Tag Archives: Dennis Seidenberg

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!

 

Overcoming Injuries & Still Winning

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Seidenberg KneeI feel like at this point in the season I know most of the Providence Bruins roster, and that isn’t because I have been making the 40 minute drive down there. It is because of the obscene number of injuries that have befallen the Bruins, most of them since the Thornton suspension. Since his suspension, the Bruins have lost Loui Eriksson for an indeterminate amount of time, Chris Kelly for a few months and Dennis Seidenberg for the season. There were a few games where I thought we would see the Boston Bruins just throw in the towel and give up but, they powered through adversity, played hard, and earned victories all while giving their prospects some run and managing the minutes of Zdeno Chara and Tuukka Rask.

First, let’s start behind the blue line. Dennis Seidenberg, Johnny Boychuck, Dougie Hamilton, and Adam McQuaid have all missed a significant amount of time. In their place, the Bruins have called up Kevan Miller, David Warsofsky, and Zach Trotman and all of done pretty well in their brief stints. I was very impressed with the local kid Warsofsky, and not just because he went to BU. He showed a Krug-like flash of offensive skill that could be a huge asset in the future. Claude Julian was so impressed Warsofsky saw some power play time in the place of Dougie Hamilton. Kevan Miller has done so well during his time, that the Bruins have called him up on a permanent basis. He will remain on the roster for the remainder of the season which of course fuels the hot stove trade talk. With Dennis Seidenberg’s season ending knee tear (see above photo) I wouldn’t be surprised if the Bruins go out and make a move for a veteran defenseman.

The forwards had their own issues with two centers and three wingers out due to suspension and injury. Shawn Thornton, Loui Eriksson, Carl Soderberg, Chris Kelly,  and Daniel Paille all missed time with either suspension or injuries. It was a hodgepodge of replacements called up for a game or two and then immediately sent down for the next. The list includes: Ryan Spooner, Matt Fraser, Nick Johnson, Justin Florek, and Craig Cunningham. Spooner has been tremendous and we have seen him grow up during his entire stay in Boston. Matt Fraser has also been a pleasant surprise and saw some time on the penalty kill.

What’s Next?

Now the Bruins are heading out west for tilts against the Ducks, Kings, and Sharks. Shawn Thornton’s suspension will finally come to an end against the Sharks on Saturday which will help provide an emotional boost in time for a division game back in Boston against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Yours Truly will be there and I am pretty pumped about it because games against Toronto are always fun. Then, it’s off to visit Tyler Seguin and the Dallas Stars followed by a Stanley Cup Finals rematch against the Chicago Blackhawks. There are some really exciting games in this stretch of quality opponents and I am looking forward to watching every minute (yes even these late nights against the West). Follow me on twitter @BruinsBeliever and check back for updates. Let’s Go B’s!

Boston Bruins 2013-2014 Season Quarterly Report

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Torey Krug CelebratingWith last night’s win over the Pittsburgh Penguins the Boston Bruins have secured the top spot in the Eastern Conference just after the quarter point of the season. So everything has been fine right? Well, Believe it or not I have found a few things that have concerned me moving forward with the Boston Bruins this year. Of course, those are coupled with many positives so lets run down the list, positive and negative.

Goaltending:

Positive: Tuukka Rask has picked up right where he has left off. There doesn’t appear to be a downturn or lax in his game at all. Some were worried about the big contract getting to his head. Others worried about fatigue from last year but neither of those have been a problem for Rask.

Negative: First, I don’t think Chad Johnson has played enough so far for my liking. I am a little concerned about the amount of playing time Rask has had this year and I would like to see more off-days for Rask. My other concern is more of a selfish concern from a Bruins fan’s prospective. Tuukka Rask had one of the best games of his career in New York a few nights ago against the Rangers and it probably wasn’t a coincidence.  He was playing in front of scouts for the Finland National Team. It appears as though Rask may have played himself into a starting role for the Finnish Team; increasing his chance for injury (knocking on wood).

Defense:

Positive: The kids are no flukes. Dougie Hamilton has stepped up his game and has played big minutes so far down the stretch. Matt Bartkowski has emerged as a solid defenseman who has a great head on his shoulders. Torey Krug has continued to be a scoring machine and as of tonight is tied for the league lead in goals for a defenseman. And even Kevan Miller who has had to step up in place of the injured Dennis Seidenberg has been getting big minutes, including the last minute of the game against Pittsburgh last night.

Negative: Injuries have had a major impact on the Bruins defensemen this season. The non-contact ‘lower body injury’ for Adam McQuaid was a blow the Bruins were prepared to deal with by inserting Matt Bartkowski into the lineup full time. But, the more recent injury to Dennis Seidenberg has forced the Bruins to call up Miller from Providence. The bigger issue that these injuries have raised is the increased ice time for Zdeno Chara and with the Olympics this year, that is a bad recipe for the Bruins that I’d rather not discuss.

Forwards:

Positive: The Swedes are starting to find their groove. Loui Eriksson had a 5 point game against the Penguins last night and seems to be comfortable after his concussion. Carl Soderberg has been on fire recently. He has 6 points in 5 games that has coincided with the Bruins winning 4 out of their last 5 games. Milan Lucic has stayed engaged and kept his legs moving with the help of Jerome Iginla keeping him motivated. Reilly Smith has been a welcome addition to the team and has shown flashes of skill.

Negative: Brad Marchand has been under performing and goal scoring is still an issue. While the power play is much improved, the Bruins have yet to have an easy time putting the puck in the net. The play of Brad Marchand is frankly bordering on unacceptable at this point. I think the Olympic tryout has been in his head all year and he has been gripping his stick so tight he has completely lost any semblance of his game. My hope is that when the Bruins play the Canadians for the first time on December 5th, P.K. Subban can somehow light a fire in Brad Marchand that he needs to play his style of game.

Coaching:

Positive: It pains me to say it but Claude Julien has done a lot of things right this year. My favorite move of his is to play very aggressively in OT this season. He has been playing 3 forwards and 1 defenseman for the majority of overtime minutes so far this season. I love seeing the Bruins using this strategy to do everything possible to avoid the shootout.

Negative: The only negative I have for Claude and the coaching staff is that they need to try and do a better job of managing minutes. The Olympic break plus the extended playoff run has me nervous about injuries and fatigue for the playoff run this year. I have seen enough improvement so far in the Bruins power play so far this season that I will get off their case…for the time being.

So there you have it.  Am I picking nits? Probably, but at the same time a lot of these issues are contributing to the large problem the Bruins have had so far. They have been giving up too many goals in the final minute of periods and games. As of right now they have not shown the ability to ‘sweep the leg’. An issue that eventually came back to bite them against the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals last season. I am very happy but not surprised to see where the Bruins are this season and I only expect that trend to continue. Keep Believing and follow me @BruinsBeliever on twitter for my in-game and quick thought updates.  Let’s go Bs!