Pre-Game Talk: Boston Bruins

[ColePens]

I wasn't aware that they had any.

Seriously, DA, I am so happy that's not my team. They are beyond inept. There are clear lanes, they don't take them. They don't skate. They don't support. They don't shoot off the pads. I seriously cannot believe this team even made the playoffs let alone won a round.

I try watching these games and I'm pulling my hair out just witnessing this garbage.

 

[Dying Alive]

I definitely believe it is Penguins fans who are underestimating their opponent. The Bruins have unparalleled depth. The Penguins can't match their top-2 lines let alone the Bruins dominant 4th line.

The Bruins have also looked better while dispatching higher seeds in the Leafs and Rangers while the Penguins have struggled with the much more horriblednessing Islanders and Senators.

I hereby propose that we change the name of the Stanley Cup to the "Bruins are Awesomeness Bowl." Then, rather than have to play the series and get all bruised up and full of ouchies, the Pens skate out to center ice and commit ritual suicide before game one, sending Pierre into a tailspin from which he never recovers. All in favor of my plan?

I also propose that the Islanders and Senators have their franchises contracted for being so utterly turrble and losing to the overrated Penguins.

 

[rocketdan9]

One HUGE advantage the Bs always have against us is faceoffs. Sid struggles badly against PB.

yup. And in addition Rask > Vokoun.

 

[member 51464]

Anyone think the Penguins forecheck will be more aggressive in a series with the Bruins? It seems that Chara especially struggles when he is targeted. They want to be bullies, but don't handle being bullied well.

 

[HuskerTornado]

Will Jagr be our Strait and Gonchar this next round?

heh

 

[plaidchuck]

yup. And in addition Rask > Vokoun.

Just like how Anderson was going to shut the Pens out nightly right? And from history it seems Raask can git a wee bit rattled at times.

 

[Dying Alive]

Will Jagr be our Strait and Gonchar this next round?

heh

Doubtful. The three things you can count on in life are death, taxes and Jagr scoring against the Pens.

 

[td_ice]

Doubtful. The three things you can count on in life are death, taxes and Jagr scoring against the Pens.

I dunno, he looks slow as molasses right now.

 

[NastyNick]

LOL the Bruins have looked worse than Ottawa and the Islanders. Slow plodding defense, terrible goaltending. Lucky to have survived Toronto and lucky the Rangers can't score. They are ripe for what the Pens have brought this offseason. Its going to be glorious.


Pens in 4. And i rarely call series in 4. But this one is just too obvious. I love this matchup

 

[ColePens]

LOL the Bruins have looked worse than Ottawa and the Islanders. Slow plodding defense, terrible goaltending. Lucky to have survived Toronto and lucky the Rangers can't score. They are ripe for what the Pens have brought this offseason. Its going to be glorious.


Pens in 4. And i rarely call series in 4. But this one is just too obvious. I love this matchup

And now we enter RK's post. This is too heavy lopsided. I like the match up because we built for this very match up. To say 4? I'll gladly bet you any amount on that. Won't happen. Sens were our very best match up. We let them get one, too.

 

[AjaxTelamon]

The Rangers are easily the worst team in the playoffs this year. At full strength they weren't much good, but down a few key players, they are just awful. Only the gutless Caps could lose to this team.

Boston is a decent team, but they don't match up well against Pittsburgh at all, who can both play physically with them and have a lot more team speed. Toronto's speed gave them fits.

On top of all that, Chara looks as slow and mistake-prone as I've ever seen him. Age and ice time seem like they are adding up, or else he's playing hurt. He manages to play decent defensively, but his mobility is down, and his offensive presence is greatly diminished even from earlier this year.

 

[madinsomniac]

Many many fans are ignorant of how the Bruins played vs the leafs vs rangers.

Its not change of style as much as injecting two or three mobile d's in Hamilton, Bartowski and NYR series mvp Krug into the lineup .

Prior vs the leafs, the older d lineup would mainly try to pass it out, and it was 50/50 clean passes vs turnover. They didn't skate with the offense as a unit. Inject these young more offensively skilled d's , and they can skate into the offensive zone themselves.

Penguins should expect a war. Malkin and Crosby historically has had a tough time against Chara also.

Mobile defensemen absolutely kill the Rangers.. its why we dominate them when letang is healthy. That doesnt mean they are effective vs the Pens...

If the Bruins come into the Pens series with a glut of young defensemen, they will get buried.

Once more the rangers were pathetic in goalscoring this season... outside of their last 6 games played against non playoff teams that mostly had quit on the season, where they scored a quarter of their goals, they pretty much were offensively inept.

You cant look at this series and transpose what is successful onto the Pens series... The sens have several very gifted offensive defensemen... it certainly wasnt good for them...

 

[madinsomniac]

Its all but official now. Rags are out as expected. Id say pens in 6.

 

[billybudd]

When healthy, the Bruins' defense is pedestrian outside of Chara.

Seidenberg has quietly developed an awesome defensive game since ending up in beantown. I found it hilarious that people were voting the likes of Niklas Kronwall or Karlsson better "defensive" defensemen than him and Willie Mitchell in that big poll a few moths back.

But behind those two, the D core is a little sketchy.

 

[zoomzoom]

(1) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (4) Boston Bruins

Lets go Pens!!

Gotta watch out for Krug, guy like to score on PP

 

[IcedCapp]

Penguins and Vokoun are about to get (B)ruined.

 

[Waffle Fries]

This seemed inevitable didn't it?

 

[ColePens]

And for the sake of discussion - here is how I rank every single playoff team we could have played by matchup. 1 being the toughest, 4 being the easiest.

1) Bruins - The two best teams in the east. This is what Shero built to play against.

2) Isles/Toronto - Speed gives us trouble but they had zero experience. Both teams could have pulled of the ultimate upsets but inexperience got in their way.

3) Caps/Montreal - We just matched up well against these teams. Caps were not deep and Montreal didn't have enough Halak.

4) Sens/Rangers - We just simply outmatched these teams. I knew they couldn't get the best of us unless we did it to ourselves.

 

[rocketdan9]

Mobile defensemen absolutely kill the Rangers.. its why we dominate them when letang is healthy. That doesnt mean they are effective vs the Pens...

If the Bruins come into the Pens series with a glut of young defensemen, they will get buried.

Once more the rangers were pathetic in goalscoring this season... outside of their last 6 games played against non playoff teams that mostly had quit on the season, where they scored a quarter of their goals, they pretty much were offensively inept.

You cant look at this series and transpose what is successful onto the Pens series... The sens have several very gifted offensive defensemen... it certainly wasnt good for them...

other than karlsson, who else do they have in the back end? Gonchar? Phillips?

Sens don't have a great backend. Other than offensively gifted Karlson nobody is defensively shut down nor offensively that good

 

[JimmyTwoTimes]

This was the ECF matchup most people predicted ...and it's officially here. Now the west need to finish their series' . Detroit needs to end it tonight...kings tomorrow. Then we will prob start Tuesday or Wednesday .

 

[ColePens]

SS got the new one up.