Game 4 ECQF - Michael Ryder OT winner
Game 5 ECQF - Nathan Horton 2OT winner
Game 7 ECQF - Nathan Horton OT (series) winner
Game 2 ECF - Michael Ryder 2 goals in 6-5 W
Game 7 ECF - Nathan Horton 3P (series) winner
It's worth noting that while our offensive firepower is undoubtedly comparable to the team that hoisted Lord Stanley just one summer ago, it's going to be scoring the big goals that makes or breaks any chance of a repeat.
Say what you want about Ryder, he scored IMO one of the BIGGEST goals of our season last year when he brought us back from the dead in OT at Centre Bell (we would have gone down 3-0 in the series with L!). Horton's clutch scoring resume goes without saying..he had 8 total in the post-season, including obviously the 2 series-winning tallies...
It's a game where one pinch here or there can decide a game, and one slapper can win a series....I reserve my judgment on whether this team is fully ready until somebody steps up when are backs are against the wall. New team, new faces, new heart. Let's see how they can handle it.
Game 4 ECQF - Michael Ryder OT winner
Game 5 ECQF - Nathan Horton 2OT winner
Game 7 ECQF - Nathan Horton OT (series) winner
Game 2 ECF - Michael Ryder 2 goals in 6-5 W
Game 7 ECF - Nathan Horton 3P (series) winner
It's worth noting that while our offensive firepower is undoubtedly comparable to the team that hoisted Lord Stanley just one summer ago, it's going to be scoring the big goals that makes or breaks any chance of a repeat.
Say what you want about Ryder, he scored IMO one of the BIGGEST goals of our season last year when he brought us back from the dead in OT at Centre Bell (we would have gone down 3-0 in the series with L!). Horton's clutch scoring resume goes without saying..he had 8 total in the post-season, including obviously the 2 series-winning tallies...
It's a game where one pinch here or there can decide a game, and one slapper can win a series....I reserve my judgment on whether this team is fully ready until somebody steps up when are backs are against the wall. New team, new faces, new heart. Let's see how they can handle it.
Ryder won GM 4 in OT to tie the series at 2, but your sentiment still stands about him bringing us back from the dead that game with 2 goals...the third line was amazing that game.
The key factor, IMHO, will be the ability of the team to do the little things right and to make sound decisions in our own end. If we do that, we have a good chance to go deep. Now, they will have to put aside Shanahan's vendetta against them and play a very physical series against Washington. Washington have a TON of speed so we have to " reduce " their enthusiasm to chase the puck and make plays along the boards. We can't let a guy like Ovi or Semin having a free ride in front of our net.
A guy like Ovechkin? He basically just does what he wants. We can try to minimize his impact... But we'll never stop him.
I don't think Shanahan's "vendetta" against them is a factor, or should be in the playoffs. That's something that doesn't concern me at all. It's not as though we're up against the Pittsburgh Penguins (yet).
The Bruins should be able to execute their game well enough. But I fear that factors I've listed make this too difficult a series to overcome. That factored with the belief that this isn't the same Caps team that we're used to seeing come playoff time? It concerns me.
We have 6 twenty goal scorers to their 3 and we also have one of the best goalies in the world and arguably the best defenseman.
I agree that we shouldn't take the caps lightly, but I think they can't match our depth are play a full 60 every night the way this team can.
As for this year vs. last year, I think it's tough to say if this team is better or not. Certainly Lucic seems to be healthier/more focused than last year. After Looch's early playoff success as a Bruin I was convinced that if this team ever won a cup, it would be with Looch leading them in goals, but throughout the run last year he wasn't nearly as much of a factor as he's capable of being. My point is that I think Lucic should be better this year and that will make up for some of losing Horton. Losing Ryder hurts IMO, but this year's team is overall a much faster squad than last year. Pouliot, Kelly, and Rolston are all faster than Recchi and Ryder. The big key is going to be getting Peverley going on that Krejci line, but I think given top 6 minutes, Peverley is every bit as capable of making big plays as Ryder was.
Some 'third-liner' has to step it up big, if not the whole third line to make up for the absence of Horton. And Krecji has to finish a few more plays.
I think Lucic, Bergeron, Seguin, and Marchand are all playing better than last year. Defense is definitely weaker than last year... and Timmy is about on par going in.
I see people continually worry about not having Ryder, Horton or Recchi...
While irreplaceable, I think the Bruins have a lot more going in their favor this year to counter that.
Kelly:
- 14-14-28 last season (incl. his time with the sens) and a -13 overall (-1 with Bs). This year he's 20-19-39, +33. That's a remarkable jump if you ask me. I don't think enough stress is placed on +/- anymore. Scoring goals/assists isn't everything in the playoffs.
Seguin:
- Last yr: 11-11-22, -4
- This yr: 29-38-67, +34. Pretty simple to deduce the impact he'll have over last year, lest we forget he only played half the playoffs.
Rolston:
- While everyone says he's 'no replacement for Rex,' let's not forget he's played a 60 point pace since coming to the Bruins. That along with a +7 over a quarter of the season.
- With a guy who's overwhelmingly faster and still has a hell of a shot, that's not too bad in my book.
Those 3 -- along with Marchand, Bergeron, Boychuk, McQuaid and Caron who, IMO, are all playing much better this year. Combine all that with their playoff experience last year, and I think we're in great shape.
I will say Krejci has been so-so throughout the year, but I think he's been playing much better with the puck in the offensive zone in the last 1/4 of the season.
I think Timmy will raise his game in the playoffs, perhaps not to the level of last year, but he will raise it none the less. The D will get tighter and the physicality will ratchet up once the playoffs start. I think they have a more dependable offense this year, if that makes sense, but last year's team did score come playoff time, and timely goals at that. It is all about how you play in any particular series and game...this team will have to rise to the challenge that last year's team did.
I also think that though we may be better this year, other teams are better as well. So much will depend on match-ups, who is playing better/healthier at a given time, and also some of it will come down to getting the bounces to go your way.
Does this all include Benoit "Highlight Reel Goal" Pouliot?
But I somewhat agree. Seguin is better, Krejci seems better, Bergeron seems better (always improving). Rolston has our veteran leadership like Recchi with more production.
I think last year's team was better. This season, the Bruins were 9-3 in shootouts, last year they were 2-6.
If you take away the extra point for a shootout, this year's team would have had 93 points, last year's would have had 101 points.
Actually I'd look at it the other way around, the bruins last year got more loser points, who's to say a lot of our shoot out wins wouldn't be OT wins anyways? The bruins are very good in OT and for my money looked like they were going to score if given more time than 5 minutes in a lot of those games that went to a shoot out
This team is nowhere close to as good as last year's. They lost a ton of goal scoring some grit and lots of defensive awarness. We went from having probably the best playoff third line to the worst, and we have a real chance of seeing the Corvinator if McQuaid can't play which is likely. There will not be any 8-0 Toronto blowouts to pad our goal scoring stats against the Caps or anyone else for that matter.
This team is nowhere close to as good as last year's. They lost a ton of goal scoring some grit and lots of defensive awarness. We went from having probably the best playoff third line to the worst, and we have a real chance of seeing the Corvinator if McQuaid can't play which is likely. There will not be any 8-0 Toronto blowouts to pad our goal scoring stats against the Caps or anyone else for that matter.
Wow! I'm not sure our third line this year is as good as last year's, that remains to be seen, but it certainly is not the worst third line in the playoffs...I still think it is one of the better ones in the game, without looking at every team's third line.
Your center, Kelly, had 20G this year, and is one of the better two-way centers in the game, Rolston has scored 15 pts in the 21 games he has played for this team, and Pouliot has 16g to go along with 16a, showing flashes of brilliance along the way. Oh, and you have a guy in Jordan Caron who has come into his own as of late, at points earning time on the first two lines. I think they will be okay.
Wow! I'm not sure our third line this year is as good as last year's, that remains to be seen, but it certainly is not the worst third line in the playoffs...I still think it is one of the better ones in the game, without looking at every team's third line.
Your center, Kelly, had 20G this year, and is one of the better two-way centers in the game, Rolston has scored 15 pts in the 21 games he has played for this team, and Pouliot has 16g to go along with 16a, showing flashes of brilliance along the way. Oh, and you have a guy in Jordan Caron who has come into his own as of late, at points earning time on the first two lines. I think they will be okay.
I stand by it, one of the worst..if not the worst, for the playoffs. Pouliot has the hockey sense of a concussed mite, and has a staggering two assists in the playoffs becuase of it. I will bet you a nickel right now that Pouliot is a minus for the playoffs. Rolston is too soft for the playoffs and his career stats reflect it in spades. Kelly I will give you but he is not talented enough to carry the other two.
This team is nowhere close to as good as last year's. They lost a ton of goal scoring some grit and lots of defensive awarness. We went from having probably the best playoff third line to the worst, and we have a real chance of seeing the Corvinator if McQuaid can't play which is likely. There will not be any 8-0 Toronto blowouts to pad our goal scoring stats against the Caps or anyone else for that matter.
Time will tell. I certainly agree that Recchi,Ryder and Horton were very important to the Cup win but I watched game 7 against Vancouver last night [on CBC] and the core of this team is basically intact.It will come down to many intangibles;how will Pouilot,Rolston ,Seguin respond in the post season. Yes,repeating is a long shot but I believe in the core of this team.
This should be the healthiest Looch will be going into the playoffs since 2009, that alone is huge!
I have a feeling Lucic is goin to step up huge and so will Pouliot on the third line!!!!
Seguin is better than last year and so is Marchand so I like our chances to get back to the finals. Krejci has to be huge helping Lucic score timely goals and Kelly and Rolston will be huge helping Poo score big goals!! Bruins4cupRepeat2012.
I stand by it, one of the worst..if not the worst, for the playoffs. Pouliot has the hockey sense of a concussed mite, and has a staggering two assists in the playoffs becuase of it. I will bet you a nickel right now that Pouliot is a minus for the playoffs. Rolston is too soft for the playoffs and his career stats reflect it in spades. Kelly I will give you but he is not talented enough to carry the other two.
I don't like Pouliot either and would probably play Caron over him but he certainly has played well lately ,let's hope for the best.
This should be the healthiest Looch will be going into the playoffs since 2009, that alone is huge!
I have a feeling Lucic is goin to step up huge and so will Pouliot on the third line!!!!
Seguin is better than last year and so is Marchand so I like our chances to get back to the finals. Krejci has to be huge helping Lucic score timely goals and Kelly and Rolston will be huge helping Poo score big goals!! Also Timmy will be amazing once again, maybe not as good as last year but he will still give us a chance everygame so I'm not worried one bit. Bruins4cupRepeat2012.
I stand by it, one of the worst..if not the worst, for the playoffs. Pouliot has the hockey sense of a concussed mite, and has a staggering two assists in the playoffs becuase of it. I will bet you a nickel right now that Pouliot is a minus for the playoffs. Rolston is too soft for the playoffs and his career stats reflect it in spades. Kelly I will give you but he is not talented enough to carry the other two.
they better because on paper the Capitals are better than Habs- especially once Backstrom came back.
The problem I see is the Capitals PP could shred the Bruins- Backstrom is the wild card here.
I can see the Bruins playing a great 10 minutes with 10 shots on net and many quality and wham, Caps come down and score, or the Bruins get called for a penalty and its in the back of the net.
I stand by it, one of the worst..if not the worst, for the playoffs. Pouliot has the hockey sense of a concussed mite, and has a staggering two assists in the playoffs becuase of it. I will bet you a nickel right now that Pouliot is a minus for the playoffs. Rolston is too soft for the playoffs and his career stats reflect it in spades. Kelly I will give you but he is not talented enough to carry the other two.
I would have to look at what other teams are trotting out there, but I liked how that line was playing towards the end of the season, so I am willing to see what they do in the playoffs before getting too worried about anything.
Obviously, if Horton was healthy and Peverly slotted in on that third line, we would be better off. But as things are now, between the four players in the mix for that line (Kelly, Pouliot, Rolston, Caron) I think you have guys who will be defensively responsible and bring specific skill sets to the game that will help in other areas, for example PK...Kelly, Rolston, Caron if needed, late game face-offs Kelly, Rolston if forced to...I think it is a pretty versatile group, so we will see.
I stand by it, one of the worst..if not the worst, for the playoffs. Pouliot has the hockey sense of a concussed mite, and has a staggering two assists in the playoffs becuase of it. I will bet you a nickel right now that Pouliot is a minus for the playoffs. Rolston is too soft for the playoffs and his career stats reflect it in spades. Kelly I will give you but he is not talented enough to carry the other two.
It is an utterly negative prognosis and smells anti-Bruinism...
It is an utterly negative prognosis and smells anti-Bruinism...
It's actually an interesting take, seemingly based on the playoff statistics of those in question. Rolston undeniably has been a poorer performer in the playoffs than regular season, and Pouliot has been invisible in his 22 playoff games. So one one hand, we see the Rolston and Pouliot of March 2012 and think that they can be solid performers, but on the other hand you look at their playoff stats and think "ugh."
It's just a question of whether their playoff performance this year will be more like their prior playoff performance (bad), or their most recent performance (good). I guess time will tell....
Goaltending and defense are so important when it comes to a deep run in the playoffs. I think last year we definitely had a hotter goalie than this year. Our defense has looked really bad at times this year compared to last, which is also partially responsible for the goaltending not looking as strong. Corvo was not the only problem with the defense this year, btw. However, our offense is more potent this year even without Horton. As some have mentioned, a lot depends on if we can replace some of the big goals from guys like Recchi and Ryder. Going into last year's playoffs there were a ton of people on this board who thought the idea of winning the Cup was silly, and were calling for CJ's head. Even during the playoffs at times the doom and gloomers were out in full force. I think it can be effectively argued both ways -- team is worse than last year, team is better than last year. My feeling is that we are probably a better overall team now than last year, but so much depends on health and some luck when it comes to winning a Cup. The main thing for me is that we are still in a position to compete for a Cup. CJ, Chia, etc. have certainly brought us a long way from where they started.
