Tag Archives: David Krejci

2013-2014 Boston Bruins Regular Season Recap

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President's-TrophyAnother regular season is in the book for the Boston Bruins and what a season it was. The Bruins capped it off by earning the Presidents Trophy for the best record in the NHL for the first time since 1990. The Bruins relied heavily on the young defensemen to carry them through the bulk of the regular season after the Seidenberg Injury and that will need to be the case going forward if the Bruins want to accomplish the ultimate goal.

Let’s see how I did with my preseason predictions:

Predicted Boston Bruins Leading Goal Scorer: David Krejci. Actual: Jerome Iginla & Patrice Bergeron (30 each)

I was only off by a few in this one. While David Krejci did lead the team in points, he was 6th on the team in goals with 19. Iginla definitely surpassed any expectations that I had of him and showed that he has plenty left in the tank. It feels really good to see Bergeron putting the puck in the net with regularity and for only the second time in his career hit the 30 goal mark.

Predicted Boston Bruins 7th Player Award: Carl Soderberg. Actual: Reilly Smith  The following is my exact writeup from my prediction blog: “If you are looking for a guy to break out this year this is it. From everything I have seen in camp and the preseason, Soderberg is primed to have a big year, even on the 3rd line. I wouldn’t be surprised if he sees power play time sooner rather than later.” I couldn’t have been more right. Many would argue that Soderberg should have been named the 7th player but I don’t have a problem with Smith getting it at all. Smith shined early on for the Bruins and was 5th on the team in goals with 20. He will need to get that goal scoring spark back come playoff time for the Bruins.

Predicted Boston Bruins Team MVP: Tuukka Rask. Actual: Patrice Bergeron                      Some could make the argument that I was dead on with Rask. One could easily argue that Rask was the best goaltender in the league and yet that might not be enough to be the MVP of the Bruins. When you consider everything that Patrice Bergeron does, face-offs, penalty killing, power play, Selke Award Winner for Best Defensive Forward, and all while leading the team in goals for the first time in his career. In my mind, the only answer is Patrice.

Predicted 2014 NHL MVP: John Tavares. Actual: ?  While the award hasn’t been announced yet we know it will not go to John Tavares. Some have rumored that Bergeron could be in contention. I say just give it to Crosby again and let the Bruins knock him around as they always do come playoff time.

Predicted Presidents Trophy: Chicago Blackhawks. Actual: Boston Bruins How could THE Bruins Believer not see that one coming. What can I say, that was a spectacular season for the Bruins. The only good thing about the Blackhawks winning last season is that hopefully they stopped the curse of Presidents Trophy winners losing early on in the playoffs.

Predicted Vezina Trophy: Tuukka Rask Actual: ? It will be Rask, no doubt in my mind.

NHL Final Four: Boston, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Los Angeles

Overall, I think that I did pretty well with my predictions. I was either right on or pretty close (except for that Tavares pick). Truth be told, I could care less that the Boston Bruins won the Presidents Trophy, yes, home ice is nice, but the Bruins have shown time and time again that they travel well and are not afraid to go on the road. They have the 13 game road winning streak from January through March to prove it. All that matters, is that my final prediction will be correct. Stanley Cup Final: Boston wins in 6 vs. LA

Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter to see my Red Wings playoff preview and as always, Lets 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!