Despite downing the Toronto Maple Leafs on Hockey Night in Canada this past Saturday, the Boston Bruins entered the lion’s den known as the Bell Centre at far less than 100 percent.
Coming into play without the services of
Danny Paille (eye),
Brad Marchand (upper-body), and
Shawn Thornton (concussion), a Boston squad featuring an entire line of Providence players (
Lane MacDermid-
Ryan Spooner-
Jamie Tardif) marched their way into what surely seemed to be slaughter against a Montreal team led by goaltender
Carey Price and his six-game winning streak. And for two periods of hockey, that seemed to be the way it was going to play out in the first of five meetings between these bitter Northeast Division rivals.
Outshot 11-to-4 in the first period, not even registering a shot on goal until
Gregory Campbell’s for-the-hell-of-it drive hit Price almost 11 minutes into the opening frame, the Canadiens jumped on top of the 25-year-old
Tuukka Rask when a power-play blast from the Habs’
P.K Subban ricocheted off the stick of
Rich Peverley and by Rask. Good for Subban’s first goal of the season, and his third point in as many games this year, the Habs skated back to their room after two with a 1-0 lead and arguably the game’s hottest goaltender in between the pipes.
Taking to the crease with 15 saves and protecting a one-goal lead, it seemed as if the bleu, blanc et rouge would have no problem continuing their perfect-after-two record up to 6-0-0.
For 14 seconds, anyways.
As a second intermission change-up to the Boston forward core switched the slumping
Tyler Seguin with top-line forward
Nathan Horton, a dish from the Bruins’
David Krejci put the puck on the backhand of the 21-year-old Seguin, who wasted no time in burying the equalizing tally, good for just his second tally of the year.
Knotting the first act of the 2013 chapter of hockey’s best rivalry with 19:46 to play in the third, the newly assembled line featuring Seguin, Krejci, and the 6-foot-4
Milan Lucic wasted no time in producing a sequel on enemy ice.
Scoring the go-ahead tally less than two minutes later when the tic-tac-toe started with Seguin, to Lucic, and to the blade of Krejci for a tip-in goal, his third of the season, the pressure found its way to Rask’s crease in a showing that undoubtedly brought the ice water in the Finnish-born goaltender’s veins.
Stoning all five (that seems low to anybody watching this game) Montreal shots faced in a wild third period, including two game-changing stops on the Habs’
David Desharnais in the final ten minutes of play, the B’s survived a 5-on-4 assault to end the period to secure their second straight win, and put the Bruins atop the Eastern Conference by way of their 7-1-1 record.
Should Julien stick with the Lucic-Krejci-Seguin line?
Together for one period, the Bruins’ new first line of Lucic-Krejci-Seguin combined for two goals. That’s as many as they had in the previous six periods, dating back to the Bruins’ third period meltdown against the Buffalo Sabres.
Given their success and the rest of the squad’s rather troublesome game, it’s certainly clear that the Boston offense has sputtered a bit as of late, and that this trio definitely seemed to bring a new dimension of size, speed, and skill that left the Montreal defense reeling. But is it the way to go for Julien’s squad on Saturday against the high-flying Lightning?
This discussion could (and likely will) depend on the health status of more than a few B’s entering Sat., but would a Lucic-Krejci-Seguin trio make the B’s a bit
too top-heavy? Possibly, but with just two goals in nine games this year, anything that can get the B’s wunderkind in Seguin going seems to be an obvious go-to for the Black-and-Gold.
The Nightmare on Powerplay St. continues for B’s
Man, who’s better than Boston assistant coach and power-play guru
Geoff Ward? Well, since you asked, 28 other power-play gurus. Everyone besides the Rangers’ guy, in fact. Finishing tonight with yet another ohfer, finishing 0-for-4 on the advantage tonight, the Bruins’ power-play now sits at a putrid 3-for-34 this year. A lovely 8.6 conversation percentage, to be exact.
And in case you’re new to this game, that’s ungodly bad.
But that’s not the saddest part of it all, really. What’s worse is the fact that, from a philosophical point, nothing has changed; The mindset is the same. The plan is the same.
Sure, the personnel’s changed, especially with injuries, and just about everybody with the exception of backup goaltender
Anton Khudobin has had a crack at providing the B’s with a solidified power-play presence, but there’s been nothing to like about the Boston attack. Even-strength prowess aside, at what point do you wonder if it’s time for the club to make a change from an assistant coaching standpoint?
Ryan Spooner’s quiet NHL debut
Let’s get this one out of the way: 21-year-old prospect
Ryan Spooner is not a fourth line forward. He’s anything but. Called up for his NHL debut tonight, the former 45th overall pick has shined in Providence this season, recording a team-leading 30 points in 35 games, but wasn’t exactly allowed to do such in his mild 5:29 of time-on-ice tonight.
Centering the aforementioned makeshift fourth line for Boston, the Kanata, Ont. native
did see about 25 seconds of time on the Black-and-Gold power-play in the first period, but didn’t touch the ice on the man-advantage for the rest of the night.
Uh, why not? Am I missing something here?
Like I just finished ranting about, the Boston power-play is a joke. An incredibly bad one, too. It’s the joke that you won’t even tell around certain family members for fear of being uninvited to Christmas parties. It’s awful. So, why keep an offensively talented kid off it?
Now, it’s by no means reasonable to expect Spooner (or anyone for that matter) to completely change the dynamic of the Boston power-play, but what the heck was No. 51 going to learn by playing the role of a grinder tonight? If not that, at least put him with
Patrice Bergeron so that he can bring the element of speed the B’s missed out on tonight given the injury to Marchand.
Basically, give the kid a real chance to contribute.
Rask for Finland in 2014?
I admittedly haven’t thought about the 2014 Winter Olympics in detail yet.
But in case you couldn’t tell, the NBC Sports Network is already getting amped for Sochi.
Beginning with a minute-long ad for the games before tonight’s puck-drop, the intrigue continued when NBC’s Pierre McGuire asked the Bruins’
Tuukka Rask if he’s thinking about suiting up as Finland’s goaltender for the games. Huh. I actually hadn't even thought of such a prospect before hearing it (oddly) muttered out of McGuire’s mouth.
While Finland’s crease has been the home of the Flames’
Miikka Kiprusoff or Minnesota’s
Niklas Backstrom, there’s without question a changing of the guard underway when it comes to the goaltending situation of the Finns.
Kiprusoff will be a 37-year-old when the puck drops in Sochi. And there’s absolutely no chance that the (perennially overrated since his Vezina-nominated 2008-09 season) Backstrom will be starting. It’s essentially down to three: Rask, Nashville’s
Pekka Rinne, and the Sharks’
Antti Niemi.
A stiff competition if there ever was one, Rask (if healthy) will without question be in the mix for the role of the Finland starter if he continues to improve some impressive career totals (53-36-12, 2.18 goals-against-average, .926 save-percentage), competing against Rinne (141-74-29, 2.34 goals-against-average, .923 save-percentage), and Niemi (102-49-21, 2.07 goals-against-average, .916 save-percentage).
Bruins-Canadiens rivalry just not the same
Unlike their attempt at reigniting the kindling of a near 40-year stale rivalry between the Rangers and Bruins, NBC had a point when they billed the B’s and Canadiens as a real “Rivalry Wednesday.” One of the league’s oldest feuds, there’s no doubt that these teams simply hate each other.
Well, at least that’s what we’re told these days. While there’s animosity between the two, I can’t be the only one that feels that these rivalry is in need of a major ‘hate’ game, no?
For the past few years, the Canadiens have seemingly done everything possible to make us like them. They’ve ridden themselves of loathsome characters such as
Mike Komisarek,
Alex Kovalev, and
Maxim Lapierre. They’ve instead been replaced by hard working talents like
Max Pacioretty, the root-worthy
David Desharnais, and the uber-likeable
Carey Price. Oh, and that
P.K Subban fellow? You’re crazy if you wouldn’t take him in Black-and-Gold in a heartbeat.
Have the Bruins and Canadiens become just another game? In the now, yes.
These games, for as entertaining as they may be from a pure hockey standpoint, do not carry the animosity that a Bruins vs. Sabres, or Bruins vs. Flyers game do, and that’s a damn shame. Fortunately, though, as this rivalry has showed for almost a century, you know that can change at any moment.
Up next
With blizzard Nemo on the way, the Bruins will (hopefully) play host to the Tampa Bay Lighting for a Saturday day matinee affair.
In their first of three matchups this year, it will be the first game in Boston as a Bolt for 2011-12 Bruin
Benoit Pouliot. Settling in nicely with the league’s best offense, scoring 40 goals in just nine games, Pouliot has three goals and six points in nine games this year, and could improve upon those totals depending on how Thursday night’s contest against the Devils plays out.
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