Mick here, hope everyone is well if not supremely stoked. My paper is interested in me doing a live chat. Industry standard seems to be about 1 hour for such gigs, so I'm wondering if those interested in participating from the Bruins board would be more likely to do so late this week before camp starts or early next week after camp has started (also: what time is good or bad ...). Internet reception is inconsistent at Ristuccia, so only if camp is at TDG am I likely to chat up during a practice.
The long and short of it is: LIVE CHAT will happen at ... www.southcoasttoday.com
2-3 p.m. ET
Tuesday, Jan. 15.
There will be a link at the site and I would be thrilled to get some of you folks, if available, into the back-and-forth.
I had a nice off-record chat with Donny Sweeney last night at P-Bruins and talked with Coach Cassidy afterward. They been hit hard with injuries right at the time Boston has recalled Bourque, MacDermid, Tardif, Warsofsky and Bartkowski for Boston camp. None of those guys played last night, and the P-Bruins almost blew a 5-0 lead on Bridgeport before hanging on for a 5-4 win. No Caron (shoulder), no Exelby (was flexing his arm last weekend after taking a hit, but had a groin problem before that so who knows, but he's out), and last night two more left the game with injuries.
Trotman was cutting out from behind his net, head down and got nailed with a clean shoulder to shoulder. Got up slowly and never returned. Knight, I didn't see him do anything that looked like a recurrence, but he did run into a guy softly as he was gliding toward the bench for a change (I'm guessing what happened already happened in his case), but as he got to the bench he took a full baseball swing at the glass with his stick, letting it fly out of his hands, then tossed his right glove off the left wall off the stands stomping down the hallway. Had reinjury of that hammie written all over it. Both, I think were first-period events, and neither guy played another shift.
We don't know how many Boston will keep, especially with McQuaid just coming back. Sweeney is hopeful that he'll be a full go, even though he'll be a little behind in strength/conditioning. So will Horton, Lucic and Marchand IMO, which they have to be very careful about.
NHLPA voting is complete, but I don't expect we'll know for sure that camp starts tomorrow until we hear from Cam and Peter at 11.
Food for Tuesday thought. I hope I'll hear from some of Boards members on my chat.
2 pm Tuesday in Massachusetts is 5 am Wednesday here in Oz.
I'm scheduled for surgery on Wednesday so I'm not sure whether I'll be able to check in for the chat. If I don't make it I hope it goes well for you Mick.
2 pm Tuesday in Massachusetts is 5 am Wednesday here in Oz.
I'm scheduled for surgery on Wednesday so I'm not sure whether I'll be able to check in for the chat. If I don't make it I hope it goes well for you Mick.
Wishing you have a speedy recovery from your surgery.
I was at morning skate today. Peverley missed it for personal reasons but will be in the game tonight.
It will be Boston vs. Providence and, unlike Black & White games of eras gone by, this one will be a full, three-period game under NHL rules and refs.
Based on numbers, I would guess that the P-Bruins' lineup includes everyone this side of Chris Bourque, who will play third-line LW with 23 and 49 (Julien wants to get a look at his lines in game situations).
On D, Hamilton did the drills with Seidenberg, so the game-day pairings were 33-55, 44-53 and 21-54. I expect Aaron Johnson will saddle up with the P-Bruins for this one, along with fellow Boston campers Matt Bartkowski and David Warsofsky.
My 1-hour live chat begins at 2 p.m. ET at www.southcoasttoday.com, might get it started a few minutes early so all chimers are welcome to talk turkey.
Thanks to all from the Boards who jumped on. Sorry about the malfunctions, learning as we go.
Alan, to finish responding to your question, you asked if I thought the Bourque-Kelly line should get a more physical opposite-side winger than Peverley who, like Bourque, relies on skill and (more so in Peverley's case), speed.
Beyond the basics that Bourque has to prove himself before the team is going to rethink its lines, for the sake of the argument it's an important question because that line doesn't have the identity that it had in the 2011 playoffs with Ryder and Seguin (filling in for Pevs, who got kicked up for Horton). Last year it was mainly 23-49 and either Caron or Pouliot, then Rolston got involved in an altered version of it.
I felt at the time that, because the Bruins entered the sequel season mentally when not physically exhausted, that accenting the lineup with skill guys (Pouliot, Rolston) was the wrong way to go. This year I expect Boston's physical players to be physical like they were in the 2011 playoffs. But, even so, you no longer have Recchi's and Ryder's hard shoulders boring holes in the cycle and to the net. It's a changing team, so time will tell.
I expect Peverley will wind up in the top six anyway, because it's a long shot for everything to go swimmingly well for Marchand, Lucic and Horton, all guys who missed a lot of hockey, especially Horton from a categorical standpoint but also Looch with the intensified Adams Division.
That's a whole lot of nothing, I know, but it's just going to have to unfold as players all over the lineup perform.
