Don't know how to post a poll. If anyone does, little help please.
The question:
To whom, and in what order, do you assign responsibility for the half dozen areas of concern which continue to bedevil the Boston Bruins as of mid-March, with the playoffs around the corner?
As for me,
Management: 50%. Sweeney built this roster, and in my mind, the ultimate responsibility for team success or failure lies at the feet of management. Who constructed this team? Mr. Nobody? Basically, it's been "Robbing Peter to pay Paul" for quite a while now. Soft As Charmin in the physical department *for years* is also entirely on Sweeney, who has, evidently, never credited this part of the game or its contribution to team success.
Coaching: 35%. Overreliance on goaltending to save Boston's bacon because the defense has been, in a word, terrible; Poor team defense; poor D corps defense; chronic inability to clear the crease and get out of the zone; repeatedly hemmed in their own end on a nightly basis; Montgomery gassing his overworked best players, a plainly stupid, short-sighted practice that will soon catch up with the Bruins, if it hasn't already.
*STILL* NO ANSWER FOR A TENACIOUS, HEAVY FORECHECK, WHICH WILL BE THEIR UNDOING IN THE PLAYOFFS; fatal failure to win D zone draws (John Beecher can help with that, if they allow him to do so); failure to close out third period leads; poor PK, poor PP -- though both are improving of late.
Hey, it's March. What's our fourth line? What's our first line? What's our second line? What's our third line? What are our D pairings? We're in the final stretch, with fourteen games to go, and Montgomery continues to juggle lines like it's a bodily function. Even at this late date, chaos reigns and stability is in short supply.
Who is responsible for that? Is there any price to pay for repeated f*ck-up's and "blown coverage" in the D zone? Too Many Men on the Ice?
Who's in charge here, exactly?
I won't even go into the many disastrous decisions Montgomery made which, in my view, led to Boston's ignominious end against FLA in round one last year. Whether he has learned from them remains an open question.
Players: 15%. All I can say is, this is the "group" that Don Sweeney assembled. They are what they are. You can't expect them to be anything else. Here's hoping the addition of Maroon and Peeke will alter the complexion of the 2023-24 Boston Bruins for the better, if slightly.
They've overachieved given their collective talent and sensibilities, the coach charged with leading them, and the architect in the front office who constructed the roster.
I was never a fan of Eddie Andelman's "blame pie" (nor could I abide the man himself, but that's a topic for another day).
Percentages please. And if you like, your perspective on why you voted as you did.
Fan is short for fanatic, and we all have our biases -- clearly on display above -- but try to be fair.
To the disgruntled, I extend my apologies. I call 'em as I see 'em.
Bumbershoot at the ready, eternal optimists,
The question:
To whom, and in what order, do you assign responsibility for the half dozen areas of concern which continue to bedevil the Boston Bruins as of mid-March, with the playoffs around the corner?
As for me,
Management: 50%. Sweeney built this roster, and in my mind, the ultimate responsibility for team success or failure lies at the feet of management. Who constructed this team? Mr. Nobody? Basically, it's been "Robbing Peter to pay Paul" for quite a while now. Soft As Charmin in the physical department *for years* is also entirely on Sweeney, who has, evidently, never credited this part of the game or its contribution to team success.
Coaching: 35%. Overreliance on goaltending to save Boston's bacon because the defense has been, in a word, terrible; Poor team defense; poor D corps defense; chronic inability to clear the crease and get out of the zone; repeatedly hemmed in their own end on a nightly basis; Montgomery gassing his overworked best players, a plainly stupid, short-sighted practice that will soon catch up with the Bruins, if it hasn't already.
*STILL* NO ANSWER FOR A TENACIOUS, HEAVY FORECHECK, WHICH WILL BE THEIR UNDOING IN THE PLAYOFFS; fatal failure to win D zone draws (John Beecher can help with that, if they allow him to do so); failure to close out third period leads; poor PK, poor PP -- though both are improving of late.
Hey, it's March. What's our fourth line? What's our first line? What's our second line? What's our third line? What are our D pairings? We're in the final stretch, with fourteen games to go, and Montgomery continues to juggle lines like it's a bodily function. Even at this late date, chaos reigns and stability is in short supply.
Who is responsible for that? Is there any price to pay for repeated f*ck-up's and "blown coverage" in the D zone? Too Many Men on the Ice?
Who's in charge here, exactly?
I won't even go into the many disastrous decisions Montgomery made which, in my view, led to Boston's ignominious end against FLA in round one last year. Whether he has learned from them remains an open question.
Players: 15%. All I can say is, this is the "group" that Don Sweeney assembled. They are what they are. You can't expect them to be anything else. Here's hoping the addition of Maroon and Peeke will alter the complexion of the 2023-24 Boston Bruins for the better, if slightly.
They've overachieved given their collective talent and sensibilities, the coach charged with leading them, and the architect in the front office who constructed the roster.
I was never a fan of Eddie Andelman's "blame pie" (nor could I abide the man himself, but that's a topic for another day).
Percentages please. And if you like, your perspective on why you voted as you did.
Fan is short for fanatic, and we all have our biases -- clearly on display above -- but try to be fair.
To the disgruntled, I extend my apologies. I call 'em as I see 'em.
Bumbershoot at the ready, eternal optimists,
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