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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.

Boston Bruins are The 2013 Eastern Conference Champions!

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Boston Bruins 2013 Eastern Conference ChampionsGame 4 Recap

Bruins vs. Penguins SweepThis was one of those games where it was a grinder, it wasn’t pretty, and it wasn’t always entertaining, but that’s how the Bruins want it. Adam McQuaid’s improbable goal was all that was needed for Tuukka Rask and the stupendous Boston Bruins defense to close out the highest scoring team in the NHL over the last 2 seasons. Zdeno Chara’s incredible save on Evgeni Malkin in the closing seconds was the icing on the cake. It was an ugly, almost mundane game at times and you could sense Pittsburgh wearing away. All I can say about Jerome Iginla is, sweet decision and I hear Pittsburgh has some really nice golf courses.

The Bruins, in consecutive series, beat a team that has blocked the most shots in the NHL, in the Rangers, and the highest scoring team in the NHL in Pittsburgh. Two teams with contrasting styles that require two completely different strategies. The Bruins are the most versatile team remaining in the playoffs. They can win games the way their opponents want the game to be played, and are exceptional at playing their own style of hockey which I call Bruins Hockey. The sky is the limit for this team and I am looking forward to enjoying the ride.

Eastern Conference Finals Bruins vs. Penguins Game 3 Recap and Game 4 Preview

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Game 3 Recap

Tuukka Rask Brick WallThe easy way for me to recap Game 3 would be to discuss the nearly flawless performance of Tuukka Rask or the awe inspiring toughness of Gregory Campbell. There will be more on those items later but first I will delve into my observations from Section 329 last night.

Most of my pregame interactions were that fans that were chomping at the bit to get in the ears of some of the hated Penguins. If I were to guess the order of most hated down to plain old hated I would rank them 1. Matt Cooke, 2. Sidney Crosby, then Jerome Iginla. This video of Bruins fans taunting Matt Cooke while he was in the penalty box makes me proud to be a member of this fanbase (seriously, no sarcasm was intended). If that doesn’t describe the vitriol of people that were in that arena, nothing else will.

Overall, I thought the Bruins played a very lackluster game and did not necessarily put out their best effort consistently during regulation. David Krejci scoring a goal early into the game was key for the Bruins because it allowed them to settle into their style of defensive hockey. We learned, during regulation anyway, that the Penguins can play the rough, defensive style of hockey for 60 minutes and hang with the Bruins. Due to the Bruins often criticized strategy of rolling 4 lines, they were the fresher team and it showed in both overtime periods. Other then 2 unacceptable, inexcusable too many men on the ice penalties, the Bruins played extremely well and the Penguins were beginning to fade. Finally with less than 5 minutes to play Jaromir Jagr made a tremendous play along the boards to win the puck away from Evgeni Malkin, who was the Penguins best player by far last night. Of course, the Penguins couldn’t resist some whining about officiating on a possible hook by Jaromir Jagr on Evgeni Malkin. Marchand was able to show patience and the Bruins created a carbon copy goal of the Game 1 overtime winner against the Rangers.

Tuukka Rask was absolutely outstanding last night. He was the best, most consistent player on the ice throughout the entire game. He is coming into his own as a goaltender and this game could be the shining moment he needed making 53 saves on 54 shots. He has given up just 3 goals in his last 4 games! There is nothing more that can be said about his performance thus far, the numbers speak for themselves. I believe that he ranks above David Krejci and Patrice Bergeron as my potential Conn Smythe winner thus far.

No one showed more courage and determination than Gregory Campbell going down to block a shot, breaking his leg, and continuing to do his job and attempt to kill the penalty. He stayed in passing lanes and even attempted to block a shot on one leg. Make no mistake about it, the Bruins will rally around his injury, and use it as a battle cry for the rest of the playoffs. We will be seeing this sequence below for years to come, especially in the awesome “Because It’s The Cup” commercial series. If you have a few minutes I would highly recommend watching the sequence again. My hats off to you Soupy!

Game 4 Preview

Most of the questions surrounding Game 4 are, did the Bruins take the Penguins best shot they had left & how will the Bruins lines look with the Campbell injury? As for the prior, I believe that the Penguins will not go quietly onto the golf course so to speak. Having said that, I do believe that the Bruins took the best shot the Penguins had at trying to play the grinding style of hockey to win against Boston and they still came up short. One can only guess what that does to the psyche of a team that is already doubting their ability to score goals, especially on the power play which was the best in the league all season.

My gut feeling on how the Bruins will make the adjustment to their lines, without Campbell, is to move Rich Peverley to center the 4th line and move Daniel Paille up to the 3rd line with Chris Kelly and Tyler Seguin. I do think that coach Claude Julien will most likely bring in Kaspars Daugavins to play along side Peverley and Thornton. However, I have a sneaky suspicion that we may see a little bit of Jay Pandolfo before this playoff run is through. Julien loves his trusted veterans, especially on the penalty kill, and Pandolfo showed early this year that he is up to the task. We might have to wait until next year before our next glimpse of Carl Soderberg, who is sure to be a part of the Bruins long term strategy going forward. Hopefully, if all goes to plan, we will be breaking out the brooms tomorrow night! Let’s Go B’s!

Eastern Conference Finals: Bruins vs Pittsburgh Game 2 Recap & Game 3 Preview

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Bruins vs. Penguins, Brad Marchand, Matt CookeGame 2 Recap

If the first two games have been a dream, don’t wake me up. This gif of Brad Marchand and Matt Cooke speaks to how this series is being played thus far. The Penguins have been more concerned about being the aggressors that they are trying to beat the Bruins at their own game. I don’t know what the pre-series game plan was but it appears to be trying to be someone they’re not.  The Penguins have been known as a high-flying finesse team and now instead of trying to play their style of hockey, they came out and tried to play in the style of the Bruins and take a physical strategy of hard-hitting and aggressiveness. I don’t understand the strategy and it will come back to bite the Pittsburgh Penguins if no adjustments are made. Both goals scored by Brad Marchand came at the most critical times of the game. The first, 28 seconds into the game that took away any momentum the Penguins and the crowd may have had going into the game. His second goal, with a little over eight seconds remaining in the first period, killed any confidence Brandon Sutter’s goal & the goaltending change gave the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Bruins defense was stellar again. They clogging passing lanes and produced tremendous penalty killing efforts, which slowed down the best power play in the NHL.  Tuukka Rask fed off of the support and made every stop he needed to. The Bruins must continue to play their style of hockey and dictate the pace to Pittsburgh.  Amazingly, the Bruins are in the heads of both Penguin goaltenders, Marc Andre Fleury and Thomas Vokoun.  I would expect Coach Dan Bylsma to continue starting Vokoun as the series moves forward.  I don’t think you can turn to Fleury who showed no confidence in this game. His appearance started with him giving up a goal on the first shot he faced. I don’t know where Pittsburgh should go from here.

Game 3 Preview

One  prediction I will make is that this series is in no way similar to the 1991 Eastern Conference Finals series where the Bruins were up two games to none on Pittsburgh and went on to drop four straight.  Those two Bruins wins in 1991 were close, not blowouts. The Bruins best player at the time, Cam Neely, was injured by Ulf Samuelsson which turned the series.  I wouldn’t expect this Penguins team to take runs at anyone (outside of Matt Cooke of course, and if I was David Krejci I would keep my head on a swivel).  Outside of any injuries, the Bruins have all of the confidence right now and Pittsburgh is completely down. I would expect the Bruins to feed off of the frenzy atmosphere that will be the TD Garden Wednesday night.  Yours truly will be there live tweeting! I am making it my mission to tell Jerome Iginla his decision to join Pittsburgh over Boston may not have been the smartest.  The Bruins can’t afford to let their guard down and must continue to dictate their style of hockey. Expect a rowdy crowd and a rowdy Bruins team for Game 3. Let’s go B’s!