Sweet coverage by Seidenberg stopping the faceoff dot from scoring a goal there but first let’s get into the game. The Bruins played with a great sense of urgency for the majority of the game today. They finally got another power play goal and the first for Louis Eriksson of the season. Nikolas Svedberg got his first start of the season and looked pretty good. He did let in a bit of a leaky goal to give the Avs the initial lead but overalls his performance was solid.
As for the game winning goal, that was a pathetic display put on by the Boston Bruins. First, as you can see above, why are there 3 forwards high? There is absolutely no need for that in that situation. Secondly, what is Seidenberg doing? Just looks like he is filing space and drifting. Not a good look for your number 2 defenseman.
Overall a very disappointing game for the Bruins. Now the need to find their stride going into a 3 game road trip at Detroit, Montreal, then Buffalo. Keep up to date on all of your
Boston Bruins news and follow me on twitter for my in game thoughts. Let’s go Bruins!
Before 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. My 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!
Finally, after a long summer Bruins Hockey is back! I know that I couldn’t be more excited for the season to start, even with the shortest off-season in NHL history. The best part is core of this team is intact and not going anywhere for a while. However, it will be a different team to watch; and not just because of these new jersey patches.
Changes:
While I am sad about the loss of Nathan Horton, I believe that Jerome Iginla can step in his place and fit in perfectly. In fact, he could be more valuable due to his penalty killing ability and leadership on and off the ice. With Iginla comes leadership and the hunger to win a Cup and win now. This is a guy who won’t take any nights off and, hopefully, can keep Milan Lucic’s skates moving during the regular season.
The Bruins also made a huge blockbuster trade, ridding themselves of Tyler Seguin and Rich Peverley. Those two are guys who didn’t fit in the Bruins system. They are finesse guys who don’t like to get in the corners and grind. I do think Seguin will have great regular season success throughout his career but, I don’t see him being able to lead a team on a long playoff run. Does this story of a Boston Bruins former first round pick sound similar Bruins fans? Loui Eriksson has the makings of a guy who can go out and play Bruins Hockey. He ads some much needed size to the Bergeron line and will go into the corners and win the puck. Plus Eriksson has some moves too!
Boston Bruins 2014 Season Predictions:
Boston Bruins Leading Goal Scorer: David Krejci. This was a tough choice for me because I see this Bruins team being similar to last season’s where 4 or 5 different guys will be right around the same goal level. I decided on Krejci because he is the skill guy on a line with Lucic and Iginla who will feed the puck to the middle for him.
Boston Bruins 7th Player Award: Carl Soderberg. 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.
Boston Bruins Team MVP: Tuukka Rask. I know this isn’t a huge reach but with a lot of young defensemen out there night in and night out, Tuukka is going to have to continue to be the backbone of this team along with Zdeno Chara.
2014 NHL MVP: John Tavares. It’s time for him to get the recognition he deserves.
Presidents Trophy: Chicago Blackhawks. While the Bruins division was made much stronger with the addition of Detroit, Chicago’s was made significantly weaker with no challenger in sight.
Vezina Trophy: Tuukka Rask. I am trying real hard to not make this a homer pick but I can’t do it. The fact that Tuukka wasn’t even a finalist last year enraged me.
Boston Bruins 2014 Season Prediction: Stanley Cup Champions. (They don’t call me a Believer for nothing.) Let’s face it anything outside of a top 4 finish in the league would be disappointing. High expectations? Yes, but they have earned it with their recent success. The Boston Bruins have all of the necessary parts to make another cup run, most importantly, adding two veterans eager to win their first cup with Eriksson and especially Iginla. Yes, the division will be tougher with the addition of Detroit, the growth Toronto has shown, and the usual pains-in-the-ass up in Montreal but, the Bruins don’t necessarily need to win the division (in the regular season) to reach the ultimate goal. In recent Cup runs the B’s have shown the willingness and the ability to win big games on the road.
NHL Final Four: Boston, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Los Angeles
Stanley Cup Final: Boston in 6 vs. Los Angeles. You have no idea how much I struggled with the fact that I picked the Bruins to win The Cup. I was scared to type out those thoughts but I had to make a prediction. I don’t think Detroit can handle playing in the more physical Northeast Division (or whatever they are calling it now) over the course of the season and into the playoffs. The only reason I didn’t pick Chicago to go to the finals again is because no team has repeated in the NHL since 1997 and that’s no coincidence, in my opinion it is the hardest thing to do in sports.
There you have it. I am looking forward to a new season with this team. Don’t forget to follow BruinsBeliever on Twitter for quick thoughts and updates. Let’s Go B’s!
This past Sunday, I was able to attend both session of Boston Bruins Training Camp at the TD Garden. Which, I have to admit, is just not the same as it was going to Wilmington because yesterday felt more like a production. I was a little depressed (but not surprised) to find Jeremy Jacobs making money off of what was supposed to be a free event by selling concessions. I was pleased to find players taking the time to sign some autographs after the second session for the kids who turned out.
The Boston Bruins split up the team into 2 practice groups for Training Camp 2013. Group B went first for the 10 o’clock session. The guy who really stood out was Carl Soderberg. He scored 3 goals and hit 2 posts during the practice. 2 of the 3 goals were perfectly placed shots over the goaltenders shoulder, under the bar shots that are virtually unstoppable. That is a skill the Bruins have missed quite a bit throughout the years. From what I have heard, he has been lighting it up all camp long. He looks ready to breakout in the 2013-2014 Season. Soderberg had me wondering if Claude Julien would have to consider possibly moving Loui Eriksson or Jerome Iginla down to the third line to make room for Soderberg. Meanwhile, Iginla looked like he would fit in perfectly with Milan Lucic and David Krejci on that top line.
During the afternoon session, BruinsBeliever was able to watch Loui Erikkson interacting with future line mates Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand. The first thing I noticed was his size. He is a lot bigger than I thought he was and seemed more than willing to go into corners to free the puck up for Bergeron quarterback. I think he will be a great fit for the Bruins and a much better fit than Tyler Seguin would have been. Erikkson did a great job back-checking throughout the session and even lifted a goal past Tuukka Rask during a drill. I am excited to see how these lines play out, especially if Soderberg plays anywhere near the level he has been practicing.
Overall, Believe it or not, I feel better about this team than I did about last years team during their brief ‘training camp’. This team just seems so meticulously put together and each piece seems to fit perfectly together. They lost a leader in Andrew Ference, but then traded for Loui Erikkson who was an Alternate Captain down in Dallas. Heck, Brad Marchand already called Erikkson a “great leader” during a post practice interview. They also signed Chad Johnson as a potential backup for Rask who is a great locker room guy as well. Not to mention the character and desire to win a cup with Jerome Iginla. This team is built to win now and take advantage of everything Zdeno Chara has left in the tank coupled with the younger players entiring their primes. It should be another awesome year. Especially when the preseason starts off with a Boston Bruins win in Montreal. Let’s hope for another great year. Keep Believing and don’t forget to follow me @BruinsBeliever. Let’s go B’s!
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