should be out of the league altogether and I appreciate that Brandon Shanahan suspended Scott indefinitely, but somehow it still doesn’t justify his disgusting act. We can all only pray for a speedy recovery (or a full recovery at all) for Loui Eriksson.

Who’s Next?

A couple of big games I am looking forward to is a match up on the road against the Pittsburgh Penguins this Wednesday followed by a game in Boston against the Anaheim Ducks, a game that will be attended by Yours Truly. But the big game that all of us Bruins Believers, including myself, that we circled back on July 4th is upon us. Tyler Seguin and the Dallas Stars will be coming down up to Boston on Tuesday, November 5th. That game follows what is sure to be a fun game to watch against the young upstart New York Islanders. After the Showdown with Seguin, the Bruins will wrap up the week against division opponents in Boston, the Florida Panthers, Toronto Maple Leafs, and the Tampa Bay Lightning. I am sure all of the folks in Toronto have been waiting to get their hands on the Bruins after what happened in the playoffs back in April.  It will be a lot of fun as most of Boston shifts it’s focus away from baseball and back squarely on the Bruins.

Don’t forget to follow me on twitter @BruinsBeliever for all of my in-game thoughts and don’t forget to tweet at me if you also plan on going to the game against Anaheim. Let’s go Bs!

Boston Bruins 2013-2014 Season Review: The First 5 Games

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The season started off with a bang thanks to Chris Kelly and his short-handed penalty shot goal opening night vs. Tampa Bay. The Boston Bruins went on to win that game 3-1 and the season was off and running. The Boston Bruins game against the Tampa Bay Lightning opening night was a great way to start off the season. The Bruins wasted no time in playing their brand of Bruins Hockey with 2 shorthanded goals. It was a game where they physically dominated their opponent and took away their best weapon in Steven Stamkos.

I was very excited for the start of the new division rivalry with the Detroit Red Wings. And even though we are only 5 games into the season, we have seen the last of the Red Wings in Boston, barring a playoff match up. The Bruins ended up splitting the two games with the Wings, winning the first match up, a  4-1 victory and a lose in the second game 3-2. The first game was a must win for the Bruins with Detroit at the tail end of a 3 games in 4 nights stretch and were very clearly fatigued. My biggest takeaway from these games was the special teams play from the Bruins. The Bruins did a great job of shutting down Detroit’s power play while establishing their own. The Bruins and their new power play look, with Zdeno Chara down low, came out with 2 goals from the first game including this beauty from Chara after an amazing feed from Torey Krug (skip to 25 seconds):

The games against the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Colorado Avalanche were very similar because the Bruins put forth a very strong effort in each game. The Bruins played a great game against Colorado but, unfortunately, the Bruins ran into a very hot goaltender in J.S. Giguere. Colorado scored on a deflected shot on the power play and the Bruins couldn’t manage a goal as they fell 2-0. The game against the Blue Jackets was similar except for the fact that the Bruins were able to put the puck in the net. The two newest Bruins each played a crucial role in the Bruins 3-1 win. The first goal was due to a tremendous individual effort by Jerome Iginla and the second, and eventual game-winner was the first goal in a Boston Bruins uniform by Loui Eriksson.

Overall, I am very happy with the effort and intensity the Bruins have played with throughout the season thus far. In the not-so-distant past, the Bruins have struggled in afternoon games, usually coming out slow and flat-footed. But so far I have loved seeing the team ready to go for these early afternoon games. I am enjoying watching the Boston Bruins on the power play for the first time in years due to the strategy of putting Zdeno Chara down in front of the net and allowing Torey Krug and David Krejci to make plays in space. The Bruins have already scored a handful of power play and shorthanded goals this season and have shown an huge improvement especially on the power play.

Who’s Next: New Division Rivals & Old Friends

The Bruins have three consecutive division road division games up next. The first is in Florida against old friend Tim Thomas and second game is against the Tampa Bay Lightning. I am looking forward to having these two teams in the division because with all of the other teams being tough and competitive, it will be nice to play these two teams that appear to be doormats. After those games it is another road division game where the Bruins will visit the Buffalo Sabres.  Following that the Boston Bruins will be welcoming Joe Thornton and the San Jose Sharks to the Garden.

Watching the Bruins has been and should continue to be fun, especially watching how Coach Claude Julien continues to rotate his defensemen. A separate blog on that topic will follow. Until then, remember to follow me on twitter @BruinsBeliever for my in-game analysis and for quick hit thoughts. Thanks for reading, and as always: Lets Go Bs!