Post-Game Talk: Game 9 - Kings stun B's in last second of OT - LA 2 BRUINS 1 F/OT

[BruinLVGA]

My three stars

1. Rask - great bounce back game from him
2. McAvoy - Doughty-like performance
3. Bergeron - dominated the matchups against another Selke level center

Can't argue with this, my same take.

The boys deserved a victory last night, they played one hell of a game. Seeing the Bruins be equal (or better) as an outstanding Kings team that is firing on all cylinders, was a welcome sight.

The only sour notes were a) the defeat right at the buzzer b) the fact that Krug's errors were directly the most important factor for the loss and last but not least , c) I am not impressed with the referees basically allowing Rask to be run over several times, with their lack of dishing out punishment for it. Not exactly what one would expect, even more so when Rask had just been concussed. Not good.

 

[DarrenBanks56]

pissed i havent been able to watch the last 2 games.
but seems they played well.

at least there is a game tomorrow ill be able to watch.

hows pasta been last 2 games. havent seen him much in the highlites

 

[ODAAT]

tough end to a game well played, well, not true, the 2nd was not well played. Just finished watching and Krug just doesn`t yet look like himself. I`m not worried as I believe he`ll get there. I haven`t one bit of evidence but in the past 2 games I`ve watched, looks like something is bothering Pasta. Now, not really an excuse for that faceoff loss as all he needed to do was disrupt the faceoff for less than a second, didn`t necessarily even need to win the draw then the boys are in the shootout.

Thought Rask played very well after the concussion, B`s had their own opportunities in OT to take the 2 pts but I said I`d be happy if the B`s went 1-1 vs the Sharks and Kings so can`t say I`m not ok with 3pts.

Watching that dish from McAvoy to Marchand on his goal was a thing of beauty too

 

[Gee Wally]

My thoughts.
Never saw an ending like that. It was just piss poor luck. Ya Cassidy should have had a center out there or someone that has has some experience on faceoffs but really, what were the odds?
Shake it off and move on.

But that said Bruins showed me something two games in a row. That is they do have what it takes to run with the big dogs. Those kids are only gonna get better too. This is going to be a growing pain year. But Im ok with that if they continue to play with a purpose.

 

[caz16]

This was a very entertaining game overall. I loved the energy from the Bruins and the rookies and you can see their confidence building with each game. Rask looked confident and calm...makes you realize how scary Dobby is. I just don't understand how we didn't get a PP when Rask was run over twice. Very poor officiating once again. Weird end to the game but I am relieved that didn't happen at the end of regulation instead. I'll take the point.

 

[Hali33]

For me, taking 3 points out of Sharks/LA makes up for losing points against Colorado/Buffalo etc.

Its so encouraging watching McAvoy handle serious icetime and play this well. Holy **** is this guy gonna be a good player.

I'm impressed how they played against the top team in the league right now. Yeah, the ending was mind blowing and classic Bruins but that was such an entertaining game to watch.

 

[mmk]

For me, taking 3 points out of Sharks/LA makes up for losing points against Colorado/Buffalo etc.

Its so encouraging watching McAvoy handle serious icetime and play this well. Holy **** is this guy gonna be a good player.

I'm impressed how they played against the top team in the league right now. Yeah, the ending was mind blowing and classic Bruins but that was such an entertaining game to watch.

Yeah I can't remember a loss after which I was less upset or more encouraged. I think we're in the second tier of east teams this year, just below the elites like Tampa, Toronto, Pitt.

 

[Hali33]

Yeah I can't remember a loss after which I was less upset or more encouraged. I think we're in the second tier of east teams this year, just below the elites like Tampa, Toronto, Pitt.

I hate shootouts so ****ing much lets just say I was less than upset that the game was suddenly over.

 

[Comedy of Errors]

Can someone explain to me how a face off, puck pass, shot and puck travel to goal line can be all be done under 1 second ?

 

[ODAAT]

Can someone explain to me how a face off, puck pass, shot and puck travel to goal line can be all be done under 1 second ?

I`m not sure I have ever done that on NHL17

 

[PlayMakers]

I didn't see it give them an edge...

The bulk of their hitting came from the D.

Doughty - 3
Muzzin - 5
Forbert - 3
MacDermid - 3
Folin - 4

Would dressing a White/Blidh/Acciari change the fact their D-group is big and physical.

Playing Devil's advocate...

Dustin Brown threw some huge hits including one on Pasta. Kempe threw that dirty hit and was under their skin all night. Forbert was throwing jabs into Vatrano's face after a scrum a la Marchand/Sedin and there was no response. They ran Tuukka twice with no response... If all that didn't frustrate the Bruins it, at the very least, seemed to give LA more confidence and they got more brazen as the game went along.

Again, just playing Devil's advocate here. Hoping to spark a conversation.

 

[Oates2Neely]

Overall good solid game by the Bruins. They’re playing well. Give Krug time he’ll shake the rust (and the full face shield). Nice to see Rask come back with a strong performance. Team trending in right direction.

 

[Caper Bruins fan]

Yeah , the result was disappointing but with a new day comes new optimism . I think this Bruin team has the potential to be competitive almost every night even against the Capitals this year and that hasn’t been the case the last few years when they were clearly overmatched at times . Backes should remain at center even when Krejci comes back . Switch Spooner to the wing and with Heinen we might have a 3rd line capable of chipping in some offence .

 

[Comedy of Errors]

.09 seconds on the clock. Andy B even said it would be impossible before the puck was drop yet once the ref pointed to the goal and the clock showed .04 left the entire action from drop, pass, shot taking a half second is impossible.
My wife and I were waiting for the review on ice and from Toronto but it never came. Total screwing. Why where the Kings allowed to violate the laws of physics ?

 

[PlayMakers]

If the player taking the face-off was a right-shot, sure. But Kopitar was clearly taking the face-off with his backhand, so there truly was only one play - to Doughty or Toffoli.

Even the still of the video that Fenway posted above is a little weird - Krug, Kopitar, Doughty, Pasta are looking at the puck as it comes to Toffoli but Rask is staring straight at the dot.

I thought he had an awesome game overall, but maybe he wasn't 100% dialled in for the shot.

I agree on both counts. With Kopitar (LH shot) taking the draw, there was only one option for him, to draw it back. Now there were two shooters, but they were almost on top of each other so the adjustment to block the shot would be the same.

Put me in the camp with those analysts that were surprised the Bruins and Rask didn't read that better or do more there. Bjork had time to take a step into the dot, albeit at the wrong angle. Toffoli had time for a short wind-up and release. That means Rask had time to slide a half step to his right, and Krug had time to step into the shooting lane as well. Both were frozen.

And that's not me saying Rask sucks. He was outstanding regardless of that last goal.

 

[Bruinaura]

Backes should remain at center even when Krejci comes back .

Agree 100%

 

[PlayMakers]

My thoughts.
Never saw an ending like that. It was just piss poor luck. Ya Cassidy should have had a center out there or someone that has has some experience on faceoffs but really, what were the odds?
Shake it off and move on.

But that said Bruins showed me something two games in a row. That is they do have what it takes to run with the big dogs. Those kids are only gonna get better too. This is going to be a growing pain year. But Im ok with that if they continue to play with a purpose.

To be fair to Cassidy, Krug iced the puck which meant Cassidy couldn't change the personnel on the ice and get a centerman out there for the draw.

 

[Trap Jesus]

They lost some steam but overall good game against a good opponent. It's rare to find an individual player that isn't a goalie that can be held accountable for a loss by himself, but Krug is 100% to blame for this loss. Both goals were almost completely his fault.

 

[Comedy of Errors]

I agree on both counts. With Kopitar (LH shot) taking the draw, there was only one option for him, to draw it back. Now there were two shooters, but they were almost on top of each other so the adjustment to block the shot would be the same.

Put me in the camp with those analysts that were surprised the Bruins and Rask didn't read that better or do more there. Bjork had time to take a step into the dot, albeit at the wrong angle. Toffoli had time for a short wind-up and release. That means Rask had time to slide a half step to his right, and Krug had time to step into the shooting lane as well. Both were frozen.

And that's not me saying Rask sucks. He was outstanding regardless of that last goal.

The issue isn't in the mechanics of the play but of the probability of it happening in .09 seconds. I don't think there was a soul on ice, on the bench, or in the stands that believed it was enough time to score a goal and they where right. It's simply a physical impossibility to do it in less than 1 second and no way on God's green earth in .05.

 

[BruinDust]

Playing Devil's advocate...

Dustin Brown threw some huge hits including one on Pasta. Kempe threw that dirty hit and was under their skin all night. Forbert was throwing jabs into Vatrano's face after a scrum a la Marchand/Sedin and there was no response. They ran Tuukka twice with no response... If all that didn't frustrate the Bruins it, at the very least, seemed to give LA more confidence and they got more brazen as the game went along.

Again, just playing Devil's advocate here. Hoping to spark a conversation.

And it likely did. I was surprised Pasta got up from the Brown hit, although to Brown's credit it was a good clean hit.

I don't like the lack of response at times. Chara responded to a hit I think it was Debrusk in the 1st. The group went over after the Kempe hit on Nash, but other than grabbing Kempe by the collar and pummeling him, he certainly didn't seem to want to engage.

They do miss McQuaid in that regard, especially considering that Miller has a bad hand and can't fight.

 

[Dellstrom]

Really shitty way to lose takes a lot away from a really encouraging game. We held strong against the best team in the league, and 99 times out of 100, we win that game in OT.

I'm just really disappointed with Krug. He's much better than he's showing... I don't know if it's just a down year, but it seems like he has a piece of his jaw stuck in his brain. This is the worst hockey he's ever played, and he's way too important to this team. Not a good sign if he keeps this up.

 

[since76]

There is a lot of positive in this game
Rask, younsters
Mcavoy is so good
Strange refs ?
This team will be really fun to watch all year long
The only negative is nash use , my god , there is no words
I think krug will be ok soon....i wish

 

[World of Wardlow]

My thoughts.
Never saw an ending like that. It was just piss poor luck. Ya Cassidy should have had a center out there or someone that has has some experience on faceoffs but really, what were the odds?
Shake it off and move on.

But that said Bruins showed me something two games in a row. That is they do have what it takes to run with the big dogs. Those kids are only gonna get better too. This is going to be a growing pain year. But Im ok with that if they continue to play with a purpose.

Who took the faceoff for Boston?
Indeed, that was pure luck.

 

[Trap Jesus]

I can't remember, was it a conscious effort to put Pasta and Bjork together? I remember Pasta was used on a draw with Bergy in the box, but if Cassidy wanted both wingers out there at the end he needs to take some blame as well.

 

[talkinaway]

To be fair to Cassidy, Krug iced the puck which meant Cassidy couldn't change the personnel on the ice and get a centerman out there for the draw.

Fluto and Ty Anderson both mentioned a great, semi-devious plan to get Bergeron on the ice, and I think Fluto said that Cassidy was aware of it but they couldn't execute it. You have both forwards purposely cheat on the faceoff to get a faceoff violation. Your 3-on-3 becomes 4-on-3 (or 5-on-3 minus Quick), and the last man (Pasta or Bjork, take your pick) to cheat on the faceoff goes in the box. Someone has to come out to replace him...and that'd be Bergeron.

Admittedly, you have to assume that Pasta's going to mess up big time on the faceoff, AND that the Kings are going to be able to get that goal in 0.9 seconds or less. I was ready for a shootout - looks like Pasta and Rask were, too. Then again, you can't give up, even with that little time on the clock - the Kings pulled Quick, so why wouldn't we give them a useless extra guy and have the guy who's one of the best in the league at faceoffs take the draw? Even if it's a one-in-a-million chance to mess up, 0 is still less than that.