Before we dive into the review of my season preview, a few quick notes regarding yesterday's abysmal effort in a 6-1 loss to Buffalo and tonight's 5:00pm matchup with the Islanders to close out the regular season:
* Dennis Wideman was hobbled after getting drilled by a Drew Stafford shot in the ankle. Thankfully Wideman returned to the ice and x-rays after the game proved that the B's puck-moving defenseman will be okay.
* Zdeno Chara missed his first game of the year yesterday, for undisclosed reasons. He and PJ Axelsson were the only two players to participate in a morning skate today, and neither of them are expected to be in the lineup tonight. Axelsson has not played since the Bruins 1-0 win over the Rangers on April 4th.
* Manny Fernandez may have played in his last game for the Bruins yesterday. The veteran netminder, set to become a free agent on July 1, allowed all six goals and did not speak with the media after the game.
* With Patrice Bergeron and Phil Kessel out, both Vladimir Sobotka and Mikko Lehtonen found their way into the lineup. The game was Lehtonen's first in the NHL. The Finnish forward finished with no points, an even +/- rating and one shot on goal. Sobotka saw action for the first time since February 21st. Only Mark Recchi (-18), who spent majority of the season in Tampa Bay, has a worse +/- ratio than Sobotka's -10.
* Tim Thomas is the confirmed starter for tonight's game and, barring a six goal outburst by the Islanders, will lock up the William Jennings Trophy for least goals allowed in the league (Boston currently has a 194-200 advantage over a Minnesota squad that has played all 82 of their games). Both Thomas' and Fernandez' names will appear on the trophy, marking the first time that Boston has won the award since 89-90 when Rejean Lemelin and Andy Moog shared the honor. Fernandez, then with the Wild, teamed up with Niklas Backstrom to take home the award back in 06-07.
So, here's how the season preview began......
Welcome to the highly anticipated launch of the 2008-2009 NHL season for the Boston Bruins. Please make sure all seat belts are tightly fastened and your trays are in the locked and upright position.
Pre-season optimism is at its highest in a decade. Hope is overflowing in all of our hearts as we pray that maybe...just maybe...this could be the year. The Stanley Cup you ask? Lofty goal sir, and one I'd gladly bask in the glory of. But last year was a stepping stone. This franchise went from a disorganized disgrace to one with a wealth of potential in seemingly the blink of an eye.
Last summer we were pulling our hair out over abysmal coaching, awful management, lackluster talent, miserable effort, asinine transactions, and a farm system dryer than your Uncle Dave's above ground pool in the dead of winter. Where are all those complaints now?
Refreshing, isn't it?
Who would have ever thought that the Bruins would make an even greater jump in the standings than they did last season? After finishing 13th in the East with just 76 points in 06-07, the Bruins surprised everyone in their first year under Claude Julien, finishing as the 8th seed with 94 points (jumping 5 spots and 18 points in the standings).
Picked by many to be a bubble team at best yet again, the B's (with one game remaining) have locked up their division and the top spot in the Eastern Conference and currently have 114 points (a 7 spot jump and 20 point improvement over last year). When you look at it over a two year span, it's even more remarkable. From 13th in the conference with 76 points, to 1st place with potentially 116 points (should they win today). What Bruins fan, mired in the miserable days of the Dave Lewis era, ever would have believed such a crazy turnaround was possible?
So what can we expect in year numero dos under Claude Julien?
This is the part where we review each expectation one-by-one (with said expectation marked in bold):
Same consistent effort on a nightly basis? - Check.
The Bruins were a bit thinner on talent last season and had to rely heavily upon outworking the other team and playing stingy defense. Aside from a lull in February and early March during which the team got complacent while atop the standings, I'd say the Bruins put forth an admirable effort on most nights.
The old steady box+1 d-system? - You bet.
Did you expect anything else?
A few more goals? - I freakin' hope so.
In 07-08, the Bruins managed to score just 206 goals, clocking in at 2.51/game (24th in the league). A few more goals was all we asked for, and boy did they deliver. This season's squad has scored at a rate of 3.26/game (3nd in the league, a hair behind Washington's 3.27), and to date has 264 tallies. So depending on today's outcome, the Bruins have made at LEAST a 21 spot jump offensively from last year.
No more Phil Kessel trade rumors? - Doubtful.
Pronger, anyone?
A healthy Manny Fernandez all season? - I'll be Vegas here and lay out 4-1 odds.
The house wins, pay up. Fernandez succumbed to injury in early January and has looked nothing like the netminder that was right up there beside Thomas as a league leader in GAA and Sv% in the first half of the year.
Michael Ryder: legit consistent scoring threat? - Savvy could make ME a legit scoring threat.
After escaping Guy Carbonneau's dog house in Montreal, signing a 3-year-deal at $4mil/season with Boston, Ryder arrived with high expectations. The Canadiens' castoff has netted 26 goals in 73 games, missing time after fracturing a bone in his face. Ryder has proven to be far more of a complete player than many suggested. The Newfoundland native also has 26 assists and a +27 rating on the year, enjoying great success alongside center David Krejci. Seven of Ryder's tallies this year were game winners.
PJ Axelsson: 1st Liner and PP Specialist? - Love the guy dearly but... not again!
Thanks to an endless list of injuries, Axelsson was forced back into PP duties. But for as much flak as the defensive-minded winger takes, in my opinion, he performed pretty admirably in the spot. Axelsson is never going to be known as an offensively gifted forward, but he has tremendous hockey IQ. The Swedish LW has a strong sense of timing and is an above average passer. Sure, if healthy bodies were readily available, Axelsson never would have been thrust into that position. But consider this: for being such a "hindrance" to the PP, the B's still have a 23.3% success rate on the man advantage (5th in the league).
Milan Lucic: back to the 4th line? - A temporary injustice, he'll work his way back up.
Of course he would. Lucic spent most of the season as the LW on the top line alongside Marc Savard. Injuries and cold streaks forced some shuffling around, and now Lucic is fitting in just as well with Krejci and Ryder.
Patrice Bergeron: just as good as before? - So far so good.
Bergeron had a strong preseason but came out of the gates slow in the regular season. He seemed to be rounding back into form before suffering another concussion against the Hurricanes in December. But Bergeron seems to be finding his stride again. He was easily the B's best forward during their rough stretch, he has been stellar defensively and in the faceoff circle all year, and is coming off of a game in which he was utterly dominant and looked like the Patrice of old against the Canadiens. If his foot injury proves to be minor and he can keep progressing, Bergeron could, no, SHOULD be a major factor in the postseason.
Tim Thomas: Back to back All Star Games? - In this system that's very realistic. It depends greatly on how much time Manny sees between the pipes.
Where oh where would the Bruins be without Tim Thomas? Despite back-to-back appearances in the All Star game, and leading the league in GAA and Sv%, he still has an unfathomable sea of doubters.
An improved PK? - Couldn't be much worse, right?
In 07-08, the Bruins had a dreadful 78.6% rate on the PK (28th in the league). This year? Much better! The B's 82.2% success rate is 12th in the league.
An improved PP? - A full year of Bergy, Krejci, throw in Ryder...guaranteed.
The B's had a mediocre 17.6% success rate on the PP last year (16th) but have made huge strides this season. With two potent units to throw out there, the B's jumped up to 23.3% this season, good for 5th in the NHL. Bergeron has been decent, but a bit misused at the point on the man advantage. Ryder leads the forwards with 10 PPGs while Zdeno Chara leads the team with 11 tallies in that department. Marc Savard and Dennis Wideman have been major factors as well, with 29 and 25 points respectively on the PP. And Mark Recchi is surely going to be of assistance during the playoffs. Through 17 games with Boston, Recchi already has four powerplay goals.
More contributions from the blueline? - Wideman and a healthy Ference will tell this tale.
Unfortunately Ference has been lackluster since returning from injury after a great start to the year. Wideman, meanwhile, has upped his contributions significantly. He has equaled his 13 goal output from last season, but bumped up his total of helpers from 23 last season to 36 this year. Wideman was +11 last year and is currently +32 this season.
But the real surprise has been Matt Hunwick. In 52 games, with a few spot duties up on the 4th line considered, Hunwick has chipped in 26 points. The 23-year-old Michigan native leapfrogged Matt Lashoff on the depth chart, paving the way for the deal that sent Lashoff and Martins Karsums to the Lightning for the much needed scoring presence of Mark Recchi.
Another 0-for against the Habs? - NOT HAPPENING.
5-0-1. End of story.
A Stanley Cup Parade? - Probably not happening either.
A lot more realistic than it was a year ago, isn't it?
A trip to the 2nd Round of the Playoffs? - Extremely reachable goal.
If the Bruins, after this remarkable season, fail to reach the second round of the playoffs.....I don't even want to think about the implications.
And then I closed my preview with:
This team really gives you a lot of reasons to be excited for 2008-2009 and beyond. But there are still many lessons to be learned, many questions to be answered, and endless potential waiting to be fulfilled before we can crown ourselves anything but playoff hopefuls yet again.
Of course, we will go through stretches this season feeling seemingly unbeatable. We will gloat and temporarily set our sights too high. And we will wallow in misery during the occasional losing streak. We will party like it's 1972 and the cup is ours for the taking when we're riding high. But we will hurl remotes, pillows and even family members at our televisions when a penalty call goes the wrong way, when the post clangs loudly in the closing seconds of a failed comeback, or when our goalie couldn't stop a beach ball, let alone the puck, at crunch time.
The 08-09 season had many a twist and many a turn. The Bruins set off on their opening west coast trip as playoff hopefuls, but by the time December rolled around, they were crushing anyone that tried to stand in their way in authoritative fashion. But then, complacency set in. The B's dragged their feet through the dog days of winter, and suddenly, the unbeatable force came back down to earth. And just as it looked like the sky was falling and the world was fading to black, they returned to form and rattled off critical win after critical win to cement their spot atop the Eastern Conference.
It's a long and often times bumpy ride, these 82 games, for us loyal fans. But as you were so kindly suggested at the onset of this wacky rant, strap yourselves in and enjoy it.
Something tells me you did enjoy it. And now, the
real fun begins.
So what can you expect from me in the coming days? A look back at the recent playoff matchups between the Bruins and Habs featuring the studs and duds of each series, a position-by-position comparison of the two clubs, and a jab-filled motivational rant to kick off the fourth meeting between these rivals in the past seven postseasons, full of some good-natured ribbing.
This is going to be a lot of fun.
JC
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