Tonight is opening night in the NHL so I thought I would start a thread where we can all share some sort of hope the Bruins will get back to the playoffs and win a series this year. I personally see the B's finisishing 5/6 in the East, I think people will be very surprised at how good Phil Kessel will be (32-36-68 totals) and I think their powerplay has a chance to be deadly along with having a very good PK with Axelsson, Primeu, Donavan, Mowers, Bergeron, and Boyes all pretty good PKer's. I think they are quite a few hockey fans on this site based upon the B's free agent threat so hopefully we can have a some good hockey talk.
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Bruins/NHL Thread
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 BSCrich |
Bruins/NHL Thread |
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Posts: 1298 10/04/06 11:00 AM Veteran Member |
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jsinger121 |
Re: Bruins/NHL Thread | #1 | ||
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Posts: 15548 10/04/06 11:51 AM Jonathan
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I'll be at the home opener.
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AgentOrange |
Re: Bruins/NHL Thread | #2 | ||
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Posts: 595 10/06/06 6:05 PM |
1st game tonight. Pretty exciting. Chara is one of my favorite players. He's a beast and his work ethic is unparalleled.
I notice Hazel Mae is hosting a weekly show about the Bruins. I'm guessing Keith Foulke will be a big fan. |
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Lippa91 |
Re: Bruins/NHL Thread | #3 | ||
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Posts: 1953 10/06/06 6:29 PM
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I can't wait to see the Kessell-Bergeron-Boyes line. So much speed. They're gonna be sick.
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AgentOrange |
Re: Bruins/NHL Thread | #4 | ||
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Posts: 595 10/06/06 6:57 PM |
Gah, I still can't get used to the "new NHL". So many penalties.
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mistercelery |
Re: Bruins/NHL Thread | #5 | ||
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Posts: 1832 10/07/06 7:48 AM |
LET'S GO CAPS! Alex Ovechkin is going to run wild this year with Donald Brashear to protect him.
That's all. You can now return to your regularly-scheduled Bruins discussion... |
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jsinger121 |
Re: Bruins/NHL Thread | #6 | ||
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Posts: 15548 10/07/06 8:38 AM Jonathan
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Quote: I hate all these penalties. Just let them play. |
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AgentOrange |
Re: Bruins/NHL Thread | #7 | ||
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Posts: 595 10/07/06 9:43 AM |
Quote: Ovechkin is a big boy, I don't know how much protection he needs. Ever see that interview with AO where the guy asks him who his favorite player is? He answers "Right now? Me." I loved that. If you were starting an expansion franchise and could pick any player in the league, is there any argument you could make to pick someone other than Ovechkin? Nobody in the league has his skill set, and he combines it with a tremendous drive and a love for the game. Quote: It makes the game too choppy. Several of the penalties on the Bruins last night were extremely trivial offenses, particularly Chara's first penalty on Olesz, which led to a Panther goal. |
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mistercelery |
Re: Bruins/NHL Thread | #8 | ||
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Posts: 1832 10/07/06 12:49 PM |
That was a nice quote. But perhaps AO's best media moment was this past week -- when he hit a hole in one playing golf -- PLAYING GOLF FOR THE FIRST TIME!!! He said, "I guess it's easy." At that moment, millions of people who have been infuriated by the difficulty of that game probably wanted to murder him. That clip finally made it to sportscenter this week - it had been a favorite for days on Comcast Sportsnet DC/Balt...
Another interesting moment: at the Nats/Mets game on the Friday of the final series, AO, threw out the first pitch. To say he throws like a girl would denigrate all women (like my wife) who can actually throw a baseball. The guy throws a baseball for the first time ever off of the pitcher's mound at RFK Stadium; plays golf for the first time ever and hits a hole in one; and beats out The Golden Boy Sidney Crosby for rookie of the year, when everyone had all but given the award to Crosby prior to last season. Life is good for Alex Ovechkin...  P.S. Yes, he can definitely fend for himself - he's a big kid. But Lindros could fend for himself too, and he's still suffered way too many concussions over the course of his career; Lemieux was a huge guy too, and stronger than people gave him credit for, but he needed his goons to keep him upright on a regular basis. You have to admit that Ovechkin will be that much more offensively minded now if he knows that Brashear has his back -- it may or may not translate into more points (he already did pretty frickin' well for a rookie last season), but it's definitely a good thing for Washington. Once again they have perhaps the best player in the league without any kind of supporting cast... 
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BSCrich |
Re: Bruins/NHL Thread | #9 | ||
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Posts: 1298 10/11/06 1:27 PM Veteran Member |
Help is on the way...Alexandre Semin is very talented and Niklas Backstrom(their 1st round pick this year playing in Sweden) is the perfect compliment to AO...I saw AO in person last yr and he is incredible, I also talked to a longtime hockey scout and he said he thinks AO has the best instincts and ice awareness of anyone to ever play...including the Great One
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mistercelery |
Re: Bruins/NHL Thread | #10 | ||
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Posts: 1832 10/11/06 1:33 PM |
Wow - that's extraordinarily high praise. Barring injury, he's definitely going to be very, very good for a very long time. He reminds me of a quicker version of a young Steve Yzerman.
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AgentOrange |
Re: Bruins/NHL Thread | #11 | ||
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Posts: 595 10/12/06 12:28 PM |
Quote: I find this quite hard to believe... Not the part about Semin and Backstrom. Semin is legit and by all accounts Backstrom is a stud. The point about Gretzky, however.... See, Gretzky didn't have tremendous physical gifts. He was relatively small, he wasn't a burner, and he didn't have a laser shot. He became the greatest offensive player of all time almost entirely because of his offensive instincts and ice awareness. His instincts and awareness were otherworldly. I'll have to watch some more Caps games and check this out, but at this point I will politely but firmly disagree. I'd even say that Crosby probably has better awareness and instincts than Ovechkin. Ovechkin's skill-set is unlike any player's I've ever seen. He's like a Kovalchuk-Forsberg hybrid. He's got Kovalchuk's combination of size and speed, as well as his sniper's mentality and confidence. He doesn't have Forsberg's playmaking ability, but he shares his grit. Forsberg used to be hands-down the toughest "skill" player in the NHL. Now , with the teeth-rattling hits AO gives out, he has to be considered in any conversation about the toughest skill guys. Also--like Forsberg and unlike Kovalchuk and the early Steve Yzerman--Ovechkin plays defense. |
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mistercelery |
Re: Bruins/NHL Thread | #12 | ||
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Posts: 1832 10/12/06 12:51 PM |
I agree - I think he's also more like what Eric Lindros's ceiling could have been, had he lived up to his potential, than Gretzky. Gretzky had a polish/finesse, coupled with outstanding instincts, that I don't see in Ovechkin. I see a fair number of Caps games each year -- frankly fewer last year because I've had a hard time caring about hockey since the most recent strike. But in the time that I've had to watch Ovechkin, he's certainly been one of the most dominant players I can remember -- he's not Gretzky, he's not Lemieux -- but he may wind up scoring at their level, and has a physical presence that, if Lemieux with his size had had, would have made him absolutely unstoppable (as opposed to just mostly unstoppable).
One thing to note about Gretzky, besides the fact that he was probably the greatest hockey player in NHL history: we have not since seen, nor may we ever see again, a team like the Edmonton Oilers of the mid-1980s. Gretzky, Kurri, Coffey, Messier, Lowe, Fuhr, Anderson - it's basically like a Hall of Fame all on the ice at one time. When they had Craig Simpson running the third line, their offense was absolutely devastating -- three waves of offense each dominated by a high-scoring center, each one different (Gretzky with amazing playmaking and nose for the goal, Messier with strength and finesse, Simpson with instinct and toughness). It was absolutely beautiful to watch. Hopefully someday I'll feel this way about Pujols or someone who's playing baseball, but really, despite the fact that I grew up a baseball fan and love baseball more than anything, Gretzky and Jordan were the greatest athletes of that generation, and the greatest in the history of their respective sports, period. If Alex Ovechkin can score 200 pts in a season, I'll be ecstatic, but I don't see it happening. He could, however, average 120 pts a season and be a very solid first-ballot HOFer. |
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CrisMase |
Re: Bruins/NHL Thread | #13 | ||
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Veteran Member
Posts: 1404 10/12/06 10:33 PM |
silver lining of the night Savard's first goal as a bruin
Sign up for the soxprospects map link
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Lippa91 |
Re: Bruins/NHL Thread | #14 | ||
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Posts: 1953 10/13/06 9:28 AM
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The more things change....
Bad special teams, blow a 3rd period lead, walk away with no points. |
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jsinger121 |
Re: Bruins/NHL Thread | #15 | ||
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Posts: 15548 10/13/06 9:36 AM Jonathan
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they get the cheap 1 point for the shootout loss
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AgentOrange |
Re: Bruins/NHL Thread | #16 | ||
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Veteran Member
Posts: 595 10/14/06 8:28 PM |
I believe that there are serious question marks about this Bruins team. So many so that I have a very hard time seeing them being very good this year.
Let's start in the back. Goaltending might be the biggest (as well as the most obvious) problem area. Toinoven has all the ability in the world, but as of right now he is not nearly consistent enough to be a number one. Thomas hasn't shown me enough either and I have doubts as to whether he ever will. It should go without saying that one of them needs to step up big time if this is going to be even a playoff team. Second: The defense. I really like the top 3 of Chara, Stuart, and Mara. I think Alberts is actually a decent #5 or 6 defenseman. He's not going to give much offense but if he plays solid D you'll be happy with him. York, however, is the definition of a "fringe" NHLer. In fact, he didn't even play in the NHL last year. I don't think Dempsey is a whole lot better. I was hoping Mark Stuart would make the team this year, but he's currently on the IR. I'm not sure if this month and half setback will mean that he doesn't end up contributing much to the Bruins this year. Can you field a good hockey team with York, Dempsey, and Alberts all getting significant minutes? Im not so sure. Third: The forwards. Kessel has looked good so far. The goals should start to come. They had better, too, because there is a serious issue with forward depth on this team. Its generally not a wise idea to rely on a guy 4 months removed from being drafted to play a significant role. But thats what youre forced to do when you go into the season with only five proven NHLers capable of playing on one of the top two lines (Bergeron, Boyes, Savard, Sturm, Murray). The Bruins will be fortunate to get 30 goals combined from the third line of Axelsson, Primeau, and Donovan. I think that the Bruins will need big offensive seasons from Chara, Stuart, and Mara and to have each one of the top six forwards basically have as good of a year as they are capable of to have a decent offense. Anybody know what the Bruins cap figure is? |
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Lippa91 |
Re: Bruins/NHL Thread | #17 | ||
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Posts: 1953 10/15/06 12:54 PM
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I need someone to explain to me why Paul Mara is always on the PK, but they use Bergeron on the point over him on the PP. That makes absolutely no fricken sense what so ever. He's a terrific offensive defenseman, slick skater, makes the outlet pass, etc. He has a lot of trouble in his own zone, which is why his +/- is awful throught his career. Hell, it seemed like half the reason he was acquired was specifically to run the man-up unit.
So, instead of having your best PP unit out there, you take worsen Bergeron by taking him away from the net, and by not using Mara's greatest ability. You then put Mara in a position in which he's least likely to succeed, defending his own zone, taking away his offensive and breakout ability. I think if you fix that, you take care of half the team's problems. |
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AgentOrange |
Re: Bruins/NHL Thread | #18 | ||
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Veteran Member
Posts: 595 10/15/06 1:47 PM |
I'm not a huge fan of forwards on the point of the PP myself. I thought the umbrella power play the Bruins used last night with Stuart at the point and Chara screening the goalie was a definite improvement, though I only watched the first period.
The issue with Mara on the PK may be that the Bruins don't have enough quality defensemen to keep him off the ice. Despite his defensive struggles, he may in fact be better on the PK than York and perhaps Dempsey or Alberts. |
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snowmandan57 |
Re: Bruins/NHL Thread | #19 | ||
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Rookie
Posts: 6 10/17/06 11:24 AM |
Another thing with Mara's +/- throughout his career is that he was on some terrible teams. He has been on a team that won more than 35 games twice in his career. Your +/- is not going to be good in that kind of a situation. So i wouldnt say that he is not a good defensive defenseman and base it solely on his +/-
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Lippa91 |
Re: Bruins/NHL Thread | #20 | ||
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Posts: 1953 10/17/06 12:38 PM
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It's not based solely on the +/-, that's just one good indication. He's not very good in the defensive zone, it's no big secret. His strength is in moving the puck and skating.
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