GDT: Boston Bruins v. Buffalo Sabres - 1/31/13 - Part II

[Shaun]

Is Thornton concussed?

 

[11MilesPerJohan]

Great post and totally agree, though I think that Scott/Thornton fight did give the Sabres momentum in the first period.

Offensive zone work was good. Neutral zone and defensive zone work was abysmal. I love the captain, but he was the worst player on the ice last night.

Miller was great when he needed to be.

Yeah, Chara did not have a good game. I also thought that this was the first game where Dougie looked a little shaky with the puck. Overall, D struggled.

It's frustrating though because the game plan has been pretty much the same against Buffalo for a long while now: slow down the rush, limit their odd-man chances, and you have a good chance of winning. Bruins followed that game-plan to a T when they beat them in the playoffs. It's not like they didn't know what they were dealing with. But mental lapses happen, and like I said, you learn from it and move on.

 

[Fire Sweeney]

Is Thornton concussed?

Yes.

 

[SPV]

I'm sure it's already been mentioned, but we got burnt pinching so many times last night. I think with a team like Buffalo with as many hangers as they have, that is a dangerous game.

The Thornton fight stung, but the 5 on 3 was the gut punch that did us in; and credit to the Sabres, they never laid down and quit last night. I thought we outplayed them most of the game otherwise; so the outcome hurt more than the fight.

It sure was a big victory for the Sabres fans, and Bruins haters though.

 

[ODAAT]

Miller stole the game late...Would be nice if somebody checked Vanek once in a blue...He is a bull however, so not easy to move.

Actually, I`m of the opposite belief that the problem the B`s have with Vanek is they are so focused on trying to do just that when they should be far more focused on containment with strong positioning.

Vanek, dare I say, is a fantastic player, just plays for the wrong team

Remember the days when we`d watch our boys chase after smaller, quicker Habs (not that Vanek is small )? That is exactly what they do with him and he burns em

 

[ODAAT]

Just some observations from the game last night...

I am already hearing some media talk about how the Sabres physically overmatched the Bruins and that's why they won...wrong!!!

First off, the Scott fight had very little to do with the outcome of that game last night, other than the fact that it forced Thorny out of the lineup. The fight happened, and after that time, the Bruins still went up 3-1. Lucic had a stellar chance to put that game away, and then right after that the 5-3 occurred and the game changed from there. The fight wasn't the momentum builder that people are making it out to be.

Furthermore, the Bruins dominated on the forecheck, especially the Krejci line. One of the positives to take out of that game is that our patience, spacing and puck movement in the O-zone was very good, and our physicality on the forecheck is what created a lot of our chances.

That being said, it was the skill of Buffalo, not their physicality that won the game for them. We could not contain them on the rush, plain and simple. Buffalo did not establish much in the O zone with their forecheck, so it's not like they physically dominated the Bruin's D.

It was really a series of bad mental mistakes that led to chances, and Buffalo was able to finish.

On the other end, we had two stellar chances to tie that game late (Chara and Bergy) and Miller made amazing saves on both opportunities.

This is a loss they will learn from and it will help them get better in the long run. The next game against Buffalo should be something.

Even Jack said they beat them up and beat them on the scoreboard or something to that effect, silly, Scott easily took Thornton in the "fight", but physically??? Not quite, the B`s IMO were the much more consistently dangerous offensive threat team, they just didn`t convert

 

[KnightofBoston]

Yes.

Haven't seem that confirmed

Hope dougie is good to go too, he took quite the elbow

 

[ODAAT]

Haven't seem that confirmed

Hope dougie is good to go too, he took quite the elbow

To me, the dirtiest hit on the evening, Stafford must pay

or was it Pominville?

 

[Alicat]

This loss will do far more good for the team than bad

Despite the fact the bruins were 5-0-1 going into last night, they still played mighty choppy for long stretches and their 2nd and 3rd lines were fairly invisible in the big picture

Nice wake up call game, and Seguin really needs to get going. In a lot if ways, him missing that chance right in the slot said a lot about that game late

Agree 100%.

 

[Glove Malfunction]

Just some observations from the game last night...

I am already hearing some media talk about how the Sabres physically overmatched the Bruins and that's why they won...wrong!!!

First off, the Scott fight had very little to do with the outcome of that game last night, other than the fact that it forced Thorny out of the lineup. The fight happened, and after that time, the Bruins still went up 3-1. Lucic had a stellar chance to put that game away, and then right after that the 5-3 occurred and the game changed from there. The fight wasn't the momentum builder that people are making it out to be.

Furthermore, the Bruins dominated on the forecheck, especially the Krejci line. One of the positives to take out of that game is that our patience, spacing and puck movement in the O-zone was very good, and our physicality on the forecheck is what created a lot of our chances.

That being said, it was the skill of Buffalo, not their physicality that won the game for them. We could not contain them on the rush, plain and simple. Buffalo did not establish much in the O zone with their forecheck, so it's not like they physically dominated the Bruin's D.

It was really a series of bad mental mistakes that led to chances, and Buffalo was able to finish.

On the other end, we had two stellar chances to tie that game late (Chara and Bergy) and Miller made amazing saves on both opportunities.

This is a loss they will learn from and it will help them get better in the long run. The next game against Buffalo should be something.

There is much to like in this post. I think the media look to the fight, which did seem to give Buffalo a little momentum, but it didn't last all that long, and the hits stat, which was skewed heavily in favor of the Sabres, but that was because the Bruins had the puck so much more.

The bolded part is really the difference in the game, although I don't think Miller made an amazing save on Chara's shot. Chara has basically the entire short half of the net and he didn't put it there. Instead he shot it right where Miller was, on the far half of the net. One-timer, tough for that long stick to put it right where he wants, but not really an amazing save. Miller did make some outstanding saves late though.

We can let the Sabres feel good about that win, because it was one game, where the D played really poorly, and they got golden opportunities. I don't expect that will happen during any of the future meetings this year.

Also, I completely expect to hear nothing out of the league on that dirty elbow from Stafford to Hamilton's chin. Hell, I'll be happy if they even acknowledge it. But I certainly expect the Bruins to deal with it next game. And not by fighting John Scott.

 

[Fire Sweeney]

Haven't seem that confirmed

Hope dougie is good to go too, he took quite the elbow

Getting KO'd like that corresponds to a concussion.

As for Dougie he fortunately dodged most of the elbow. Paille is lucky Scott had to stop skating to elbow him.

 

[11MilesPerJohan]

There is much to like in this post. I think the media look to the fight, which did seem to give Buffalo a little momentum, but it didn't last all that long, and the hits stat, which was skewed heavily in favor of the Sabres, but that was because the Bruins had the puck so much more.

The bolded part is really the difference in the game, although I don't think Miller made an amazing save on Chara's shot. Chare has basically the entire short half of the net and he didn't put it there. Instead he shot it right where Miller was, on the far half of the net. One-timer, tough for that long stick to put it right where he wants, but not really an amazing save. Miller did make some outstanding saves late though.

We can let the Sabres feel good about that win, because it was one game, where the D played really poorly, and they got golden opportunities. I don't expect that will happen during any of the future meetings this year.

Also, I completely expect to hear nothing out of the league on that dirty elbow from Stafford to Hamilton's chin. Hell, I'll be happy if they even acknowledge it. But I certainly expect the Bruins to deal with it next game. And not by fighting John Scott.

Ha ha...true....I was trying to give the big man the benefit of the doubt on that one, but yeah, he should have put that one in.

 

[Fire Sweeney]

Looks like Thonrton will be out for a while:

Boston Bruins ‏@NHLBruins

Bruins recall forward Jamie Tardif from Providence on an emergency basis: http://bbru.in/Tardif020113 ^BB

 

[Number8]

Yes.

You sound like you've seen a report confirming this. Have you?

 

[BigBear83]

no it was def. stafford . real ******* move and i hope he gets fined .. as far as seguin goes, is he the most aggrivating bruin to watch right now.. i cant stand when he goes into the boards back first spins around with one hand on his stick then looks to get out of there as fast as possible.. everyone was expecting huge things after his time in the swiss league. but that leage was tailor made for him.. huge ice. hardly any hitting at all and smaller defenseman that he can dangle around.. how many times is he going to just skate directly into two defenseman, lose the puck and allow a quick transition for the other team.. love the kid but his game, at some point, has to start progressing

 

[ODAAT]

no it was def. stafford . real ******* move and i hope he gets fined .. as far as seguin goes, is he the most aggrivating bruin to watch right now.. i cant stand when he goes into the boards back first spins around with one hand on his stick then looks to get out of there as fast as possible.. everyone was expecting huge things after his time in the swiss league. but that leage was tailor made for him.. huge ice. hardly any hitting at all and smaller defenseman that he can dangle around.. how many times is he going to just skate directly into two defenseman, lose the puck and allow a quick transition for the other team.. love the kid but his game, at some point, has to start progressing

He isn`t a finished product but i`m curious if you saw Marchand`s 2nd goal??? Cuz if you did, you would have seen something we Bruin fans haven`t seen alot of and I loved it, Segs with his arse planted right in Miller`s face, guys draped all over him, paying the price and distracting Miller.

If Segs was floating out there and not getting/creating chances, I`d be worried, but that isn`t the case, I do see what your saying and from time to time he does the "fly by" and it drives me nuts too but you also have to watch his vast improvement and committment to playing a more assertive physical game.

He lit up the Swiss leage and fans here have expectations/visions of a 50 goal in 48 game year

 

[HiddenInLight]

Sabres fan coming in peace. Just wanted to say I hope Thornton comes back soon, and recovers well. I hate to see a guy from any team looking the way he did sitting in the box last night.

Also, good game for the bruins, if Miller hadn't played as well as he did in the end, it could have ended 10-6 Bruins. Our defense was just as bad as yours was last night.

It was an exciting game to watch, and I hope the rest of the series is this entertaining. Good luck for the season.

 

[Eddie Munson]

Great post and totally agree, though I think that Scott/Thornton fight did give the Sabres momentum in the first period.

Offensive zone work was good. Neutral zone and defensive zone work was abysmal. I love the captain, but he was the worst player on the ice last night.

Miller was great when he needed to be.

Chara was awful last night. Very rarely if ever have I seen him make so many mistakes in one game.

It was good to see the offense working well. Would have been nice if they buried a couple of the numerous 3rd period chances they had.

In the end both offenses looked good. Both defenses looked atrocious. One goalie made stops when he had to and the other couldn't make that big save when his team needed it (still not Tuukka's fault though, defense left him hanging!)

Claude will use this game for motivation. The boys will move on from this. They need take their frustration out on Toronto (namely you Mr. Seguin).

Entertaining game. Sad sad outcome.

 

[Kaoz*]

Just some observations from the game last night...

I am already hearing some media talk about how the Sabres physically overmatched the Bruins and that's why they won...wrong!!!

First off, the Scott fight had very little to do with the outcome of that game last night, other than the fact that it forced Thorny out of the lineup. The fight happened, and after that time, the Bruins still went up 3-1. Lucic had a stellar chance to put that game away, and then right after that the 5-3 occurred and the game changed from there. The fight wasn't the momentum builder that people are making it out to be.

Furthermore, the Bruins dominated on the forecheck, especially the Krejci line. One of the positives to take out of that game is that our patience, spacing and puck movement in the O-zone was very good, and our physicality on the forecheck is what created a lot of our chances.

That being said, it was the skill of Buffalo, not their physicality that won the game for them. We could not contain them on the rush, plain and simple. Buffalo did not establish much in the O zone with their forecheck, so it's not like they physically dominated the Bruin's D.

It was really a series of bad mental mistakes that led to chances, and Buffalo was able to finish.

On the other end, we had two stellar chances to tie that game late (Chara and Bergy) and Miller made amazing saves on both opportunities.

This is a loss they will learn from and it will help them get better in the long run. The next game against Buffalo should be something.

Well thought out post and for the most part I agree.

One thing I would like to see, and I Colt touched on this before on a larger scale is some size on Bergeron and Kelly's line. I don't think they need to make whole sale changes however do think they could move some folk around the lineup to balance it out more. This isn't a reactive post either, I think it's been an issue all season and was towards the end of last season. Marchand can play bigger then he is but still, he's small.

For that reason I wouldn't mind seeing:

Marchand - Krejci - Horton
Lucic - Bergeron - Seguin
Pervs - Kelly - Hanson/someone else
Paille - Campbell - Thornton

I don't hate Bourque, not at all and very much hope for his success here, but he and McDermid could be used as injury callups. Not sure what to use for size on the 3rd line honestly, Hanson was just someone with size to throw in whom hopefully Kelly and Pervs could make look good. I'd love for them to make a run at a low cost guy like Evgeny Grachev for that spot honestly, see if he couldn't regain some of his former flash.

 

[Man Rocket]

I missed the game, but it seems like we were physically outmatched? Is that correct? If so that's unacceptable against a team like buffalo. Did we look like softies?

 

[DoubleAAAA]

Well thought out post and for the most part I agree.

One thing I would like to see, and I Colt touched on this before on a larger scale is some size on Bergeron and Kelly's line. I don't think they need to make whole sale changes however do think they could move some folk around the lineup to balance it out more. This isn't a reactive post either, I think it's been an issue all season and was towards the end of last season. Marchand can play bigger then he is but still, he's small.

For that reason I wouldn't mind seeing:

Marchand - Krejci - Horton
Lucic - Bergeron - Seguin
Pervs - Kelly - Hanson/someone else
Paille - Campbell - Thornton

I don't hate Bourque, not at all and very much hope for his success here, but he and McDermid could be used as injury callups. Not sure what to use for size on the 3rd line honestly, Hanson was just someone with size to throw in whom hopefully Kelly and Pervs could make look good. I'd love for them to make a run at a low cost guy like Evgeny Grachev for that spot honestly, see if he couldn't regain some of his former flash.

I actually thought Paille looked terrific on that 3rd line. Tardif is a guy who will go to the dirt so he's a good fit with MacD and Campbell on 4th with Thornton out. It's not ideal, but it's alright in a pinch.

 

[doubleminor138]

I missed the game, but it seems like we were physically outmatched? Is that correct? If so that's unacceptable against a team like buffalo. Did we look like softies?

I would not say so. The Scott/Thornton fight was one sided. And someone took a cheap shot at Dougie that elicited no response, which is disappointing. But its not like the Sabres were running the Bruins through the boards or anything.

 

[Kaoz*]

I actually thought Paille looked terrific on that 3rd line. Tardif is a guy who will go to the dirt so he's a good fit with MacD and Campbell on 4th with Thornton out. It's not ideal, but it's alright in a pinch.

Paille did, and don't get me wrong, but there are times that line will be physically out muscled by bigger bodies. The Bergeron line had great success last night as well, but same for them, at times they'll struggle with the bigger teams. Injecting some size onto those lines will help if you can manage to do it without losing the skill. Kelly and Pervs bring all the skill on that 3rd line, it's just a matter of finding someone with size to compliment them imo.

That said I'm not advocating running out and making some panicked trade or waiver pickup. Something they could perhaps address throughout the season however if possible.

I'll admit, I might be a bit biased as well as I love seeing the chemistry of Lucic and Seguin. They always seem to find each other when on the ice together.

 

[DoubleAAAA]

Paille did, and don't get me wrong, but there are times that line will be physically out muscled by bigger bodies. The Bergeron line had great success last night as well, but same for them, at times they'll struggle with the bigger teams. Injecting some size onto those lines will help if you can manage to do it without losing the skill. Kelly and Pervs bring all the skill on that 3rd line, it's just a matter of finding someone with size to compliment them imo.

That said I'm not advocating running out and making some panicked trade or waiver pickup. Something they could perhaps address throughout the season however if possible.

I'll admit, I might be a bit biased as well as I love seeing the chemistry of Lucic and Seguin. They always seem to find each other when on the ice together.

I'd be hesitant to break up that top trio though ... they never look as good apart as they do together.

Certainly wouldn't complain about adding a capable 3rd line guy with some size, but I do think chances are that guy is more likely to be Caron than anyone from outside.

 

[LSCII]

This loss is all on Chara, IMO. He's been shaky all season long, but has at least made up for it with his reach most nights. Not last night though. He pinched when he shouldn't have. He let guys blow right by him. He over committed. Positionally, he was in no man's land for most of the night. All the defensive breakdowns on that pairing were a direct result of his being where he shouldn't have been. Easily the worst game he's played the entire time he's been here.

The positive is that they played terribly defensively, yet they were still in the game until it finally caught up to them late in third period. The good news is that maybe this game will ground them. They weren't playing as well as their record had indicated, if I'm being truthful, so sometimes reality is a good thing.