I disagree with the notion that this is a .500 club without Thomas at a Vezina level. This is an extremely deep, albeit short in high end talent, team that can, as many hockey guys have pointed out, beat you in any style of game.
I will cede though that when teams go thru bad runs due to injuries, bad luck, fatigue, travel, room issues, etc., they look worse than they are. Right now the D looks tired and the forwards are depleted and snake bitten. I have every confidence they can pull out of this, much like they did in early november.
All of the underlying problems are apparent, but foremost this team needs to get healthy and it will not......................not in time anyway. I think they are a little better than .550 when healthy, but right now they are a trainwreck. It is a bit of a perfect storm but not that unusual either. Everyone has injuries long road trips and a weakness on one side of the puck or the other...(See chicago)
I disagree with the notion that this is a .500 club without Thomas at a Vezina level. This is an extremely deep, albeit short in high end talent, team that can, as many hockey guys have pointed out, beat you in any style of game.
I will cede though that when teams go thru bad runs due to injuries, bad luck, fatigue, travel, room issues, etc., they look worse than they are. Right now the D looks tired and the forwards are depleted and snake bitten. I have every confidence they can pull out of this, much like they did in early november.
Plain and simple, unless you are making a living on stirring the pot, this Bruins team is a beast. It's becoming clear that the talented players have been underrated, the seemingly average players like Peverley, Kelly, Campbell have been underrated, and the coach has been wildly underrated in his ability to institute a shutdown defense AND generate offense AND get his team to win almost every single milestone game they play. I mean every gutcheck game, every game as an underdog, every first home game back from a trip, this team shows up. They are being extremely well coached and led, and they've also learned to step on teams' throats along the way.
Aside from the mid-80's Celtics I can't recall a Boston team being as dominant as this team is right now. They are literally rolling through the NHL. As it stands now, and obviously things could change, but I defy anyone to name a team that could beat these guys in 7 games. I would gladly make a case against you, with confidence.
Sounds as if you've reworked your opinion somewhat.
Plain and simple, unless you are making a living on stirring the pot, this Bruins team is a beast. It's becoming clear that the talented players have been underrated, the seemingly average players like Peverley, Kelly, Campbell have been underrated, and the coach has been wildly underrated in his ability to institute a shutdown defense AND generate offense AND get his team to win almost every single milestone game they play. I mean every gutcheck game, every game as an underdog, every first home game back from a trip, this team shows up. They are being extremely well coached and led, and they've also learned to step on teams' throats along the way.
Aside from the mid-80's Celtics I can't recall a Boston team being as dominant as this team is right now. They are literally rolling through the NHL. As it stands now, and obviously things could change, but I defy anyone to name a team that could beat these guys in 7 games. I would gladly make a case against you, with confidence.
Sounds as if you've reworked your opinion somewhat.
-- hub
Gotta score on the opportunities the opponent gives you.
This Bruin's team can be the most dominant team in the NHL as we saw earlier this year in a 20 game span, when they are firing on all cylinders and all players are healthy and contributing. Or they can be a sub .500 team that struggles to score goals, are turnover machines on defense and have average goaltending at best like at the start of the season and our current drought.
Problem with this Bruin's team in my opinion is that it's an all or nothing effort. When they are winning, EVERYONE is contributing. When they are losing they all seem to play below their standards, seem disinterested in the game and lack of emotion and physical play become evident. We have no GAME BREAKERS (aside from our Goalies). We have depth, but noone who really likes to step up and shine and steal us a game. So as long as we keep losing and the players just keep rolling with the punches, we will keep losing.
We can't expect the return or Horton or Peverley anytime soon to give this team a jolt of life and you can't expect AHL'ers to come in and light it up when the team as a whole are playing below average.
Someone(s) (Bergeron, Krejci, Lucic, Seguin, Marchand) need to step it up and score some goals and win this team some games. That or PC needs to go out and find the players to fill the roles. And I honestly don't think more 3rd line depth players will be the answer. Half of this team is already 3rd line depth players or ahl'ers.
Bottom-line, this team wins together and loses together. They are playing the loser role and have been since the All-Star Break. They need a shot of life. And once you get a couple guys finally going the rest of the team will come around.
Gotta score on the opportunities the opponent gives you.
And you can't use a sledgehammer for finished nails. This team is severely lacking in high end skill and has been for quite some time. They got on a run with everyone hot at the same time last year, but this current stretch just shows you how this team can be easily beaten if things aren't breaking right. It's the exact opposite when they're hot.
Teams that play to their system and do not give up odd man rushes will beat the Bruins. That is where the lack of skill players besides the mighty seguin really shows.
Teams that play to their system and do not give up odd man rushes will beat the Bruins. That is where the lack of skill players besides the mighty seguin really shows.
Strong observation.
Not doing it at even strength...once their bread, butter and dessert.
Best chance to win now is fight even for 65 mins, win on The Gimmick.
Teams that play to their system and do not give up odd man rushes will beat the Bruins. That is where the lack of skill players besides the mighty seguin really shows.
We saw something similar throughout the '09-'10 season. This team as currently constituted doesn't work when depleted. When they're at full strength their opponents can play their system all they want, but the Bruins can keep rolling 4 solid lines and they literally wear their opponents out through attrition. It's not pretty, but it's hugely effective. The problem comes when you remove multiple forwards from that top 7 (and I say 7 because I don't think they'd have the same issue if the missing forwards were say Kelly and Pouliot). Now teams are just focusing on smothering the Bergeron line, and adjusting their own lines accordingly. Notice that the Bruins aren't devastating teams in the 3rd period anymore.
In my mind though, I'd give a Lucic-krejci-Seguin line a shot for a couple weeks, that line needs SOMETHING, and I think Caron's game might actually fit pretty well with Marchand and Bergeron.
The other issue is Chara. He hasn't looked the same since he played 64 minutes against the Rangers/Flyers in January. That's a ton of ice time even for him to play in that short of a time frame.
Again. Mtaylor I think your analysis is right on ....If the Bruins can't beat you through attition and momentum, they can't beat you. However, I disagree about Chara. I think it has more to do with borken and dislocated fingers than ice time.
Thought maybe some of the LFers who were so eager to bump this thread as mid-season approached would be rushing to do so again. But they must be busy with other things.
I just thought it might be worth reflecting on the OP here as the trade deadline approached.
-hub
Never commented on this thread yet, but you hit on some key points in your OP hub in my opinion. Pretty astute observations I think.
Quote:
Originally Posted by hubofhockey
Prior to start of the 2011-'12, I identified three areas of concern for the defending Cup champs:
1. The lack of a true No. 1/franchise center.
2. The departure of veterans Recchi, Kaberle and Ryder and whether existing bodies would fill those voids.
3. The returning/dysfuncitonal power play.
Seems that all three have have been criticial in the 3-7-0 start.
Given the chance to write the same story, I now would include:
4. Lack of competition for jobs. With so few (read: none) ready-for-NHL-duty players in the system, Julien only has line-jugglng and video review as his tools of recovery. Thus far, zero results.
All in all, I would say these four points pretty much define what we've seen play out in October. Wish I had included No. 4 from the git-go. But frankly, I felt they had a little more in the system. LFers here have done a very poor job in assessing readiness and depth of WannaBs.
-- hub
I think #1 is the big one, as that lack of a true #1 center creates a larger hole in that it prevents the Bruins from having a true #1 line. I'd go even further then that however. Under Julien having a true #1 line isn't a necessity as his system tends to rely on scoring by committee. What is a necessity is having at least two lines scoring at all times. To be truly dominant they need three lines scoring at all times. Having an inconsistent #1 center like David Krejci isn't conducive to such an environment, unless you assume that he will always go on one of his patented hot streaks in the post season and don't really care about regular season performance.
When talking about the vets that left, I think Recchi is the one they really miss but not in regards to offensive output. Lacking the leadership and experience he brought to the team is an issue imo, and a key reason I wouldn't mind seeing them bring in a Ray Whitney or Shane Doan type. Don't get me wrong, Bergeron, Chara, these guys are great leaders but in the grand scheme of things a guy like Recchi brings that life experience you won't get from the guys who lead by example.
I don't honestly know what needs to be done for the powerplay. I'm wondering how much the offense is actually coached at this point. It seems the first, last, and only strategy is to get the puck back to the point and to try to create from there. It gets stale, but when it works it really works. I'd like to see creativity encouraged, especially from the wings but I think to do so would be at the expense of a winning formula. So essentially, what the hell do I know.
Lac of competition is concerning, but really with two forwards like Horton and Peverly injured any teams depth would be tested likely to the breaking point. I don't see that large of an issue in this regard as having guys like Caron, Kampfer, Bartkowski and Hamill should push the guys on the roster to be better. With guys like Spooner, Knight, and Hamilton soon as well, and a guy like Seguin looking for a move to center no one should really feel safe on the roster.
Honestly, it looks like the rosters disjointed. Not sure why, if it's just some bad puck luck or whatever, but with the deadline fast approaching it will be interesting to see what Chia does or more likely doesn't do and how that affects things down the line.
xx - If Bruins can survive 65 mins and force shootout, they're gold (4-0 in these five weeks).
xx -- Despite not having a lead after 40:00 in 15 of those 17 games, they went 5-9-1 in those 15 games. Easily could have gone 0-15 or 2-13, given nature of the sport. So, they've squeezed 11 very valuable points out of 30. Subtract those 11 points, and they're sitting 11th in the conference today.
xx -- Just to show how precarious this is....Bruins are 0-6-0 in Feb. when trailing after two periods.
hub
Last edited by hubofhockey: 02-20-2012 at 01:10 PM.
The media just asked Thomas to answer for his posts/ WH snub. Everyone said it's none of their business. Now a few weeks later, Tim's boss apparently has a conversation saying if you keep posting, expect to answer questions.
I didn't see that anywhere. Where was that reported?
As far as I and many, many others are concerned, TT's facebook page is far removed from the ice and the locker room. And if TT says stop asking questions about the facebook posts or the interview is over, and some jackwagon immediately asks another question about it, everyone should expect him to end the interview since he said he would. They shouldn't pout about it afterward, and they should probably give the jerk who couldn't control his impulse to test Tim's resolve a serious "what for".
xx - If Bruins can survive 65 mins and force shootout, they're gold (4-0 in these five weeks).
xx -- Despite not having a lead after 40:00 in 15 of those 17 games, they went 5-9-1 in those 15 games. Easily could have gone 0-15 or 2-13, given nature of the sport. So, they've squeezed 11 very valuable points out of 30. Subtract those 11 points, and they're sitting 11th in the conference today.
hub
still if they get Horton and Peverley back, June 15, 2012 they have the Canucks right back where they want them
to bad they can't reunite the Wheeler-Krejci-Ryder line, (Ryder by all accounts never saw a good time he didn't want to be part of, and why I love him for it)- but somehow he found time to get sleeker and faster and is on a pace for 32 goals
I didn't see that anywhere. Where was that reported?
As far as I and many, many others are concerned, TT's facebook page is far removed from the ice and the locker room. And if TT says stop asking questions about the facebook posts or the interview is over, and some jackwagon immediately asks another question about it, everyone should expect him to end the interview since he said he would. They shouldn't pout about it afterward, and they should probably give the jerk who couldn't control his impulse to test Tim's resolve a serious "what for".
This, of course, is matching passive-aggressive action for passive-aggressive action.
Thought maybe some of the LFers who were so eager to bump this thread as mid-season approached would be rushing to do so again. But they must be busy with other things.
I just thought it might be worth reflecting on the OP here as the trade deadline approached.
-hub
I'm surprised that you resurrected this thread. You were wrong about three out of four predictions and the one you got right was predicted by almost everybody here.
Last edited by misterjaggers: 02-20-2012 at 01:28 PM.
I'm surprised that you resurrected this thread. You're wrong about three out of four predictions and the one you were right about was something that almost everybody here predicted.
The biggest problem with the team is that Krejci has a permanent residence on milk cartons. No team in the NHL can have long term success if it relies on just one line for scoring.
Injuries have only exacerbated the problem. Krejci's lack of production was concerning when Horton was healthy. Now, it's a glaring issue. He needs to produce, period.
I didn't see that anywhere. Where was that reported?
As far as I and many, many others are concerned, TT's facebook page is far removed from the ice and the locker room. And if TT says stop asking questions about the facebook posts or the interview is over, and some jackwagon immediately asks another question about it, everyone should expect him to end the interview since he said he would. They shouldn't pout about it afterward, and they should probably give the jerk who couldn't control his impulse to test Tim's resolve a serious "what for".
all 8 teams in front of the bruins in the east are just swimming in true #1 centers..... Hope the bruins can climb out of 9th this season unlike 2010-2011
I say we make a play for that youngster on the devils...thinks his last name is Elias.
The biggest problem with the team is that Krejci has a permanent residence on milk cartons. No team in the NHL can have long term success if it relies on just one line for scoring.
Injuries have only exacerbated the problem. Krejci's lack of production was concerning when Horton was healthy. Now, it's a glaring issue. He needs to produce, period.
Beginning mid_December, Krejci very strong, 6-15--21, over five weeks. Barely seen now since Jan. 22. Fooled me. Thought he finally grew into top-line job. Let's see if Horton gets back and 17-46-18 ride again. It was a very impressive run.
Beginning mid_December, Krejci very strong, 6-15--21, over five weeks. Barely seen now since Jan. 22. Fooled me. Thought he finally grew into top-line job. Let's see if Horton gets back and 17-46-18 ride again. It was a very impressive run.
- hub
Thought he had a heckuva game yesterday-5 shots on net,some terrific setups.
