The Habs beating the Bruins last night, and the way in which it happened, was about as predictable as it gets. It’s right up there with:
- The sun will rise tomorrow.
- Rick DiPietro will get paid 4.5 million dollars next season.
- Alfred E. Neuman will say “What Me Worry?” in the next issue of MAD magazine.
And
- Wile E. Coyote will miss the Roadrunner and end up falling off of a cliff.
Serenity now. It’s not the end of the world. Really. Well, I mean, I guess it could be the end of the world in a literal sense. I really have no way of knowing that. My point is that plenty of opportunities for redemption will present themselves in the future. Last night’s game was what it was: just another predictable defeat to a team that has the B’s number. The Bruins are going through a tough spot but they can rebound. The sky didn’t fall last night, though a piece of Sky-Lab may have (are there still pieces of Sky-Lab up there)?
So, before everyone starts screaming for death and destruction and disco, let’s try to offer some constructive criticism. Habs fans who are reading this should understand that I’m not saying the Habs won because the Bruins played a crappy game. They may have won even if the Bruins played a solid game, but we’ll never know. My intent here is not to take away from the Habs’ victory but to criticize the mess that was the Bruins.
Claude Julien has been doing a bang up job. But he has also been getting banged up by his former clubs. I’m not sure why that is, but it’s probably just a coincidence. While I don’t want to criticise (constructively) Julien too much - I’m sure he has reasons for his decisions - I do want to throw this out there:
Why is Andrew Alberts getting so much ice time? Andrew reminds me of another big man who used to play for the Bruins but now dawns the Maple Leaf: Hal Gill. Andrew has good reach and size, takes up a lot of real-estate, is alright at mucking about along the boards, is rather flat-footed, is terrible in front of his own net, can’t fight very well for such a large man, and can’t be trusted with the puck. Like Hal Gill, Andrew needs to be used sparingly and only in the proper circumstances. I understand that Wideman and Chara both played 30+ minutes the night before and that Chara doesn’t do so well against the Habs but Alberts is not the answer when Mark Stuart is available. Sure, Mark Stuart hasn’t got as much experience but he is more physical and vicious and he makes better decisions with the puck.
The first goal of the game was not Tuukka Rask’s fault. It was Andrew Alberts’. Andrew did well to corral the puck along the boards on the PK but then his whole game broke down. Instead of calmly turning to his forehand and really hammering the puck out of the zone or passing the puck along the boards to his open d-partner who had space, he chose to lazily backhand the puck into the air. A little advice: when making a clearing attempt on the PK, make damn sure the puck is going out of the zone. The puck was caught at the blueline and sent in on Rask where two Habs were waiting for the rebound. Instead of guarding against the two players threatening his goalie, Alberts chose to stand and stare as Higgins, of Magnum P.I. fame, slammed home a rebound. Would any of this have happened to Mark Stuart?
The second goal was an embarrassing one which was also not Tuukka’s fault. Dennis Wideman made it official on this play: he is out of contention for the Norris trophy. Lidstrom can breathe a sigh of relief. Wideman decided that double coverage on one side of the ice was necessary so he skated backwards into Alberts and left Chipchura with more real-estate than Michael Jordan’s mansion takes up. I’m not even exaggerating. Honest.
Let’s just say that Wideman and Alberts should never, ever be on the ice together. Not even if they’re the only two blueliners the team has left. I would rather see P.J. and Metropolit patrolling the blueline…bruisers that they are…
To be fair to Wideman, he has shown that he can at least put his name on the point sheet when his shot doesn’t miss the net by ten feet. So, why is he being used as a defensive d-man? I would like Wideman (as a player, don’t read too much into that) a lot more if he was just used as a true offensive d-man.
The Bruins have said they just came out flat and the Habs came out strong and that it was their second night playing in a row so they were a little tired. Ok, fine, I don’t like excuses (unless they’re really creative) but a lot of the problems that occurred last night have been going on throughout the year, regardless of the level of fatigue the team is at. Defensive gaffes, a lack of a transition game, and being kept to the outside in the offensive zone are nothing new and they’re the issues that need to be addressed.
The trouble is, especially with Ference and Ward on ice (or off ice), I don’t think the Bruins have enough defensive talent to solve this problem, though I think their problems could be minimized through giving Stuart and maybe Hunwick a little more ice-time.
With Bergeron off of the cap and Manny Fernandez joining him on the long-term IR (meaning a little under ten million dollars in cap space has been temporarily freed up), does Chiarelli make a move? Personally, I don’t want him to unless it’s a blockbuster that makes sense. No trading for eyeless, one-legged, 40 year old players with a bad knee (on the remaining leg). I think Bruin fans would like to see playoff hockey this year, but I think they would rather see Stanley Cup playoff hockey within the next ten years even more.
So, take stock, last night was bad but the Bruins are still in a good spot in the standings and there’s still lots of hockey left. Next up, the Leafs.
-Gerz
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